The 2025 F1 World Drivers’ Championship will now be decided at the traditional final venue of the season, with this year’s visit marking the 14th time it will conclude in Abu Dhabi. A fifth title is still in the hunt, but last year the constructors’ championship was on the line as Ferrari tried to usurp McLaren, but here’s this week’s guide to Yas Marina – Carlos Sainz – Lead the charge.
“I think it was a good step forward in terms of racing since Abu Dhabi, the track design change where Turn 9 became a long, fast left-hand corner instead of the previous three-part chicane and 90-degree left corner. I think it made the racing a little more exciting.”
“I’m not going to lie, Abu Dhabi wasn’t one of the highlights of the year in terms of single-lap drives. It lacks a little bit of character, it lacks high speed, it lacks a little bit of elevation change. But that being said, it has produced some exciting races in the past and I think it has improved since the track design changed.”
“It’s a challenge to set up the car here because after turns two and three were flat – they were flattened by the high downforce cars in qualifying – now it’s essentially a straight between turns one and five, there’s another big straight between turns five and six, and there’s another big straight between turns seven and nine.
“So sector one and sector two are pretty much linear setups and you want the car to be efficient, but then you get into turn nine and from turn nine onwards it’s all about downforce and the overall ability of the car. So it’s very different halves of the track and that means it’s always difficult to set up the car.
Once the sun goes down, Sainz says Abu Dhabi could be on a completely different course. Joe Portlock/Getty Images
“Here we race at sunset, start during the day and finish in total darkness, but I think the changes from FP1 to FP3 and from FP2 to qualifying are more noticeable than the changes in the race itself.”
Typically, when a race starts, the track temperature will drop by perhaps 5 degrees (Celsius). This is a step, but not a huge one. However, the track can drop by 15 to 20 degrees from FP1 to FP2, which has a big impact on the cars. You’re always playing a guessing game.
For me, the key part or corner on the track right now is Turn 9. Because the design of that corner has changed. The amount of sliding and setup up to turn 9 will have a big impact on the balance in the final sector.
overview:
Race distance: 58 laps/190.3 miles
2024 pole time: 1 minute 22.595 seconds (Lando Norris, McLaren)
2024 winner: Lando Norris, McLaren
Pirelli is sticking with its usual compound selection for the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi: C3, C4 and C5. Historically, the Yas Marina track has seen tire graining, but since last year this phenomenon appears to have been relatively limited, and the high resistance of current tires means that even softs, which are normally only used in qualifying, could become the tires on which race strategies are framed. On this circuit, the degradation is of a thermal nature and is generally seen at the rear due to the need for traction, especially in the final sector of the track. ”
Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Weekend Schedule (all Eastern Time):
Friday, December 5th
4:25am – 5:30am – Free Practice 1, ESPN2
7:55am – 9:00am – Free Practice 2, ESPN-U
Saturday, December 6th
5:25am – 6:30am – Free Practice 3, ESPN2
8:55am – 10:00am – Qualifying, ESPN2
Sunday, December 7th
7:55am – 10am – Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (58 laps or 120 minutes), ESPN
