2023 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

Championship standings

Verstappen leads with 549 points, 276 ahead of Pérez. Hamilton is third, 41 behind Pérez. Sainz and Alonso are tied in fourth and fifth on points. In the Constructors’, Red Bull lead with 822 points. Mercedes hold second with 392 points, four ahead of Ferrari in third — the two teams separated by a single podium’s worth of points heading into the season finale.

Previous race

At Las Vegas, Verstappen won after starting second, fighting throughout the race with Leclerc and Pérez. Leclerc passed Pérez on the final lap to claim second. Norris retired heavily on lap 3 — his first retirement of the season — and was taken to the University Medical Center of Southern Nevada for precautionary checks before being discharged the same night. Russell received a five-second penalty for contact with Verstappen. Pérez’s third-place finish secured him second in the Drivers’ Championship, giving Red Bull their first ever 1–2 in the championship standings.

Between-race developments

The Haas right of review request regarding turn 6 track limit violations at the United States Grand Prix was rejected on 9 November. The stewards found the evidence submitted was not new or relevant. The results of the COTA race stand.

Entrants

Nine teams field alternate drivers in FP1 to meet their mandatory young driver obligations in the season finale: Théo Pourchaire for Alfa Romeo (in place of Zhou), Jack Doohan for Alpine (in place of Ocon), Patricio O’Ward for McLaren (in place of Norris), Oliver Bearman for Haas (in place of Hülkenberg), Zak O’Sullivan for Williams (in place of Albon), Robert Shwartzman for Ferrari (in place of Leclerc), Felipe Drugovich for Aston Martin (in place of Alonso), Frederik Vesti for Mercedes (in place of Hamilton), and Isack Hadjar and Jake Dennis for Red Bull (in place of Pérez and Verstappen respectively). O’Sullivan and Dennis make their Formula One practice debuts.

This is the final race for AlphaTauri under that name; the team will be renamed RB in 2024. It is also the last race under the Alfa Romeo name, ending their partnership with Sauber ahead of an incoming Audi collaboration set to begin in 2026. AlphaTauri team principal Franz Tost, retiring after the race, is replaced by Laurent Mekies. Haas team principal Guenther Steiner also leaves after this event; Ayao Komatsu takes over.

Tyre choices

Pirelli brings the C3, C4, and C5 compounds — the three softest in their range — designated hard, medium, and soft.

Practice

FP1 is topped by Russell ahead of Drugovich and Ricciardo, with nine teams running young driver substitutes. FP2 is topped by Leclerc ahead of Norris and Verstappen; the session is stopped twice — once when Sainz crashes heavily at turn 3, and again when Hülkenberg spins into the wall. FP3 is topped by Russell ahead of Norris and Piastri.