Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Year by Year Winner

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Year-by-Year Winner

The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is one of the top events in the F1 calendar having first been held in 2009 at the Yas Marina Circuit, which is situated on Yas Island. It has now become the ending point for the F1 season, normally at the onset of early December. Designed by Hermann Tilke, the circuit is 5.281 kilometers long and includes 16 turns, placing technical demands on drivers.

One of the interesting facts about the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is Formula 1's first twilight race, beginning during daylight hours and finishing under floodlights. This has come to give an eye-catching feel as the sun sets on the marina along with occasional fireworks at the end of the race. The facility has top-class facilities, which include air-conditioned garages and covered stands to make people safe from scorching hot temperatures. The race has seen many dramatic moments, including championship deciders. In 2010, Sebastian Vettel became the youngest driver to win the title here. The 2021 race was dramatic as Max Verstappen made a last-lap move past Lewis Hamilton for the victory and his first championship. For the 2021 season, major adjustments were made to improve overtaking situations in the circuit. These changes are to make the overall racing experience better compared to the previous edition of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix wherein the challenges of overtaking have been problematic.

The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix scheduled for December 6-8, 2024 is the 24th and final race of the season.

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Year-by-Year Winner

Year	Winner	Team
2009	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull
2010	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull
2011	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren
2012	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus
2013	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull
2014	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes
2015	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes
2016	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes
2017	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes
2018	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes
2019	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes
2020	Max Verstappen	Red Bull
2021	Max Verstappen	Red Bull
2022	Max Verstappen	Red Bull
2023	Max Verstappen	Red Bull

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Track

The Yas Marina Circuit, located on Yas Island, UAE, is the venue of a 5.281 km (3.281 miles) FIA Grade 1 circuit with 21 turns and few elevation changes. The average lap speed is about 193 km/h, a bit less than the season average. There are several hard braking areas and two main places to pass at Turns 8 and 11, which means the track challenges the drivers. Speeds go over 265 km/h over the start-finish line before accelerating into the first corner of the circuit, taken at 290 km/h-it is a sharp left turn. This sends it into a hard left at 240 km/h, one of the fastest on the circuit. Then there's Turn 3, a quick right then back left, and drivers hit a boost in speed to 270 km/h.

Then the track cuts back into a sharp 'S' turn, taken at 80 km/h; then there's a slow hairpin turn taken at 65 km/h. After leaving the hairpin, drivers enter a long straight with DRS, reaching speeds up to 335 km/h before they must slow down quickly from eighth gear to second gear at 70 km/h. Then, the chicanes require careful driving, as high curbs restrict how much of the track can be used.

Drivers then come to the main grandstand, going fast before entering a tricky part of the track, a left-right turn where passing other cars can happen, but cars often lose control because it is hard. Drivers make a large right turn at nearly full throttle, followed by two additional right turns extremely close to the back of the grandstand. Then they turn into two slow left-handers and finally finish with a right chicane to end the race. The combination of fast straights, sharp turns, and tricky sections makes the Yas Marina Circuit a challenging yet fulfilling circuit to drive on.

History of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

Construction on the circuit began in 2007, Despite the fears due to the world's economic meltdown, the project was completed within the deadline. The track was designed by Hani Rashid and Lise Anne Couture from a New York architecture firm, far from the traditional Hermann Tilke designs that had flooded the Formula 1 circuit. Initially, people did not like the track's special design but the night-race format has become an important part of the Formula 1 schedule. In 2017, changes were introduced by Hermann Tilke to help drivers overtake and make races more interesting. The circuit kicked off with a new lighting system that made it possible for races under moonlight, and qualifying sessions during the day. In 2010, the first important moment came when Sebastian Vettel won his first Drivers' World Championship, beating Fernando Alonso at a spectacular final race of the season, it was the second win in a row for the German at the circuit; this started to build its reputation at a place for important races.

In 2014, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix used a new rule called the double-points system for the last race of the season to make it more exciting. Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg entered the race with only 17 points between them. Rosberg had problems with his car and finished 12th, while Hamilton won the race and got his second World Championship. Many people did not like the double-point rule, so it was dropped after this race.

The 2021 season finale in Abu Dhabi is one of the biggest thrill and debated moments in Formula 1 history. Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen were tied on points coming into the final race and, therefore, the championship was decided in the last lap when Verstappen started first but got overtaken by Hamilton from the start. When Nicholas Latifi experienced a late crash, he brought out the safety car. It was here that Red Bull decided to pit Verstappen for fresh rubber, with Hamilton leaving him, but the FIA waved cars ahead, sending them toward one last lap. It would be an anticlimactic final lap, but it did see Verstappen across the line ahead of Hamilton to win his first Drivers' World Championship.