In Pictures: Abu Dhabi 2023
We have reached the final race of the season, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, a special race in a special place, the Yas Marina Circuit. And yes, both World Championships are already decided, but there are so many other battles and positions to be decided… Are you ready for one last dance in 2023?
THE AREA
ABU DHABI
Abu Dhabi is the capital of the United Arab Emirates, and it is the second-most populous city after Dubai in the UAE. The city of Abu Dhabi is located on an island in the Persian Gulf, off the Central West Coast. Most of the city and the Emirate reside on the mainland connected to the rest of the country. As of 2021, Abu Dhabi's urban area had an estimated population of 1.5 million.
The area surrounding Abu Dhabi is full of archaeological evidence from historical civilizations, such as the Umm an-Nar Culture, which dates back to the third millennium BC.
The pearl diving business was a key industry prior to the discovery of oil reserves. According to a source about pearling, the Persian Gulf was the best location for pearls. In the mid to late 1930s, as the pearl trade declined, interest grew in the oil possibilities of the region. On 5 January 1936, Petroleum Development Trucial Coast Ltd (PDTC), an associate company of the Iraq Petroleum Company, entered into a concession agreement with the ruler, Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan Al Nahyan, to explore for oil. This was followed by a seventy-five-year concession signed in January 1939. However, owing to the desert terrain, inland exploration was fraught with difficulties. In 1953, D'Arcy Exploration Company, the exploration arm of BP, obtained an offshore concession which was then transferred to a company created to operate the concession: Abu Dhabi Marine Areas (ADMA) was a joint venture between BP and Compagnie Française des Pétroles (later Total). In 1958, using a marine drilling platform, the ADMA Enterprise, oil was struck in the Umm Shaif field at a depth of about 2,669 meters (8,755 ft). The UAE's large hydrocarbon wealth gives it one of the highest GDP per capita in the world and Abu Dhabi owns the majority of these resources—95% of the oil and 92% of gas. Abu Dhabi holds 9% of the world's proven oil reserves and almost 5% of the world's natural gas.
As for the city itself, it was planned under the guidance of Sheikh Zayed by Japanese architect Katsuhiko Takahashi in 1967 initially for a population of 40,000. And as has happened with other UAE cities, skyscrapers have been built all around the city, with medium, and high-rise buildings in suburban areas.
Yas Island occupies a total land area of 25 km2 (9.7 sq mi). It is a leisure island and one of the largest tourism projects in Abu Dhabi. It holds the Yas Marina Circuit, which has hosted the Formula One Abu Dhabi Grand Prix since 2009. It is also home to Ferrari World Park, which contains Formula Rossa, the fastest rollercoaster in the world, reaching a speed of 240 kilometers per hour (150 mph). The island also holds the Yas Water World, Warner Bros. World, Sea World, and Clymb Abu Dhabi, which opened in November 2019 and includes the world's tallest indoor climbing wall, at 43 meters (141 ft) tall, as well as the world's widest vertical wind tunnel, at 10 meters (33 ft) wide.
THE CIRCUIT
The Yas Marina Circuit was designed by Hermann Tilke and is situated on Yas Island, near Abu Dhabi. The 5.281km racetrack has sixteen corners and several straights, including a 1.2km straight between Turns 5 and 6. The track also passes by the marina and through the Yas Hotel Abu Dhabi designed by New York-based architects Hani Rashid and Lise Anne Couture of Asymptote Architecture with a facade lighting design by Rogier van der Heide.
The circuit was constructed with a permanent lighting system provided by Musco Lighting, similar to the one installed at Losail International Circuit in Qatar. The Yas Marina Circuit is the largest permanent sports venue lighting project in the world; previously the title had been held by Losail International Circuit.
The surface of the track is made of graywacke aggregate, shipped to Abu Dhabi from a Bayston Hill quarry in Shropshire, England. The surface material is highly acclaimed by circuit bosses and Formula One drivers for the high level of grip it offers, though at the expense of a higher rate of tire wear.
On 7 October 2009, the circuit was granted final approval to hold Formula One races by the FIA. Ayrton Senna’s nephew, Bruno, was the first driver to complete a test run on the circuit.
The original layout was modified in time for the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, turns 4, 5, and 6 were replaced by a single, less severe hairpin, turns 11 through 14 were replaced by a sweeping banked curve, and turns 18 through 20 were made less tight to allow more speed to be carried through them.
FRIDAY
This weekend presented teams, drivers, the FIA, and F1 personnel with enormous challenges as it was the week after the race in Las Vegas. There is a 12-hour difference between the two cities and lots of freight needed to be transported half around the World in the few days available.
Being Abu Dhabi the last Grand Prix of the season, and having the teams to comply with the ‘rookie rule’, there were a lot of driver changes for FP1:
Red Bull - Jake Dennis & Isack Hadjar
Ferrari - Robert Shwartzman
Mercedes - Frederik Vesti
Alpine - Jack Doohan
McLaren- Pato O'Ward
Alfa Romeo - Theo Pourchaire
Aston Martin - Felipe Drugovich
Haas - Oliver Bearman
Williams - Zak O'Sullivan
FP1
With so many rookie drivers, Practice 1 started with a 10-car line already at the end of the pitlane, and within a few minutes, every car was on track.
After the first hour of practice, it was Mercedes’ George Russell the fastest, followed by Felipe Drugovich of Aston Martin, Daniel Ricciardo, Valtteri Bottas, and Lance Stroll, the top five.
FP2
Practice started right on golden hour, it was a beautiful sunset in Abu Dhabi, perfect for some fast F1 cars to take the track. But less than 10 minutes into the session, Carlos Sainz went off and hit the wall fairly hard at Turn 3. Carlos informed his car had some dirty air from a car in front and got a snap of oversteer at the exact moment he hit a bump on the tarmac. Tough combination of circumstances… Red Flag to recover the car and repair the tecpro barrier.
Remember, under a red flag, the clock keeps on ticking so practice time is diminished by the length of said red flag.
And a lengthy red flag that was, costing everyone valuable time as this was the only representative qualifying and race running session of the weekend, as it started at the same time and under similar conditions as the Grand Prix on Sunday, and just one hour before qualifying time on Saturday.
Practice resumed with around 23 minutes left on the clock, but just a couple of minutes later, Nico Hulkenberg clipped the wall, heavily damaging the rear of his Haas, and bringing out the second red flag.
With a bit more than fifteen minutes left in the session, practice resumed. Everyone came out as soon as possible. And with so little time, it wasn’t long for the drivers to start making some qualifying runs.
Time was up, and it was Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc the fastest, with a 1:25.809 lap, just 0.043 ahead of Lando Norris in the McLaren. Then came Max Verstappen, Valtteri Bottas, and Sergio Perez, the top five.
SATURDAY
It was windy in Abu Dhabi, which meant having to drive with the threat of sudden gusts of wind, which could upset a car.
FP3
Cars took to the track, most on softs, except both Ferrari drivers, who were on mediums for the first half of the session.
During the last fifteen minutes, we saw the fastest laps of the day, everyone trying some quali runs, preparing as best as possible for qualifying later on.
In the end, it was George Russell on top, followed by the McLarens of Lando Norris, and Oscar Piastri, then came Alex Albon, and Charles Leclerc, the top five. Fifteen drivers were within a second of Russell, and all twenty drivers were less than 1.3 seconds from first.
Tight pack that was…
QUALIFYING
Track evolution was the highest of the season as the temperature continued to drop and rubber was placed on the track.
Q1
Cars took a bit of time to get into the track, waiting for the above mentioned track evolution. and with 12 minutes left in the session, all 20 cars were on track.
Another issue drivers had was with track limits, as some got their laps deleted, worst of all was Logan Sargeant, who went up to fourth at the time, but got that lap deleted and ended up in the pits with not enough time to set a lap time.
Traffic was another problem for some As Sainz found out, and talking about out, Carlos Sainz, Kevin Magnussen, Valtteri Bottas, Zhou Guanyu, and Logan Sargeant were eliminated from qualifying.
Q2
Once again, for the second week in a row, Hamilton gets knocked out of Q2, and it was his own teammate who did so with a fast lap that sent Russell up to fourth.
Out were Lewis Hamilton, Esteban Ocon, Lance Stroll, Alex Albon, and Daniel Ricciardo.
Q3
And then there were ten… The final shootout of the year started.
The first round of laps ended with the World Champion on top, followed by the McLarens of Norris and Piastri.
WOW! What a thrilling end of qualifying!
Max Verstappen’s first lap was the one, but what a battle for the second place on the front row. In the end, it was Charles Leclerc with a phenomenal third sector taking the spot. Then came Oscar Piastri, George Russell, Lando Norris, Yuki Tsunoda, Fernando Alonso, Nico Hulkenberg, Sergio Perez, and Pierre Gasly, both of them with their respective last laps deleted.
SUNDAY
Raceday started with the Class Family of 2023 photo on the main straight, followed by the Drivers’ Parade. The twenty drivers climbed a large truck and went for a lap around the track waving to the fans; grandstands were packed BTW… Even though the championship was set for the winners, there were several positions to be settled, and the fans flocked from everywhere for the last F1 dance of the year…
A guard of honor was formed by the AlphaTauri team as Franz Tost went on his way to his seat for his final race as boss… Happy retirement Franz!
An hour before the start of the race, the cars took to the track for their last installation laps before going to their respective place on the grid.
Remember, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix starts in daylight and finishes at night. Golden hour gives photographers and general fans a fantastic opportunity for some wonderful photos as the sun sets on the horizon.
Then, the final formation lap of the year started. Everyone was on the medium tires, except Lance Stroll, Carlos Sainz, and Valtteri Bottas. And a few minutes later, the Grand Prix started! And what a start that was with a feisty Charles Leclerc placing his Ferrari right behind Verstappen, and for the whole lap, the Ferrari driver looked set to make the pass, but Verstappen was having none of it and kept the lead of the race.
Behind them, Norris went past Piastri for third, and Perez passed Hamilton for ninth. On Lap 7/58 Russell tried to overtake Piastri at Turn 9, passing him going in, but losing again on exit. A couple of laps later he tried again but same result. Not easy to overtake on this track, nor Piastri!
Up ahead, Leclerc continued his pursuit of Verstappen, but the gap remained at around 1.5 seconds. Battles were everywhere… and finally, Russell overtook Piastri, on the run to Turn 9. Behind them, Perez tried and tried again to pass Gasly for eighth, but couldn’t… Exciting first laps of the race… On Lap 12/58, Perez finally overtook Gasly. Fernando Alonso, ahead of Perez, went into the pits for a new set of hard tires, coming out back in 18th place… Meanwhile, Perez started his pursuit of Tsunoda, 2.5 seconds ahead.
On Lap 14/58, Piastri went into the pits for a new set of hards, coming out just ahead of Alonso, and a battle began between the two of them for 15th place. Next lap, Norris and Russell went into the pits, but the Mercedes guys were faster, and they came out with Russell in 13th, and Norris, in 14th.
Lots of pit stops as Hamilton, Ocon, and Magnussen took new hard tires, they came out Hamilton in 15th, ahead of Ocon, and Magnussen. On the next lap, Verstappen went into the pits, coming out pin seventh. Leclerc was leading the race from Tsunoda and Perez.
Another battle between Ocon and Hamilton, who had damaged his Mercedes’ front wing. And on Lap 18/58, Leclerc did his pitstop, followed by Perez. The Ferrari driver came out fifth, three seconds behind Verstappen, and a second ahead of Russell.
On Lap 19/58 it was Yuki Tsunoda in the AlphaTauri leading the Grand Prix! followed by Stroll and Sainz, who was overtaken by Verstappen going into Turn 9. This was turning out to be a thriller of a race.
On Lap 23/58, Yuki Tsunoda’s time in the lead came to an end as he went for his pitstop, coming out in 12th place. So, the order at the time was Verstappen, ahead of Leclerc, and Russell. At the end of that lap, Sainz did his stop, coming out fifteenth.
Half into the race, everyone was on the hard tires, albeit with lots of different laps on them, so tactics started to play a part, preparing for the final part of the Grand Prix. The battles had settled, and most were desperately trying to catch the one ahead.
On Lap 35/58, Norris pitted for a new set of hards, Next lap, Russell pitted as well, coming just ahead of Norris, and the battle for position began. Next lap, Leclerc pitted, coming out ahead of Russell. These new set of pitstops created new battles all around the track. Order was Verstappen, 16 seconds ahead of Perez, and a further 14 seconds to Leclerc. Then came Tsunoda, and Russell, both with DRS, so by Lap 39/58, Russell overtook Tsunoda and had Leclerc in his sights.
Strategy played a huge part, and Red Bull decided to pit Perez from second place for a new set of hards, he came out in sixth, behind Tsunoda, Next lap (44) Verstappen pitted for new hards, he came out in first place, five seconds ahead of Leclerc. Meanwhile, Perez overtook Tsunoda for fifth and started his pursuit of Norris. Behind them, a train formed between Sainz, Alonso, and Russell. Alonso got Sainz with DRS.
On Lap 47/58, Perez tried to overtake Norris but ended up touching the McLaren and taking him out of the track. Next lap, Perez finally took fourth place overtaking Norris into Turn 6. Behind them, Hamilton passed Sainz for 9th.
The incident between Perez and Norris produced a five-second penalty for Perez from the race stewards. Odd penalty for the Mexican as there was no damage in any of the cars, they kept their places before the contact and didn’t lose much to the ones ahead.
Ferrari decided to wait for a safety car and ended up pitting Sainz just two laps before the end. He had to take a set of a different compound to comply with the rules. They went for Softs, but came out in fifteenth place, and way behind the points.
Leclerc opened the door for Perez to pass trying to force enough space between Perez and Russell.
In the end, Max Verstappen won his record braking 19th Grand Prix of the season and led more than 1000 laps (1003), a new record as well. Charles Leclerc finished second, and George Russell third.
Behind them came Perez, Norris, Piastri, Alonso, Tsunoda, and Hamilton. That meant Mercedes finished second in the Constructors’ Championship, Ferrari third.
Yuki Tsunoda was voted Driver of the Day by the f1.com fans…
All in all, it was a fitting finish for the Red Bull team, building the most dominant car in the history of the sport, and Max Verstappen, who drove faultlessly all year long.
This Grand Prix was the first time since 1952 that a British driver has not won a race during the season.
Max Verstappen broke many, many records, among them, a 60 year old record by Jim Clark: Highest percentage of laps led in a season:
1963 Jim Clark: 71.47% (506/708 laps)
2023 Max Verstappen: 75.70% (1003/1325 laps)
He also broke Sebastian Vettel's record from 2011 for the most laps led in a season - 1003 vs. 739.