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

AngryWolfCorey
JayOTT said:
But unlike Nascar, there is some precedent for race wins getting taken away after the fact in F1. Senna losing a win at Suzuka 1989 is among the more famous examples (that gave Prost the title that year).
Click to expand...
And that Senna penalty was levied when others had used the same escape road & were not penalized.
 
Jim Layee
Italotracks said:
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...
Click to expand...

As we've seen making up rules on the fly has been Masi's style all season.
 
S
Premium
That was a bit wrong at the end,exciting but still quite wrong,it’s becoming more scripted than fifa.After all it is motorsport not an episode from another show ;).Welldone to all Redbull and Mercedes fans and staff.
 
ParkYongLee
Italotracks said:
All lapped cars should have passed
Click to expand...
The rules state "any car" but they question now: What does that mean? Is any car = all cars? It is not set in the rules.
Same goes for Verstappens "overtaking under SC". They question what is an overtake: Is the frontwing being 2cm upfront in a corner already an overtake or does the car need to be further?
 
Stuart Thomson
Premium
Merc got screwed at the end there, but not sure anythings going to be done that reverses the result. No-one is going to decide to reverse the decision of the championship in the office of the people who screwed it up in the first place.

This is why it's all so unsatisfying, because even if Merc have a 100% stone cold case, they won't win an appeal to the extent that it reverses the championship, which would be heaping yet another circumstantial inconsistency on top.
 
Italotracks
ParkYongLee said:
The rules state "any car" but they question now: What does that mean? Is any car = all cars? It is not set in the rules.
Same goes for Verstappens "overtaking under SC". They question what is an overtake: Is the frontwing being 2cm upfront in a corner already an overtake or does the car need to be further?
Click to expand...

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."

'Any cars' has to mean all cars. The regulation makes no mention of picking and choosing, as far as F1 regulations go it's actually very clear. 'Any cars lapped by the leader will be required' means all lapped cars must go through. It's pretty clear to me that the rule hasn't been followed.
 
D
CreamyCornCob said:
They got the lapped cars out of the way, as it would have been.
They got Latifi cleaned up and off the track as quickly as possible.
Race director got the race to finish under green. Fairly..... and per the rules.

Nothing WWF about it, I think someone might be bitter who lost here. That's ok too.
Click to expand...
They didn't follow the rules of the sport. Had the rules been followed, Verstappen would have had to overtake those lapped cars or the race would have ended under the safety car.

I don't have a horse in this race, I'm not a big fan of either driver.

It was a contrived exciting finish, which is great and all that, but the rules of any sport should be followed, otherwise the sport isn't really sporting.

The rules weren't followed at the start either, so maybe the race director was balancing the books, but the minute that last lap started Hamilton was always going to lose.

A red flag would have been the better option, with both drivers starting first and second on new tyres.

As for the "bitter" comment, that's levelled at anyone who contests the rules not being followed nowadays. I think it's quite juvenile.
 
Last edited:
Stuart Thomson
Premium
ParkYongLee said:
The rules state "any car" but they question now: What does that mean? Is any car = all cars? It is not set in the rules.
Click to expand...
It kind of is. "Any car" is all that meets the condition in question (in this case ones that had been lapped). In this case, the entire field gets spilt into 2 sets: cars that meet the condition, and those that don't. There is no equivocation in the rules that say "some".

None of which is ANY of the teams' fault. Red Bull are obviously taking the way it worked out for them as the "correct" way, but its not the way it's worded. Again, all so unsatisfying.
 
Terry Rock
Charley Whiting must be rolling in his grave.
Think about all the past races during the time he was in charge.
Did you ever hear him take any kind of lobbying while the race was underway.
Masi sure mucked it up this season.
 
Last edited:
Zolazem
Premium
It will be better for everyone that Toto the loser Wolf will leave Formula 1 rather sooner then later. Most annoying personality in F1 history. When Lauda still was between us this unsportsmanlike behavior never happened. We miss you Niki!
 
blekenbleu
Premium
I wonder whether that restart was influenced by misgivings about letting Lewis keep that lap one off-track pass.
 
Stuart Thomson
Premium
blekenbleu said:
I wonder whether that restart was influenced by misgivings about letting Lewis keep that lap one off-track pass.
Click to expand...
I wouldn't rule this out, yeah. The difference though, is Verstappen had literally the whole race to get it back, the restart was it - bang, done. Bit of a disparity in circumstances, another inconsistency.
 
takfar
blekenbleu said:
I wonder whether that restart was influenced by misgivings about letting Lewis keep that lap one off-track pass.
Click to expand...
I suspect it was, unfortunately. Merc might have been better off having let MV through and fighting it out on the track. I bet if it that incident hadn’t been hanging there, the wonky decision to clearly give RB an advantage at the end wouldn’t have happened.

Well, shoulda coulda, the only way this result might change is if they decide to consider the SC shouldn’t have come in and accept the result of the last lap under SC instead, which would be fair, but even messier and very unlikely.
 
D
blekenbleu said:
I wonder whether that restart was influenced by misgivings about letting Lewis keep that lap one off-track pass.
Click to expand...
Yes I think it was. Hamilton should have given the place back. It's a shame there wasn't a stronger Race Director in charge. Verstappen probably would have won it if the rules had been followed from the start anyway, but it's a shame it ended with this farce.

They're both amazing drivers. Next season should be a cracker too.
 
Last edited:
RichardHessels
Hamilton drove brilliantly. But Mercedes left him out twice for the sake of position. While they would have overtaken Max with ease a second time on fresh tires.
Hamilton already warned them he would have problems getting them to the end.
Well done for Red Bull and Checo, that's how you work together.
Mercedes gambled on one horse.
Not the first time they lost a race because the where to cautious.
Hurray for the new King!
 

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