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The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – Information and schedule

The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the twenty-second of twenty-two races, is scheduled for the weekend of 24-26 November. What is the schedule and where can you follow the race weekend?

Published

12 months ago

23. 11. 2023

Tomáš Myšák

F1, Velká cena Abú Dhabí — Zdroj: Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool

The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the twenty-second of twenty-two races, is scheduled for the weekend of 24-26 November. What is the schedule and where can you follow the race weekend?

The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix has been part of the F1 calendar since 2009, with plans to expand Yas Island announced back in 2006. Construction started there in 2007, with the whole big project completed in 2009.

The first winner of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was Sebastian Vettel in a Red Bull. However, the 2009 season was dominated by Jenson Button in the colours of the Brawn GP team, with the German driver taking the title a year later.

However, Lewis Hamilton has the most victories at the Yas Marina Circuit, having won the first place five times. As far as the teams are concerned, Mercedes and Red Bull have won the most championships in Abu Dhabi – 6. In the 2022 season, Max Verstappen won the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix ahead of Charles Leclerc and Sergio Pérez.

The fastest lap is held by reigning champion Verstappen, who set a time of 1:26.103 in the 2021 season. In any case, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix has offered some spectacular stories in its history – such as the 2012 title battle between Vettel and Fernando Alonso, or the giant show put on by Verstappen and Hamilton in 2021.

Yas Marina Circuit

The track itself is 5.281km long and consists of sixteen corners. The Yas Marina Circuit, as the official name of the circuit goes, features two DRS zones with two detection points. The first DRS zone can be found on the straight between Turns 5 and 6, while the second one can be found on the next straight between Turns 8 and 9.

The first detection point is located after turn 4, the second can be found at the exit of turn 7, just before the second DRS zone. Formula 1 has scheduled the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix for a standard 58 laps, during which the drivers will cover over 306 kilometres.

But as well as the detection points, you can also see the average speeds that the drivers achieve at each corner, and what gear they usually shift into at that corner.

Source: Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – programme

The Formula 1 cars will take to the track for the first time on Friday, November 24, at 10:30, as part of the first practice session (officially called Free Practice 1 – ed.). This will last the standard one hour.

FP2 will start at 14:00 on the same day. The third and final free practice is scheduled for Saturday, November 25, from 11:30 to 12:30.

At the stroke of 15:00, drivers and teams will qualify for Sunday’s Grand Prix, which F1 has scheduled to start at 14:00.

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – Predictions

In the last race of the season, Verstappen will again be the biggest favourite to win. The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will be very interesting in terms of the battle for the final second place in the Constructors’ Cup. Mercedes has only a four-point lead over Ferrari, so it will be all to play for.

Ferrari were very quick on the straights in the last Las Vegas Grand Prix, but the conditions will be very different in Abu Dhabi. Overall, however, the Maranello stable is better off. It is therefore to be expected that there will be a big fight for the podium.

In addition to Verstappen, Leclerc could also be on the podium, so you can try to bet on him finishing in 3rd place. Ferrari has a very good record in Abu Dhabi, with at least one car on the podium in six of the last seven races. Plus, the changes made to the track a few years ago suit the Scuderia.

Mercedes has been the long-term success story in Abu Dhabi, with Hamilton taking the most victories here. But the Silver Arrows are not enjoying a good end to the season. On the other hand, in Las Vegas both Mercedes drivers were very unlucky to exit the Safety Car, Hamilton had a very good race pace.

McLaren should also return to its previous form in Abu Dhabi. The most serious competitor for Verstappen could be Lando Norris. So it is likely that the podium line-up could look like this – Verstappen, Leclerc, Norris.

As for the other positions and opportunities – Hamilton could finish fifth. Eighth place could go to “Checo” Pérez, Carlos Sainz, George Russell or also Fernando Alonso and Oscar Piastri. As for the race winner’s lead, we could see a fairly close finish in Abu Dhabi. In six of the last 13 races, Verstappen’s winning margin has been 6.064 seconds or less.