2021 Formula One Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

2021 Formula One Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.jpg

Who will win the 2021 World Championship?

  • Max Verstappen

    Votes: 1,428 62.8%

  • Lewis Hamilton

    Votes: 845 37.2%
  • Total voters
    2,273
  • Poll closed .
Formula 1 enters the season finale of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix with the driver’s championship leaders tied on points.

After a roller coaster ride of a season in F1, the final event of 2021 will be held in Abu Dhabi and will decide the championship battle between Max Verstappen or Lewis Hamilton. The two drivers are even on points entering the race.

Verstappen has won more races this year than Hamilton, so if the two end up finishing even after this race due to neither scoring points, the championship would go to Verstappen. Momentum seems to be with Hamilton after back-to-back-to-back race wins in Brazil, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, though points momentum has never lasted long this season.

The Yas Marina circuit is a location where both drivers have won in the past, with Hamilton having won numerous times at the track, and Verstappen being the most recent winner. The layout has been altered for 2021 to encourage more overtaking.

Looking away from the feature act of this race weekend, the constructor’s battle between Mercedes and Red Bull seems to be all but decided, with Mercedes holding a 28-point advantage. With Hamilton and Verstappen cancelling each other out on points, Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas have been involved in a lower profile battle than their teammates, but one full of surprises just the same.

This will also be the last time we see certain drivers in F1, or the last time we see them with their current teams. Perhaps the biggest departure is Kimi Räikkönen, who will retire from driving after Abu Dhabi. Kimi’s teammate, Antonio Giovinazzi, will also vacate his F1 seat after this season and will race in Formula E next year instead. One of the Alfa Romeo team seats will be filled by Bottas, who will finish this year third in the driver’s standings. His current seat at Mercedes will be filled by George Russell.

This looks to be an exciting finish to a season filled with drama and shocking moments. Let’s hope that we see the best from each of the championship contenders this weekend.

Qualification Results​

1Max VERSTAPPENRed Bull1:22.109
2Lewis HAMILTONMercedes1:22.480
3Lando NORRISMcLaren1:22.931
4Sergio PÉREZRed Bull1:22.947
5Carlos SAINZFerrari1:22.992
6Valtteri BOTTASMercedes1:23.036
7Charles LECLERCFerrari1:23.122
8Yuki TSUNODAAlpha Tauri1:23.220
9Esteban OCONAlpine1:23.389
10Daniel RICCIARDOMcLaren1:23.409
11Fernando ALONSOAlpine1:23.460
12Pierre GASLYAlpha Tauri1:24.043
13Lance STROLLAston Martin1:24.066
14Antonio GIOVINAZZIAlfa Romeo1:24.251
15Sebastian VETTELAston Martin1:24.305
16Nicholas LATIFIWilliams1:24.338
17George RUSSELLWilliams1:24.423
18Kimi RÄIKKÖNENAlfa Romeo1:24.779
19Mick SCHUMACHERHaas1:24.906
20Nikita MAZEPINHaas1:25.685

Race Results​

1Max VERSTAPPENRed BullLAP 58
2Lewis HAMILTONMercedes2.256
3Carlos SAINZFerrari5.173
4Yuki TSUNODAAlpha Tauri5.692
5Pierre GASLYAlpha Tauri6.531
6Valtteri BOTTASMercedes7.463
7Lando NORRISMcLaren59.2
8Fernando ALONSOAlpine61.708
9Esteban OCONAlpine64.026
10Charles LECLERCFerrari66.057
11Sebastian VETTELAston Martin67.527
12Daniel RICCIARDOMcLaren+1L
13Lance STROLLAston Martin+1L
14Mick SCHUMACHERHaas+1L
15Sergio PÉREZRed BullDNF
16Nicholas LATIFIWilliamsDNF
17Antonio GIOVINAZZIAlfa RomeoDNF
18George RUSSELLWilliamsDNF
19Kimi RÄIKKÖNENAlfa RomeoDNF

What are your thoughts on the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix? Let us know on Twitter at @RaceDepartment or in the comments section below!

Photo credits: Red Bull Content Pool
  • Like
Reactions: FS4A and Kimirai
About author
Mike Smith
Mike Smith
I have been obsessed with sim racing and racing games since the 1980's. My first taste of live auto racing was in 1988, and I couldn't get enough ever since. Lead writer for RaceDepartment, and owner of SimRacing604 and its YouTube channel. Favourite sims include Assetto Corsa Competizione, Assetto Corsa, rFactor 2, Automobilista 2, DiRT Rally 2 - On Twitter as @simracing604

More in F1 & Motorsport

Comments

J
In regards to the Mercedes protest, surely all they can do is fire or at least penalise Masi. Red Bull and Verstappen haven't done anything wrong here, they were just the benefactors who happened to be there after the 'breach' in safety car procedure.
 
CreamyCornCob
TWO PROTESTS Filed by Merc.
In F1, NASCAR etc, they are never going to take away a win, even more so the world championship.

Its a "known" in motorsport that its paramount that fans leave the track knowing who the winner is.
And here: the world.

What would have been worse is this thing ending under yellow when there was a chance to finish it under green. And they did what they had to do to finish it under green.
 
A
Turk said:
They didn't hand it too him though. Red Bull were able to gamble on putting on new tyres in the event the race didn't finish behind a safety car. Hamilton had the option to pit too and didn't take it.
Click to expand...
Hamilton had not the same opportunity: 1) the gap was too small; 2) because of the safety car, Verstappen had all the time in the world to close the gap before the restart.
This race should have been red flagged or ended under S.C.
 
C
Max under investigation for overthinking behind the safety car. I noted it at the time. I am guessing nothing will be done to change the outcome
 
graham123
Well what a race!!! The whole season summed up in one race, glad to see Max as Champion, but also feel a bit for Lewis. both drove well and took advantage of what was given to them. However the stewardship leaves a whole lot to be desired!!!

However thats motor racing..And thats why I love it!!!
 
Last edited:
A
GaryM05 said:
I think the problem I have with it is that they communicated one decision (to not clear the lapped cars), and then communicated a different decision (to only clear the cars between Lewis and Max, rather than ALL of the lapped cars as would be the norm). Earlier in the weekend the comment had been made that race control wouldn't consider the championship when making the right decision for safety, etc, and I feel like in the end they didn't stick with that when they decided to only clear the lapped cars between Max and Lewis.

In the end it was a great season and I'm fine to see either Max or Lewis win...I just wish it hadn't been a last-minute changed decision and frantic execution at the end of such a great season.

Happy Holidays all - enjoy the season!
Click to expand...
That's right, I didn't notice, only the few cars between 44 and 33 were allowed to overtake. Why not the others ? Does it make the decision illegal ?
 
P
So there it is Merry Xmas. Where's that popcorn avatar :D
Watch those comments boys and girls -- ban hammer is red hot I see

No, 2022 is much anticipated. Two drivers each 200 points ahead of the rest says more about the cars than anything else.
 
takfar
CreamyCornCob said:
TWO PROTESTS Filed by Merc.
In F1, NASCAR etc, they are never going to take away a win, even more so the world championship.

Its a "known" in motorsport that its paramount that fans leave the track knowing who the winner is.
And here: the world.
Click to expand...
Yea, there is, in fact, precedent for changing results post-race in F1. Not saying it will, but it’s happened before.
 
numbersevenhull
Two protests from Mercedes - one for overtaking under the safety car; and one on safety-car procedure, article 48.12

"If clerk of the course considers it safe to do so, and the message "LAPPED CARS MAY NOW OVERTAKE" has been sent to all teams, any cars that have been lapped by leader will be required to pass the cars on the lead lap and the safety car."

In this case, only Norris, Alonso, Ocon, Leclerc and Vettel were allowed to overtake it - they were the cars between Hamilton and Verstappen. Ricciardo, Stroll and Schumacher were not.

In other words, the sporting regulations do not cover this specific situation.

There is also this part of that article: "Unless clerk of the course considers the presence of the safety car is still necessary, once the last lapped car has passed the leader the safety car will return to the pits at the end of the following lap." There was no lap in between.
 
Lesley Buurlage
AncalagonTotof said:
That's right, I didn't notice, only the few cars between 44 and 33 were allowed to overtake. Why not the others ? Does it make the decision illegal ?
Click to expand...
only explanation i think of was the cars behind verstappen not being backmarkers, which would have made a logistical nightmare if the stewards wanted to finish the race under green
 
S
A basic Q to satisfy my understanding in relation to the last SC after the Latifi incident;
With which rule reference could the stewards justify "fixed field" (before the last-minute change of mind)?
Sorry, if the Q has already been asked, don't have the time for reading the full thread right now.
 
Last edited:
Mekonrider
This was probably the plot line or Stallone's F1 film before he had to make Driven instead.

You literally could not make this up.
 
Enthilzha
Imagine what would happen if we found out that RB had had a quiet word with Latifi's mechanics just prior to his crash?! 'Hey Nicholas... can you do us a favour mate?!' Just kidding of course.

It does look that Mercedes may have point with their protests though. Wouldn't be the fault of RB and Max at all but here are the regulations:

""Unless clerk of the course considers the presence of the safety car is still necessary, once the last lapped car has passed the leader the safety car will return to the pits at the end of the following lap."

There was no lap in between."

Also:

"Article 39.12 of sporting regs says: "If clerk of the course considers it safe to do so, and the message "LAPPED CARS MAY NOW OVERTAKE" has been sent to all teams, any cars that have been lapped by leader will be required to pass the cars on the lead lap and the safety car."

In this case, only Norris, Alonso, Ocon, Leclerc and Vettel were allowed to overtake it - they were the cars between Hamilton and Verstappen. Ricciardo, Stroll and Schumacher were not.

In other words, the sporting regulations do not cover this specific situation."

Quoted from the BBC.

Though I suspect that the end result will not be affected, it's going to take a while to sort out and be potentially very messy.
 
Italotracks
I wanted Verstappen to prevail, but Mercedes have every right to feel aggrieved. You can't just go changing the rules on the fly to make for a more exciting climax. All lapped cars should have passed, or none should, not just a select few that were in the way.
If Mercedes had known, I'm sure they would have had Hamilton on fresh tyres as well.
Glad Schumacher's 7 titles still haven't been topped, for another year at least...
 
Last edited:

Latest News

Article information

Author
Mike Smith
Article read time
3 min read
Views
91,792
Comments
1,280
Last update

Share this article

Back
Top