| 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Race 22 of 22[1] in the 2021 Formula One World Championship
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| Race details | ||||
| Date | 12 December 2021 | |||
| Official name | Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2021 | |||
| Location | Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates | |||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | |||
| Course length | 5.281 km (3.281 miles) | |||
| Distance | 58 laps, 306.183 km (190.253 miles) | |||
| Weather | Clear | |||
| Attendance | 153,000[2] | |||
| Pole position | ||||
| Driver | Red Bull Racing-Honda | |||
| Time | 1:22.109 | |||
| Fastest lap | ||||
| Driver |
 Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing-Honda | ||
| Time | 1:26.103 on lap 39 (lap record) | |||
| Podium | ||||
| First | Red Bull Racing-Honda | |||
| Second | Mercedes | |||
| Third | Ferrari | |||
|
Lap leaders | ||||
The 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (officially known as the Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2021) was a Formula One motor race held on 12 December 2021 at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Contested over a distance of 58 laps, the race was the twenty-second and final round of the 2021 Formula One World Championship. The race decided both the Drivers' and Constructors' championships; Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton both had 369.5 points coming into the race.
Hamilton led most of the race and appeared on course to win. However, Verstappen eventually overtook Hamilton on the final lap after a controversial safety car restart in the last moments of the race. The FIA conducted an inquiry into the race which confirmed Verstappen as the winner, and that the 2021 Formula One World Championship results remained valid.[3] The report concluded that race director Michael Masi had acted in good faith and that there could be different interpretations of the rules, which "likely contributed to some of the confusion surrounding the safety car unlapping procedure".[4] The report also made various recommendations to clarify the safety car regulations and to clamp down on radio communications between the teams and race control.[5] Mercedes made a protest to the stewards after the race, which was dismissed, and Mercedes then had an opportunity to appeal that decision to the FIA International Court of Appeal, but did not do so.
Verstappen's win secured his first Formula One World Drivers' Championship of his career by eight points from Hamilton, and Red Bull Racing's first since 2013. Mercedes won their eighth consecutive Formula One World Constructors' Championship, setting a new record. The Grand Prix was also the final race for 2007 World Champion Kimi Räikkönen; the 42-year-old Finn retired from Formula One after a two-decade career spanning (a then record setting) 349 Grand Prix starts.
- ^ Smith, Luke (28 August 2021). "Formula 1 reveals updated 2021 calendar, drops to 22 races". Autosport. Archived from the original on 6 October 2021. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
- ^ "Formula 1 announces TV, race attendance and digital audience figures for 2021". Formula One. 17 February 2022. Archived from the original on 3 June 2023. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
- ^ "2021 F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – Report to the World Motor Sport Council – 19 March 2022". Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 19 March 2022. Archived from the original on 24 March 2022. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
- ^ "2021 F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – Report to the World Motor Sport Council – 19 March 2022". FIA. 19 March 2022. Archived from the original on 24 March 2022. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
- ^ "FIA announces world motor sport council decisions". FIA. 19 March 2022. Archived from the original on 9 April 2022. Retrieved 30 March 2022.