Wikipedia

2018 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

The 2018 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (officially 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 event in 2009. 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.

2018 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
Race 21 of 21 in the 2018 Formula One World Championship
← Previous race
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 miles)
Distance 55 laps, 305.355 km (189.739 miles)
Weather Clear
Pole position
Driver
Mercedes
Time 1:34.794
Fastest lap
Driver Germany Sebastian Vettel Ferrari
Time 1:40.867 on lap 54
Podium
First
Mercedes
Second
Ferrari
Third
Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer
Lap leaders

Background

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It was also notable for being the final Grand Prix for Fernando Alonso until his return in 2021. It was also Kimi Räikkönen's last race in his second stint with Ferrari, ahead of his move to Alfa Romeo–Sauber for 2019. McLaren used a special one-off livery to celebrate the last race of Fernando Alonso, who had announced he would not be racing in Formula One in 2019 (he eventually returned in 2021).[2]

Title standings before the race

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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.[3]

Practice

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Max Verstappen was fastest in first practice, Valtteri Bottas was fastest in second practice and Lewis Hamilton was fastest in third practice.[4]

Qualifying

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Lewis Hamilton set the fastest time in qualifying followed by Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas and the Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel.[5]

Qualifying classification

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

Race

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Hamilton won the race from pole position with Vettel and Max Verstappen completing the podium.[6] On the first lap, 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 upside on the outside of turn nine. This resulted in the safety car being deployed; the first safety car deployment at the circuit since 2012.[7][8][9]

Post race

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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).[10] Alonso returned to F1 with Alpine to compete in 2021 season.[11]

Race classification

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Pos. No. Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 44 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 55 1:39:40.382 1 25
2 5 Germany Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 55 +2.581 3 18
3 33 Netherlands Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer 55 +12.706 6 15
4 3 Australia Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer 55 +15.379 5 12
5 77 Finland Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 55 +47.957 2 10
6 55 Spain Carlos Sainz Jr. Renault 55 +1:12.548 11 8
7 16 Monaco Charles Leclerc Sauber-Ferrari 55 +1:30.789 8 6
8 11 Mexico Sergio Pérez Racing Point Force India-Mercedes 55 +1:31.275 14 4
9 8 France Romain Grosjean Haas-Ferrari 54 +1 lap 7 2
10 20 Denmark Kevin Magnussen Haas-Ferrari 54 +1 lap 13 1
11 14 Spain Fernando Alonso McLaren-Renault 54 +1 lap1 15
12 28 New Zealand Brendon Hartley Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda 54 +1 lap 16
13 18 Canada Lance Stroll Williams-Mercedes 54 +1 lap 20
14 2 Belgium Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren-Renault 54 +1 lap 18
15 35 Russia Sergey Sirotkin Williams-Mercedes 54 +1 lap 19
Ret 10 France Pierre Gasly Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda 46 Engine 17
Ret 31 France Esteban Ocon Racing Point Force India-Mercedes 44 Engine1 9
Ret 9 Sweden Marcus Ericsson Sauber-Ferrari 24 Power loss 12
Ret 7 Finland Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 6 Power loss 4
Ret 27 Germany Nico Hülkenberg Renault 0 Collision 10
Source:[12]
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.[12]

Final Championship standings

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  • Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.
  • Bold text and an asterisk indicates the 2018 World Champions.

See also

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References

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  1. ↑ "Abu Dhabi". Formula1.com. Archived from the original on 14 March 2017. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
  2. ↑ "McLaren reveal one-off livery for Alonso's final race". Formula1.com. 21 November 2018. Retrieved 23 November 2018.
  3. ↑ "FIA Formula One World Championship Standings 2018". Motorsport Stats. Retrieved 8 September 2026.
  4. ↑ "Standings". Formula1.com. Archived from the original on 13 March 2019. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
  5. 1 2 "Formula 1 2018 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – Qualifying". Formula1.com. 24 November 2018. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
  6. ↑ "Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2018 race report". Formula1.com. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
  7. ↑ "Nico Hulkenberg Crash, All The Angles". YouTube. Formula 1. Retrieved 20 July 2019.
  8. ↑ Sport, Telegraph (25 November 2018). "Nico Hulkenberg trapped in ablaze Renault for three minutes after dramatic crash at Abu Dhabi GP". The Telegraph. Retrieved 6 March 2019 – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
  9. ↑ "Lewis Hamilton ends season with Abu Dhabi win". BBC Sport. 25 November 2018. Retrieved 20 July 2019.
  10. ↑ "DT'S 10 THOUGHTS… On Abu Dhabi and beyond". Formula1.com. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
  11. ↑ Chinchero, Roberto (13 June 2026). "Why rumours about Fernando Alonso and Alpine have surfaced for 2027". Motorsport.com. Retrieved 8 September 2026.
  12. 1 2 "Formula 1 2018 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – Race Result". Formula1.com. 25 November 2018. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
  13. 1 2 "Abu Dhabi 2018 – Championship". StatsF1. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
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