This year Formula 1 closed the final Grand Prix season at the Yas Marina Island, Abu Dhabi with Max Verstappen winning the race night as well and Charles Leclerc and George Russel winning the 2nd and 3rd podiums, respectively. 

Max Verstappen has been unstoppable this season; arguably having the best year of any champion. Despite the fact that the Dutch champion has won the last three races at Yas Marina, it is indeed every driver’s will want to finish the season with a victory.

The first two practice sessions at the Yas Marina circuit took place on November 24th, followed by the final practice and qualifying round on November 25th, and the Grand Prix on 26th November.  

Strategy and set-up keys

Former F1 strategist for Aston Martin, Bernie Collins says, “Abu Dhabi is another race held at dusk, which means that during the crucial second practice, qualifying, and race sessions – all of which begin as the sun sets and go into complete darkness – the track temperatures will drop.” 

Since it’s the final race of the season, the paddock atmosphere will be different than usual. Many people will be stopping to chat with colleagues about their holiday plans, and it’s frequently a driver’s or team member’s final race with a team or in Formula One.

A few peculiarities about the location include the pit lane’s underpass at Turn 1 and exit at Turn 2, as well as the occasionally weak radio and GPS signal that passes through the hotel area, which is frequently the location where drivers will be talking about making a pit stop.

About the Yas Marina Track 

The best place to overtake on the Yas Marina Circuit is the 1.2-kilometer straight that runs between turns 5 and 6. In 2021, a chicane was removed to create another excellent overtaking spot before what is currently the turn 5 hairpin.

Despite the controversy, Verstappen passed on Lewis Hamilton in the last lap of the 2021 race at turn five to win the championship. Drivers have only one more realistic opportunity to pass at Turn 9, as the last part of the lap is quite technical.

The night racing style in Abu Dhabi 

2009 saw the first visit of Formula 1 to Abu Dhabi. This one-of-a-kind race, which begins just before dusk and concludes under floodlights, which has become a seasonal mainstay. The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix has been won by six drivers in the past, including Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen, and Valtteri Bottas. 

The 2023 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix hardly saw drivers say goodbye to Formula 1, which is unusual for the season’s last race. While Logan Sargeant’s Williams 2024 seat is still up in the air, all 20 of the current drivers are anticipated to stay with their current teams for the upcoming campaign, and speculators have spotted that Charles Leclerc has also renewed the contract with Ferrari for two more years. 

Present configuration

Last time out in Las Vegas, Max Verstappen achieved a remarkable 18 wins of the season and 20 for his Red Bull team. This meant that the Milton Keynes operation surpassed Mercedes’ record of 19 from 2016 (albeit set with one fewer race).

In the 73-year history of the race, Red Bull would finish with a victory record of 91.3 percent, second only to McLaren’s MP4/4 from 1988 (93.75%).

After making his race debut in 2015, at the age of 17, Verstappen was promoted from Toro Rosso by Red Bull and became a race winner in just over a year. Since then, he has finished first on the podium in each season and, in 2021, he eventually acquired a title-contending vehicle. Verstappen has since achieved incredible feats, taking home all three world titles and 44 of the 66 Grand Prix that were held between that 2021 and 2023 season. At just 26 years of age and a commitment to the dominant F1 team through 2028, there should be a lot more to come.

Throw back to the Iconic Moment

Over the years, Abu Dhabi has hosted many exciting races and championship-clinching weekends, so there are plenty of options to select from for their season’s last memorable moment.

But after searching through the F1 archives, they had decided on the 2010 race, in which Lewis Hamilton of McLaren, Fernando Alonso of Ferrari, and Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber of Red Bull all entered with the hopes of winning the championship.

In the tense and dramatic race that followed, Webber and Alonso suffered traffic-related nightmares while Vettel, who was about 15 points behind the lead going into the race, completed an amazing turnaround by charging to victory over Hamilton.

Quick facts

• 2009 saw the first grand prix
• There were 58 laps
• Lap length: 5,281 metres; Race length: 306.183 kilometres
• Quickest lap time: 1:26.103 Verstappen Max (2021)

Past five Abu Dhabi Grand Prix winners

• Max Verstappen (Red Bull) in 2022
• Max Verstappen (Red Bull) in 2021
• 2020: Red Bull’s Max Verstappen
• Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) in 2019
  2018: Mercedes’s Lewis Hamilton

For the 2024 season, the Formula One schedule has been expanded to a record 24 races, making it more packed than ever.