The 2025 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (officially known as the Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2025) was a Formula One motor race that was held on 7 December 2025 at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. It was the twenty-fourth and final race of the 2025 Formula One World Championship.
| 2025 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Race 24 of 24 in the 2025 Formula One World Championship
| ||||
| Layout of the Yas Marina Circuit | ||||
| Race details | ||||
| Date | 7 December 2025 | |||
| Official name | Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2025 | |||
| 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 | 203,000 | |||
| Pole position | ||||
| Driver |
| Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT | ||
| Time | 1:22.207 | |||
| Fastest lap | ||||
| Driver | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | ||
| Time | 1:26.725 on lap 45 | |||
| Podium | ||||
| First |
| Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT | ||
| Second |
| McLaren-Mercedes | ||
| Third |
| McLaren-Mercedes | ||
| Lap leaders | ||||
The Grand Prix was the first World Drivers' Championship–deciding final round since 2021, and the first with more than two contenders since 2010. Lando Norris (408 points, McLaren), Max Verstappen (396 points, Red Bull), and Oscar Piastri (392 points, McLaren) entered the round with an opportunity to win the World Drivers' Championship. Verstappen converted his pole position to a victory, ahead of Piastri and Norris, the latter of whom achieved his maiden Drivers' Championship by two points, and McLaren's first since Lewis Hamilton in 2008.
Background
The event was held at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi for the 17th time in the circuit's history, across the weekend of 5–7 December. The Grand Prix was the twenty-fourth and final race of the 2025 Formula One World Championship and the 17th running of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
This was the last Grand Prix to utilise the power unit configuration introduced in 2014. A revised configuration without the Motor Generator Unit-Heat (MGU-H), but with a higher power output from the Motor Generator Unit-Kinetic (MGU-K), will be introduced for 2026. The event marked the final race of the ground-effect generation of cars introduced in 2022, and the last of the drag reduction system (DRS) introduced as an overtaking aid in 2011, as cars with active aerodynamics and moveable wings will be introduced in 2026. This race marked Honda's last race as a power unit supplier to Red Bull and Racing Bulls, with the company exclusively supplying Aston Martin in 2026. It was also Renault's final race as an engine supplier for its team Alpine, with the manufacturer planning to discontinue engine production post-2025; as such Alpine will become a customer of Mercedes engines from 2026.
Championship standings before the race
Going into the weekend, Lando Norris led the Drivers' Championship with 408 points, 12 points ahead of Max Verstappen and 16 ahead of his teammate Oscar Piastri, who were second and third, respectively. McLaren, who won the Constructors' Championship at the Singapore Grand Prix, leads with 800 points ahead of Mercedes and Red Bull Racing, who were second and third with 459 and 426 points, respectively.
Championship permutations
Drivers' Championship
With Norris being outscored by Verstappen and Piastri in the preceding Qatar Grand Prix, he was unable to secure the Drivers' Championship. As such, the Drivers' Championship was decided in this race, marking the first time the final round of the season was a championship decider since 2021, and also the first time more than two drivers were contenders for the Drivers' Championship at the last event since 2010. Norris and Piastri both had an opportunity to win their first title at this event, and McLaren's first Drivers' Championship since 2008, while Verstappen had an opportunity to win his fifth in a row.
Norris had an opportunity to become Britain's first Drivers' Champion since Lewis Hamilton won in 2020 for Mercedes; Verstappen could break Sebastian Vettel's record for the most championships won with Red Bull, and would have become the second driver to win five titles in a row after Michael Schumacher from 2000 to 2004 for Ferrari; and Piastri could have become Australia's first Drivers' Champion since Alan Jones won in 1980 for Williams.
The top three drivers had an opportunity to win the championship in the following manners:
| Norris would win if: | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Lando Norris | Max Verstappen | Oscar Piastri | |
| Pos. | 3rd or better | Any place | Any place |
| 4th or 5th | 2nd or lower | ||
| 6th or 7th | 2nd or lower | ||
| 8th | 3rd or lower | ||
| 9th or lower | 4th or lower | 3rd or lower | |
| Verstappen would win if: | |||
| Max Verstappen | Lando Norris | Oscar Piastri | |
| Pos. | 1st | 4th or lower | Any place |
| 2nd | 8th or lower | ||
| 3rd | 9th or lower | 2nd or lower | |
| Piastri would win if: | |||
| Oscar Piastri | Lando Norris | Max Verstappen | |
| Pos. | 1st | 6th or lower | Any place |
| 2nd | 10th or lower | 4th or lower | |
Constructors' Championship
McLaren secured their tenth Constructors' Championship, and second in a row, at the 2025 Singapore Grand Prix. Following the conclusion of the Qatar Grand Prix, Mercedes had 459 points, 33 clear from Red Bull in third. Mercedes would only need to score eleven points in this event to secure second in the Constructors' Championship.
In the midfield, Ferrari, Williams and Alpine secured fourth, fifth, and tenth place in the Constructors' Championship at the previous race, respectively. Williams' fifth-place finish was the highest the team had achieved since 2016, while Alpine's tenth-place finish was the worst that Team Enstone had achieved during the turbo-hybrid era. Meanwhile, RB, Aston Martin, Haas and Sauber battled for sixth place in the championship, with the gap to sixth being separated by 21 points.
Entrants
The drivers and teams were the same as published in the season entry list with two exceptions; Yuki Tsunoda at Red Bull Racing held the seat originally held by Liam Lawson before Lawson was demoted back to Racing Bulls from the Japanese Grand Prix onward, and Franco Colapinto replaced Jack Doohan at Alpine from the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix onward on a race-by-race basis.
During the first practice session, eight teams fielded alternate drivers who had not raced in more than two Grands Prix, as required by the Formula One regulations:
- Jak Crawford and Cian Shields for Aston Martin in place of Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso, respectively. Shields made his Formula One practice debut.
- Paul Aron for Alpine in place of Pierre Gasly.
- Ayumu Iwasa for Racing Bulls in place of Liam Lawson.
- Ryō Hirakawa for Haas in place of Esteban Ocon.
- Luke Browning for Williams in place of Alexander Albon.
- Arvid Lindblad for Red Bull in place of Yuki Tsunoda.
- Patricio O'Ward for McLaren in place of Oscar Piastri.
- Arthur Leclerc for Ferrari in place of Lewis Hamilton.
The Grand Prix marked Nico Hülkenberg's 250th race start, and Charles Leclerc's 150th race start with Ferrari. The Grand Prix was Tsunoda's last as a Red Bull driver and the last Grand Prix to feature the Sauber team before they become Audi in 2026.
Tyre choices
Tyre supplier Pirelli brought the C3, C4, and C5 tyre compounds designated hard, medium, and soft, respectively, for teams to use at the event.
Practice
Three free practice sessions were held for the event. The first free practice session was held on 5 December 2025, at 13:30 local time (UTC+4), and was topped by Lando Norris (McLaren), followed by Max Verstappen (Red Bull) and Charles Leclerc (Ferrari). The second free practice session was held on the same day, at 17:00 local time, and was topped by Norris, followed by Verstappen and George Russell (Mercedes). The third practice session was held on 6 December 2025, at 14:30 local time, and was topped by Russell, followed by Norris and Verstappen. The session was red-flagged after Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) crashed at turn 9.
Qualifying
Qualifying was held on 6 December 2025, at 18:00 local time (UTC+4), and determined the starting grid order for the race.
Qualifying report
Lewis Hamilton, Alexander Albon, Nico Hülkenberg, Pierre Gasly, and Franco Colapinto were eliminated in Q1. This marked Hamilton's third consecutive Q1 exit in the 2025 season. Oliver Bearman, Carlos Sainz Jr., Liam Lawson, Kimi Antonelli, and Lance Stroll exited in Q2. In the third session (Q3), Max Verstappen claimed his 48th career pole position, ahead of title contenders Lando Norris, who qualified in second, and Oscar Piastri in third. George Russell and Charles Leclerc qualified in fourth and fifth, respectively, and Fernando Alonso, Gabriel Bortoleto, Esteban Ocon, Isack Hadjar, and Yuki Tsunoda completed the top ten. Tsunoda, who suffered floor damage from a free practice incident with Kimi Antonelli, sacrificed his flying lap in Q3 to provide a tow for teammate Verstappen.
Qualifying classification
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Constructor | Qualifying times | Final grid | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | |||||
| 1 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT | 1:22.877 | 1:22.752 | 1:22.207 | 1 |
| 2 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:23.178 | 1:22.804 | 1:22.408 | 2 |
| 3 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:22.605 | 1:23.021 | 1:22.437 | 3 |
| 4 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1:23.247 | 1:22.730 | 1:22.645 | 4 |
| 5 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:23.163 | 1:22.948 | 1:22.730 | 5 |
| 6 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin Aramco-Mercedes | 1:23.071 | 1:22.861 | 1:22.902 | 6 |
| 7 | 5 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Kick Sauber-Ferrari | 1:23.374 | 1:22.874 | 1:22.904 | 7 |
| 8 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Haas-Ferrari | 1:23.334 | 1:23.023 | 1:22.913 | 8 |
| 9 | 6 | Isack Hadjar | Racing Bulls-Honda RBPT | 1:23.373 | 1:22.997 | 1:23.072 | 9 |
| 10 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT | 1:23.386 | 1:23.034 | No time | 10 |
| 11 | 87 | Oliver Bearman | Haas-Ferrari | 1:23.254 | 1:23.041 | N/A | 11 |
| 12 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jr. | Williams-Mercedes | 1:23.187 | 1:23.042 | N/A | 12 |
| 13 | 30 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls-Honda RBPT | 1:23.265 | 1:23.077 | N/A | 13 |
| 14 | 12 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | 1:22.894 | 1:23.080 | N/A | 14 |
| 15 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin Aramco-Mercedes | 1:23.316 | 1:23.097 | N/A | 15 |
| 16 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | 1:23.394 | N/A | N/A | 16 |
| 17 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams-Mercedes | 1:23.416 | N/A | N/A | 17 |
| 18 | 27 | Nico Hülkenberg | Kick Sauber-Ferrari | 1:23.450 | N/A | N/A | 18 |
| 19 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine-Renault | 1:23.468 | N/A | N/A | 19 |
| 20 | 43 | Franco Colapinto | Alpine-Renault | 1:23.890 | N/A | N/A | 20 |
| 107% time: 1:28.387 | |||||||
| Source: | |||||||
Race
The race was held on 7 December 2025, at 17:00 local time (UTC+4), and was run for 58 laps.
Race report
At the start of the race, Max Verstappen (Red Bull) made a significant gap and dived left to block any challenge from Lando Norris (McLaren). Norris tucked into second place ahead of Oscar Piastri (McLaren) as the three Championship contenders made it safely through turn one.
Behind them, fourth-placed George Russell (Mercedes) made a poor start, and he was overtaken by both Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) and Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin). Russell was left in sixth place ahead of Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto, Racing Bulls' Isack Hadjar, Haas' Esteban Ocon and hard-tyre starter Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull), who all maintained their starting positions before Piastri overtook Norris while on hard tyres to reach second place. Russell eventually overtook Alonso for fifth.
On lap 11, Verstappen had built out a two-second gap ahead of Piastri, with Norris 4.3 seconds behind. Russell was the first of the top five to pit at the end of lap 14, switching to hard tyres to try to undercut Leclerc. Norris was next to pit at the end of lap 16 followed by Leclerc. After exiting the pits, Norris was tailing Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) and Carlos Sainz Jr. (Williams), and on lap 19 he passed both Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) and Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) in a single move into the hairpin.
Norris was now three seconds behind Tsunoda, the latter of whom was in third place behind Piastri and Verstappen. On lap 23, as Norris and Tsunoda battled on the straight section of the track, Norris left the track in an attempt to overtake Tsunoda, who was making multiple changes to defend his position. The FIA put both drivers under investigation: Tsunoda for making more than one change of direction and Norris for leaving the track and gaining an advantage. The FIA stewards later penalised Tsunoda for making more than one change of direction as Norris, whom the stewards decided not to investigate any further, was forced off the track to avoid a collision from Tsunoda's erratic driving. Tsunoda would later serve his five-second penalty at the pits by the end of lap 32, demoting him down to 18th.
Meanwhile, Piastri's hard tyres were starting to show signs of wear, requiring him to pit for mediums a few laps later, eventually rejoining the track in second place.
With Norris in third place, Verstappen's chances of getting a fifth World Championship became slimmer. Norris, on hard tyres, would face pressure from Leclerc but Leclerc was unable to get within two seconds of Norris, further slimming Verstappen's chances of a fifth World Championship. Verstappen would later win the race, with Piastri finishing in second and Norris in third. Norris' third-place finish was enough to crowd him his maiden World Drivers' Championship, while Verstappen's win would allow Red Bull to secure third place in the Constructors' Championship. Lewis Hamilton's eighth place finish meant for the first time in his 19 year career he would go an entire season without recording a Grand Prix podium, ending a record breaking streak since his career began in 2007.
Race classification
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Constructor | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT | 58 | 1:26:07.469 | 1 | 25 |
| 2 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren-Mercedes | 58 | +12.594 | 3 | 18 |
| 3 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren-Mercedes | 58 | +16.572 | 2 | 15 |
| 4 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 58 | +23.279 | 5 | 12 |
| 5 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 58 | +48.563 | 4 | 10 |
| 6 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin Aramco-Mercedes | 58 | +1:07.562 | 6 | 8 |
| 7 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Haas-Ferrari | 58 | +1:09.876 | 8 | 6 |
| 8 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | 58 | +1:12.670 | 16 | 4 |
| 9 | 27 | Nico Hülkenberg | Kick Sauber-Ferrari | 58 | +1:19.014 | 18 | 2 |
| 10 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin Aramco-Mercedes | 58 | +1:19.5231 | 15 | 1 |
| 11 | 5 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Kick Sauber-Ferrari | 58 | +1:21.043 | 7 | |
| 12 | 87 | Oliver Bearman | Haas-Ferrari | 58 | +1:21.1662 | 11 | |
| 13 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jr. | Williams-Mercedes | 58 | +1:22.158 | 12 | |
| 14 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT | 58 | +1:23.794 | 10 | |
| 15 | 12 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | 58 | +1:24.399 | 14 | |
| 16 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams-Mercedes | 58 | +1:30.3273 | 17 | |
| 17 | 6 | Isack Hadjar | Racing Bulls-Honda RBPT | 57 | +1 lap | 9 | |
| 18 | 30 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls-Honda RBPT | 57 | +1 lap | 13 | |
| 19 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine-Renault | 57 | +1 lap4 | 19 | |
| 20 | 43 | Franco Colapinto | Alpine-Renault | 57 | +1 lap | 20 | |
| Source: | |||||||
Notes
- ^1 – Lance Stroll finished ninth, but received a five-second time penalty for making more than one change of direction.
- ^2 – Oliver Bearman finished tenth, but received a five-second time penalty for making more than one change of direction.
- ^3 – Alexander Albon received a five-second time penalty for speeding in the pit lane. His final position was not affected by the penalty.
- ^4 – Pierre Gasly received a five-second time penalty for exceeding track limits. His final position was not affected by the penalty.
Final championship standings
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- Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.
- Competitors in bold and marked with an asterisk are the 2025 World Champions.
See also
- 2025 Yas Island Formula 2 round
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