Yas Marina Circuit: The Ultimate Track Guide

Verstappen and Red Bull won the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix for the fourth season in a row, while Mercedes secured the runner-up spot in the standings and Alonso secured fourth in the Drivers’ Championship.

Ten rookies took to the track in Free Practice 1 at the 2023 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, including two debutants – Zak O’Sullivan and Formula E champion Jake Dennis. There were no incidents for the rookies, aside from a close moment for Jack Doohan, when Logan Sargeant was moving slowly on the racing line ahead of him.

Carlos Sainz brought out the red flags in Free Practice 2, crashing heavily into the barriers. When the session resumed, Nico Hulkenberg brought out another red flag with a crash just beyond Turn 1.

Max Verstappen had been unhappy with the balance in his RB19 throughout practice but that didn’t prevent him from setting the fastest lap time in all three stages of qualifying. Sainz was a surprise elimination in Q1, recording his first Q1 exit in over three years, while Lewis Hamilton exited in Q2 for a second successive race weekend. Yuki Tsunoda impressed, reaching Q3 and qualifying in the top six.

Charles Leclerc lined up alongside Verstappen on the front row of the grid and, despite the Ferrari getting a better initial getaway, Verstappen maintained his lead at Turn 1. Leclerc had two more attempts at taking the lead later around the lap but failed to do so.

While Lando Norris passed McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri, George Russell began to challenge the Australian. He made a move stick on Lap 11. A slow stop for Norris on Lap 15 allowed Russell to gain another place.

Hamilton damaged his front wing after making contact with the locked-up Alpine of Esteban Ocon ahead of him, while Sergio Perez continued his progress from ninth on the grid, passing Alonso and Piastri to run sixth.

Hamilton accused Alonso of brake testing him, as the Aston Martin driver tried to force the Mercedes to pass him ahead of the DRS detection point. On Lap 47, Perez made contact with Norris as the pair battled for fourth place. Perez received a five second penalty for the incident.

As Mercedes and Ferrari’s closely-fought battle for second in the Constructors’ Championship came to a head, Hamilton passed Sainz for ninth position, bagging an extra crucial point for Mercedes. Perez made a clean move on Norris for fourth place on Lap 48, who then set off in hunt of Russell’s third place. He secured the position on Lap 54.

Verstappen signed off from the 2023 season in style, securing his 19^th win of the year but behind him, Leclerc had allowed Perez to pass him in the hope that the Red Bull driver would pull out a five second lead over Russell to nullify his penalty, thus securing Ferrari extra points in the championship battle. The plan failed, with Perez finishing only 3.9 seconds ahead of Russell. The Red Bull driver fell from second to fourth in the final order as a result, which saw Mercedes secure the runner-up spot in the team standings.

Vettel’s glittering Formula 1 career came to an end at the 2022 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, where Verstappen rounded out a dominant season with his 15^th win of the year.

It was set to be a weekend of farewells at Yas Marina Circuit in 2022 – the biggest of all being for 4-time World Champion Sebastian Vettel. This was also the last race weekend for Nicholas Latifi and Mick Schumacher, while Daniel Ricciardo stepped aside from his McLaren seat to move to a third driver role at Red Bull in 2023.

Already having broken the record for most wins in a single season, Max Verstappen sealed pole position for the last race of the year. All eyes were on Charles Leclerc and Sergio Perez, who headed to the season finale level on points in their fight for second in the Drivers’ Championship. Perez qualified ahead, on the front row, while Leclerc started just behind in third place.

Verstappen stayed ahead of his team-mate at the start of Sunday’s Grand Prix, while Leclerc challenged Perez for second – the Red Bull able to stay ahead. Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz went wheel to wheel in the battle for fourth place, Hamilton bouncing over the kerbs and cutting the chicane in the process. Hamilton later gave the position back to Sainz; but was able to take the position back again on Lap 5 – only for Sainz to come past once more three laps later. 

Hamilton lost another position on the next lap to team-mate George Russell. At his pit stop, Russell picked up a time penalty for an unsafe release, with the Mercedes mechanics releasing him into the path of an oncoming McLaren. 

On his final appearance with Alpine, Fernando Alonso retired from the race as it passed its halfway point and he was joined on the sidelines by Nicholas Latifi on Lap 56, who had collided with Mick Schumacher earlier in the race. The German picked up a penalty for the incident. 

A lock up for Perez allowed Hamilton to maintain third place for a few more laps than the Red Bull would have liked, costing him time in his mission to catch Leclerc ahead. A hydraulic issue put Hamilton on the sidelines towards the end of the race. 

Verstappen took an easy victory – his 15^th of the year – and Leclerc secured second in the Drivers’ Championship with Perez unable to catch him. Vettel crossed the finish line for the final time in his career in tenth place and completed donuts along with the podium finishers on the main straight at the end of the race.

Perhaps the most highly anticipated title showdown in Formula 1 history was contested at the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, where Max Verstappen claimed his first World Championship.

After a tense title battle throughout the season, Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton headed into the final race of the season level on points. On the re-profiled Yas Marina Circuit, Kimi Raikkonen’s farewell weekend did not go according to plan with him crashing out at the end of Free Practice 2.

Verstappen took the early advantage with pole position under the floodlights on Saturday evening. While Red Bull opted to start on soft tyres, Hamilton started on the mediums. Despite Red Bull’s expected tyre advantage in the opening laps, Hamilton stormed into the lead at the start. Verstappen attempted to take his lead back later on the opening lap, but was run wide and failed to do so after the pair nearly made contact. Despite Verstappen’s cries for Hamilton to hand him the position, the incident was not penalised by the stewards.

Verstappen made his first pit stop at the end of Lap 13, while Hamilton came into the pits two laps later. Playing the team game, the yet to pit Sergio Perez proved to be a real obstacle for Hamilton. An enthralling wheel-to-wheel battle ensued between the pair. Hamilton eventually found his way by, but Verstappen had closed to within two seconds.

Hamilton continued to lead, with him looking set for an eighth title victory carrying a twelve second advantage with five laps remaining. However, the Safety Car came out following a crash for Nicholas Latifi. Rolling the dice, Verstappen opted to pit for fresh tyres.

With the laps counting down, Michael Masi made the unusual decision to not allow lapped cars to overtake ahead of the restart. However, Masi then changed his mind, allowing a select number of lapped cars to overtake – which put Verstappen right on Hamilton’s tail ahead of the restart.

The race resumed with one lap to go and Verstappen passed Hamilton with relative ease on his fresh soft tyres. The move secured Verstappen his first World Championship victory, with Hamilton unable to make a final move stick. Controversy reigned and, despite protests from the Mercedes team, Verstappen’s title was confirmed later on that evening.