F1: Abu Dhabi Season Finale Preview

Abu Dhabi joined Formula 1’s calendar in 2009 at the Yas Marina Circuit, crafted on the no-expenses-spared Yas Island, around 30 minutes’ drive from downtown.

Next To the Circuit is a huge Theme Park Which Hosts Five Rollercoasters. The Nearby Masdar City, located around 10km from The Circuit, aims to be a Zero-Carbon City.

Abu Dhabi is the largest of The United Arab Emirates and covers 87 Percent of the total area of the country.

Yas Marina has been the traditional location for Formula 1’s curtain closer, holding finales in 2009/10, and then every season since 2014. It has been the venue for several championship deciders, most famously in 2021, when Max Verstappen was crowned World Champion following a last-lap pass on Lewis Hamilton.

The 16-turn 5.2km circuit features two lengthy straights and several medium-speed turns, with the track’s showpiece now the long-radius turn 9, which was introduced in 2021 following a renovation to the layout. The final sector, which includes the track passing beneath the latticed W Hotel, was also opened up, leading to lap
times approximately 13 seconds faster than the pre-2021 layout, and it should be easier to overtake.

What to watch for

Overtaking: The re-profiled corners have changed the dynamic of how a race can play out here in terms of overtaking, and these ground-effect cars are set to take that a step further again this year. Eighty percent of all passes take place at the end of the two long DRS zones – the runs down to Turns Six and Nine.

Strategy: Pirelli brings the softest three compounds to the finale. Despite the softness of the tires and the characteristics of the circuit, tire wear has traditionally not been particularly high here. However, wear has increased in 2022, and easier overtaking may promote additional pit-stops in the race.

Safety Cars: In its earlier years, there were not many Safety Cars in Abu Dhabi but the frequency has picked up somewhat as time has gone on. The past four races have featured three Safety Cars and three VSCs between them, so there is an increasing chance of an interruption altering the outcome of the race.

2nd Place in Constructors Points: With the one-two victory in Interlagos, the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team gained valuable points in the battle for second place in the Constructors’ Championship and is now only 19 points behind Ferrari going into the final race. While Mercedes have improved in the second half of the year, Ferrari have left a significant amount of points on the table through a mixture of poor reliability, strategic errors and occasional driver mistakes. Further down the constructors’ championship standings, there is also unfinished business in the battles for fourth, sixth and eighth.

2nd Place in Drivers Points: Red Bull’s Sergio Perez and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc go into the season finale tied on points. This will be a race within a race to watch out for. Both drivers – to varying degrees – left Brazil frustrated at not receiving more help from their teams, and more specifically their teammates.

Hamilton vs. Verstappen Again: A year on from their epic showdown for the title in Abu Dhabi, Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton arrive at the 2022 season finale with history at stake once more. Having retained his world championship in dominant fashion, Verstappen returns to the Yas Marina Circuit in search of a record-extending 15th race win of the season. The Dutchman surpassed the mark of 13, set by Michael Schumacher in 2004 and then matched by Sebastian Vettel in 2013, by winning in Mexico last month, and after missing out in Brazil has a final chance to extend a record that will take some beating. In great contrast to his 2021 title rival, Hamilton is looking for a first win of what has been a hugely challenging campaign for the seven-time world champion, with Mercedes having been off the pace for much of the year as their eight-year streak of constructors’ titles was ended by Red Bull. The Briton will be trying to extend a streak of having won a race in 15 consecutive seasons (covering his entire career) in F1, which is a record he shares with Michael Schumacher, whose run stretched from 1992 to 2006.

Fact File: Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

• Abu Dhabi made its F1 debut in 2009 as the sport’s first ever twilight race, with the start taking place at sunset. Around 4,700 light fixtures are used to illuminate the track.
• The 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix marked the first race since several modifications had been made to the track layout, changing the lap length from 5.554 km to 5.281 km. The main changes were removing the old chicane at the start of the second sector and widening the following hairpin. The twisty chicanes at the start of the final sector were replaced by one long, banked corner.
• Similar to other twilight and night races on the calendar, FP1 and FP3 take place in the daytime, while FP2, qualifying and the race are at night or twilight. Tyre and car behavior are different in warmer daytime temperatures, so this is always a consideration with set-up and practice run plans.
• The pit lane is the only one in F1 to feature a tunnel. Drivers pass under the track at the pit lane exit, re-joining on the left-hand side of Turn 2. It’s a tricky place to feed cars back onto the racing line as they return to the circuit mid-corner and can sometimes be unsighted.

Unlocking the Lap

The 5.281 km track in the United Arab Emirates has hosted the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix as a regular fixture since 2009. The record winner at this event is Lewis Hamilton, who has triumphed on no fewer than five occasions in the UAE.

Mercedes-AMG leads the way with seven wins, followed by Renault on four and Honda on two.

The track record at the Yas Marina Circuit, which was overhauled and reconfigured last year, is 1:22.109 minutes (held by Max Verstappen), the fastest race lap is 1:26.103 minutes (also held by Verstappen).

The first big change made to the circuit for 2021 was to what is now Turn Five. This is now a hairpin that really promotes overtaking. A lunge down the inside is possible, but this then can compromise the exit which leads onto the 1.2-kilometre back straight. Getting this right is pivotal to lap-time in qualifying.

At the end of the second DRS zone is the reprofiled Turn Nine. Long and banked, it may be possible to run side-by-side through the corner, although this is tricky and it is easy to run wide on the exit, which is detrimental to lap-time. Keeping the tires in the temperature window is important for the next sequence.

One of the trickiest corners on the circuit is Turn 12. This has caught many drivers out over the years. Cars are still loaded through Turn 11 as drivers line the turn up before braking. But this sets up the next two corners under the Yas Viceroy Hotel. Braver drivers can catch others off guard and make a move down the inside here.

Weather Forecast

Unsurprisingly Abu Dhabi basks in 12 months of glorious sunshine, but it’s when the sun starts to set beyond the horizon that we’re interested in.

Conditions are set to be warm and clear, with only a minor drop in temperature when night falls.

Friday – FP1 and FP2 Forecast: Sunny and warm Temperature: 32° Celsius/89° Fahrenheit falling to 28° C/82° F in the evening Chance of precipitation: <5%

Saturday – FP3 and Qualifying Forecast: Sunny and warm Temperature: 30° Celsius/86° Fahrenheit falling to 28° C/83° F in the evening Chance of precipitation: <5%

Sunday – Race Forecast: Sunny and warm Highest temperature: 29° Celsius/85° Fahrenheit falling to 28° C/81° F in the evening Chance of precipitation: <5%

Substitute Drivers

Haas F1 Team Reserve Driver Pietro Fittipaldi will return to the VF-22 for FP1, in place of Schumacher, to complete the team’s young driver obligation for 2022.

Team Boss Guenther Steiner said, “Pietro has been a part of the Haas family for a few years now and as our official reserve driver we need to put him in the car so at least he can stay sharp in case we need to get him in the car during a race weekend. The objectives are to do a good job and learn about the car – he already knows how to work with the engineers – but to get a feeling of the car and give us his feedback on the car. Additional feedback is always good for the team.”

Williams F1 Team – Logan Sargeant will participate in FP1 session and will  take over Alex Albon’s FW44 for the 60-minute session. He will also take part in the Young Driver Test at Yas Marina Circuit alongside completing a number of private testing days and extensive simulator work. The 21-year-old has been offered a seat alongside Alex Albon at Williams next season, but must attain an FIA super license to be able to take up the role. To do that, he must reach the 40-point threshold, of which he has already attained 29, the most recent of which was earned by completing 100km in Practice Two at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix. The Carlin driver enters the F2 weekend, which features a Sprint and a full-length feature race, third in the championship, and will need to finish sixth or better to seal the required points. While Felipe Drugovich already has the title wrapped up and Theo Pourchaire is comfortably clear in second, the standings get very tight after that, and Sargeant is only nine points clear of Enzo Fittipaldi in sixth. Sargeant has failed to finish either of the feature races in the previous two rounds (not of his own doing), and if that were to happen again he would certainly be at risk of being overhauled by the trio of drivers behind him. However, there is a potential fall back for the American, with his clean license in F2 this season – and in F3 last season – meaning he could be awarded additional points on top of the ones he receives for his final championship position. While it seems a lot would need to go wrong for Sargeant to fail to gain his super license, watching how he deals with the pressure could provide valuable insight as to how he will fare in F1 in the future. “I’m looking forward to my last Free Practice outing of the year followed by the Young Driver Test with Williams. It’s been a fantastic opportunity to get this much time behind the wheel of the FW44 across four race weekends. Over the sessions, I’ve been able to learn a lot about the new generation of cars compared to what I drove in the Young Driver Test last year. Alongside FP1 this weekend, my focus is on the final race of my Formula 2 season which I’m hoping to finish as strongly as possible.”

McLaren: Pato O’Ward will drive in his first official Formula 1 session this weekend in Abu Dhabi for FP1 driving Lando Norris’ car.

Red Bull: Lawson will step in for reigning world champion Max Verstappen in the first practice session of this weekend’s season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Abu Dhabi would be Lawson’s third practice session in the top tier this season, after turning out for Alpha Tauri in Mexico and Belgium. The 20-year-old was also set to be Red Bull’s representative in next week’s annual end-of-year young driver test in Abu Dhabi, which he took part in last year for Alpha Tauri. The news came in the wake of Red Bull motorsport advisor Dr Helmut Marko confirming Lawson would leave Formula 2 and race in the Japan-based Super Formula series next year.

Alfa Romeo:  Reserve driver Robert Kubica will be in Zhou’s car for FP1.

Aston Martin: Brazilian F2 champion Felipe Drugovich will behind the wheel in FP1

Saying Goodbye

Sebastian Vettel – Will Start His 299th – And Final – Grand Prix As He Retires From F1.
“This is obviously going to be a very emotional weekend as my Grand Prix career draws to a close. I am sure that this race will bring back plenty of happy memories from the last 15 years, and I want to enjoy my last race with the team and with everyone I have met during my time in the sport. It has been a fantastic two years with Aston Martin F1, with lots of fun moments and some great memories. I want to go out on a high, so we will go and fight hard and deliver a great result at the circuit where I secured my first world title, 12 years ago.”

Pierre Gasly – Moving to Alpine
“It’s going to be a very emotional weekend of course. My last one with the team after five years spent together. It means our relationship has been much more than just a working partnership. I know all the engineers and mechanics and the people in the factory personally, having spent time together even in our private lives. It’s the last race of a long history, as I don’t think many drivers have spent five years with a team. There have been so many really great moments that we have shared together and what’s certain, is that whatever happens this weekend I will be trying my very best in the hope we can end with a good race and a nice result. But apart from that, I just want to enjoy the weekend as a whole and to think of all the great times we spent together over the past few years.”

Daniel Ricciardo – Ousted by MacLaren, Taking a Year Off
Also receiving a send-off of sorts will be Daniel Ricciardo, who leaves McLaren without a drive for next season.  The Australian is adamant he will be back on the grid in the future and has been linked with a reserve role for Mercedes or Red Bull next season, but there are no guarantees in F1. The hugely-popular Ricciardo will be missed by fans, rivals and perhaps even more so by Netflix’s Drive To Survive, which has helped develop his cult status.

Pirelli Tires

Mario Isola – Motorsport Director

“A spectacular season draws to a close at Yas Marina with a 2023 tire test”

“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 tires – 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 tires in order to guarantee the best traction over long stints. On the Tuesday after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the 2023 slick tires 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.”

THE TIRES ON TRACK 

• Pirelli has nominated the three softest compounds in the range for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix: C3 as the P Zero White hard, C4 as the P Zero Yellow medium and C5 as the P Zero Red soft.
• The circuit characteristics aren’t particularly demanding for the tires. The asphalt is not especially abrasive, which allows the use of the softer compounds. It’s going to be important to consider falling track temperatures during the race on Sunday, as the checkered flag falls late into the evening.
• Yas Marina is made up of 16 corners as well as some fast sections. Aerodynamics are an important aspect to guarantee a strong performance and optimal tire management.
• The teams used a number of different strategies at last year’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen won his first world title after stopping three times, putting on the soft tire during a safety car period five laps from the end.
• This is the final race of the 2022 Formula 1 season, but the teams will then stay on for a one-day test of the 2023 slick compounds, which were fine-tuned in testing during the USA and Mexico Grand Prix weekends.