2018 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

The 2018 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (formally known as the Formula 1 2018 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held on 25 November 2018 at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The race was the twenty first and final round of the 2018 Formula One World Championship and marked the tenth running of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and the tenth time that the race has been run as a World Championship event since the inaugural season in 1950.

2018 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
Race 21 of 21 in the 2018 Formula One World Championship
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Race details[1]
Date 25 November 2018 (2018-11-25)
Official name Formula 1 2018 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
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 (189.739 mi)
Pole position
Driver
Mercedes
Time 1:34.794
Fastest lap
Driver Sebastian Vettel Ferrari
Time 1:40.867 on lap 54
Podium
First
Mercedes
Second
Ferrari
Third
Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer

Report

Background

McLaren announced they would be using a special one-off livery to celebrate the last race of Fernando Alonso. This was the first time McLaren had run a special livery since the 1986 Portuguese Grand Prix.[2] McLaren also invited the family of seven time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Champion Jimmie Johnson to the race. Johnson and his family watched the race from the McLaren garage.

Title standings before the race

Prior to the race, Lewis Hamilton had already secured the 2018 World Drivers' Championship title, while his team, Mercedes, had secured the 2018 World Constructors' Championship title. Lewis Hamilton claimed his fifth World Drivers' title at the 2018 Mexican Grand Prix; following the Brazilian Grand Prix he led Sebastian Vettel by 81 points with Kimi Räikkönen being third, a further 51 points behind. In the World Constructors' Championship, Mercedes led Ferrari by 67 points with only one race remaining in the season, with Red Bull Racing being third in the standings.

Practice

Max Verstappen was fastest in first practice, Valtteri Bottas was fastest in second practice and Lewis Hamilton was fastest in third practice.[3]

Qualifying

Lewis Hamilton set the fastest time in qualifying followed by Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas and the Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel.[4]

Race

Hamilton won the race from pole position with Vettel and Max Verstappen completing the podium.[5] On the first lap at turn 9 Nico Hülkenberg overtook Romain Grosjean at turn 8 at the end of the back straight. Grosjean was pushed off the track by the move but tried to still make turn 9 alongside Hülkenberg. Not realizing that Grosjean was still on his inside, Hülkenberg attempted to take the normal line through turn 9 and his rear right tire ran over Grosjean's front left. This caused the Renault R.S.18 to flip and barrel roll into the barriers to the left of turn 9, thus sending the race into a safety car situation, the first such instance in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix since 2012.[6][7][8]

Post race

After the race had been completed Alonso celebrated the end of his career by performing doughnuts on the pit straight alongside Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel, the other two World Champions who completed the race (Kimi Räikkönen had retired from the race.) [9] Jimmie Johnson congratulated Alonso on his career. The two would later exchange their respective cars in a car swap at Bahrain International Circuit.

Classification

Qualifying
Pos. No. Driver Constructor Qualifying times Final
grid
Q1 Q2 Q3
1 44 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:36.828 1:35.693 1:34.794 1
2 77 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1:36.789 1:36.392 1:34.956 2
3 5 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:36.775 1:36.345 1:35.125 3
4 7 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1:37.010 1:36.735 1:35.365 4
5 3 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer 1:37.117 1:36.964 1:35.401 5
6 33 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer 1:37.195 1:36.144 1:35.589 6
7 8 Romain Grosjean Haas-Ferrari 1:37.575 1:36.732 1:36.192 7
8 16 Charles Leclerc Sauber-Ferrari 1:37.124 1:36.580 1:36.237 8
9 31 Esteban Ocon Force India-Mercedes 1:36.936 1:36.814 1:36.540 9
10 27 Nico Hülkenberg Renault 1:37.569 1:36.630 1:36.542 10
11 55 Carlos Sainz Jr. Renault 1:37.757 1:36.982 N/A 11
12 9 Marcus Ericsson Sauber-Ferrari 1:37.619 1:37.132 N/A 12
13 20 Kevin Magnussen Haas-Ferrari 1:37.934 1:37.309 N/A 13
14 11 Sergio Pérez Force India-Mercedes 1:37.255 1:37.541 N/A 14
15 14 Fernando Alonso McLaren-Renault 1:37.890 1:37.743 N/A 15
16 28 Brendon Hartley Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda 1:37.994 N/A N/A 16
17 10 Pierre Gasly Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda 1:38.166 N/A N/A 17
18 2 Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren-Renault 1:38.577 N/A N/A 18
19 35 Sergey Sirotkin Williams-Mercedes 1:38.635 N/A N/A 19
20 18 Lance Stroll Williams-Mercedes 1:38.682 N/A N/A 20
107% time: 1:43.549
Source:[4]

Race
Pos. No. Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 44 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 55 1:39:40.382 1 25
2 5 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 55 +2.581 3 18
3 33 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer 55 +12.706 6 15
4 3 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer 55 +15.379 5 12
5 77 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 55 +47.957 2 10
6 55 Carlos Sainz Jr. Renault 55 +1:12.548 11 8
7 16 Charles Leclerc Sauber-Ferrari 55 +1:30.789 8 6
8 11 Sergio Pérez Force India-Mercedes 55 +1:31.275 14 4
9 8 Romain Grosjean Haas-Ferrari 54 +1 lap 7 2
10 20 Kevin Magnussen Haas-Ferrari 54 +1 lap 13 1
11 14 Fernando Alonso McLaren-Renault 54 +1 lap1 15
12 28 Brendon Hartley Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda 54 +1 lap 16
13 18 Lance Stroll Williams-Mercedes 54 +1 lap 20
14 2 Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren-Renault 54 +1 lap 18
15 35 Sergey Sirotkin Williams-Mercedes 54 +1 lap 19
Ret 10 Pierre Gasly Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda 46 Engine 17
Ret 31 Esteban Ocon Force India-Mercedes 44 Engine1 9
Ret 9 Marcus Ericsson Sauber-Ferrari 24 Power loss 12
Ret 7 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 6 Power loss 4
Ret 27 Nico Hülkenberg Renault 0 Collision 10
Source:[10]
Notes
  • ^1  – Fernando Alonso received three five-second penalties for leaving the track and gaining an advantage. Esteban Ocon received one five-second penalty for the same offence.

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

References
  1. "Abu Dhabi". Formula1.com.
  2. "McLaren reveal one-off livery for Alonso's final race". Formula1.com. 21 November 2018. Retrieved 23 November 2018.
  3. "Standings". Formula1.com. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
  4. "Formula 1 2018 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – Qualifying". Formula1.com. 24 November 2018. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
  5. "Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2018 race report". Formula1.com. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
  6. "Nico Hulkenberg Crash, All The Angles". YouTube. Formula 1. Retrieved 20 July 2019.
  7. Sport, Telegraph (25 November 2018). "Nico Hulkenberg trapped in ablaze Renault for three minutes after dramatic crash at Abu Dhabi GP". Retrieved 6 March 2019 – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
  8. "Lewis Hamilton ends season with Abu Dhabi win". BBC Sport. 25 November 2018. Retrieved 20 July 2019.
  9. "DT'S 10 THOUGHTS… On Abu Dhabi and beyond". Formula1.com. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
  10. "Formula 1 2018 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – Race Result". Formula1.com. 25 November 2018. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
  11. "Abu Dhabi 2018 – Championship". StatsF1. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
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