Farewells - Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Review

The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix exceeded many expectations about being one of the most impactful races of the season, with a frenzy of emotions and the championship stakes high. Who was the winner who took it all?

Qualifying

Qualifying witnessed unexpected results from many teams with 4 drivers from 3 different teams being penalised and earning grid placement penalties for the upcoming race.

Lewis Hamilton went out in Q1 placing his car only 18th on the grid for his last qualifying session with Mercedes.

Ferrari became unlucky in their championship title race after Charles Leclerc failed to make it into Q3, placing his car 14th on the grid. Earning a 10 place grid penalty for adding an additional power unit element, after transcending his battery allowance for the car, meaning he would start the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at the back of the grid.

Luckily his teammate Carlos Sainz was able to keep their championship title battle alive after securing 3rd on the grid.

William was yet another team to face the cruelty of luck after both their drivers failed to make it into Q2, Franco Colapinto in 19th and Alex Albon in 16th, both of which were then given a 5 place grid penalty for the use of their additional gearbox components. Leading to both Williams drivers joining Charles Leclerc at the back of the grid, in Alexander Albon

Haas was able to qualify to 4th position with Nico Hulkenberg, who out-qualified Max Verstappen, but sadly earned himself a 3 place grid penalty for the race for failing to follow the Race Director's Instructions when inside the pitlane.

The Alpine of Pierre Gasly qualified extremely well, securing 6th position on the grid.

Starting Grid

1. Lando Norris - McLaren

2. Oscar Piastri - Mclaren

3. Carlos Sainz - Ferrari

4. Max Verstappen - Red Bull

5. Pierre Gasly - Alpine

6. George Russell - Mercedes

7. Nico Hulkenberg - Haas

8. Fernando Alonso - Aston Martin

9. Valtteri Bottas - Kick Sauber

10. Sergio Perez - Red Bull

11. Yuki Tsunoda - RB

12. Liam Lawson - RB

13. Lance Stroll - Aston Martin

14. Kevin Magnussen - Haas

15. Zhou Guanyu - Kick Sauber

16. Lewis Hamilton - Mercedes

17. Jack Doohan - Alpine

18. Alex Albon - Williams

19. Charles Leclerc - Ferrari

20. Franco Colapinto - Williams

Race

With both McLaren's getting a good launch off the line, it gave room for Max Verstappen to move up through the pack, which ultimately led to Verstappen squeezing down the inside of Oscar Piastri, who had left room for Max but the momentum from the Red Bull going around the 1st corner resulted in them making contact and both spinning out.

Max dropped slightly back in the pack whilst Oscar fell to the back as it would've been noted as an unsafe rejoin onto the track, this collision earning Verstappen a 10 second penalty.

Red Bull's nightmare of a first lap continued as Sergio Perez ended in a collision with Valtteri Bottas, a result of Kevin Magnussen's Haas overtaking both cars down the inside of the racing line with late breaking into the corner.

Bottas earned a 10 second penalty from this collision whilst Perez sadly retired from the race, which could potentially be his last race under Red Bull. A virtual safety car was then released for Perez's retirement from the race causing its own line of chaos down the road.

Following the restart of the race on lap 3 from the virtual safety car, Oscar's McLaren flew into the rear end of Colapinto's Williams, damaging both of the cars and resulted in an identical 10 second penalty for Piastri to the one that Verstappen had been given 2 laps before. The McLaren later recovered to score a singular point for his team.

Contrary to both Red Bull's and McLaren's cursed starts, Ferrari had a storm of a first lap with Sainz taking second position and Leclerc claiming 12th position after starting 19th on the grid. Helping Ferrari to gain more points in their chase against McLaren for the Constructor's title.

By lap 7, Charles Leclerc was already up into 7th position after a late send into the corner and an overtake down the straight on Kevin Magnussen. Continuing his attacking drive throughout the race earning himself 3rd, the last position on the podium.

On lap 24, Liam Lawson in the RB had a disastrous 1st pit stop after his front left tyre was only partially in place, leaving it loose for his next lap and having to be refitted costing the team a penalty.

The 26th lap saw Colapinto retiring his car due to a puncture and a problem with his engine, sadly seeing the end of his season with Williams and his time on the grid, as it stands.

The chaos of the race extended in lap 31 with the collision between the Haas and the Sauber. Bottas in the Sauber had a massive lock up on the inside of the corner with no front grip on his tyres as Magnussen tried to take the outside line.

Valtteri crashed into the middle of Kevin's Haas causing him to spin out, debris from both cars flew onto the track as Bottas picked up a puncture.

Unfortunately, Valtteri Bottas retired before a decision surrounding the incident could be decided, costing him a penalty for his next race. As a driver with no seat for the following season this could make his chances of becoming a reserve driver increasingly more difficult.

On the last lap of the race, Lewis Hamilton made a beautiful overtake on his teammate George Russell as he launched it down the main straight and into the first corner, claiming 4th position for his last race with Mercedes.

Lando Norris attained his deserved victory after leading the entire race with the 2 Ferraris procuring second and third position, ending their season with another double podium.

Despite Ferrari's relentless efforts and an impressive attacking drive from Charles Leclerc, they were unable to secure the Constructor's title after McLaren's 25 points from the race win and the singular point that Piastri recovered. Ferrari needing an extra 14 points to beat McLaren.

Results

1. Lando Norris - McLaren

2. Carlos Sainz - Ferrari

3. Charles Leclerc - Ferrari

4. Lewis Hamilton - Mercedes

5. George Russell - Mercedes

6. Max Verstappen - Red Bull

7. Pierre Gasly - Alpine

8. Nico Hulkenberg - Haas

9. Fernando Alonso - Aston Martin

10. Oscar Piastri - Mclaren

11. Alex Albon - Williams

12. Yuki Tsunoda - RB

13. Zhou Guanyu - Kick Sauber

14. Lance Stroll - Aston Martin

15. Jack Doohan - Alpine

16. Kevin Magnussen - Haas

17. Liam Lawson - RB

18. (DNF) Valtteri Bottas - Kick Sauber

19. (DNF) Franco Colapinto - Williams

20. (DNF) Sergio Perez - Red Bull

Farewells

Although this race for many drivers was a positive way to end their season, Abu Dhabi had its fair share of goodbyes.

Lewis Hamilton's move to Ferrari for the 2025 season meant that this was his last race for Mercedes, going out in style as he ended his 12-year partnership with Bono with one final Hammer Time.

Carlos Sainz ended his time with Ferrari as he secured 2nd but sadly couldn't achieve the Constructor's title with Ferrari. Joining Williams for the 2025 season.

Hulkenberg moves to Kick Sauber from Haas taking Zhou Guanyu and joining rookie Gabriel Bortoleto.

Kevin Magnussen, Zhou Guanyu and Valtteri Bottas currently have no grid seats for the upcoming season and rumours circulating that Sergio Perez may lose his seat at Red Bull for the 2025 season.