Until 2020, Mercedes had won every Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in the V6 hybrid era – but Red Bull have won the last four races at Yas Marina Circuit from pole position. Here’s everything you need to know about each team’s history at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix!
RED BULL
WINS: 7, POLES: 7, PODIUMS: 13 | 2023 ABU DHABI GRAND PRIX RESULT: VERSTAPPEN 1st, PEREZ 4th
Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull took victory at the inaugural Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The German gave the team another two wins here, in 2010 and 2013, but Red Bull did not win again until 2020. Max Verstappen has recorded victory here in all of the last four years, with his 2021 win securing him his first World Championship victory.
Verstappen’s third place in 2018 marked the first time Red Bull finished on the podium at the track since their last 1-2 finish in 2013. In 2022, with Verstappen winning and Sergio Perez third – the team scored their first double podium result at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix since 2013.
The team have suffered four DNFs at Yas Marina – their most recent being for Perez in 2021. Every time their cars have reached the finish line, they’ve always finished in points-paying positions.
Red Bull have never failed to reach the final part of qualifying at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, however Sebastian Vettel was excluded from qualifying here in 2012 after running out of fuel, while both their cars were excluded in 2014 for having illegal front wings.
The team has taken seven poles in total at the track, including in each of the last four seasons. Max Verstappen’s 2020 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix pole was the team’s first at Yas Marina Circuit since 2013. In 2022, the team recorded their first front row lockout at the track since 2013.
MERCEDES
WINS: 6, POLES: 6, PODIUMS: 14 | 2023 ABU DHABI GRAND PRIX RESULT: RUSSELL 3rd, HAMILTON 9th
Mercedes won every Abu Dhabi Grand Prix from 2014 to 2019 but have failed to win in the last four years. They scored 1-2 finishes in 2015, 2016 and 2017.
Though they have not won in the past three seasons, Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton both finished on the podium in second and third respectively in 2020, Hamilton finished as runner-up in 2021 and George Russell finished third in 2023. 2022 is the only time since 2012 that neither Mercedes driver finished on the podium at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
In 2022, Lewis Hamilton retired from the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. In the last ten races at the circuit, Nico Rosberg’s 14th place here in 2014 is the only other time that a Mercedes car has failed to score points at Yas Marina Circuit.
Mercedes have recorded two other DNFs here, both as a result of crashes. Michael Schumacher was spun and hit by Vitantonio Liuzzi in 2010, while Rosberg flew over the HRT of Narain Karthikeyan in 2012.
In 2018, Mercedes became the first team to take five consecutive front-row lock-outs at any circuit, having set the two fastest qualifying times here in every season since 2014. They did so for a sixth time in 2019, but Valtteri Bottas was forced to start from the back of the grid following an engine penalty.
2020 was the first time since 2013 that Mercedes did not take pole here, with Bottas qualifying second and Lewis Hamilton third. Hamilton qualified on the front row again in 2021, while 2022 was the first time since 2013 that neither Mercedes appeared on the front row. Neither driver was on the front row again in 2023.
Michael Schumacher’s Q2 exit in 2012 and George Russell’s Q2 exit in 2023 are the only times a Mercedes driver has failed to reach the final part of qualifying at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
FERRARI
WINS: 0, POLES: 0, PODIUMS: 10 | 2023 ABU DHABI GRAND PRIX RESULT: LECLERC 2nd, SAINZ DNF
Ferrari are yet to take a victory at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, though 2020 is the only season since 2015 in which neither Ferrari driver has finished on the podium at the event.
Neither driver scored a point in 2020, marking the first time that the Scuderia failed to score at Yas Marina Circuit since the inaugural race in 2009. Kimi Raikkonen’s retirement in 2018 and Carlos Sainz’s late-race DNF in 2023 are the only other times that a Ferrari driver has failed to score at the track.
The team’s best result here is second place. Fernando Alonso finished as runner-up in 2011 and 2012, Sebastian Vettel finished second in 2018 and Charles Leclerc finished second in both 2022 and 2023.
Ferrari have never taken pole position at Yas Marina Circuit. In 2023, Charles Leclerc became the first Ferrari driver to qualify on the front row at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Before Leclerc’s second place, the team’s best qualifying result here was third, which they’ve achieved five times in total.
Fernando Alonso’s Q2 exit in 2013, Sebastian Vettel’s Q1 and Q2 exits in 2015 and 2020 respectively and Carlos Sainz’s Q1 elimination in 2023 are the only times since 2010 that a Ferrari driver has failed to reach the final part of qualifying at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
In 2009, neither driver reached Q3; the only time so far that has happened here. 2020 is the only time since 2014 that no Ferrari drivers qualified in the top five at the circuit.
McLAREN
WINS: 1, POLES: 2, PODIUMS: 4 | 2023 ABU DHABI GRAND PRIX RESULT: NORRIS 5th, PIASTRI 6th
Lewis Hamilton’s win at the 2011 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix remains McLaren’s only victory at Yas Marina Circuit to date. In 2010 and 2011, both Hamilton and Jenson Button finished on the podium – but the team has not finished on the podium since then.
Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz finished in fifth and sixth in 2020 – the team’s first finishes in the top seven since 2014. Norris has scored points with the team in all of the last five seasons, while Daniel Ricciardo joined him in 2022 and Oscar Piastri also scored in 2023. The team have had four double points appearances at the track in the last five years.
2009 and 2015 are the only seasons in which neither McLaren picked up points at Yas Marina Circuit, while 2019 marked the first time that both McLaren drivers scored points at the track since 2011.
A McLaren driver qualified on the front row for all of the first four Abu Dhabi Grands Prix, with Lewis Hamilton taking pole in both 2009 and 2012. Between 2015 and 2018, Fernando Alonso’s ninth place in qualifying in 2016 was the only time a McLaren driver qualified in the top ten.
In every season since 2019, both McLaren drivers have reached Q3 at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Lando Norris’ third place in qualifying in 2021 marked the team’s best qualifying result here since their last pole position. Oscar Piastri also qualified third with the team in 2023.
Other than the last five seasons, 2010, 2011 and 2012 are the only other seasons in which the team has reached Q3 with both cars. Fernando Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne in 2015 and 2018 respectively are the only McLaren drivers to have been eliminated in Q1 at Yas Marina Circuit.
ASTON MARTIN
WINS: 0, POLES: 0, PODIUMS: 0 | 2023 ABU DHABI GRAND PRIX RESULT: ALONSO 7th, STROLL 10th
Aston Martin failed to score any points at the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. It’s the only time that the Silverstone-based team has failed to score at Yas Marina Circuit since 2011. They have scored with both cars at Yas Marina Circuit on eight occasions – including in each of the last two seasons.
The team has recorded three retirements at the track in the last six years: Esteban Ocon in 2018, Lance Stroll in 2019 and Sergio Perez in 2020. Their best result here came under their Force India guise in 2015, when Perez scored a fifth place finish.
Perez is also responsible for the team’s best qualifying result at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, having qualified fourth in 2015. 2014 is one of four occasions that both of Team Silverstone’s cars have reached Q3 at the event. It has not happened since 2017.
Since 2010, Paul di Resta is the only one of the Silverstone-based team’s drivers to have been eliminated in Q1. He was out in Q1 in 2013.
ALPINE
WINS: 0, POLES: 0, PODIUMS: 0 | 2023 ABU DHABI GRAND PRIX RESULT: OCON 12th, GASLY 13th
The Enstone-based team has recorded one win at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, with Kimi Raikkonen victorious for Lotus in 2012. The team have had few big results here since, with just three more top six finishes in the last 12 races at Yas Marina Circuit.
For the first time since 2010, both of the Enstone team’s cars scored at the 2020 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Both drivers finished in the top ten again in 2021. Neither driver picked up points at the 2023 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, which marked the team’s sixth point-less visit to the track.
Between 2012 and 2018, the team recorded one retirement at every Yas Marina race. Fernando Alonso recorded the team’s first retirement since then in 2022.
During Renault’s comeback stint between 2016 and 2020, their best result here was sixth, scored in both 2017 and 2018. Renault’s only better result came back in 2010, when Robert Kubica finished fifth, just ahead of team-mate Vitaly Petrov.
In 2019, the Enstone team recorded their first double Q3 appearance at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix since 2012. In 2012, Kimi Raikkonen recorded the Enstone team’s best qualifying result to date at the circuit with fourth on the grid. In the last three seasons one Alpine driver has progressed to Q3, while the other has been out in Q2. One of the team’s drivers has qualified 11th in four of the last six years.
WILLIAMS
WINS: 0, POLES: 0, PODIUMS: 2 | 2023 ABU DHABI GRAND PRIX RESULT: ALBON 14th, SARGEANT 16th
With a 2-3 finish, 2014 is the only season in which Williams have recorded podium finishes at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. With the 2014 race being a double points race – the only one in Formula 1’s history – Williams became the team to have scored the most points in a single race; a record which is unlikely to be broken any time soon.
Williams have not scored at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix since 2017, when Felipe Massa finished tenth on his last appearance with the team.
2012 is the only year aside from 2014 in which both Williams drivers have finished in the points at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. In 2021, Williams recorded their first double retirement at the track, while Nicholas Latifi, on his final appearance, also failed to finish in 2022. Valtteri Bottas’ retirement here in 2016, on his final race appearance with Williams, is the only other time that the team has recorded a DNF at the circuit.
The team’s best qualifying performance here is third, which both Pastor Maldonado and Valtteri Bottas achieved in 2012 and 2014 respectively.
Williams recorded a double Q1 exit for the fifth season in succession at the 2022 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Qualifying 14th for the 2023 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Alex Albon became the first Williams driver to make it out of Q1 at the track since 2017. Rubens Barrichello, who failed to set a time in qualifying in 2011, was the only Williams driver who had been eliminated in Q1 before 2018.
VISA CASH APP RB
WINS: 0, POLES: 0, PODIUMS: 0 | 2023 ABU DHABI GRAND PRIX RESULT: TSUNODA 8th, RICCIARDO 11th
Prior to 2021, the former Toro Rosso team scored only ten points at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Four of those points were scored by Pierre Gasly in 2020 with his eighth place finish, while Daniil Kvyat’s ninth place in 2019 was the first time a Red Bull junior driver had scored at the event since Daniel Ricciardo in 2012.
In 2021, the team – by then in its AlphaTauri guise – recorded a double top five result, with Yuki Tsunoda finishing fourth and Pierre Gasly finishing fifth. Neither driver scored in 2022, but Tsunoda finished eighth and led laps during the 2023 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Only the Enstone team has a lower finish rate at Yas Marina Circuit than the Red Bull junior team. They have recorded six non-finishes – including a double DNF in 2016. Since then, however, they have recorded just one DNF here: for Pierre Gasly, in 2018.
Until 2021, Daniil Kvyat was the only driver for this team to have qualified above tenth place. He recorded their best qualifying result at the circuit with fifth place in 2014 and qualified seventh in 2020. Yuki Tsunoda then reached Q3 in 2021, qualifying in eighth place and reached Q3 again in 2023, this time qualifying sixth.
2020 was the first time since 2014 that both Red Bull junior team drivers reached Q3 at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Both drivers were out in Q1 in every season between 2016 and 2018.
SAUBER
WINS: 0, POLES: 0, PODIUMS: 0 | 2023 ABU DHABI GRAND PRIX RESULT: ZHOU 17th, BOTTAS 19th
In 2018, Charles Leclerc finished seventh for Sauber at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, marking the team’s only points-scoring race at the track since 2012. Nick Heidfeld’s fifth place in the first race at the track in 2009 remains the Sauber team’s best result to date, while Kamui Kobayashi is the only other Sauber driver to have scored here, finishing tenth in 2011 and sixth in 2012.
The team failed to score at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix under their Alfa Romeo guise. Until 2021, Marcus Ericsson’s retirement on his final appearance in 2018 was the only time that one of their cars had not finished the race. In 2021, also on their final appearances with the team, both Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Givoinazzi failed to reach the chequered flag.
The former Sauber team have suffered four double Q1 exits at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in the last eight seasons, while 2018 is the only season in the past 11 years in which neither of their cars have been eliminated in Q1.
Since 2013, Charles Leclerc is the only Sauber driver to have reached Q3 here, doing so by qualifying eighth in 2018. 2009 remains the only year in which both Sauber drivers have reached the final part of qualifying at the Yas Marina Circuit.
HAAS
WINS: 0, POLES: 0, PODIUMS: 0 | 2023 ABU DHABI GRAND PRIX RESULT: HULKENBERG 15th, MAGNUSSEN 20th
While Haas are yet to record a retirement at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, only one of their cars started the race here in 2021 after Nikita Mazepin tested positive for coronavirus. Romain Grosjean finished ninth and Kevin Magnussen finished tenth in the 2018 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, that being Haas’ only points scoring appearance so far at the Yas Marina circuit.
Romain Grosjean and Nico Hulkenberg are the only Haas drivers who’ve reached Q3 at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Grosjean qualified seventh in 2018, while Hulkenberg qualified eighth in 2023. Grosjean’s Q1 exits in 2017 and 2019 were the only times until 2020 that a Haas car had been eliminated in the first part of qualifying at the Yas Marina Circuit.
Both Magnussen and Pietro Fittipaldi were out in Q1 in 2020, while Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin locked out the back row in 2021. Magnussen was also out in Q1 in both 2022 and 2023.
