The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2019 was the 21st round of the 2019 F1 season, and took place at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, UAE, on December 1st.
Lewis Hamilton won the race from the pole, followed by Max Verstappen, and Charles Leclerc completing the podium.
Final results
Race evolution
Pit Stops
There were a total of 25 pit stops during the race.
The most popular pit stop windows were:
- Laps 11-13: 5 stops
- Laps 22-26: 6 stops
The fastest pit stop was Max Verstappen's, stopping the clock at 21.023 seconds during his pit stop on lap 25, while the slowest one was was Lance Stroll's, who stopped the clock at 28.842 seconds, 7.819 seconds slower than Verstappen, during his pit stop on lap 5.
These times include the time the driver spent going through the pit lane, as well as the actual time he stopped for the mechanics to work on his car.
Strategy
We saw a variety of options in terms of pit stop strategies during this race, however most drivers chose a 1 stop. Only Lance Stroll, Antonio Giovinazzi, Daniel Ricciardo, Sebastian Vettel, Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc decided to try something different with a 2 stops strategy.
The race winner, Lewis Hamilton, was on a 1 stop strategy.
1 stop
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2Lando Norris
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1Alexander Albon
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-Romain Grosjean
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3Nico Hülkenberg
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-Kevin Magnussen
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4Kimi Räikkönen
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-Robert Kubica
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-Max Verstappen
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-Lewis Hamilton
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16Valtteri Bottas
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1George Russell
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3Sergio Pérez
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4Daniil Kvyat
2 stops
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8Lance Stroll
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-Antonio Giovinazzi
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4Daniel Ricciardo
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1Sebastian Vettel
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2Carlos Sainz
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-Charles Leclerc
Excluding those drivers who could not finish the race, those on a 1 stop strategy gained 1.69 positions on average, while those on a 2 stops strategy lost an average of 1.4 positions.
This difference in possitions gained, together with a deeper nalaysis of each strategy, reinforces the conclusion that a 1 stop strategy was the best option.
It is important to note that this might not always be the case for other races held at the Yas Marina Circuit, as the conditions might change from year to year, in terms of wheel degradation, accidents, safety cars, etc.
Incidents
There race went on mostly with no incidents. Only 1 divers were involved in circumstances that were severe enough to prevented them from finishing the race.
These included, .
Brakes
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Lance StrollLap 45
Qualifying
Lewis Hamilton managed to get the pole position by 0.194 seconds and a final lipe time of 1:34.779. Valtteri Bottas was right behind him, helping Mercedes score a one-two and monopolize the first line of the grid.
Track evolution
As the qualifying session went on, with the track rubbering in, and the drivers testing the limits of the grip of their cars, the times per lap dropped, and 13 out of the 15 drivers that took place in Q2 were able to improve their times.
The Q3 is the time were all the remaining drivers put all their cards on the table, even those with a superior car who might have been managing their times in Q1 and Q2 push their cars to the limit in Q3. It therefore comes as no surprise that 9 out of the 10 drivers that took place in Q3 were able to improve their times.