The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2021 was the 22nd round of the 2021 F1 season, and took place at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, UAE, during the weekend of the 10th to the 12th of December.
Max Verstappen won the race from the pole, followed by Lewis Hamilton, and Carlos Sainz completing the podium.
Final results
Race evolution
Pit Stops
There were a total of 29 pit stops during the race.
The most popular pit stop windows were:
- Laps 13-15: 4 stops
- Laps 17-19: 4 stops
- Laps 35-36: 5 stops
- Laps 52-54: 7 stops
The fastest pit stop was Max Verstappen's, stopping the clock at 21.152 seconds during his pit stop on lap 13, while the slowest one was was Lance Stroll's, who stopped the clock at 22.661 seconds, 1.509 seconds slower than Verstappen, during his pit stop on lap 52.
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
The race was not obvious in terms of pit stop strategy, with different teams and different drivers choosing to make anywhere from 1 to 3 stops.
The race winner, Max Verstappen, was on a 3 stops strategy.
1 stop
-
-Lewis Hamilton
-
-Esteban Ocon
-
3Antonio Giovinazzi
-
2Carlos Sainz
-
1Kimi Räikkönen
-
4Sebastian Vettel
-
-Nicholas Latifi
-
-Valtteri Bottas
-
3Fernando Alonso
2 stops
-
5Mick Schumacher
-
3Charles Leclerc
-
4Lando Norris
-
2Daniel Ricciardo
-
-Lance Stroll
-
4Yuki Tsunoda
-
7Pierre Gasly
3 stops
-
-Max Verstappen
-
11Sergio Pérez
Excluding those drivers who could not finish the race, those on a 1 stop strategy gained 1.5 positions on average, the ones on a 2 stops strategy lost an average of 1 positions, while those on a 3 stops strategy didn't gain or lose any positions on average.
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, even if Max Verstappen managed to win the race making 3 stops.
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 were some incidents during the race, with 6 drivers who didn't manage to cross the finish line.
These included, Sergio Pérez, who suffered an engine malfunction on lap 55, Nicholas Latifi, who had to retire due to an accident on lap 50, Antonio Giovinazzi, and George Russell, both experienced issues with the gearbox, Kimi Räikkönen, who saw the breaks of the car give up on lap 25, and Nikita Mazepin, who could not race due to illness on lap 0.
Engine
-
Sergio PérezLap 55
Accident
-
Nicholas LatifiLap 50
Gearbox
-
Antonio GiovinazziLap 33
-
George RussellLap 26
Brakes
-
Kimi RäikkönenLap 25
Illness
-
Nikita MazepinLap 0
Qualifying
Max Verstappen managed to get the pole position by 0.371 seconds and a final lipe time of 1:22.109. Right next to him, completing the first line of the grid, was Lewis Hamilton.
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 9 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 all of the drivers that took place in Q3 managed to improve their times in this last session.