2019 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

Championship standings

The top two in the Drivers’ Championship are settled: Hamilton is champion, Bottas second. Third place is still decided: Verstappen leads Leclerc 260–249, with Vettel on 230 — still able to pass Leclerc for fourth if the gap allows. In the Constructors’, the top four positions are confirmed (Mercedes, Ferrari, Red Bull, McLaren), but fifth is unresolved: Renault leads Toro Rosso by 8 points.

Previous race

Verstappen won Brazil from pole. After a safety car restart with two laps remaining, Gasly and Sainz took second and third — both drivers’ first Formula One podiums, and McLaren’s first podium since 2014. Hamilton was demoted from third to seventh after a post-race five-second penalty for causing contact with Albon while attempting an overtake at turn 10, promoting Sainz to the podium. Ferrari retired both cars after Leclerc and Vettel collided on the back straight on lap 66 while fighting over position.

Entrants

This is the final race for Toro Rosso as a team name; the squad rebrands as AlphaTauri for 2020. Kubica makes his final race start with Williams.

Penalties

Bottas is required to start from the back of the grid for exceeding his power unit component quota.

Practice

FP1 was red-flagged twice: first for a Ricciardo engine failure, then for Vettel crashing at turn 19 in the closing minutes. The session was not restarted after the second stoppage. Bottas was fastest, ahead of Verstappen and Hamilton. FP2 was stopped after Bottas and Grosjean collided at turn 11; Bottas received a reprimand for the incident. Bottas again topped the session, ahead of Hamilton and Leclerc. FP3 ran without interruption, with Verstappen fastest ahead of Hamilton and Bottas.