Heading to Abu Dhabi to Chase the Ultimate Goal

Scuderia Ferrari HP has arrived in Abu Dhabi with its sights set on securing the Constructors' world championship title for a 17th time. So far, this has been the team's most successful season since the start of the hybrid era in 2014. It won't be the first time that the team has been in the fight for a title down to the final round in the United Arab Emirates. In 2010, the Driver's crown was at stake but the day ended in disappointment. Statistics do not work in Ferrari's favour in this instance, as it has never won at Yas Marina from 15 starts, the highest number at one venue that the team has gone without a win. Hopefully it will be 16th time lucky, even if closing down the 21 point gap to McLaren is a formidable challenge.

The track. Since the Yas Marina track underwent major changes to its layout prior to the 2021 race, it is now much quicker, providing more overtaking opportunities and more excitement for the fans. The lap begins with a short straight leading to the first left hander. Overtaking here is almost impossible and so drivers must try and close on the car ahead through turns 2,3 and 4 before launching into the long hairpin at turn 5. That leads to the 1.2 kilometre-long back straight where DRS is available and wheel-to-wheel action is the order of the day at speeds of around 300 km/h. Drivers must then judge the braking point perfectly for turn 6, a famously demanding chicane, before flooring the throttle all the way to turn 9 in another DRS section. The final sector is very technical, running past the brightly lit hotel, with no real passing opportunities for the rest of the lap.

Drivers. The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will have special significance for two Scuderia Ferrari HP drivers: first and foremost for Carlos Sainz, for whom this will be his last race with the team before joining Williams, starting the next chapter by driving for his new team on Tuesday after the Grand Prix in the end-of-season test. The Spaniard will doubtless be keen to end his four seasons in fine style, having taking four wins, six pole positions and 24 podium finishes with the Scuderia. The other driver who will be excited to drive out of the Yas Marina team garage will be a Leclerc - not Charles, but his 24 year old brother Arthur, who will drive Sainz's car in the first free practice session. It will be the first time in Formula 1 history that two brothers will be on track at the same time, driving for the same team. Arthur will also drive in the post-season test on Tuesday, sharing one car with Antonio Fuoco, while Charles will drive the second car.

Weather and strategy. Weather conditions in Abu Dhabi should be similar to those in Qatar, therefore the second free practice session will provide the most useful data, as it's the only one taking place at night, as do qualifying and the race, when track temperature drops rapidly. The characteristics of the current Yas Marina circuit exert a lot of stress on the tyres, which is why the two-stop strategy proved to be quickest last year. The majority of drivers started on the Medium compound tyres, before switching to the Hard at around lap 15, pitting again around 20 laps later for another set of the same compound, thus allowing the drivers to go flat out to the flag. Abu Dhabi is a track where mistakes are costly, because the walls are close and a Safety Car or a red flag are frequent visitors. That's why from the first lap to the last, the strategists must be on their mettle.

Timetable. The final race of the Formula 1 season runs to the standard timetable, albeit with the key moments taking place at night. Friday's first free practice starts at 13.30 local (10.30 CET) with the second at 17.00 (14.00 CET). The third and final one is on Saturday at 14.30 (11.30 CET) followed by qualifying at 18.00 (15.00 CET). The 58 lap (306.183 Grand Prix gets underway at 17.00 (14.00 CET).

Fred Vasseur
Team Principal Scuderia Ferrari HP

For the first time in the hybrid era, we are in the running for the championship title at the final round. That in itself is a great achievement, but this weekend we will be trying to take that important final step. Let’s be honest, it is a mathematical possibility, but in reality it will be very difficult to achieve, because even if we finish first and second, McLaren with its 21 point lead going into this race can afford to finish third and fourth, or even worse and still have the edge. But Ferrari has always liked a challenge! If we can once again produce a perfect weekend from start to finish, we will at least be in with a chance and be able leave Abu Dhabi saying we gave it our best shot. Our preparation for this event has been thorough, we know that qualifying will play a very important role, even if our car tends to perform better in the race. Charles, Carlos and the entire team are all set to fight tooth and nail to bring home the title.

FERRARI STATS

GP contested: 1097

Seasons in F1: 75

Debut: Monaco 1950 (A. Ascari 2nd; R. Sommer 4th; L. Villoresi ret.)

Wins: 248 (22.61%)

Pole positions: 253 (23.06%)

Fastest laps: 263 (23.97%)

Podiums: 827 (25.13%)

FERRARI STATS ABU DHABI GRANDS PRIX 

GP contested: 15

Debut: 2009 (K. Räikkönen 12th; G. Fisichella 16th)

Wins: 0

Pole positions: 0

Fastest laps: 3 (20%)

Podiums: 10 (22.22%)

ABU DHABI GRAND PRIX: FACTS & FIGURES

18. The degrees of inclination of the Capital Gate Building, known as the “Leaning Tower of Abu Dhabi,” a considerably greater angle than the famous Tower of Pisa.

90. The percentage of the United Arab Emirates’ oil reserves located in the Abu Dhabi emirate, equivalent to two third of that country’s gross domestic product.

200. The number of islands that are part of the Abu Dhabi emirate. The most important are Saadiyat, which is regarded as a cultural centre for the country, and home to a branch of the Louvre Museum, Yas better known for entertainment as home to the Formula 1 circuit and Ferrari World Abu Dhabi; Al Maryah, a well-known financial hub with luxury offices and apartments and Dalma, historically important as the home of the pearl fishing industry, which was the main source of income prior to the discovery of fossil fuels in the area.

2030. The year which Abu Dhabi has set as the deadline for implementing a series of initiatives aimed at sustainability and inclusion. One of its commitments is to reduce dependency on oil, so that non-oil sectors contribute around 64% of GDP by the 2030 deadline.

40000. The number of inhabitants which the city of Abu Dhabi was designed to cater for when it was built in 1967. The project was overseen by Japanese architect, Katsuhiko Takahashi. However, today it boasts a population of 1.6 million.

IN DEPTH: BROTHERS IN FORMULA 1

This Friday, when the light goes green at the end of the pit lane to signal the start of the first free practice session for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the statistic for the number of pairs brothers who have taken part in an official Formula 1 session will click round to 20.

Arthur Leclerc will be driving Carlos Sainz’s car alongside his brother Charles, as part of the mandatory young driver test. The Monegasque pair will become the first brothers to be out on track at the same time while driving for the same team. Back in 1984, both Teo and Corrado Fabi raced the Brabham BT53, but never in the same race, as Corrado was behind the wheel only for events when Teo was competing in IndyCar on the same weekend as Formula 1.

The most famous F1 brothers are undoubtedly Michael and Ralf Schumacher, by far the most successful with Michael’s 91 wins and Ralf’s 6. They were even in a fight for the 2003 world championship, with the verdict going to the elder brother racing for Ferrari. Another pair of brothers have both finished in the points: Emerson and Wilson Fittipaldi, but only just because while Emerson took two world titles, 14 wins and scored 281 points, Wilson scored just one solitary point before going on to establish the Copersucar team with which his brother ended his career. Two other sets of brothers feature one who was a world champion: Jody Scheckter, whose brother Ian achieved little in Formula 1 and Jackie Stewart, with three titles and 99 race starts, against brother Jimmy’s one Grand Prix appearance.

The first brothers to be seen on track together were Graham and Peter Whitehead, the latter the first privateer to finish on the podium in a Ferrari, who were both entered in the 1952 British Grand Prix. Pedro and Ricardo Rodriguez both scored points, but never raced together, because Ricardo, at the time the youngest driver to make his Formula 1 debut, driving a Ferrari in the 1961 Italian Grand Prix, was killed in the 1962 Mexican Grand Prix at the wheel of a Lotus. Pedro only made his debut a year later. 

There are other pairs of brothers of which only one actually got to race in Formula 1, the other failing to qualifying or not starting for some other reason. That was the case with the Behra brothers, with Jean a brilliant driver in the Fifties, while brother José never raced:  Unser (Jerry and Bobby); Rathmann (Jim and Dick); Brambilla (Vittorio and Ernesto); Bianchi (Luciano and Mauro); Villeneuve (Gilles and his brother sharing a name with nephew Jacques); Winkelhock (Manfred and Joachim) and  Brabham, (David and Gary) also sons of Sir Jack. 

Maria Teresa De Filippis, who made history by being the first woman to take part in a Formula 1 Grand Prix, had a brother Luigi, who was entered for the 1950 Italian Grand Prix in a Maserati, but did not race. Gianni and Vittorio Marzotto are the only brothers who were only ever entered in Grands Prix but never raced. Then there’s the strange case of Didier Pironi and José Dolhem, who first appeared on the Formula 1 scene in the Seventies. Didier was in fact José’s younger half-brother, sharing the same father but having different mothers. But they were sisters which meant they were cousins as well as half-brothers.