| 2020 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix | ||||
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Race 17 of 17[a] in the2020 Formula One World Championship
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| Race details | ||||
| Date | 13 December 2020 | |||
| Official name | Formula 1 Etihad AirwaysAbu Dhabi Grand Prix 2020 | |||
| 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 (189.738 miles) | |||
| Weather | Clear | |||
| Attendance | 0[b] | |||
| Pole position | ||||
| Driver | Red Bull Racing-Honda | |||
| Time | 1:35.246 | |||
| Fastest lap | ||||
| Driver |  Daniel Ricciardo | Renault | ||
| Time | 1:40.926 on lap 55 | |||
| Podium | ||||
| First | Red Bull Racing-Honda | |||
| Second | Mercedes | |||
| Third | Mercedes | |||
Lap leaders | ||||
The2020 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (officially known as theFormula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2020) was aFormula One motor race held on 13 December 2020 at theYas Marina Circuit inAbu Dhabi,United Arab Emirates. The race was the seventeenth and final race of the2020 Formula One World Championship.Red Bull driverMax Verstappen won the race and led every lap from pole position, followed by Mercedes driversValtteri Bottas andLewis Hamilton who completed the podium.
Red Bull Racing got their first victory at Yas Marina in seven years.McLaren secured third place in the Constructors' Championship which saw them score their highest finish in the Constructors' Championship since2012. This also meant that for the first time since2015, a team other than Mercedes, Ferrari, and Red Bull finished in the top three in the Constructors' Championship.[3] This race also marked the last time the original configuration of the Yas Marina circuit which had been used since the first Grand Prix at the venue in2009 was used by Formula One. Grands Prix would be held on a revised layout from2021 onwards.
The opening rounds of the2020 championship were heavily affected by theCOVID-19 pandemic. Several Grands Prix were cancelled or postponed after the abortedopening round inAustralia, prompting theFIA to draft a new calendar. TheBahrain Grand Prix was moved to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix's original date, delaying the race by two weeks. Due to a surge of COVID-19 cases in the country, organisers announced that the Grand Prix would take placebehind closed doors.[4]
The drivers and teams were the same as the pre-season entry list with the only exception beingRomain Grosjean, who was replaced byPietro Fittipaldi at theSakhir Grand Prix. It would be Fittipaldi's last Grand Prix, and the last for a Brazilian untilGabriel Bortoleto at the2025 Australian Grand Prix.[5]Mick Schumacher drove forHaas in the first practice session, in place ofKevin Magnussen,[6] whileRobert Kubica drove forAlfa Romeo Racing, in place ofAntonio Giovinazzi.[7]Robert Shwartzman, who competed inFormula 2, was also due to appear in the first practice session, driving for Haas.[8] However, he did not appear on the entry list.[5]Lewis Hamilton was confirmed as an entrant shortly before the race, having tested negative for thecoronavirus, which had caused him to miss the previous round inSakhir,[9] whereWilliams driverGeorge Russell took his place.[10]
This was the last Grand Prix appearance for Fittipaldi andDaniil Kvyat; Fittipaldi returned to his reserve driver duties for Haas the following year, while Kvyat exitedAlphaTauri after the season ended. This was also the final race asRacing Point for the Silverstone-based team and asRenault for the Enstone-based team, as they were rebranded asAston Martin andAlpine, respectively, for2021. The race also marked the 100th Grand Prix start forHaas and the 400th for Renault.[11]
Sole tyre supplier Pirelli provided the C3, C4, and C5 tyre compounds (the softest selection available) for use in dry conditions.[12] Pirelli tested the 2021 tyre compounds during the second practice session.[13]
Charles Leclerc incurred a three-place grid penalty for the race after causing a collision withSergio Pérez at theSakhir Grand Prix.[14] Pérez andKevin Magnussen were required to start from the back of the grid for exceeding their quotas of power unit elements.[15]
The first practice session ended withMax Verstappen fastest ahead ofValtteri Bottas andEsteban Ocon.[16] The second practice session was red-flagged for 10 minutes afterKimi Räikkönen'sAlfa Romeo Racing C39 caught fire, and ended with Valtteri Bottas fastest ahead ofLewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen.[17] Verstappen set the fastest time in the third free practice session, followed by his teammateAlexander Albon andRenault driverDaniel Ricciardo.[18]
Max Verstappen ofRed Bull gotpole position for the first time since the2019 Brazilian Grand Prix and the third of his career overall. This was the only pole position of the season achieved by a car not powered by a Mercedes engine and the first time since 2013 that Mercedes have not taken pole at theYas Marina Circuit.Valtteri Bottas andLewis Hamilton qualified 2nd and 3rd forMercedes withLando Norris ofMcLaren in 4th,Alexander Albon in the other Red Bull 5th andCarlos Sainz Jr. 6th.Sebastian Vettel started his last race forFerrari from 13th place.George Russell qualified 18th fastest on his return toWilliams ahead ofPietro Fittipaldi ofHaas and teammateNicholas Latifi.[19]
Verstappen led every lap of the race from pole. Bottas and Hamilton completed thepodium with the top 3 remaining in grid order. Albon managed to overtake Lando Norris for 4th place. Norris finished fifth ahead of his teammate Sainz in 6th, with McLaren finishing third in the Constructors' Championship, helped by the fact that Racing Point's Sergio Pérez retired with a technical problem on lap 9. Renault driver Ricciardo, who achieved the fastest lap, was next in 7th with Gasly in 8th. Ocon passed Stroll for 9th on the final lap. Kimi Räikkönen's Alfa Romeo was the lead Ferrari-powered car, finishing 12th ahead of the Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel. Pietro Fittipaldi was the last of all the finishers in 19th place, two laps down of race winner Verstappen.[22][23]
This wasDaniil Kvyat's last race in Formula One before he was replaced byYuki Tsunoda in 2021, after his contract withAlphaTauri-Honda was not renewed.[24] Kvyat went to theFIA World Endurance Championship in 2023.[25]
The Race reported that Hamilton was criticised after the race for saying that he was not feeling "100%" since he hadCOVID-19, although he felt grateful to be alive.[26] Verstappen was pleased with victory but did not necessarily think the team would be title challengers in 2021. Ironically, he ended up winning the Drivers' Championship in 2021.[27] George Russell said he found readapting to the Williams for this event much tougher than adapting to the Mercedes for theSakhir Grand Prix.[28]
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| Previous race: 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix | FIA Formula One World Championship 2020 season | Next race: 2021 Bahrain Grand Prix |
| Previous race: 2019 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix | Abu Dhabi Grand Prix | Next race: 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix |
