2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

Championship standings

Max Verstappen, who clinched his fourth consecutive World Drivers’ Championship title at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, leads the Drivers’ Championship with 429 points, 80 points ahead of Lando Norris in second, and 88 ahead of Charles Leclerc in third. McLaren, holding 640 points, enters this round as the leader of the Constructors’ Championship from Ferrari and Red Bull Racing, who are second and third with 619 and 581 points, respectively.

Previous race

At the Qatar Grand Prix, Red Bull Racing dropped out of contention for the World Constructors’ Championship, leaving the title to be decided between McLaren and Ferrari at this season finale.

Championship permutations

McLaren and Ferrari both have the opportunity to secure the World Constructors’ Championship title at this event. McLaren seek their first Constructors’ title since 1998; Ferrari seek their first since 2008. Defending Constructors’ Champions Red Bull Racing were eliminated from contention after the previous round in Qatar, sitting 59 points behind McLaren with a maximum of 44 points available. Ferrari must outscore McLaren by 22 points to win the title, or 21 points if Ferrari wins the Grand Prix.

Entrants

Jack Doohan replaces Esteban Ocon at Alpine for this event. Doohan makes his Formula One debut ahead of his first full-time season for Alpine in 2025.

Milestones and driver farewells

This Grand Prix marks Lewis Hamilton’s final race as a Mercedes driver before moving to Ferrari in 2025, ending the most successful driver-team partnership in Formula One history. It is also Carlos Sainz Jr.’s final race as a Ferrari driver before moving to Williams, Sergio Pérez’s last race with Red Bull Racing, Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu’s final races as Sauber teammates before being replaced by Nico Hülkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto, and the last career race of Kevin Magnussen, driving for Haas.

FP1 rookie sessions

During the first free practice session, six teams field alternate drivers who have not raced in more than two Grands Prix, as required by the Formula One regulations: Luke Browning for Williams in place of Alexander Albon, Isack Hadjar for Red Bull Racing in place of Max Verstappen, Felipe Drugovich for Aston Martin in place of Lance Stroll, Ryō Hirakawa for McLaren in place of Oscar Piastri, Ayumu Iwasa for RB in place of Yuki Tsunoda, and Arthur Leclerc for Ferrari in place of Carlos Sainz Jr. Browning, Hirakawa, and Leclerc make their Formula One practice debuts.

Weather

Clear conditions are expected for race day.

Tyre choices

Tyre supplier Pirelli brings the C3, C4, and C5 tyre compounds (the softest three in their range), designated hard, medium, and soft, respectively.

Practice

The first free practice session is topped by Charles Leclerc of Ferrari ahead of Lando Norris of McLaren and Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes. The second free practice session is topped by Norris ahead of teammate Oscar Piastri and Nico Hülkenberg of Haas. The third practice session is topped by Piastri ahead of Norris and Hamilton.