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Preview of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at the new Yas Marinas Circuit, Sunday, 12/12/2021 at 14:00
When does Formula 1 start today?
Today’s final race of the 2021 Formula 1 season takes place at the completely renovated Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi. Start time is 2pm CET.
Who will broadcast the Abu Dhabi GB today?
The rights for the live broadcast of the race in Germany are held exclusively by the private broadcaster Sky (broadcast starts at 12:30 pm). This means that the heart-stopping final for the World Championship title will unfortunately not be shown on German free TV.
In Austria and Switzerland, however, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2021 will be broadcast by public broadcasters. ORF 2 will broadcast the race at 13:25, while the Swiss SRF will broadcast the Formula 1 race 5 minutes earlier at 13:20.
Verstappen vs Hamilton – Who will be world champion in Abu Dhabi?
An incredible Formula 1 season comes to an end in the grand finale between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton. And it couldn’t be more exciting!
Because the last time this scenario happened was in 1974:
The two rivals go into the F1 season finale level on points with 369.5 points.
The experts agree: the momentum is still clearly on Hamilton’s side. And this despite Max Verstappen securing what is probably the most important pole of his career so far in qualifying on Saturday afternoon.
The Dutchman’s good starting position on the grid is not causing any change of heart among the betting companies either. According to current bookie forecasts, Lewis Hamilton remains the number one contender to win the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – and thus also the favourite in the heart-stopping finale for the world championship title.
In what is shaping up to be a nail-biting thriller, the British defending champion will be able to draw on his wealth of experience in such all-or-nothing situations.
It may even be a psychological advantage for the Briton to have his great rival right in front of him from the start.
For this reason – and due to other decisive factors – I do not believe in a Verstappen victory in my Formula 1 prediction for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and instead assume that Hamilton will win the eighth title.
Who will win the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix?
Showdown in Abu Dhabi at sunset. When the lights turn green at 5pm local time, the ultimate decision is made in a Formula One season for the history books.
For a long time it looked as if challenger Max Verstappen would break years of Mercedes dominance and take his first title.
But Lewis Hamilton has shown, especially in the second half of the season with an incredible race performance, that his seven world titles do not come by chance.
The Briton drew level with his rival with his victory in Jeddah last week, setting everything squarely ahead of the final race.
What has been evident all season, and especially in Saudi Arabia, is that both teams are trying every means possible to gain an advantage on and off the track. The whole thing culminated in a chaotic race in Jeddah.
In particular, Hamilton’s rear-end collision with Verstappen heated up tempers on both sides after the race.
Mercedes put the blame on Red Bull – and vice versa. This is another reason why the final race is awaited with much excitement.
For a central question remains whether Verstappen could provoke a crash. Because then the Dutchman, with one more victory under his belt, would be the new world champion. However, the FIA has once again emphasised its intention to punish such offences severely.
But what has been seen all season was also the case in Abu Dhabi. The Red Bull is the faster car on a single lap, but Mercedes has more power on the long runs. This could also be an important factor in Abu Dhabi on the 58 laps.
With the power unit from Brazil, Hamilton has the rocket engine in his car again, with which he drove from P10 to victory in Sao Paulo.
Max Verstappen, on the other hand, will have to deliver his best race to give the Mercedes driver a real title fight. For although the Dutchman took victory last year, Hamilton has won the most races at the Yas Marina Circuit with five victories.
It is impossible to say who is the favourite on this circuit. The straights, which are over a kilometre long, suit the Mercedes better, but the Red Bull is usually better in the fast corners.
However, this year the cards will be reshuffled. The track has been modified due to criticism that the races are not exciting enough.
Mainly, several chicanes have been converted into larger corners, so that overtaking manoeuvres are easier and thus more racing action and excitement is created. In addition, the track became noticeably faster, as was already evident in practice.
With times around 1:36, the teams were 12 seconds faster in practice compared to previous years. Therefore, many theories that were valid in the past are gone and it will strongly depend on the daily form of the drivers.
The better one in qualifying was Max Verstappen who drove in a league of his own, and also relegated Hamilton to second place through tactically clever manoeuvres.
In the slipstream of team-mate Perez, who starts the race from 4th place, Verstappen took crucial seconds out of the race.
Add to that the fact that the Dutchman had to switch to red in Q2 due to a brake flat, and will therefore also start the race from red, which can be an advantage, especially at the start.
Hamilton, who will start on yellow tyres, will have to get the perfect start from second place to be a threat to Verstappen. However, the latter will be forced to change tyres earlier, which in turn can play into Hamilton’s cards.
The German-licensed betting companies see the two rivals as being just as close to each other in the race as they were in qualifying. For both rivals have odds of around 2.00.
However, Hamilton will not get any help from Bottas, who will only start the race from P6 – and yet I believe that a podium finish is also quite possible for him.
With odds of around 2.15 at Betano, this seems like a solid bet to me.
