The 2020 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (officially known as the Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2020) was a Formula One motor race held on 13 December 2020 at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The race was the seventeenth and final race of the 2020 Formula One World Championship. Red Bull driver Max Verstappen won the race and led every lap from pole position, followed by Mercedes drivers Valtteri Bottas and Lewis 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 since 2012. This also meant that for the first time since 2015, a team other than Mercedes, Ferrari, and Red Bull finished in the top three in the Constructors' Championship.[1] 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 in 2009 was used by Formula One. Grands Prix would be held on a revised layout from 2021 onwards.
The opening rounds of the 2020 championship were heavily affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Several Grands Prix were cancelled or postponed after the aborted opening round in Australia, prompting the FIA to draft a new calendar. The Bahrain 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 place behind closed doors.[2]
This was the last Grand Prix appearance for Fittipaldi and Daniil Kvyat; Fittipaldi returned to his reserve driver duties for Haas the following year, while Kvyat exited AlphaTauri after the season ended. This was also the final race as Racing Point for the Silverstone-based team and as Renault for the Enstone-based team, as they were rebranded as Aston Martin and Alpine, respectively, for 2021. The race also marked the 100th Grand Prix start for Haas and the 400th for Renault.[9]
Sole tyre supplier Pirelli provided the C3, C4, and C5 tyre compounds (the softest selection available) for use in dry conditions.[10] Pirelli tested the 2021 tyre compounds during the second practice session.[11]
Penalties
Charles Leclerc incurred a three-place grid penalty for the race after causing a collision with Sergio Pérez at the Sakhir Grand Prix.[12] Pérez and Kevin Magnussen were required to start from the back of the grid for exceeding their quotas of power unit elements.[13]
^2 – Sergio Pérez and Kevin Magnussen were required to start from the back of the grid for exceeding their quotas of power unit elements.[13]
Race
Race summary
Verstappen led every lap of the race from pole. Bottas and Hamilton completed the podium 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.[20][21]
The Race reported that Hamilton was criticised after the race for saying that he was not feeling "100%" since he had COVID-19, although he felt grateful to be alive.[22] 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.[23] George Russell said he found readapting to the Williams for this event much tougher than adapting to the Mercedes for the Sakhir Grand Prix.[24]
