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ABU DHABI GP PREVIEW - THE GRAND FINALE

And here we have it. Another year of racing is coming to a close this weekend, and what a year it’s been. We’ve seen a record-breaking total of seven drivers getting multiple wins during a season. We’ve said goodbye to some familiar faces, and soon, we’ll be saying hello to some new ones. We’ve survived one of the silliest silly seasons we’ve ever seen, and here we are, preparing ourselves for what’s to come this weekend. Verstappen may have bagged the drivers title already, but there are still a few more trophies up for grabs on Sunday; including the precious constructors championship.


It's the end of an era for many drivers on the grid. We’ve already said goodbye to Daniel Ricciardo and Logan Sargeant earlier this season, and we say goodbye – for now – to Valtteri Bottas, Zhou Guyanu and Kevin Magnussen. Lewis Hamilton, Carlos Sainz, Esteban Ocon and Nico Hulkenberg will be donning some new team colours in their new seats for the 2025 season and beyond. And there’ll be at least four rookies on the grid, too, with RB newcomer Liam Lawson still unconfirmed for next year, as well as Red Bull's Sergio Perez. But although the grid may look a little different come Australia in March, it’s still the same sport we all know and love.


So what will we be seeing before then, when we go racing one last time in 2024?


Hamilton in Mercedes colours; for one last time this weekend. Credit: @MercedesAMGF1 on X.


Alpine have already thrown a curveball by announcing the premature departure of Esteban Ocon from his current seat, and replacing him with his successor for 2025 a few months early. Jack Doohan will race alongside Pierre Gasly this weekend, allowing Ocon to test for Haas in next weeks end of season test. Having Doohan race this weekend now means there are twenty-four drivers listed in the standings; will he be able to score some points on track and jump up a few places, or will his impromptu debut simply be him getting used to the car?


At the other end of the standings, Max Verstappen sits comfortably at the top. Now having claimed his fourth title, whatever happens this weekend won’t change that. However, right behind him is the battle for the constructors title – Lando Norris, Charles Leclerc, Oscar Piastri and Carlos Sainz are in second, third, fourth and fifth respectively, whilst Sergio Perez lags behind in eighth. Ferrari haven’t won a constructors title since 2008, and for McLaren, theirs was ten years earlier, in 1998. Both teams are hungry to end their droughts, but will the trophy go red or papaya this weekend?


As we know, anything can happen in Abu Dhabi - and for many, it’s a sore subject. The track, first welcomed onto the F1 calendar in 2009, has seen some pretty intense racing in the last fifteen years. Hamilton currently has the most wins at the track, having stood on the top step an impressive five times, but Verstappen has won the last four years in the row, so will anybody end his streak, or will the reigning champion match Hamilton’s record?


The fireworks light up the night sky at Yas Marina circuit. Credit: Red Bull Content Pool.


5.281km long and made up of 16 turns, the Yas Marina circuit gives the drivers 58 crucial laps to close out the season with. The twenty drivers lining up on the grid may all be at varying stages of their professional motorsports careers, but that certainly doesn’t make the points up for grabs any less important. One thing is for certain, though – whatever happens on track, the celebrations afterwards are sure to be stunning, as they always are in Abu Dhabi.


And it’s not just the drivers we’re celebrating; it’s the mechanics, who work so hard to look after the cars every race weekend. It’s the marshals at the track who keep everybody safe and raise morale up through the roof. It’s the fans, who show up and put their whole selves into supporting their drivers, making the sport the spectacle that it truly is. It’s you, my wonderful reader; though you may be just one person, you make a difference with your energy, so thank you for being here.


Don’t be sad it’s over, just be glad it’s happened - and hold tight until next March.

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