After each race, Motorsport.com shows you the most important statistics. These are the numbers and data from the last weekend of the season at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
The event and participants of the 2021 F1 Abu Dhabi GP
- This was the thirteenth edition of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at the Yas Marina circuit, equaling the number of F1 races held at Estoril.
- In his last weekend in F1, Kimi Raikkonen increased the record for Grand Prix starts to 350. Fernando Alonso with 334 and Rubens Barrichello with 323 are next.
- Lance Stroll completed his 100th career in Formula 1, becoming the 74th driver in history to reach that mark.
- Antonio Giovinazzi left Formula 1 after his 62nd race, equaling JJ Lehto.
- Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas completed their 100th grand prix as teammates at Mercedes. They are the second most completed driver duo in history, behind Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello at Ferrari (104), and just ahead of Mika Häkkinen and David Coulthard at McLaren (99).
The classification of the Abu Dhabi GP of F1 2021
- Max Verstappen got his 13th pole position, equaling Graham Hill, Jack Brabham or Jacques Villeneuve. In addition, he became the seventeenth driver in history to achieve 10 poles (or more) in the same season, but the first in which this statistic represents less than half of the races held (45.45%).
- It was the 73rd pole position for Red Bull as a manufacturer and the 90th for Honda as a driver.
- Lewis Hamilton managed to qualify on the front row for the 173rd time, thus increasing one of his many records, while for Verstappen it was number 29.
- Valtteri Bottas qualified in the top 10 for the 101st time. In short, the Finn managed to get into the top 10 in all his rankings since joining Mercedes (before the application of any penalties).
The F1 Abu Dhabi GP 2021 race
- Max Verstappen was proclaimed Formula 1 World Champion for the first time, being the 34th driver to achieve it in the history of the highest category and the first Dutchman to do so. He also became the first “non-Mercedes” driver to win in the turbo hybrid era (since 2014).
- This was the fourth time a champion had been crowned in Abu Dhabi, after Sebastian Vettel in 2010, Lewis Hamilton in 2014 and Nico Rosberg in 2016.
- Verstappen claimed the first title for a driver in a Honda-powered single-seater since Ayrton Senna in 1991.
- In this Abu Dhabi GP, Mercedes won its eighth constructors’ title and also in a row, setting a new record.
- This was the first time since the 2008 season that the drivers’ title and constructors’ title had been awarded to two different teams (Red Bull and Mercedes).
- Max Verstappen scored his 20th Formula 1 victory, equaling Mika Hakkinen.
- The Dutchman achieved his tenth victory of the season, becoming the eleventh driver in the history of the category who has won at least 10 grands prix in the same season, but the one who did so with the lowest winning percentage (45.45 %). The only driver who hasn’t claimed the title with ten (10) wins in a season is Lewis Hamilton, when he lost to Nico Rosberg in 2016.
- It was the seventh time in a row that the poleman has won the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
- Red Bull added its 75th victory as a manufacturer and for Honda it was number 89 as an engine manufacturer in Formula 1.
- Lewis Hamilton climbed to his 182nd podium and increased one of his records. For Verstappen it was his 60th podium, equaling Nelson Piquet, while Carlos Sainz did it for the sixth time.
- Verstappen achieved his 18th podium finish of the year in 22 races, setting a new record previously co-owned by Michael Schumacher (17/17 in 2002), Sebastian Vettel (17/19 in 2011) and Lewis Hamilton (17/19 in 2015). and 17/21 in 2016, 2018 and 2019).
- Max Verstappen did his 16th fastest lap in the race, the same as Daniel Ricciardo.
- The Dutchman achieved a hat-trick by taking pole, victory and the fastest lap. This was the third time in his career that he had achieved it, while the record holder remains Michael Schumacher, with 22.
-
With the retirement of Antonio Giovinazzi at Yas Marina, Carlos Sainz became the only driver to have crossed the checkered flag in all 22 races of the season, with a total of 29 consecutive GPs adding up the last rounds of 2020. Sainz completed 1,294 of the 1297 laps in this 2021.
- It is the first time since 1992 and 1993 that Ferrari has not achieved at least one victory in two consecutive seasons, being the second time in the history of the Maranello team in Formula 1 that this has happened.
- Yuki Tsunoda achieved the best result of his F1 racing career by finishing fourth.
