Abu Dhabi Grand Prix: The 7 Key Highlights

Held since 2009 and becoming over the years the final round of the Formula 1 World Championship, Abu Dhabi hosts the event for the 12th time in its history. While the track is often criticized, this Grand Prix has experienced several significant moments in the history of F1. We have selected the 7 main moments for you.

4 drivers, 1 champion: Vettel on edge of suspense (2010)

The finale of the 2010 season holds our attention first. An unprecedented event in the history of the Formula 1 World Championship (created in 1950): four drivers are still mathematically in contention for the World Champion title.

At the dawn of the final round at the Yas Marina circuit, Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) arrives as the favorite as the championship leader ahead of Red Bull drivers Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel.

Fourth contender in the battle, Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) retains a mathematical chance for the title, but it would take a miracle for the 2008 World Champion to secure his second crown.

Starting from pole position, Vettel leads ahead of McLaren drivers Hamilton and Button. Alonso and Webber follow in 4th and 5th places.

The Australian is the first to go through the pit lane on the eleventh lap. A strategic error as the Red Bull driver comes out behind Rosberg and Petrov, who have already changed tires and will go to the end of the race.

Imitating the strategy of Webber, his closest rival in the championship, Ferrari brings Alonso in on lap 15. The Spaniard comes out ahead of Webber but behind Petrov’s Renault! In front, Vettel pits on lap 24 and remains comfortably in the lead.

The German claims his 5th victory of the season… and the world championship title! Neither Alonso nor Webber manage to overtake Petrov, and Vettel wins the crown by 4 points against Fernando Alonso.

To date, Sebastian Vettel remains the youngest World Champion in history at 23 years, 4 months, and 11 days. Masterful!

The Battle of Nerves: Nico Rosberg’s Day of Glory (2016)

New world championship finale in Abu Dhabi! Arriving with a 12-point lead over his triple World Champion teammate, Nico Rosberg has a comfortable lead, but Hamilton is coming off three consecutive victories.

If he finishes on the podium, the German will win his first title after his two failures in previous seasons.

In pole, Hamilton makes the perfect start and leads ahead of Rosberg and Ricciardo. While the beginning of the race is relatively calm, the race ignites after the first round of pit stops.

Opting for a one-stop strategy, Max Verstappen places himself between the two Mercedes and slows down Nico Rosberg. Tony Ross informs the German driver that he is at a crucial moment in the race and that overtaking is crucial for the rest of his race and with a view to the title.

On the 21st lap, at the end of the long DRS straight, Rosberg emerged alongside Verstappen with a demonic braking maneuver and overtook the Dutchman in the most beautiful manner. This would be the last overtake of his career, undoubtedly the most important one.

The rest is history: Hamilton, obliged to knock Rosberg off the podium, slowed down his pursuers in the hope that they would overtake his teammate, in vain. The German withstood the pressure, and thanks to his second place, won his sole World Champion title.

The Rosberg family makes its mark even further in history, joining the Hill family in the list of fathers and sons who have become world champions.

First victory in 25 years for Lotus, historic radio message: Kimi Räikkönen’s significant win (2012)

It was the attraction of the 2012 season. The return to competition of the 2007 World Champion, Kimi Räikkönen, after two years spent navigating rally stages. The Finn returns with Lotus alongside the Frenchman Romain Grosjean.

The season is very good for the team with numerous podiums and competing for 3rd place against McLaren and ahead of Mercedes. However, while McLaren, Ferrari, Red Bull, Mercedes, and even Williams have already won a race, Lotus arrives in Abu Dhabi still without any success.

This wrong will be righted by a great Kimi Räikkönen. Third on the grid after the disqualification of the double world champion Sebastian Vettel, Räikkönen immediately gains a position at the start against Mark Webber.

He holds his position behind Lewis Hamilton, despite numerous incidents on the track, when on the 19th lap, a stroke of fate arrives for the Finn. Just like in Singapore, Hamilton is betrayed by his mechanics and is forced to retire, leaving Räikkönen in the lead of this Grand Prix.

If the Lotus pit wall is under pressure because such an opportunity had never presented itself before, the constant radio updates about his gap with chaser Fernando Alonso greatly annoy the Finn. Iceman then issues this now-famous radio message: “Just leave me alone, I know what I’m doing!” Räikkönen, despite his adventures, wins his first Grand Prix since Spa 2009 and allows Lotus to return to victory after a 25-year wait. Unforgettable.

Three world champions on the same line: the farewell donuts (or rather see-you-soon) of Fernando Alonso (2018)

Less glorious is Fernando Alonso’s 2018 season. Stuck in the middle of the pack for far too long, the Spaniard (forced to retire six times this season) has decided to throw in the towel with the prestigious British team.

In the evening of his 312th Grand Prix, concluded with an anonymous 11th place, El Matador still exits with flair.

Victorious and second in this Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel offer their Spanish counterpart a send-off worthy of the name. All three lining up at the starting line, the three men set off for a series of magnificent donuts that are sure to delight the spectators!

To gather (at that time) eleven world championship titles in a line for the release of one of them is once again unprecedented.

But Alonso was only saying goodbye to F1 for now. Because like Schumacher or Räikkönen before him, the Spaniard will return to competition next year driving the Alpine, the new name for Renault!

The spectacular collision Grosjean / Hülkenberg (2018)

The 2018 edition was not solely marked by the farewells of Fernando Alonso. Indeed, on the first lap of this race, Nico Hülkenberg’s Renault and the Haas of Frenchman Romain Grosjean collided at turn 6.

The German, after a good start, tries to outbrake Grosjean at turn 5, forcing them slightly off the racing line. But as they return to the track, the two collide, and the Renault flips over until it hits the Tecpro barrier.

The German finds himself upside down but emerges unscathed from the single-seater. He later stated that the accident, experienced from the inside, was less spectacular than what could be felt watching the TV images.

The end of the beautiful story between Räikkönen and Lotus (2013)

If they experienced their best moments on this circuit as seen above, it’s also here that the idyll between Räikkönen and Lotus comes to an end after only two shared seasons.

The Finn, who brilliantly qualified in 5th place, is excluded from the qualifications after the FIA noticed a non-compliance with the floor of his Lotus E22.

Starting 22nd on an offset strategy aiming to climb up the field during the pit stop phases, Räikkönen’s race ended after only two corners due to a broken steering rod following contact with Giedo Van Der Garde’s Caterham.

The 2007 world champion, winner of the first Grand Prix of the season in Australia, parks his car for the last time, changes clothes, and drives to the airport to head home while the race is only a third of the way through.

has his reasons: he hasn’t received his salary for months due to Lotus-Renault’s financial difficulties and the aborted takeover by the shady Quantum consortium.

So this was Räikkönen’s last official appearance in Lotus colors, as he was replaced by his compatriot Heikki Kovalainen for the final two rounds of the season in the USA and Brazil.

As for Kimi, he steals the spotlight from Nico Hülkenberg, who had a fantastic season with Sauber, and makes his return to Ferrari alongside Fernando Alonso.

The smoking engine of Karthikeyan and the airborne lift-off of Nico Rosberg (2012)

Another big collision that could have ended badly on this Yas Marina circuit! Starting 8th, Rosberg collided in the first lap with Romain Grosjean’s Lotus. Both men were forced to pit: Grosjean for a puncture and Rosberg for a front wing change.

Starting from the very back, the winner of the Chinese Grand Prix begins his comeback. He overtakes the modest HRT of Indian driver Narain Karthikeyan. But as they enter the third sector of the 8th lap of the race, the engine of the HRT suddenly goes up in smoke, causing Karthikeyan to slow down violently on the track.

Unable to react (as turn 16 is banked leading blindly to turn 17), Rosberg climbs onto his teammate’s car, literally takes off into the air, and crashes violently onto the track before ending his race in the Tecpro barrier.

Fortunately, the two drivers emerged unscathed from this spectacular accident.

And you, what is your best memory of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix?