The Abu Dhabi event concludes the longest season in Formula 1 history, completing a 24-round world tour. The Yas Marina Circuit has hosted the premier motorsport competition 15 times, and on 12 occasions, it has been the season’s final Grand Prix. Four weekends have been decisive in awarding one or more world titles: in 2021 for both titles, and in 2010, 2014, and 2016 for the Drivers’ Championship alone. Next Sunday, the race will once again decide who between McLaren and Ferrari will be crowned the 2024 world champion.
As per tradition, Pirelli has selected the softest trio of compounds for this event: the C3 as Hard, C4 as Medium, and C5 as Soft. The compound marked with red brackets will likely dominate the qualifying sessions, while Medium and Hard will take center stage – in every sense, as this will be the third consecutive night race – on Sunday evening.
Following significant changes introduced in 2021, which made the track much faster and smoother, the circuit is 5.281 kilometers long and offers several overtaking opportunities. Tire forces are generally medium-low due to the scarcity of high-speed corners. The asphalt offers limited grip and has an average roughness for the season. Temperatures will play a key role: two of the three practice sessions take place in natural light, FP2 and the race span sunset, and qualifying is entirely in the evening. Consequently, asphalt conditions can change rapidly as temperatures drop, and track evolution due to rubbering in will be swift, especially in the early days, also aided by the three support series – F4 UAE, F1 Academy, and F2 – scheduled for the weekend.
On a track where graining can have a significant impact and, as previously mentioned, offers overtaking opportunities thanks to the modifications made three years ago, a two-stop strategy is undoubtedly preferable, as seen last year. Additionally, the undercut is very effective, while a single stop requires very high levels of tire management to limit performance degradation.
The driver with the most wins in Abu Dhabi is Lewis Hamilton, victorious five times. Max Verstappen, who will receive the Pirelli Pole Position Award of the Year on Sunday for securing the most poles this season, can match him, having already won four times consecutively from 2020 to 2023. Among teams, Red Bull leads Mercedes (7 to 6). Only two other teams have won in Abu Dhabi: Lotus with Kimi Raikkonen in 2013 and McLaren with Hamilton in the inaugural 2009 edition.
However, the 2024 season will not end on Sunday evening. On Tuesday, December 10, a highly intensive collective test day is scheduled at Yas Marina. All ten teams will field two cars each: one for rookies – defined by FIA sporting regulations as drivers who have not competed in more than two Grands Prix – and one for other drivers. The tire sets will differ: rookies will use the 2024 compounds selected for this Grand Prix, while regular or official drivers will test the homologated version of all the tires, except the C1, unsuitable for the track’s characteristics, that Pirelli will offer in 2025, developed in collaboration with the teams throughout the year.
Young drivers will have eight tire sets in total: two C3, four C4, and two C5. Other drivers will have ten sets available: one C2, three each of C3 and C4, two C5, and one C6, the new ultra-soft compound expanding the 2025 range, presumably for use on certain street circuits next year. Unlike the so-called “in-competition test” in Mexico City, Pirelli will not define a standardized program for the use of the 2025 tires: each team can work as they prefer to collect crucial data for developing next year’s cars. During the test, C2 and C6 will be marked only with the Pirelli logo in white and red, respectively, while C3, C4, and C5 will retain the usual coloring for Hard, Medium, and Soft (in addition to the logo, the brackets will be white, yellow, and red, respectively).
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