2020 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

The 2020 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (officially known as the Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2020) was a Formula One motor race held on 13 December 2020 at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The race was the seventeenth and final round of the 2020 Formula One World Championship. Red Bull driver Max Verstappen won the race and led every lap from pole position, followed by Mercedes drivers Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton who completed the podium. Red Bull Racing got their first victory at Yas Marina in seven years. McLaren secured third place in the Constructors' Championship which saw them score their highest finish in the Constructors' Championship since 2012. This also meant that for the first time since 2015, a team other than Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull finished in the top three in the Constructors' Championship.[1]

2020 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
Race 17 of 17[lower-alpha 1] in the 2020 Formula One World Championship
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Race details
Date 13 December 2020 (2020-12-13)
Official name Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2020
Location Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Course Permanent racing facility
Course length 5.554 km (3.451 mi)
Distance 55 laps, 305.355 km (189.738 mi)
Weather Clear
Attendance 0[lower-alpha 2]
Pole position
Driver
Red Bull Racing-Honda
Time 1:35.246
Fastest lap
Driver Daniel Ricciardo Renault
Time 1:40.926 on lap 55
Podium
First
Red Bull Racing-Honda
Second
Mercedes
Third
Mercedes

Background

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic
See also: 2020 Formula One World Championship § Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and COVID-19 pandemic in the United Arab Emirates

The opening rounds of the 2020 championship were heavily affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Several Grands Prix were cancelled or postponed after the aborted opening round in Australia, prompting the FIA to draft a new calendar. The Bahrain Grand Prix was moved to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix's original date, delaying the race by two weeks. Due to a surge of COVID-19 cases in the country, organisers announced that the Grand Prix would take place behind closed doors.[2]

Entrants
Further information: 2020 Formula One World Championship § Entries

The drivers and teams were the same as the pre-season entry list with the only exception being Romain Grosjean, who was replaced by Pietro Fittipaldi at the Sakhir Grand Prix.[3] Mick Schumacher drove for Haas in the first practice session, in place of Kevin Magnussen,[4] while Robert Kubica drove for Alfa Romeo Racing, in place of Antonio Giovinazzi.[5] Robert Shwartzman, who competed in Formula 2, was also due to appear in the first practice session, driving for Haas.[6] However, he did not appear on the entry list.[3] Lewis Hamilton was confirmed as an entrant shortly before the race, having tested negative for the coronavirus, which had caused him to miss the previous round.[7]

This was the final race as Racing Point for the Silverstone based team and as Renault for the Enstone based team as they are due to be rebranded as Aston Martin and Alpine respectively for 2021. The race will also marked the 100th Grand Prix start for Haas and the 400th for Renault.[8]

Tyres
See also: Formula One tyres

Sole tyre supplier Pirelli provided the C3, C4 and C5 tyre compounds (the softest selection available) for use in dry conditions.[9] Pirelli tested the 2021 tyre compounds during the second practice session.[10]

Penalties

Charles Leclerc incurred a three-place grid penalty for the race after causing a collision with Sergio Pérez at the Sakhir Grand Prix.[11] Pérez and Kevin Magnussen were required to start from the back of the grid for exceeding their quotas of power unit elements.[12]

Practice

The first practice session ended with Max Verstappen fastest ahead of Valtteri Bottas and Esteban Ocon.[13] The second practice session was red-flagged for 10 minutes after Kimi Räikkönen's Alfa Romeo Racing C39 caught fire, and ended with Valtteri Bottas fastest ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen.[14] Verstappen set the fastest time in the third free practice session, followed by his teammate Alexander Albon and Renault driver Daniel Ricciardo.[15]

Qualifying

Max Verstappen of Red Bull got pole position for the first time since the 2019 Brazilian Grand Prix and the third of his career overall. This was the only pole position of the season achieved by a car not powered by a Mercedes engine and the first time since 2013 that Mercedes have not taken pole at the Yas Marina Circuit. Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton qualified 2nd and 3rd for Mercedes with Lando Norris of McLaren in 4th, Alexander Albon in the other Red Bull 5th and Carlos Sainz Jr. 6th. Sebastian Vettel started his last race for Ferrari from 13th place. George Russell qualified 18th fastest on his return to Williams ahead of Pietro Fittipaldi of Haas and teammate Nicholas Latifi.[16]

Qualifying classification
Pos. No. Driver Constructor Qualifying times Final
grid
Q1 Q2 Q3
1 33 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing-Honda 1:35.993 1:35.641 1:35.246 1
2 77 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1:35.699 1:35.527 1:35.271 2
3 44 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:35.528 1:35.466 1:35.332 3
4 4 Lando Norris McLaren-Renault 1:36.016 1:35.849 1:35.497 4
5 23 Alexander Albon Red Bull Racing-Honda 1:36.106 1:35.654 1:35.571 5
6 55 Carlos Sainz Jr. McLaren-Renault 1:36.517 1:36.192 1:35.815 6
7 26 Daniil Kvyat AlphaTauri-Honda 1:36.459 1:36.214 1:35.963 7
8 18 Lance Stroll Racing Point-BWT Mercedes 1:36.502 1:36.143 1:36.046 8
9 16 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:35.881 1:35.932 1:36.065 121
10 10 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri-Honda 1:36.545 1:36.282 1:36.242 9
11 31 Esteban Ocon Renault 1:36.783 1:36.359 N/A 10
12 3 Daniel Ricciardo Renault 1:36.704 1:36.406 N/A 11
13 5 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:36.655 1:36.631 N/A 13
14 99 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo Racing-Ferrari 1:37.075 1:38.248 N/A 14
15 11 Sergio Pérez Racing Point-BWT Mercedes 1:36.034 No time N/A 192
16 7 Kimi Räikkönen Alfa Romeo Racing-Ferrari 1:37.555 N/A N/A 15
17 20 Kevin Magnussen Haas-Ferrari 1:37.836 N/A N/A 202
18 63 George Russell Williams-Mercedes 1:38.045 N/A N/A 16
19 51 Pietro Fittipaldi Haas-Ferrari 1:38.173 N/A N/A 17
20 6 Nicholas Latifi Williams-Mercedes 1:38.443 N/A N/A 18
107% time: 1:42.214
Source:[17][18]
Notes

Race

Race summary

Verstappen led every lap of the race from pole. Bottas and Hamilton completed the podium with the top 3 remaining in grid order. Albon managed to overtake Lando Norris for 4th place. Norris finished fifth ahead of his team mate Sainz in 6th, with McLaren finishing third in the Constructors' Championship, helped by the fact that Racing Point's Sergio Pérez retired with a technical problem on lap 9. Renault driver Ricciardo, who achieved the fastest lap, was next in 7th with Gasly in 8th. Ocon passed Stroll for 9th on the final lap. Kimi Räikkönen's Alfa Romeo was the lead Ferrari-powered car, finishing 12th ahead of the Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel. Pietro Fittipaldi was the last of all the finishers in 19th place, two laps down of race winner Verstappen.[19][20]

Post-race

The Race reported that Hamilton was criticised after the race for saying that he was not feeling "100%" since he had COVID-19, although he felt grateful to be alive.[21] Verstappen was pleased with victory but did not necessarily think the team would be title challengers in 2021.[22] George Russell said he found readapting to the Williams for this event much tougher than adapting to the Mercedes for the Sakhir Grand Prix.[23]

Race classification
Pos. No. Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 33 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing-Honda 55 1:36:28.645 1 25
2 77 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 55 +15.976 2 18
3 44 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 55 +18.415 3 15
4 23 Alexander Albon Red Bull Racing-Honda 55 +19.987 5 12
5 4 Lando Norris McLaren-Renault 55 +1:00.729 4 10
6 55 Carlos Sainz Jr. McLaren-Renault 55 +1:05.662 6 8
7 3 Daniel Ricciardo Renault 55 +1:13.748 11 71
8 10 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri-Honda 55 +1:29.718 9 4
9 31 Esteban Ocon Renault 55 +1:41.069 10 2
10 18 Lance Stroll Racing Point-BWT Mercedes 55 +1:42.738 8 1
11 26 Daniil Kvyat AlphaTauri-Honda 54 +1 lap 7
12 7 Kimi Räikkönen Alfa Romeo Racing-Ferrari 54 +1 lap 15
13 16 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 54 +1 lap 12
14 5 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 54 +1 lap 13
15 63 George Russell Williams-Mercedes 54 +1 lap 16
16 99 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo Racing-Ferrari 54 +1 lap 14
17 6 Nicholas Latifi Williams-Mercedes 54 +1 lap 18
18 20 Kevin Magnussen Haas-Ferrari 54 +1 lap 20
19 51 Pietro Fittipaldi Haas-Ferrari 53 +2 laps 17
Ret 11 Sergio Pérez Racing Point-BWT Mercedes 8 Power unit 19
Fastest lap: Daniel Ricciardo (Renault) – 1:40.926 (lap 55)
Source:[18][24][25]
Notes
  • ^1 – Includes one point for fastest lap.

Championship standings after the race
  • Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

Notes
  1. The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic saw several Grands Prix cancelled or rescheduled. The revised calendar consisted of seventeen races.
  2. The Grand Prix was held behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Arab Emirates.
  3. Racing Point was deducted 15 points after a protest from Renault was upheld regarding the legality of their car.[26]

References
  1. "PADDOCK PASS: We round up the drivers' reactions as the 2020 season draws to a close". www.formula1.com. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
  2. Lewis Larkam (7 November 2020). "Bahrain F1 double-header to take place behind closed doors". crash.net. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  3. "2020 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – Entry List" (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 10 December 2020. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  4. Simone Peluso (9 December 2020). "Haas: Mick Schumacher nelle PL1 di Abu Dhabi". FormulaPassion.it (in Italian). Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  5. Marco Belloro (9 December 2020). "Abu Dhabi: Kubica e Ilott in pista con Alfa Romeo nei test". FormulaPassion.it (in Italian). Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  6. "Ferrari juniors Schumacher, Ilott and Shwartzman reflect on 'unforgettable' Fiorano test". Formula1.com. 1 October 2020. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
  7. "F1 – Verstappen quickest in Abu Dhabi as Hamilton returns for Mercedes after COVID-19 recovery". Federation Internationale de l'Automobile. 11 December 2020. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
  8. "Abu Dhabi 2020". Statsf1.com. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  9. "Tyre compound choices and set allocations for last seven Grands Prix of 2020". Pirelli. 9 September 2020. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  10. "Pirelli verso Abu Dhabi: "In PL2 test gomme 2021"" (in Italian). 7 December 2020. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
  11. "Leclerc handed three-place grid drop for Abu Dhabi for causing opening lap crash". Formula1.com. 6 December 2020. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  12. "Perez and Magnussen to start Abu Dhabi GP from back of grid after power unit updates". Formula1.com. 11 December 2020. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
  13. "FP1: Verstappen quickest in first practice in Abu Dhabi with Hamilton fifth on F1 return". Formula1.com. 11 December 2020. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
  14. "FP2: Bottas leads Hamilton under the lights in Abu Dhabi as Verstappen takes P3". Formula1.com. 11 December 2020. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
  15. "FP3: Verstappen leads Red Bull 1-2 ahead of Renault duo in final Abu Dhabi practice session". Formula1.com. 12 December 2020. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
  16. "Verstappen stuns Mercedes by taking first pole of the season in Abu Dhabi". Formula1.com. 12 December 2020. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
  17. "Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2020 – Qualifying". Formula1.com. 12 December 2020. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
  18. "Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2020 – Starting Grid". Formula1.com. 12 December 2020. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
  19. "Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2020 race report & highlights: Dominant Verstappen comfortably holds off Mercedes to seal victory in Abu Dhabi season finale". www.formula1.com. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
  20. "Verstappen wins season finale in Abu Dhabi". Retrieved 15 December 2020 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  21. Mitchell, Scott (14 December 2020). "Should 'blown' Hamilton have skipped the Abu Dhabi GP?". The Race. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
  22. "Max Verstappen thinks Mercedes had power turned down". Planet F1. 13 December 2020. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
  23. "George Russell: Step back to Williams was trickier". Planet F1. 16 December 2020. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
  24. "Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2020 – Race Result". Formula1.com. 13 December 2020. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  25. "Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2020 – Fastest Laps". Formula1.com. 13 December 2020. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  26. "Racing Point deducted 15 points and fined heavily as Renault protest into car legality upheld". formula1.com. 7 August 2020. Archived from the original on 7 August 2020. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
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2020 Sakhir Grand Prix		 FIA Formula One World Championship
2020 season		 Next race:
2021 Bahrain Grand Prix
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2019 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix		 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Next race:
2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
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