Formula One News

After 21 gruelling rounds and numerous battles on and off the track, the 2021 champion is yet to be crowned. It has come down to the very last event of Formula 1’s longest-ever season with absolutely nothing separating our title contenders, indicating what a thriller of a championship 2021 has been. It’s time for one final push, so let’s gear up for Round 22 of the current season, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Here are all the numbers and facts you need to know ahead of the season finale. 

One of the few races on the calendar to be named after the host city rather than the host country, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will bring the curtains down on the 2021 Formula 1 season. The event debuted in 2009 and has hosted 12 rounds since then with six different winners. Being Formula 1’s only twilight race, it commences 30 minutes before sunset and runs into the darkness of the night.

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Constructed in 2009 on Yas Island, the Yas Marina Circuit is one of the many creations of renowned designer Hermann Tilke and cost an approximate 1 billion USD. The venue has come under heavy criticism in recent years from teams and fans alike over the lack of overtaking opportunities, thus forcing its organisers to carry out an extensive makeover before this year’s race. Originally 5.554 km long, the renovated track is now shorter by 273 m and consists of 16 corners than the earlier 21. The chicanes around Turn 5 and 6 have been removed, thus leading directly to the following hairpin, while the section consisting of Turns 11-14 has been replaced with a long, banked corner. The alterations have increased the lap count from 55 to 58 with lap times expected to drop by 12-14 seconds. The track contains two DRS zones and 64% of the lap is run on full throttle. The circuit also has one of the longest straights in Formula 1 at 1140 m, slightly shorter than Mugello (1141 m) and Shanghai (1170 m). 

Eleven of the 12 Abu Dhabi Grands Prix have been won from the front row, with the pole-sitter triumphing in the last six races here. Lewis Hamilton holds the advantage at Yas Marina having taken pole and victory on five previous occasions. Sebastian Vettel has two poles and three race wins at this venue from his Red Bull days. Mercedes have a near-perfect record here having won six consecutive races from pole between 2014 and 2019. Max Verstappen put an end to that streak by taking a pole-to-flag victory in last year’s finale. Ferrari have never managed to take pole position or win the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, despite taking seven podium finishes. Kimi Raikkonen remains the only driver to win the event when not starting from the front row. He qualified fourth driving a Lotus-Renault in the infamous 2012 race during his comeback season in Formula 1.

For the first time in 47 years, the title rivals are level on points going into the season finale. Although Verstappen holds the edge in terms of race wins (9 over Hamilton’s 8) in the case of a tie, it's eventually down to which driver finishes ahead in the points on Sunday. The drivers’ championship has been settled at Abu Dhabi on three previous occasions (2010, 2014 and 2016) but this will be the first time the Constructors’ champion will be crowned here. In the midfield, three former champions, Sebastian Vettel, Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen will be contesting for the Overtake award. Vettel currently leads with 127 overtakes this year, followed closely by Alonso with 125 while Raikkonen has completed 121 on-track passes in 2021.

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In terms of milestones, Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas will make their 100th and last appearance as teammates. Only Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello have entered more Grands Prix as partners (104). Further back in the paddock, Lance Stroll will be gearing up for his 100th Grand Prix in Formula 1. Regardless of whoever wins the championship, history will definitely be made and records will be broken on Sunday. Verstappen could become the Netherlands’ first champion and the fourth-youngest one in Formula 1, while Lewis Hamilton could become the most decorated driver in the history of the sport with a record-breaking eighth title, going past Michael Schumacher.

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Being the final round of the season, the event will also bring an end to several chapters in the paddock. Raikkonen due to make his 349th race start will hang his boots after 19 long years in the sport. He’ll most likely end his career with 18 pole positions, 21 race victories and 103 podiums, and continues to be the last driver to win a title with Scuderia Ferrari. His successor at Alfa Romeo, Bottas ends his five-year association with Mercedes, a partnership that has resulted in ten race wins and four Constructors’ championships so far. His departure subsequently brings George Russell into the Mercedes fold again but on a full-time basis. Russell has completed 58 races with Williams, scoring 16 points with the team including a podium at the Belgium Grand Prix this year. Antonio Giovinazzi will also be making his exit from Alfa Romeo after three years with the team. 

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Engine manufacturers, Honda’s tryst with Formula 1 also ends for the foreseeable future. The Japanese squad endured a few difficult and controversial years with McLaren between 2015 and 2017, but felt at home after tying up with Toro Rosso in 2018 and later on with Red Bull in 2019. They were the first engine manufacturer to win with two different constructors in the hybrid era and will want to end their term on a high with double championships. Although the Constructors’ title may have slipped away due to Mercedes’ 28-point lead, the drivers’ title is still very much within their grasp. The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will also mark the end for the current generation of Formula 1 tyres and cars as the sport undergoes a technical revolution from 2022.

But everyone’s eyes will remain focussed on two parties in particular. The title protagonists, Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton and their respective teams. Could it be the coronation of a new king or will a living legend create a summit of his own? It will all unravel in a few days.

by Sundaram Ramaswami
Twitter/Instagram - @f1statsguru