2018 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
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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 Abu Dhabi (, ; ar, أَبُو ظَبْيٍ ' ) is the capital and second-most populous city (after Dubai) of the United Arab Emirates. It is also the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the centre of the Abu Dhabi Metropolitan Area. ...
, United Arab Emirates. The race was the twenty first and final round of the
2018 Formula One World Championship The 2018 FIA Formula One World Championship was the motor racing championship for Formula One cars and the 69th running of the Formula One World Championship. Formula One is recognised by the governing body of international motorsport, the F ...
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 event in
2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...
. The race was the last to be officiated by Charlie Whiting as race director as he would die shortly before the next race was held.


Report


Background

McLaren McLaren Racing Limited is a British motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor, the second oldest active team, and the second most successful Formul ...
announced they would be using a special one-off livery to celebrate the last race of
Fernando Alonso Fernando Alonso Díaz (; born 29 July 1981) is a Spanish racing driver currently competing for Alpine in Formula One. He won the series' World Drivers' Championship in and with Renault, and has also driven for McLaren, Ferrari, and Mi ...
, who had announced he would not be racing in Formula One in 2019 (he eventually returned in ). This was the first time McLaren had run a special livery since the
1986 Portuguese Grand Prix The 1986 Portuguese Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Estoril on 21 September 1986. It was the fourteenth race of the 1986 FIA Formula One World Championship. The 70-lap race was won by British driver Nigel Mansell, driving a Willi ...
. McLaren also invited the family of seven time
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and from 1950 to 1970 it was known as the Grand National Division. In 1971, ...
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 Mercedes may refer to: People * Mercedes (name), a Spanish feminine name, including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or last name Automobile-related * Mercedes (marque), the pre-1926 brand name of German automobile m ...
, had secured the 2018 World Constructors' Championship title. Lewis Hamilton claimed his fifth World Drivers' title at the
2018 Mexican Grand Prix The 2018 Mexican Grand Prix (formally known as the Formula 1 Gran Premio de México 2018) was a Formula One motor race held on 28 October 2018 at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City. The race was the nineteenth round of the 2018 Fo ...
; following the
Brazilian Grand Prix The Brazilian Grand Prix ( pt, Grande Prêmio do Brasil), currently held under the name São Paulo Grand Prix ( pt, Grande Prêmio de São Paulo), is a Formula One championship race which is currently held at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace ...
he led
Sebastian Vettel Sebastian Vettel (; born 3 July 1987) is a German racing driver who competed in Formula One from 2007 to 2022 for BMW Sauber, Scuderia Toro Rosso, Toro Rosso, Red Bull Racing, Red Bull, Scuderia Ferrari, Ferrari, and Aston Martin in Formula One ...
by 81 points with
Kimi Räikkönen Kimi-Matias Räikkönen (; born 17 October 1979), nicknamed "The Iceman", is a Finnish racing driver who competed in Formula One between 2001 and 2021 for Sauber, McLaren, Ferrari, Lotus, and Alfa Romeo. Räikkönen won the 2007 Formula One Wo ...
being third, a further 51 points behind. In the World Constructors' Championship,
Mercedes Mercedes may refer to: People * Mercedes (name), a Spanish feminine name, including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or last name Automobile-related * Mercedes (marque), the pre-1926 brand name of German automobile m ...
led
Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...
by 67 points with only one race remaining in the season, with Red Bull Racing being third in the standings.


Practice

Max Verstappen Max Emilian Verstappen (; born 30 September 1997) is a Belgian-Dutch Auto racing, racing driver and the 2021 Formula One World Championship, 2021 and 2022 Formula One World Championship, 2022 Formula One World Champion. He Formula One drivers ...
was fastest in first practice, Valtteri Bottas was fastest in second practice and Lewis Hamilton was fastest in third practice.


Qualifying

Lewis Hamilton set the fastest time in qualifying followed by
Mercedes Mercedes may refer to: People * Mercedes (name), a Spanish feminine name, including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or last name Automobile-related * Mercedes (marque), the pre-1926 brand name of German automobile m ...
teammate Valtteri Bottas and the
Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...
of
Sebastian Vettel Sebastian Vettel (; born 3 July 1987) is a German racing driver who competed in Formula One from 2007 to 2022 for BMW Sauber, Scuderia Toro Rosso, Toro Rosso, Red Bull Racing, Red Bull, Scuderia Ferrari, Ferrari, and Aston Martin in Formula One ...
.


Race

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...
won the race from pole position with
Vettel Sebastian Vettel (; born 3 July 1987) is a German racing driver who competed in Formula One from 2007 to 2022 for BMW Sauber, Toro Rosso, Red Bull, Ferrari, and Aston Martin. Vettel is one of the most successful drivers in Formula One history a ...
and
Max Verstappen Max Emilian Verstappen (; born 30 September 1997) is a Belgian-Dutch Auto racing, racing driver and the 2021 Formula One World Championship, 2021 and 2022 Formula One World Championship, 2022 Formula One World Champion. He Formula One drivers ...
completing the podium. 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 The Renault R.S.18 is a Formula One racing car designed and constructed by the Renault Sport Formula One Team to compete during the 2018 FIA Formula One World Championship. The chassis was designed by Nick Chester, Chris Cooney, Martin Tolliday, ...
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.


Post race

After the race had been completed
Alonso Alonso is a Spanish name of Germanic origin that is a Castilian variant of ''Adalfuns''. Geographical distribution As of 2014, 36.6% of all known bearers of the surname ''Alonso'' were residents of Spain (frequency 1:222), 26.1% of Mexico (1:83 ...
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 Kimi-Matias Räikkönen (; born 17 October 1979), nicknamed "The Iceman", is a Finnish racing driver who competed in Formula One between 2001 and 2021 for Sauber, McLaren, Ferrari, Lotus, and Alfa Romeo. Räikkönen won the 2007 Formula One Wo ...
had retired from the race.) 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


Race

;Notes *  –
Fernando Alonso Fernando Alonso Díaz (; born 29 July 1981) is a Spanish racing driver currently competing for Alpine in Formula One. He won the series' World Drivers' Championship in and with Renault, and has also driven for McLaren, Ferrari, and Mi ...
received three five-second penalties for leaving the track and gaining an advantage.
Esteban Ocon Esteban José Jean-Pierre Ocon-Khelfane (; born 17 September 1996) is a French racing driver who competes for Alpine in Formula One. He made his Formula One debut for Manor Racing in the 2016 Belgian Grand Prix, replacing Rio Haryanto. He move ...
received one five-second penalty for the same offence.


Final Championship standings

;Drivers' Championship standings ;Constructors' Championship standings * Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings. * Bold text indicates the 2018 World Champions.


See also

*
2018 Yas Island Formula 2 round The 2018 Yas Marina FIA Formula 2 round was a pair of motor races held on 24 and 25 November 2018 at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates as part of the FIA Formula 2 Championship. It was the final round of the 2018 FIA Formula ...
*
2018 Yas Marina GP3 Series round The 2018 Yas Marina GP3 Series round was the final round of the 2018 GP3 Series. It was held on 24 and 25 November 2018 at Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The race supported the 2018 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Classification Q ...


References


External links


Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2018 – News Articles
{{F1GP 10-19 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Abu Dhabi Grand Prix