Event
The F1 engineer's guide to the 2025 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
by Raceteq
2min read
The chequered flag flies over the 2025 Formula 1 and Formula 2 seasons as they reach their respective conclusions under the lights of the Yas Marina Circuit on December 5-7.
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While McLaren earned the constructors’ title in Singapore, with six rounds remaining, the drivers’ championship is still yet to be decided.
McLaren's Lando Norris leads the F1 standings by 408 points heading into Abu Dhabi while Red Bull's Max Verstappen is second on 396 points and McLaren's Oscar Piastri is third on 392 points.
Norris can seal his maiden F1 title by finishing third or better, regardless of where Verstappen and Piastri finish.
Verstappen is 2025 champion he wins and Norris finishes fourth or lower; Verstappen finishes second, Norris is eighth or lower and Piastri doesn't win; or Verstappen finishes third, Norris finishes ninth or lower and Piastri doesn't win.
Meanwhile in F2, Invicta Racing’s Leonardo Fornaroli sealed the drivers' title in Qatar. Invicta Racing is 35 points ahead of Hitech in the teams' title race.
Verstappen is 2025 champion he wins and Norris finishes fourth or lower; Verstappen finishes second, Norris is eighth or lower and Piastri doesn't win; or Verstappen finishes third, Norris finishes ninth or lower and Piastri doesn't win.
Piastri is 2025 champion if he wins with Norris sixth or lower; if Piastri finishes second, Norris is 10th or lower and Verstappen is fourth or lower.
Pirelli’s F1 tyre selection for this year in Abu Dhabi is as it was in 2024: the C3 is the hard, the C4 is the medium and the C5 is the soft. The Yas Marina Circuit lies in the median when it comes to tyre stress, surface grip, and abrasion.
For the last time in 2025, Aston Martin Aramco Formula 1 Team deputy performance director Tim Wright offers his technical analysis exclusively to Raceteq.
Pirelli's infographic preview for the 2025 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Length: 5.281 kilometres
Number of laps: 58
Number of turns: 16
“Yas Marina Circuit is one of those circuits that offers a bit of everything - an ‘average’ layout that tests all aspects of the car. Silverstone’s the prime example of that and then, at the other end of the scale, you've got these circuits where a lot of decisions have been made for you such as Monaco, Singapore and Budapest, where low-speed corners dominate the layout.
“Abu Dhabi isn’t one of those high-downforce, narrow circuits. It’s middling. It’s pretty smooth and it’s changed over the years. It used to be very low-speed with a couple of high-speed corners bolted on.
“Now it’s a bit more medium-speed because, from 2021, the Turns 5-6 chicane was deleted and the Turn 9 corner was expanded to become a long-duration corner.
Chicanes were removed from Yas Marina Circuit to make it a more medium-speed affair
“As a result, sector one has a medium-speed left-hander and high-speed left-hander - almost like Barcelona. Then you’ve got sector two, with two long straights and a couple of low-speed corners.
“So you need a car that is reasonably good in a straight line.
“Sector three is akin to a street circuit. Once you’ve left Turn 9, you’ve got a series of lower-speed turns and then the last two, which are medium-to-high-speed turns, in quick succession. We could easily be doing that in Baku or Singapore, but it's bolted onto a circuit that starts with high-speed turns.
“Yas Marina Circuit has three distinct sectors, which present a tricky situation.
“As an engineer, you’re trying to work it out: Do I want an efficient car that's going to be good in the chicanes, or is the focus actually on sector three, where the tyres are going to be in pain? There’s no one way to tackle it, but it’s about prioritising what’s best for your laptime.”
