Who is the most successful racing driver at the Abu Dhabi GP?
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Abu Dhabi GP
The Abu Dhabi GP is held at the Yas Marina Circuit, designed by Hermann Tilke. It is situated on Yas Island, near the city of Abu Dhabi, which lends its name to the event. First held in 2009, it has been a staple of the Formula 1 calendar ever since, being the final race of the season in all but three seasons (2011, 2012 & 2013).
The circuit has been host to some very memorable season finales. 2010 – when Sebastian Vettel recovered a 15 points deficit against Fernando Alonso to win his first world championship. 2016 – When Lewis Hamilton famously defied the team’s instructions to increase his speed, backing up Nico Rosberg, but the German was able to hold on and secure the title.
And then there’s 2021 – when Max Verstappen beat Lewis Hamilton to win his first title in controversial circumstances. That result stands, but it will continue to be discussed for ages, as it is now. There have been other memorable moments – such as Kimi Raikkonen’s radio messages to his engineer in 2012. When told to work the tyres on lap 23, the Finn replied: “Just leave me alone, I know what to do.”
Raikkonen is one of six drivers to ever win the race in its 13-season history, and he and Lotus are the outlier in the history books, as with his win in 2012 he is still the only non-Red Bull or Mercedes driver in history to ever win the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. There’s been one other Finnish winner – Valtteri Bottas in 2017, and even Nico Rosberg, who won in 2015, is half-Finnish. Three of the six drivers have won the race multiple times, and they are:
Also Read: Abu Dhabi GP 2022 : Where and when to watch Sebastian Vettel’s last ever race?
Max Verstappen – 2020, 2021
Max Verstappen has won the last two season finales at the Abu Dhabi GP for Red Bull, their first win(s) at the circuit since 2013. In 2020, he had won it from his only pole position that year, comfortably holding off Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton. But the second of these wins in 2021 was anything but comfortable.
With the help of a slipstream from teammate Sergio Perez, Verstappen was able to take pole position, and he would be starting the race on the soft tyres, while championship rival Lewis Hamilton started on the medium tyres. Despite his ‘faster’ tyres, Verstappen was jumped at the start by Hamilton, who kept his lead after a close lap 1 incident with him going wide off the track.
Verstappen pitted on lap 14, with Hamilton following suit on the next lap and retaining his lead. But this played into the hands of Perez and Red Bull, as he was now in the lead of the race. When Hamilton finally caught up to Perez, the Mexican driver used all his experience and put his life into defending and backing Hamilton up, despite much, slower, older tyres (and performance).
When Hamilton had entered Perez’s DRS at the end of lap 19, Verstappen was nearly 9 seconds behind the Briton. But then Perez’s heroics held him up for 2 laps, and the gap sunk to just around 1.2 seconds, leading Verstappen to declare: “Checo [Perez] is a legend.” This defence would prove to be crucial in the late stages after the safety car came out.
When the safety car came out on lap 54, Verstappen dove into the pits, but Hamilton did not, as it was not clear whether he would be able to retain his lead. Plus, it looked as if the safety car may stay till the end. But that wasn’t the case, and the two championship rivals went motor racing for a final lap. Verstappen, with his much fresher, and faster soft tyres overtook Hamilton to win his first world championship.
Sebastian Vettel – 2009, 2010, 2013
Sebastian Vettel, who has won the Abu Dhabi GP three times before, is competing in the final race of his career this weekend. For now at least, as he has not ruled out a return. He won the first edition of the event in 2009 after Jenson Button had already sealed his the title that year. It was Lewis Hamilton who took the pole, but with a swift pit stop Vettel overtook him, and then the polesitter retired. Vettel’s teammate, Mark Webber came home in second to round off the season with a fourth one-two finish for the team.
2010 was undoubtedly the most memorable Vettel win for fans and in all likelihood, himself as well. He came into the race 15 points behind Fernando Alonso and 7 points behind teammate Mark Webber. The German took pole position, and Alonso qualified for P3, with Webber in P5. If Vettel won, all Alonso had to do was finish fourth.
But Ferrari’s preoccupation with Webber and faith in Alonso’s ability to overtake had them take a strategic decision which may have cost Alonso the championship. Both had been struggling with the super-soft tyres, with Webber pitting at the end of lap 11, and Alonso pitting at the end of lap 15. But the tyres improved, and Vettel pit much later, at the end of lap 25.
Meanwhile, when Alonso and Webber finally caught up with Vitaly Petrov’s Renault (Petrov had pit under the safety car at the end of lap 1, they were unable to get past him. This was due in part due to Petrov’s speed on the straights, which was enhanced by a fresh engine and good traction out of slow corners. DRS did not exist back then, and so, he continued to frustrate the pair till the end of the race.
Sebastian Vettel took a relatively comfortable victory and won the championship as Alonso and Webber slogged to the finish line behind Petrov, 7th and 8th respectively. Curiously, this was also the first time the German had led the championship all year. In 2013, he had already sealed the championship by the 3 races back, at the Indian Grand Prix. That victory was relatively comfortable, as was the one in Abu Dhabi.
Also Read: Abu Dhabi GP 2012: The origin of Kimi Raikkonen’s famous “I know what to do” quote
Lewis Hamilton – 2011, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2019
Formula 1’s (joint) record champion, Lewis Hamilton, is also the record winner at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, having taken 4 of Mercedes’ 6 victories at the circuit. The first of his five wins was for McLaren back in 2011. Vettel had taken pole but retired on the first lap due to a puncture. Hamilton had qualified second, so he took the lead and a relatively comfortable victory to cap off his season.
His second win in 2014 was notable for two reasons: He sealed the title against Nico Rosberg, and this was also the first and last time that double points were awarded for the final race. Going into the race, Hamilton led by 17 points, but it was Rosberg who took pole position. At the start, Hamilton jumped him and soon extended his advantage.
Rosberg began to suffer from a variety of issues, mechanical or otherwise – a lock-up was followed up by losing engine power on lap 23, and later, and then his ERS failed by lap 25. By lap 53, two laps from the end, the car had developed so many issues that he was advised to retire the car but chose to at least finish the race. He eventually finished P14. On the other hand, Hamilton won the race, and with that, the championship.
Two years later, both of them came into Abu Dhabi once again vying for a championship, but this time, it was Rosberg with the points advantage. Hamilton had won the last three races and took pole position. All Rosberg had to do to secure the title was stay on the podium, while Hamilton needed to be on the podium to at least stay in the fight.
Hamilton kept his lead at the start from an understandably cautious Rosberg. The first spanner into the works was thrown after the first round of pitstops. With Hamilton having pitted on lap 7, Rosberg came in the next lap, but found Max Verstappen between himself and Hamilton, who was still leading the race. Mercedes believed he would pit soon, but Verstappen continued to stay out.
Raikkonen was right on Rosberg’s tail, and Vettel was catching up quickly as well. Finally, on lap 20, the German overtook Verstappen and began to charge towards Hamilton. When Rosberg caught up, Hamilton began to back him up into the rest of the field, including a fast-charging Vettel. Despite the pleas from the pit wall, Hamilton refused to increase his pace.
Rosberg was under attack by Vettel but was able to hold him off. Even if he had been overtaken, the real concern was not falling to fourth, as Verstappen was close behind. Hamilton, Rosberg, and Vettel finished within 0.843 seconds of each other. Hamilton won the race but lost the championship. He’s won the Abu Dhabi GP two more times, in 2018 and 2019.
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