The last qualifying session of the season is done with a few drivers out of place, so let’s take a look at how it went down!
Max Verstappen claimed another pole position, with Charles Leclerc claiming P2 and Oscar Piastri rounded out the top three.
The full top 10 are- P1: Verstappen, P2: Leclerc, P3: Piastri, P4: Russell, P5: Norris, P6: Tsunoda, P7: Alonso, P8: Hulkenberg, P9: Perez and P10: Gasly.
The only team which had both drivers do well i’d say is McLaren both in the top 5, where as Ferrari and Mercedes one driver is outside the top 10 and the other driver inside the top 10.
Piastriiii, what a result from the Australian driver, a nice way to end the season for him and the team, he will be hoping to grab a podium in the race, and help McLaren in their fight for P4 in the Constructors standings with Aston Martin.
A lovely result from Leclerc and Russell, just what the teams would want from them, however with both their teammates starting outside the top 10 they have a lot of work to do, and will be wanting to score as many points as available. Hamilton starts 11th and Sainz 16th.
A really good result from Tsunoda, P6! That equals his best qualifying result in his F1 career. The team will be wanting him to secure points so that they get that P7 in the constructors.
Nicoooo Hulkenbergggg! A lovely little P8 from the Haas driver, he will have high hopes to score points so Haas don’t finish the season at the bottom of the Constructors.
A bit of a rough one from Aston Martin, P7 for Alonso which isn’t too bad, but Lance Stroll 13th, quite a bit of work to do from the Canadian driver if he wants to score some decent points.
Battles to look out for-
As it’s the last race of the season, there will be a lot to look out for the fight in the constructors, so here are the main ones…
Mercedes VS Ferrari for P2
McLaren VS Aston Martin for P4
Williams VS AlphaTauri for P7
Alfa Romeo VS Haas for P9
Sainz, Alonso, Norris and Leclerc all fighting for 4th in the Driver standings.
Victor Martins left it until the last minute but was the man to beat in the final Free Practice of the 2023 Formula 2 season. The ART Grand Prix driver ended the first session of the weekend on top after setting a 1:37.389.
Zane Maloney put Rodin Carlin second with a late effort of his own while Theo Pourchaire kicked off a potentially title-winning weekend as third quickest. Title rivals Ayumu Iwasa and Frederik Vest finished seventh and ninth respectively.
Newcomers Paul Aron and Franco Colapinto were on the track early to get some mileage under their belts ahead of their debut. The latter suffered a spin coming through the right-hander of turn 11 in the early running but was able to avoid the barriers and continue on his way.
After a relatively quiet start to the session, the circuit filled up quickly approaching half an hour remaining as the majority of the field headed onto track. Nissany lowered the time to beat to a 1:38.492 on his next flying lap to lead by 0.6s from Maloney. The red flags were out soon after as Arthur Leclerc came to a halt in his DAMS between turns 1 and 2.
Doohan briefly went to P1 after running resumed, but it was beaten in quick succession. Pourchaire was pipped by teammate Martins by 0.022s with the rookie setting a 1:38.219 to take the spot from the Championship leader.
The full top 10 are- P1: Martins, P2: Maloney, P3: Pourchaire, P4: Doohan, P5: Verschoor, P6: Boschung, P7: Iwasa, P8: Correa, P9: Vesti and P10: Maini.
Qualifying-
Invicta Virtuosi Racing’s Jack Doohan secured the final pole position of the season with a 1:35.567, beating out Alpine Academy drivers Victor Martins and Kush Maini.
In the title fight, Theo Pourchaire has a difficult weekend ahead of him after missing the top 10 and ending qualifying down in 14th position. Direct rival, Frederik Vesti will start tomorrow’s Sprint Race from the reserve grid front row after ending the session in ninth.
Trident’s Roman Stanek was the first to get a time on the board with a 1:37.591. His effort didn’t stay top for long as Ayumu Iwasa went quickest with a 1:37.181, three tenths ahead of Amaury Cordeel.
Martins jumped straight back into things after topping Free Practice, launching himself 0.489s clear of the DAMS’ driver on a 1:36.692. Doohan sliced the ART Grand Prix driver’s advantage to two tenths, as Ralph Boschung and Maini slotted both Campos Racing cars inside the top four.
After a brief break in the pitlane, the field were back out with 16 minutes remaining. Iwasa regained the fastest time on a 1:36.085, and Martins’ response left him 0.008s adrift of the DAMS driver.
However, Doohan was on a charge, breaking into the 1:35s and rocketing up into provisional pole, two tenths ahead of Maini. Martins and Iwasa tried to find an answer for the Australian but couldn’t. Doohan showed no signs of slowing down, bettering his previous effort to snatch pole by over two tenths.
The full top 10 are- P1: Doohan, P2: Martins, P3: Maini, P4: Maloney, P5: Iwasa, P6: Hauger, P7: Verschoor, P8: Hadjar, P9: Vesti and P10: Fittipaldi.
The tyres have been selected for the last Grand Prix of the 2023 season! The chosen compounds are- C3 (Hard), C4 (Medium) and C5 (Soft).
Nearly all of the drivers started last year’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on the medium tyres. The top three finishers – in order, Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc and Sergio Perez – all stopped just once to put on the hard tyre, between laps 16 and 21.
The Yas Marina lap consists of 16 corners as well as some faster sections, including a 1.2 kilometre straight between turns 5 and 6. The track modifications that took place in 2021 shortened the lap to 5.28 kilometres.
Lewis Hamilton is the most successful driver on five wins in Abu Dhabi, followed by Max Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel (on three wins each). Mercedes and Red Bull are the most successful teams, with six wins each.
We go from the lights of Las Vegas to the Abu Dhabi sunset in the space of just a few days, after a journey of just over 13,000 kilometres, for a race that is now well-established as the season-closer. Yas Marina will host the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix for the 15th time this weekend, and 11 of those have marked the final race of the season.
The track was modified in 2021 to make it faster and more flowing, which also created extra overtaking opportunities, as we saw over the last two races there. Yas Marina is on the lower end of the scale when it comes to tyre demands, despite the vertical loads on the front axle in particular. As a result, we’ve selecting the softest three compounds, with C3 as the hard, C4 as the medium, and C5 as the soft. This is the same choice as last year, and also an identical selection to that seen at Las Vegas last weekend: confirmation of the versatility of the current compounds.
As has become customary now, there will be a test day on the Tuesday after the grand prix with each team fielding two cars: one for young drivers and the other in theory for testing tyres. However, there will be no new compounds to try out: the FIA recently communicated that the 2024 compounds will be the same as this year, with the only change being that there are now five rather than six available of them, due to the elimination of the C0 (which was never used during a race weekend this year). So the test could be helpful for the teams to work on tyre management by gathering data for next season. The teams will have a predetermined tyre allocation for the test. The car doing the tyre work will have 10 sets available at the test, consisting of one C1, one C2, two C5, and three sets each of C4 and C3. Meanwhile, the car for young drivers will have two sets each of C3 and C5 available as well as four sets of C4.
Williams are set to fulfil their final remaining rookie Free Practice 1 outing of 2023 by running their academy driver Zak O’Sullivan in Abu Dhabi – with the Briton and fellow Williams Driver Academy member Franco Colapinto to share driving duties at the subsequent post-season Young Driver Test.
Since 2022, F1’s regulations have included a mandatory pair of FP1 outings per year for drivers who have completed less than two Grands Prix, with each team’s race driver obliged to give up their seat once.
Williams running rookie Logan Sargeant in 2023 used up one of those requirements for the team in Bahrain’s FP1 – while O’Sullivan’s Abu Dhabi experience is set to fulfil the second, the Briton to take over Alex Albon’s Williams FW45 in the final Free Practice 1 session of the year.
I’m really excited to participate in FP1 at Abu Dhabi. I can’t wait to get behind the wheel of the FW45 for the first time and get some good mileage under my belt. In addition to that, I’m returning to the car for the post-season rookie test to further my development with the team.
O’Sullivan on the news.
As O’Sullivan mentions, he will then be run by Williams at the post-season Young Driver Test at the Yas Marina Circuit, sharing driving duties with fellow F3 racer Colapinto – who claimed P4 in the standings in 2023.
The Argentinian driver will also make his Formula 2 debut in Abu Dhabi, ahead of his and O’Sullivan’s promotion to the series in 2024 with MP Motorsport and ART Grand Prix respectively.
Both Zak and Franco have had impressive seasons in Formula 3. We’re now looking forward to giving them the opportunity to drive the FW45 in Abu Dhabi to aid their development as part of their roles in the Williams Racing Driver Academy. The pair have demonstrated a high level of understanding and maturity during their simulator work conducted at Grove. I know they’ll both be working hard in preparation for this experience and will make the most of it.
Formula 2 racer, Jack Doohan will get behind the wheel for the Alpine F1 team during first practice in Mexico and Abu Dhabi.
The 20 year old is currently sitting fourth in the F2 drivers’ standings with one round remaining. Doohan – now into his second season with the Alpine Academy – previously took part in the same two FP1 sessions for the outit during the latter stages of the 2022 campaign.
Despite his first outing in Mexcio City being cut short due to “anomalies” on his Renault power unit, the Australian admitted that the memory of making his Formula 1 weekend debut was something he would “cherish forever”.
Now Doohan will return to the cockpit when he drives the A523 with F1 teams required to run a young driver – defined as someone who has started no more than two Grands Prix – in two FP1 sessions per season.
The Abu Dhabi weekend will feature both the Formula 1 and Formula 2 season finales so it is likely to be a busy event for Doohan who enter the F2 final round with a seven point advantage over fellow Alpine Academy driver Victor Martins.
Very grateful to BWT Alpine F1 team for the opportunity to drive the A523 in Free practice at the Mexican and Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Can’t wait to go through the motions in a weeks time and hop into the car!
It was a frenetic start to the final sprint race of the 2022 season, but not for Verschoor who calmly kept his rivals behind him to retain the lead off the line.
Jehan Daruvala and Enzo Fittipaldi collided and hit the barriers at Turn 3 and bringing out the Red Flag as the end of the opening lap. Slotting back into position for the rolling restart on Lap 3, Verschoor got a good getaway to hold the lead.
The cooler early evening conditions left the field struggling to light up their tyres. After being passed by Frederol Vesti for P11, Ayumu Iwasa attempted to go round the outside of the Dane at Turn 9.
Out front, Verschoor was unable to pull out of Lawson’s DRS window. It wouldn’t take long for Lawson to pounce on Lap 10 – going late on the brakes to catch the Trident driver by surprise and snatch the lead.
A lock up for VAR driver Cordeel, allowed Drugovich to slot his way through into third and left Cordeel at the mercy of Hauger, who made his own move on the Belgian into Turn 6. Missing the corner, Hauger tactically gave the place back into Turn 10, in order to avoid losing out to Sargeant and Doohan behind.
Lawson, had extended his advantage lap-by-lap and drove off into the distance to claim victory by a whopping 7.9s ahead of Verschoor and Drugovich.
LIAM LAWSON WINS THE SPRINT RACE!!! 🏆
The @redbullracing Reserve and Academy driver takes an incredible win under the lights in Abu Dhabi 👏
Iwasa moved to cover off his teammate immediately at the start bu Roy Nissany had the momentum. The duo remained side-by-side into Turn 2 until the Red Bull junior claimed the lead heading down the hill into the hairpin.
Drugovich made the move for P3 immediately as Theo Pourchaire went wide in the first corner and fell back to fifth as a result.
At Turn 6, the Carlin teammates were fighting for position, with Lawson overtaking Sargeant out of the chicane for sixth. Into Turn 9, Ralph Boschung spun and couldn’t get going again, bringing out the Virtual Safety Car.
There was a close call for Drugovich on Lap 13, into the Turn 6 braking zone, the MP driver thought about a late dive but had to bail on the move. He narrowly avoided running into the back of the DAMS driver and dropped to over a second behind Iwasa.
Doohan finally pitted on Lap 26 after running further than everyone else barring Enzo Fittipaldi. He looked to be re-joining fifth on the road but after filtering back out on track, lost his front left tyre, forcing him out of the race.
Onto the final lap and the gap for the win stood at just 0.5s. Drugovich, forced Iwasa to go on the defensive into Turn 6 and had DRS once again into Turn 9. Iwasa just about held Drugovich at bay to take his second win in F2. Lawson closed up at the end to make it two podiums from two in the final weekend.
What a season, but more importantly the final race weekend of the 2022 season is complete which means it was Sebastian Vettel’s last race as well.
The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is the race where it decides the runner-up this season, as well as the closeness in the Constructors too.
But it was Max Verstappen who wins the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix making it 15 wins in a season for the Dutchman, Charles Leclerc comes home to make it 2nd, and also second in the drivers championship too. Sergio Perez rounds out the podium, after falling short not being able to overtake the Monegasque driver.
The full top 10 are- P1: Verstappen, P2: Leclerc, P3: Perez, P4: Sainz, P5: Russell, P6: Norris, P7: Ocon, P8: Stroll, P9: Ricciardo and P10: Vettel.
First and foremost it was wonderful to see Seb get points in his last race, as well as Daniel too. Two out of four drivers leaving the sport this weekend, but managing to hold on and get points is probably more than what they could wish for!
Not the best race for Mercedes, they had their first mechanical retirement of the season, as Lewis had to pit due to loosing power because of an hydraulic issue. Their fight for P2 in the constructors was then over.
A good finish for Ferrari, after an up and down season I think they will be pretty pleased with 2nd in the drivers and constructors, there is definitely some things they need to work on if they want to be in the title fight again, but its all apart of learning.
The Championship-
Firstly looking at the Drivers championship, Leclerc finishes his highest in the championship, as well George Russell in his first year as a Mercedes driver. But one person I have to mention, Mr Lando Norris (Mr P7…) being best of the rest and beating out both Alpines.
Now taking a look at the Constructors, Alpine beat McLaren to that all important P4. Alfa Romeo manage to stay ahead of Aston Martin due to Valtteri Bottas’s 5th place in Imola. Haas finish 8th ahead of Alpha Tauri and Williams in P10.
Now, we have 105 days until the next race at the beginning of March and we obviously have testing aswell! It’s been a mad season, keep your eyes peeled for the latest news and some articles coming out soon on the 2022 season!
Ayumu Iwasa, hit the ground running at Yas Marina ending Free Practice being quickest of all, 0.055s ahead of Theo Pourchaire. The DAMS driver strung together his best time early on and nobody could usurp him fro the top spot in the remainging time.
Perfect conditions were presented to the drivers as the first session of the final weekend in 2022 got underway. Following plenty of installation laps, the times tumbled as the track ramped up and Marcus Armstrong put in the early benchmark with a 1:38.987.
Juri Vips had been running in the top three but had a lucky escape, avoiding the barriers at Turn 14 after a snap of oversteer almost led him into the barriers.
A red flag was thrown as the clock ticked underneath 10 minutes to go as Ralph Boschung spun into the barriers between Turns 13 and 14. The session got underway with 3 minutes to go, but nobody could improve over Iwasa’s 1:38.168.
Qualifying-
DAMS proved that its never over until the chequered flag in Formula 2, as Ayumu Iwasa stormed to his second pole position of the 2022 season. With his teammate Roy Nissany putting together an unbelievable lap, only 0.036s down on his teammate to bring home his first front row Feature Race. Theo Pourchaire will be starting 3rd.
Unlike previous visits to the Yas Marina Circuit, the 30 minute session got underway in the blistering mid-afternoon sunshine rather than under the flood lights.
Seven minutes into qualifying and with only half of the field having put a lap on the board, running came to a brief hault. Virtuosi’s Marino Sato suffered a spin underneath the hotel section between Turns 13 and 14 bringing out the red flag and forcing several drivers to abandon their laps.
As predicted pre-session, Sector 3 would prove to e the undoing for several attempts.
The full top 10 are- P1: Iwasa, P2: Nissany, P3: Pourchaire, P4: Drugovich, P5: Doohan, P6: Sargeant, P7: Hauger, P8: Codeel, P9: Lawson and P10: Verschoor.
The final race weekend is here, and its set to be an emotional one as it will be 4 time World Champion’s Sebastian Vettel’s last race as well as saying goodbye to Daniel Ricciardo, Nicholas Latifi and Mick Schumacher…
But, there is still so much up for grabs! The fight for P2 in the Driver standings is still available, as well as the teams getting as many points as possible to see if they can move any further up!
Who needs a good weekend?
McLaren will be hoping for a good weekend as last weekend saw them have a double DNF, not only this they are in the fight with Alpine for fourth in the constructors and will be hoping for a double points finish, which would be a great way to send of the Honey Badger.
Perez will be hoping for a good weekend as Red Bull seeks 1-2 in the Constructors and will be hoping that his teammate will be helping him this time round…
The battle for 6th in the Constructors is heating up as Alfa Romeo sits in 6th on 55 points and Aston Martin in 7th on 50 points, and with Aston Martin having scored quite a few points recently so Alfa Romeo will be hoping to score big.
Predictions-
My top five predictions for qualifying are: P1: Hamilton, P2: Verstappen, P3: Perez, P4: Russell and P5: Leclerc.
I think we will see all top 3 teams in the top 10, maybe a bit mixed up. As well as Lando, Fernando and Ocon mixed up in the top 10 and possibly a Haas or an Aston Martin joining them in the top 10.
McLaren will be saying farewell to their MCL36 car with a special one-off livery for this weekend’s 2022 season finale, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Having run a special paint scheme in Singapore and Japan, McLaren have taken a different route for the season-ending race at Yas Marina, the team having collaborated with Lebanese artist Anna Tangles for the Abu Dhabi livery.
Produced for the Driven by Change programme which was an initiative launched last year to give underrepresented creatives the platform to showcase their work to a global audience through motorsport.
Last season, the team collaborated with Emirati artist Rabab Tantawy for their one-off Abu Dhabi look.
As a lifelong F1 fan, I never believed that I would one day have my artwork showcased at a Grand Prix – and it’s all thanks to Driven by Change. I dedicate my spare time to training and encouraging other artists, particularly other Middle Eastern female creatives, to embrace their passion and skills, and so it’s a privilege to be a part of a community that supports the same ambition of empowering underrepresented artists in this way
Anna Tangles.
We are delighted to represent an emerging artist’s design on our race cars once again, championing creativity together with Vuse. Anna Tangles produces stunning artwork and has a powerful story which perfectly embodies the spirit and values of the Driven by Change campaign. The initiative is building a legacy which we are excited to continue driving, using our global platform to amplify the talent of emerging creatives.
Louise McEwen, executive director of brand and marketing at McLaren.
The last race of the season is here and the tyres have been chosen for this weekend’s Grand Prix. Pirelli have nominated the three softest compounds in the range those being: C3 (Hard), C4 (Medium), C5 (Soft).
The circuit characteristics aren’t particularly demanding for the tyres, as well as the asphalt not being as abrasive, which allows the use of the softer compounds. It’s important to consider the falling track temperature during the race as the chequered flag falls late into the evening.
The Yas Marina circuit is made up of 16 corners as well as some fast sections, where aerodynamics are an important aspect to guarantee a strong performance.
The teams used a number of different strategies at last years Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Verstappen won the race after being on a 3 stop, as he put the soft tyres on 5 laps from the end due to a safety car appearing.
At Abu Dhabi, a truly thrilling season comes to an end. Last year’s modifications to some of the straights and corners on the Yas Marina track have made the circuit faster, balancing the longitudinal and lateral demands on the tyres – whereas previously it was more about traction and braking. Despite these changes to the layout, there is still going to be a lot of attention paid to the rear tyres in order to guarantee the best traction over long stints. On the Tuesday after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the 2023 slick tyres will be tried out during a full day of testing, where the teams will be able to decide their run plans as well as which drivers to use: race drivers or young drivers..
Mario Isla, Motorsport Director.
Formula 2-
Abu Dhabi hosts the final round of this year’s Formula 2 season, two months after the penultimate round in Italy. Whilst the Driver’s title is claimed, the teams title is still up for grabs. The medium compound and soft compounds have been chosen for this weekend. The Sprint race will last 23 laps, whilst the feature race will last 33 laps.
IndyCar drivers, Alex Palou and Pato O’Ward are set to make their Formula 1 race debuts this season, when they run in the first practice sessions for McLaren.
Both drivers have previously driven last year’s McLaren car in private tests, but are now getting a taste of current F1 machinery in a Grand Prix weekend environment, as McLaren look to fulfil their two young drivers practice runs.
The 2021 IndyCar Champion – Palou will be taking over Daniel Ricciardo’s car for FP1 at this weekend’s United States Grand Prix at Austin.
Meanwhile, Arrow McLaren SP driver, Pato O’Ward will be taking the wheel of Lando Norris’ MCL36 in first practice at the season finale in Abu Dhabi.
I’m so excited to be making my F1 weekend debut. It’s great to be driving in the United States in front of fans that may have seen me race in IndyCar. Having driven the 2021 McLaren MCL35M in a few tests now, I can’t wait to put the MCL36 through its paces. I look forward to helping the team in their preparation for the 2022 United States Grand Prix.
Alex Palou on driving for McLaren.
I can’t wait to get out on track in Abu Dhabi. I’ve developed as a driver and had a lot of fun testing last year’s car with the team, so it will be a great experience to drive the MCL36. Thank you McLaren F1 for the opportunity.
Pato O’Ward on driving for McLaren.
We’re pleased to give Alex and Pato the opportunity to take part in Free Practice sessions with McLaren. With Alex’s great successes in IndyCar, it will be useful for the team to get his feedback on the car and for us to continue to evaluate him as a driver. Alex and Pato impressed with their recent tests in Barcelona and Austria and we’re excited to offer them the experience in the MCL36. It’s a great chance for them to showcase their skills on Formula One’s global stage, where the focus will be to help the team prepare for the race weekend and not on ultimate lap times.
To start firstly I just want to say what an amazing season we have had from all 20 drivers, lots of drama in all 22 races, and its been amazing to see! It’s truly one of the best seasons I have witnessed and I hope we can have more like this soon.
We do however have some drivers leaving F1 today, Kimi retiring and Antonio Giovinazzi going to Formula E. We also have some driver changes, Bottas to Alfa Romeo, George to Mercedes. We also have the returning Alex Albon who will be joining Williams and we also have Guaynu Zhou who will be making a step up from Formula 2 to join Alfa Romeo.
Wow, I have no clue what to say in the race we just watched… Just a note before hand I try and keep my blog neutral, so that I don’t favour a driver or a team and just go off pure predictions and how I feel at that time and whenever I state my opinion I make it clear, so thats what I am going to do now.
MY OPINION-
I don’t get how the FIA can make their own rules up during the race. Going against their own rule book is insane it doesn’t present itself well to Formula One fans in general. I think this is what Mercedes fans are most upset about, which I do get. The FIA states in the sporting regulations that:
48.12 If the clerk of the course considers it safe to do so, and the message “LAPPED CARS MAY NOW OVERTAKE” has been sent to all Competitors via the official messaging system, any cars that have been lapped by the leader will be required to pass the cars on the lead lap and the safety car. This will only apply to cars that were lapped at the time they crossed the Line at the end of the lap during which they crossed the first Safety Car line for the second time after the safety car was deployed. Having overtaken the cars on the lead lap and the safety car these cars should then proceed around the track at an appropriate speed, without overtaking, and make every effort to take up position at the back of the line of cars behind the safety car. Whilst they are overtaking, and in order to ensure this may be carried out safely, the cars on the lead lap must always stay on the racing line unless deviating from it is unavoidable. Unless the 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. If the clerk of the course considers track conditions are unsuitable for overtaking the message “OVERTAKING WILL NOT BE PERMITTED” will be sent to all Competitors via the official messaging system.
In my opinion when cars are allowed to un-lap themselves its normally all the cars which are lapped and not the four in-between the two championship contenders. And I get why Mercedes are appealing it, because it clearly states above that lapped cars can overtake- but to make it even more confusing Masi decided that the lap cars would not over-take on the safety car and then decided a little while later they can!
No-one wanted the championship to go this way, with it being taken to get looked at by the FIA, but rules are rules at the end of the day and I feel like Lewis should’ve won this race.
The Race-
Congratulations to Max Verstappen for being Champion, a hard season for both contenders but neither gave up, it saw Lewis coming home in 2nd and Carlos Sainz grabbing one more podium to end the year, he finished P3.
The full top 10 are as follows: P1: Verstappen, P2: Hamilton, P3: Sainz, P4: Tsunoda, P5: Gasly, P6: Bottas, P7: Norris, P8: Alonso, P9: Ocon and P10: Leclerc.
We had 5 DNF’s, first one being Kimi we didn’t want to see him retire on his last race but some things are just out of his control, the next being Russell with a gearbox issue which isn’t the way he wanted his final race with Williams to go.
Giovinazzi was the next to DNF as he had a problem with his car too, Perez had to retire too due to a problem with his car. Then Latifi, crashed which caused the safety car to come out, thankfully Latifi was okay after the his crash.
Lewis Hamilton got off the line just superbly starting P2 on the mediums made it think that Mercedes picked wrong as everyone else around Lewis was on softs, but he took the lead on the first lap! And led the majority of the race, with having stopped quite early on people started to doubt the 7 time world champ with tyres and him struggling towards the end.
WOW, Yuki Tsunoda finishing P4! Making that his best ever finish!! What a way to finish his first year in F1, I cant wait to see how he does next year.
The Championship-
Sainz managed to grab P5 of both Norris and Leclerc, with him finishing on the podium which saw Ferrari clinch 3rd in the Constructors! Norris finished 6th ahead of Leclerc by ONE point.
Mercedes won the constructors by 28 points, it helped having both Mercedes finish and Red Bull only having one car finish the race. Ferrari obviously clinched P3 with McLaren in P4 and Alpine coming home in 5th.
Our final race days for Formula 2 are over unfortunatley but that didn’t mean they weren’t crazy! Lets take a look…
Day 2-
Sprint Race 1-
Well, Daruvala got a brilliant launch as soon as the lights went out, taking the lead into Turn 1, however his team-mate didn’t get as good of a start, it saw Dan Ticktum dropping down the field.
Piastri was looking to wrap up his title during this race, he managed to get up to 6th form 10th at the start, in doing this he was behind his team-mate who was also battling for the championship.
Both Prema’s knew what they had to do, they both climbed up the field, after Shwartzman built up a gap between him and Piastri, he then took the final podium place from Lawson.
But that didn’t last long as Piastri responded and overtook Lawson on the following lap and was back in the tracks of Shwartzman. Both Prema’s looked happy in third and fourth until Piastri spotted a late opportunity and decided to take it at Turn 9 in which the Australian took the final podium spot.
With Oscar finishing 3rd this saw him wrap up the title, making him a 3 time champion in 3 years. With Armstrong finishing 10th this saw him on pole for sprint race 2.
A very crazy start for the second sprint of the day, but not for the race leader, Marcus Armstrong zoomed off into the distant leaving the rest of the field to battle it out.
Boschung and Zhou who was in 2nd and 3rd held their positions well, but everyone behind them wanted action, the newly corwned champ sent his Prema down the outside but a four car wide brawl saw him almost get pushed into the wall…
Even though he missed the wall, the Aussie came away with minor damage as he banged wheels with Lawson, which saw him drop down to 13th where as the Hitech went to 8th, Piastri was then found to be at fault and handed a 5sec time penalty.
The grid was given time to breath and cool down as a safety car appeared due to contact between Deledda and Caldwell at Turn 9, the HWA was forced to retire but Caldwell carried on.
Once the racing resumed Piastri started his charge in which he gained two spots from Nissany and Vips. That didn’t last long as Vips and Nissany came back at Piastri which saw the trio clip wheel, and only Nissany survived, this brought out another safety car as Vips and Piastri climbed out of their cars.
Before the safety car came out Zhou managed to get ahead of Boschung, but once the safety car went away, Zhou was promoted to first as Armstrong then had problems with the car which saw him pull over.
The top 10 is as follows: P1: Zhou, P2: Shwartzman, P3: Boschung, P4: Ticktum, P5: Drugovich, P6: Lawson, P7: Daruvala, P8: Doohan, P9: Pourchaire, P10: Viscaal.
Day 3-
Piastri wanted this race to be one to remember as it is his last in F2, and that he did he got away superbly.
Doohan starting P2, was the only one of the mediums, he was the only one with them out of the top 5 so he managed to cling on to P2 for three corners of wheel-to-wheel racing but Zhou was not giving up, the MP rookie clipped the curb in which he picked up a chunk of marble and went spinning off into the barriers.
Racing resumed when the safety car went in, the pit-stops started going on as Lawson was the first to ditch the super-softs on lap 7 which saw him back on the grid in 20th.
The crossover between prime and the alternate startegies started to arrive with seven laps to go, Armstrong headed in to collect the super-softs and began to pick the drivers with the mediums, he took places off Boschung and Lawson within a lap.
The full top 10 as follows: P1: Piastri, P2: Zhou, P3: Drugovich, P4: Pourchaire, P5: Shwartzman, P6: Ticktum, P7: Armstrong, P8: Vips, P9: Boschung and P10: Verschoor.
That concludes the 2021 Formula 2 season now, with Piastri taking the championship, his team-mate coming home in 2nd and Guanyu Zhou in 3rd who will be graduating to Formula 1 next year!
With the teams championship, Prema wrapped it up last weekend in Jeddah, Uni-Virtuosi managed to pinch 2nd from Carlin, which Carlin then ended up 3rd.
It has been confirmed that Nikita Mazepin will not take part in the race today, as he has tested positive for Covid-19
Mazepin returned the result to an on-site test centre at Yas Marina, he then done a re-test which came back positive too.
Haas will not be putting Pietro Fittipaldi in the car as he has not took part in any practice sessions this weekend, so he is not eligible.
This means that they will only run Mick Schumacher today, who is starting P19.
A joint statement on Mazepin’s positive test said: “The FIA, Formula 1 and Haas F1 Team can today confirm that during onsite PCR testing for the 2021 FIA Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Nikita Mazepin has tested positive for COVID-19. In accordance with COVID-19 protocols he will take no further part in this Event. All contacts have been declared.
“There will be no replacement driver in accordance with article 31.1 of the 2021 FIA Formula 1 Sporting Regulations, which prohibits any driver from starting the race who has not taken part in at least one practice session. The procedures set out by the FIA and Formula 1 will ensure no wider impact on the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.”
Well! I don’t think anyone expected that result from qualifying…
We have Max Verstappen on pole here in Abu Dhabi for the second year running, with Lewis Hamilton joining him on the front row and Mr Lando Norris starting P3!
What a way to close off the final qualifying of 2021, the top 6 are just wow!
Lando Norris WHAT A LAP! I don’t think nobody expected him to put it on the 2nd row but clearly him having his family and friends with him in Abu Dhabi helps!
Brilliant lap from Max too, they used the tow brilliantly and it shows as his on pole. But the thing which gets me is why choose the Softs to start the race on for both drivers… was they forced into the decision? Will it work in their favour tomorrow, it’s all to play for.
The top 10 are as follows: P1: Verstappen, P2: Hamilton, P3: Norris, P4: Perez, P5: Sainz, P6: Bottas, P7: Leclerc, P8: Tsunoda, P9: Ocon and P19: Ricciardo.
Tomorrow is going to be absolutely insane, Max on softs, Lewis on mediums, throw Lando into the mix who is also on softs, we will definitely have an interesting opening lap tomorrow.
This is one of Lewis’ strongest circuits everybody knows that so Mercedes need to get there strategy absolutely perfect and they may even try and go for a one-stop as the medium goes longer than the soft.
Predictions-
Oh this is so tough, as whoever wins out of Lewis and Max tomorrow is going to be champion and either way they both deserve it, they both have had really good races but I will do my top 5…
I’m going to say P1 will go to Hamilton, P2: Verstappen , P3: Norris, P4: Bottas and P5: Perez. I think Verstappen will get fastest lap too!
Ahead of the season finale it got announced that Abu Dhabi will be remaining on our calendar until at least 2030.
The new agreement will keep Formula 1 coming here until the end of the decade, with the Yas Marina Circuit being reconfigured this year ahead of the race specifically in three areas; Turn 7, Turn 11 and Turn 17.
The circuit has become one of the most iconic venues since it came on the calendar in 2009, with the track having held some classic moments of F1 over the years.
This year is no different, with the 2021 Drivers Championship set to be decided on Sunday in either Verstappen’s or Hamilton’s favour.
Speaking of the contract renewal, Formula 1 CEO and President Stefano Domenicali said: “We are delighted to confirm that we will be racing in Abu Dhabi until 2030 under this new agreement. We are hugely looking forward to the season finale this weekend when more Formula 1 history will be made. The promoter, ADMM, always creates an incredible show for the final race of every F1 season and combined with the changes made to improve the racing on the Yas Marina Circuit we are excited for many years of racing in Abu Dhabi that is ahead of us.”
My Opinion-
I think this deal is good, I like the changes they have made to the track and the drivers do as-well so that’s a positive. Obviously we have had no racing yet too see what it’s like for overtaking if it’s possible or not but if we do that’s just another positive in my book!
Our first day of cars on track is over and it was our last free practice and qualifying of the year, lets take a look on what happened!
Free Practice-
Championship leader, Oscar Piastri got the start he wanted this weekend by finishing fastest in free practice, the 1:36.800 was enough to beat Jack Doohan to P1, with Christian Lundgaard in third.
The second weekend in a row both MP’s went out first to get a feel for the track with Clèment Novalak setting the benchmark at 1:59.442.
But his team-mate Jack Doohan topped the times at the end of the first run of flying laps with a 1:37.702 ahead of Marcus Armstrong and Ralph Boschung.
Lundgaard beat Piastri to P1 halfway through the session and he was the first to break the 1m 37s but the Prema driver fought back and re-gained the position by 0.005s.
As the session went on the track conditions were improving after heavy tyre wear, this saw lots of fast times coming through but it was Oscar who stayed at the top.
Qualifying-
Oscar Piastri finished his last qualifying session in Formula 2 with a FIFTH consecutive pole position lapping a 1:35.077, in which he now has four extra points to add to his tally, one step closer to claiming the Drivers title! It was Jack Doohan who impressed the most with him qualifying 2nd in only his second qualifying session in Formula 2 with Guanyu Zhou finishing off the top 3.
PREMA was the early pace setters, with Piastri setting a 1:36.044 ahead of his team-mate and championship rival Robert Shwartzman and Carlins’ Jehan Daruvala.
The times kept coming during the half hour, with improvements being made but none dethroning Piastri. The grid then went in to the pits to change tyres etc so they could come out on a fresh set and see if they can improve their times.
The final top 10 for the feature race on Sunday are: P1: Piastri, P2: Doohan, P3: Zhou, P4: Shwartzman, P5: Boschung, P6: Pourchaire, P7: Lawson, P8: Drugovich, P9: Ticktum and P10: Daruvala.
So for our first Sprint Race tomorrow we have an all Carlin front row, with Jehan Daruvala in P1 and Dan Ticktum in P2. Drugovich in P3 and Liam Lawson in P4 making that our second row.
All eyes are on to tomorrow now, with the battle heating up between the Prema team-mates for the championship!
ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – DECEMBER 10: Oscar Piastri of Australia and Prema Racing (2) drives during qualifying ahead of Round 8:Yas Island of the Formula 2 Championship at Yas Marina Circuit on December 10, 2021 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)
Race week once again and the final one of the year, so lets take a look at everything you need to know, what I think will happen this weekend, and who needs a good weekend to finish this year on a high!
Both Lewis and Max are on equal points going into this weekend? But who will be victorious come Sunday night? Well its all to play for…
I think whatever happens this weekend, we are extremely grateful for the championship battle we have witnessed this year and not just Lewis/Max. Looking further into it, the battle between Perez/Bottas which one would qualify higher up would it be a Red Bull sandwich or a Mercedes?
But going a little bit further down the grid, the battle between McLaren and Ferrari, two great teams and all very good drivers, all in which have been on the podium this year!
Who needs a good weekend?
I feel both Red Bulls need a good weekend, Max has lost the lead in the championship to now be on equal points with Lewis, if he wants to win this on Sunday he will need to have a brilliant Saturday and then again a brilliant Sunday too as the Mercedes engine is very powerful and they have dominated Abu Dhabi a lot (apart from last year). Perez needs a good weekend, obviously he had a DNF last week in which made Mercedes have a bigger gap in the Constructors, so he will be hoping to get a good amount of points this weekend.
Lando needs a good weekend, he lost P5 to Charles last weekend so he will be hoping to be able to get that back, if that wasn’t the only thing he has his ex-team-mate just behind him by 4.5 points as i’m sure he wouldn’t want to loose out on another place in the constructors.
Predictions for Qualifying-
My top five are: Pole- Hamilton, P2: Verstappen, P3: Bottas, P4: Perez and P5: Leclerc. Both Mercedes and Red Bulls will be wanting to get the most out of their car this weekend and get the best position they can!
Gasly could possibly be up in the top 5, like I said last week you can’t count him out of a qualifying session, so it will be either him or Leclerc in top 5, or maybe both of them if a Merc or Bull has a bad qualifying?
McLaren and Vuse revealed their one-off livery design for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix earlier this week.
The design was designed by UAE-based artist Rabab Tantawy as part of the Given by Change campaign for the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Vuse, came up with a campaign called ‘Driven by Change’ this gives up and coming artists who are over 25 a chance to show off their work to gain more recognition and representation.
This is the second time this season McLaren have produced a one-off livery, the first one being in Monaco with their partner Gulf, which got a lot off good attention from the fans.
The livery still contains the popular papaya and blue colours, it features Tantawy’s distinctive Nubian Series all put together to make a masterpiece livery! The livery will be on both MCL35M’s in which they will be pushing for as many points on Sunday to end the year on a high.
“We are excited to bring the art and motorsport worlds together in a ground-breaking way, by sporting Rabab Tantawy’s artwork on our race cars at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Together with Vuse, Driven by Change is a unique opportunity to use our global stage to support rising talent, giving undiscovered creatives the platform they deserve. Rabab’s art is inspiring, and we are proud to take her papaya-influenced creation racing this weekend.”
My Opinion-
I love it, even more so that it comes from an up and coming artist, its definitely one way to get your name out there!
I think the campaign in itself is amazing, and the fact McLaren want it on their car too is something else, I can imagine Rabab Tantawy is having the time of her life right now!
Well for the final time for the 2021 season we take a look at which tyres have been picked!
Our selection is: C3 (Hard), C4 (Medium) and C5 (Soft), even though the track has been modified quite a bit this year, we have the same compound as we did in 2020.
The changes to the track were brought in to provide more overtaking opportunities, this will then increase speeds and loads through some corners.
The track itself-
We will now take a look at the said changes, the first being the chicane that formed Turn 5 and 6 will be bypassed with a straight. The following hairpin has been brought forward slightly and widened, which increases the speed carried into it.
A long and slightly banked turn has now been created to replace the technical complex of corners which were previously Turns 11 to 14. Towards the end of the lap, the four tight corners that route the track around the Yas Marina hotel Turns 17 to 20 have all opened up in which makes it faster.
The changes above have made the circuit shorter by 273 metres, which the race distance has been increased from 55 to 58 laps, and lap times are estimated to fall by 14 seconds.
Last years winning strategy with the same tyre nomination, was medium to hard one stopper, the same used for the top three finishers.
We also have Formula 2 with us this weekend, for the final round of the 2021 Championship, this will be our first time back here since 2019, and its the first time the 18-inch tyres will be used. The tyre nomination will be the same as it was in Jeddah which was the Medium and the Supersoft.
Another Formula 2 race week, another driver change! And its for HWA Racelab again, Jake Hughes will be back in car number 22 for the final weekend of F2 in Abu Dhabi.
Hughes first made his debut in F2 at Sochi in 2019 and finished P12 in the feature race, he then made a return this year in Monza and as well as Sochi in which he scored his first Formula 2 points.
The Brit, has spent two years with HWA’s Formula 3 outfit in which he scored three wins and eight podiums across 2019 and 2020.
He is currently the ROKiT Venturi Racing reserve driver in Formula E and is also the simulator driver for Mercedes’ F1 and championship-winning Formula E outfits.
“I’m really excited to be racing with HWA RACELAB again this weekend,” Jake said. “It’s going to be an emotional weekend with the team as they make their final appearance in the championship – and having raced in both F3 and F2 with HWA since 2019 it’s going to be sad to see them depart. I’m hoping to end the season positively with the team and I always enjoy coming to Abu Dhabi. The changes to the circuit will hopefully make the racing more exciting and if we can end the weekend with more points on the board then it will be a successful outing!”
My Opinion-
I think this is great, we saw back in September that he got comfortable with the car and was able to score some points so maybe the same again this weekend? I’m looking forward to seeing what he does this weekend!
Jordan's Track Talk 