Abu Dhabi Prixview: Lights Out for the Finale

While it might not be the nail biter that was the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, there’s certainly a lot to tune in for this weekend. 

First of all, we will be seeing some of the most treasured faces in the paddock drive their last race (at least for the foreseeable future). That’s Sebastian Vettel, who is retiring (although Lewis Hamilton reckons he will make a return), Daniel Ricciardo, who is almost confirmed to be the third driver at Red Bull next season), and Mick Schumacher, who has been left without a seat for the 2023 season after being replaced at Haas by Nico Hulkenberg. I know that many of us will be sad not to see these happy faces both on and off track next year, so here’s to hoping that they all have a good race on Sunday. 

WIth Max Verstappen having already wrapped up the World Drivers Championship, it is the second place that will bring the tension this Sunday. Charles Leclerc and Sergio Perez head into the final race at Yas Marina on Sunday exactly equal on points (we’ve seen this before…). With the team orders debacle that Red Bull presented last weekend, the team will certainly be hoping to wrap up the season with Sergio securing that second place. If he doesn’t, there will be thousands of people ready to blame Max Verstappen for his unsporting behaviour last weekend when he refused to let Checo past. 

The first Free Practice session on Friday was filled with many fresh faces, as the team set to fulfil the quota of young driver sessions mandated by the FIA this season. There were eight young drivers who took to the track; Liam Lawson drove Max Verstappen’s Red Bull, Jack Doohan behind the wheel of Fernando Alonso’s Alpine, Pato O’Ward jumped into Lando Norris’ McLaren, Robert Schwartzman subbed for Carlos Sainz at Ferrari, Pietro Fittipaldi for Mick Schumacher at Haas, Felipe Drugovich for Lance Stroll at Aston Martin, not-so-young Robert Kubica swapped with Zhou Guanyu at Alfa Romeo, and finally Logan Sargeant took Nicholas Latifi’s place in his future seat at William’s next year. 

I’m sure there will be some teary eyes as we watch some of the sport’s most loved drivers cross the line for the last time. 

However, there is so much positivity to reflect on this year. The sport grew exponentially in terms of fan base, viewership, and race attendance, with even more young people and female fans getting involved (we love to see it!). 

Max Verstappen won his second driver’s title, Carlos Sainz and George Russel become first-time race winners (there’s still room for one more in this statistic depending on Sunday’s outcome), we raced at Miami for the first time, and returned to some fan-favourite tracks for the first time since COVID including Suzuka in Japan and Melbourne, Australia. 

I hope that you have all found joy in watching Formula 1 this season, whatever the outcome has been for your team or driver (speaking to you LH fans). 

Give yourself a pat on the back for making it through the season, and take a much needed break over the festive season to prepare yourself for the longest season in Formula 1 history next year in 2023…