And now, the end is near, and so we face, the final curtain. The 2018 Formula 1 World Championship has lived a life that’s full and travelled each and every highway – except for one. The last of its 21 legs takes place at the Yas Marina Circuit this weekend, with both title fights already done and dusted. Motorsport Week previews the (hopefully gloves-off) Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
History
Formula 1 first visited the Gulf region in 2004 in Bahrain and five years later Abu Dhabi joined the schedule, with the Yas Marina Circuit the centrepiece of the man-made Yas Island, located around a half-hour drive from the city and its lengthy Corniche.
The futuristic money-no-object facility captured the lucrative spot as Formula 1’s season finale, an honour it has held on all bar three occasions since it joined the calendar.
The Grand Prix, as well as qualifying and second practice, begins at twilight, with the event making use of the floodlights installed around the Yas Marina Circuit.
It hosted last-round showdowns in 2010, 2014 and 2016, with Sebastian Vettel, Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg all celebrating title successes at the venue.
Circuit
The Yas Marina Circuit is not one that will ever feature among the pantheon of greats, with the lack of any standout corner or section accentuated by the acres of run-off.
The opening sector features the high-speed sweeping Turns 2 and 3, though thereafter much of the track contains lengthy straights and off-camber slow-speed bends.
Two long full-throttle sections, linking the Turn 7 hairpin and the Turn 11/12/13 complex, provide the best overtaking opportunities of the lap, with the DRS zones placed accordingly.
The final sector features a handful of slow to medium-speed bends that wind their way around, and beneath, the Yas Viceroy hotel, whose external shell is illuminated when the sun goes down.
Teams tend to sway towards using a medium-downforce set-up, while much work is directed on obtaining strong traction and feel under braking.
“The fact that it’s the last race of the year means there’s a great mood in the paddock, everyone’s a bit excited and buzzing,” says Toro Rosso’s Pierre Gasly.
“It’s a really great atmosphere and once it’s over you realise the season has ended.
“As for the track itself, it provides some challenges, especially in the final sector, which is very technical with many changes of direction where you need to get into a good rhythm.
“So the circuit has two distinct characters, with the first two sectors featuring long straights and high speed long turns.
“But it’s that final technical part I like best and it’s where a driver can make a difference.”
What happened in 2017?
Not much.
Valtteri Bottas capped the campaign with a controlled victory from pole position as Hamilton completed a Mercedes 1-2, with Vettel a distant third.
The lead eight drivers all maintained their positions – the only change coming courtesy of Daniel Ricciardo’s retirement – in a processional affair to close out the season.
It was Bottas’ first victory at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, leaving him on par with fellow one-time winners Rosberg and Kimi Raikkonen.
Vettel and Hamilton have each won the event on three occasions; Vettel while driving for Red Bull (2009, 2010, 2013) and Hamilton for McLaren (2011) and Mercedes (2014, 2016).
Mercedes’ four wins leaves it one ahead of Red Bull, with Lotus and McLaren the only other victors at the Yas Marina Circuit.
Ferrari has never triumphed at the venue.
Hamilton (2009, 2012, 2016) leads the way with three pole positions at Yas Marina, ahead of Vettel (2010, 2011) on two.
Other details
Both Drivers’ and Constructors’ titles have already been wrapped up, with Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes having booked their trips to St. Petersburg to collect the World Championship trophies for a fifth time.
The battle for third in the Drivers’ standings remains open, though Kimi Raikkonen holds a sizeable buffer over Valtteri Bottas and Max Verstappen.
In the Constructors’ standings the top three positions are sorted, while Renault has opened a slender buffer back to Haas in the race for fourth.
It will be the final Grand Prix for several driver/team relationships, as well as the last (likely) outing in the sport for a few.
Daniel Ricciardo will mark his 150th Grand Prix with his 100th, and last, appearance in Red Bull colours, before switching to Renault.
In turn, that means Pierre Gasly will have one final fling with Toro Rosso before graduating to the senior team.
Kimi Raikkonen and Charles Leclerc will have their last runs with Ferrari and Sauber respectively before replacing each other, while Carlos Sainz Jr. will don the yellow of Renault for one final hurrah.
Fernando Alonso will bring his distinguished Formula 1 career to likely low-key conclusion, while Stoffel Vandoorne is also set to bow out following his axing by McLaren. Marcus Ericsson is also poised for his final event with Sauber prior to his IndyCar switch.
The futures of several drivers – Esteban Ocon, Lance Stroll, Sergey Sirotkin and Brendon Hartley – remain unconfirmed as the sport heads to Yas Marina.
Tyre supplier Pirelli has nominated the Hypersoft, (pink) Ultrasoft (purple) and Supersoft (red) compounds due to the smooth surface.
Either the Ultrasoft or Supersoft tyres must be run for one stint of the 55-lap Grand Prix, assuming dry conditions prevail, while one set of Hypersofts must be cast aside for use only in Q3.
It will be the last outing for the current specification of tyres and the colour-coding system, with Pirelli to simplify the labelling for 2019.
The Formula 2 and GP3 Series titles will be decided this weekend, with 2019 Williams F1 racer George Russell and Renault-affiliated Anthoine Hubert holding healthy advantages in the respective championships.
The main race in each series will be held on Saturday, with the shorter, reversed-grid encounter taking place prior to the Grand Prix on Sunday.
Weather forecast
Friday: Sunny/clear, 29°c
Saturday: Sunny/clear, 31°c
Sunday: Sunny/clear, 33°c
Timetable: (GMT-2)
Friday 23 November
FP1: 13:00 – 14:30
FP2: 17:00 – 16:30
Saturday 24 November
FP3: 13:00 – 14:00
Qualifying: 17:00 – 16:00
Sunday 25 November
Race: 17:10 (55 laps or two hours)
What next?
Yas Marina will host two days of post-season testing, officially designated as a tyre test, on November 27 and 28.
