What makes the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix special – and why you should see it

The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is where world titles have been won and lost. The Yas Marina Circuit has hosted championship deciders on a lap built around a 1.2km straight, in a race that starts in daylight and finishes under the lights.

F1 first raced here in 2009, when Sebastian Vettel won the inaugural Grand Prix for Red Bull. He returned a year later to clinch his first world title, and the circuit has settled several more since – Nico Rosberg’s in 2016, Max Verstappen’s first in 2021 and Lando Norris’s first in 2025 among them. In 2024, Norris also won here to seal McLaren’s first constructors’ title since 1998.

Here is what makes Yas Marina such a fitting place to settle a season, and why the race is worth watching all the way to the flag.

Day into night on Yas Island

The Yas Marina Circuit sits on Yas Island, just east of Abu Dhabi, and was completed in 2009. Changes made ahead of the 2021 race reshaped the lap: a chicane became a wider hairpin at Turn 5, and four tight corners gave way to a single long, slightly banked corner, now Turn 9.

Out of that hairpin, the cars run down a 1.2km straight to Turn 6, with slow corners at either end – the lap’s best chance to overtake. Later comes the run through Turns 10 and 11 into Turn 12, where drivers must brake hard with lateral load – the sideways force of cornering – still on the car.

Then the light changes. No other Grand Prix on the calendar sees the sun set while the race is running. As dusk falls, the braking zone at the end of the long straight is the place to watch.

When is the next Abu Dhabi Grand Prix?

The 2026 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the 23rd and final round of the season, runs from Friday 4 December to Sunday 6 December. Practice 1 and Practice 2 are held on Friday, Practice 3 and Qualifying on Saturday, and the Grand Prix, over 58 laps, on Sunday.

Check out the RACE HUB to see when each F1 session starts in your local time zone, wherever you are in the world.

What happened at the last Abu Dhabi Grand Prix?

Verstappen won the 2025 race for Red Bull, more than 12 seconds ahead of Oscar Piastri for McLaren. Norris, who started second knowing a top-three finish would secure the title, lost a place to Piastri on the opening lap but finished third. That gave him his first world title by two points from Verstappen, with Piastri a further 11 points back.

Check out the RACE HUB to catch up on news, reports and highlights from every session of that season’s race weekend.

Why we love the Yas Marina Circuit

Yas Marina measures 5.281km (3.281 miles) and has 16 turns. The Grand Prix runs over 58 laps, and the race lap record of 1m 25.637s has stood since Kevin Magnussen set it in 2024.

Beyond the long straight, the lap wraps around the yacht-filled marina before the final sector winds past the Yas Hotel and its glowing panels. Even leaving the pits is unusual here: the pit lane exit runs through a tunnel under the circuit before rejoining the track.

Abu Dhabi has closed every season since 2014, so this is where the year’s last points are scored and, sometimes, where careers end – Vettel bowed out here in 2022. And for any driver yet to secure a seat for next season, it is one last chance to show what they can do.

F1 cars are on track on all three days of the weekend, from Friday’s first practice session to Saturday’s Qualifying, which sets the grid, and Sunday’s Grand Prix.

Abu Dhabi also hosts the final round of the FIA Formula 2 Championship season, with F2 practice and Qualifying on Friday, the Sprint Race on Saturday and the Feature Race on Sunday. Further support races fill the timetable around the F1 sessions.

For those at the circuit, the F1 Fanzone offers entertainment, food and drink, official merchandise and driver appearances on stage. The Fanzone opens on Thursday, the day before F1 cars take to the track.

Each evening from Thursday to Sunday, concerts take place at an open-air venue next to the circuit – for Grand Prix ticket holders only.

Memorable moments in Abu Dhabi

Yas Marina has staged F1’s first twilight race, a four-way title decider and a championship settled on the final lap.

Here are the moments that stand out…

2009 – The first Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was also F1’s first twilight race, starting as the sun began to dip. Lewis Hamilton led from pole for McLaren until failing brakes forced him out after 20 laps, and Vettel went on to lead a Red Bull 1-2, with already-crowned champion Jenson Button third for Brawn.

2010 – Four drivers arrived with a chance of the title, led by Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso. Vettel won from pole, but Alonso, who had pitted early, spent the rest of the race stuck behind Vitaly Petrov’s Renault and finished seventh. Vettel took the title by four points to become the youngest champion in the sport’s history – a record he held until 2026.

2014 – The title came down to Mercedes team mates Hamilton and Rosberg, with Hamilton 17 points ahead on arrival. The final race carried double points, so Hamilton’s victory earned him 50. Rosberg, who started from pole, slid to 14th without scoring after his energy recovery system (ERS) failed, leaving Hamilton champion by 67 points.

2016 – Rosberg needed a podium to beat Mercedes team mate Hamilton to the title. Hamilton led from the start and lapped slowly in the closing stages as Vettel, now at Ferrari, and Verstappen closed in, and less than two seconds covered the top four at the flag. Rosberg held second to become world champion, as his father Keke Rosberg had been in 1982.

2021 – Title rivals Verstappen and Hamilton met in the season finale. Hamilton took the lead at the start and held it until a crash brought out the Safety Car with five laps to go. Verstappen pitted for fresh soft tyres, racing resumed for the final lap, and he passed Hamilton into Turn 5 to win the race and his first world title. Mercedes took a record eighth consecutive constructors’ title.

2024 – Norris led from pole to the flag to seal McLaren’s first constructors’ title since 1998. Carlos Sainz finished second for Ferrari, and Charles Leclerc climbed from 19th on the grid to third. In his final race for Mercedes, Hamilton passed George Russell on the last lap to take fourth.

How can I watch the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix?

If you can make it to Abu Dhabi, head to F1 Tickets to secure your place at the circuit. F1 Experiences has a range of premium ticket packages too, getting you closer to Formula 1 than ever before.

If you are watching from elsewhere, you can find details of the broadcaster in your area by clicking here.

You can also follow every session via F1 TV Pro (in selected countries only).