F1: 2019 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix preview

After a classic in Brazil last time out, Max Verstappen will be looking to make it two wins on the bounce after a commanding performance from the Dutchman.

It was a race that saw Honda on the top two steps of the podium, after Honda engine power was enough to roar Pierre Gasly across the line just ahead of Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton, to clinch his first ever podium and second place.

Ferrari head into this weekend with redemption the primary aim for both of their drivers, after Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel’s feud reached boiling point as the pair collided and as a resulted put an end to Ferrari’s weekend.

Ferrari team principal, Mattia Binotto, branded the driver’s clash as “not acceptable” and said that clear-the-air talks had taken place.

He said, “We discussed together, all three together, individually, and I think that they know what happened was not acceptable. And we know how to move forward.”

Further down the grid Nico Hulkenberg and Robert Kubica prepare for their final races and will both be bidding farewell from the sport for at least the 2020 season.

The Renault driver is without a seat for next term as Esteban Ocon is confirmed to be taking the drive beside Daniel Ricciardo and the final remaining seat on the grid is at Williams beside George Russell of which Nicholas Latifi looks favourite to take.

Kubica’s miraculous return to Formula 1 has been somewhat of a nightmare, having been outqualified by his teammate in every race so far this season, though the Pole did clinch Williams’ only point of the season at a hectic German GP.

The track

The Yas Marina Circuit is 5.554km in length and over 55-laps cover a race distance of 305.355km.

It hosted its first Grand Prix in 2009, with the track’s all-time lap record coming that year for Vettel who set a 1m40.279s. Since joining the Formula 1 calendar it had taken over from the Brazilian GP as the season finale.

Th teams will be set for a dry weekend with settled temperatures and clear skies giving the strategists a simpler task this weekend.

What happened last year?

At the 2018 Abu Dhabi GP, Hamilton capped off a title winning campaign with a dominant final win of the season, ahead of his closest rival Vettel.

In his final outing for Sauber before his highly anticipated move to Ferrari, Leclerc finished in seventh. Finishing just outside of the top ten in his final Formula 1 race was Fernando Alonso, who ended the evening with a sequence of donuts on the start/finish-line beside Hamilton and Vettel in front of the Abu Dhabi crowd.