2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

Championship permutations

Verstappen and Hamilton both enter the final round on 369.5 points — level on points for the first time since 1974 and only the second time in championship history. The driver who scores more points wins. If they finish equal on points after this race, Verstappen wins the title by virtue of having more race wins. The Drivers’ Championship is decided in the final round for the 30th time overall, and the first time since 2016. In the Constructors’ Championship, Mercedes lead Red Bull by 28 points with 44 points available; this is the first time since 2008 that the final round could decide the Constructors’ title.

Previous race

At Jeddah, the race was disrupted by multiple incidents involving Hamilton, Verstappen, and several others. Schumacher, Pérez, Russell, Mazepin, and Vettel all retired. Hamilton won from Verstappen while Bottas overtook Ocon at the final corner to take third. The results left both championship contenders level on points going into Abu Dhabi.

Circuit modification

The Yas Marina Circuit has undergone significant layout changes: the chicane after turn 4 has been removed; the turn 5 hairpin has been widened; the four-corner sequence of turns 11–14 has become a single banked turn 9; and the radii of several late-sequence corners have been increased. The changes are designed to raise top speeds and create more overtaking opportunities.

Entrants

This is Kimi Räikkönen’s final Formula One race. He is retiring after 19 seasons in the sport — the second-longest career in championship history — to move to the NASCAR Cup Series. It is also the final race for George Russell at Williams and for Bottas at Mercedes, both moving to new teams in 2022. This is Honda’s last race as an F1 engine supplier; Red Bull and AlphaTauri will race with Red Bull Powertrains from 2022.

Bottas marks the occasion with a special helmet featuring photographs from his time at Mercedes, and races in a special set of blue overalls.

Jack Aitken drives for Williams in FP1 in place of Russell.

Tyre choices

Pirelli brings the C3, C4, and C5 compounds — the softest selections available.

Practice

Verstappen was fastest in FP1 ahead of Bottas and Hamilton. Hamilton topped FP2 by 0.3 seconds over Ocon, with Bottas third and Verstappen fourth. Räikkönen crashed at turn 14 near the end of FP2 but was unhurt.