© Getty ImagesThe Highs And Lows Of Abu DhabiIn the 15 years the Yas Marina Circuit has been on the calendar, the Team has had a mix of good and bad memories…
TheAbuDhabiGrandPrixhasbeenastrongholdfortheTeamovertheyears.Itfirstjoinedthecalendarin2009,andsincethentheTeamhasstoodonthetopstepofthepodiumseventimes,makingitthemostsuccessfulconstructortoraceatthecircuit.
Yas Marina has also been the playground that the Team has secured a few titles over the years. Here are some of the good and not-so-good memories for the Team in Abu Dhabi…
The 2009 Season had been a breakthrough campaign for the Team, and at the season finale it was a sign of things to come.
The inaugural Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was the sport’s first day-to-night race, and saw Sebastian Vettel qualify 2nd, with teammate Mark Webber in third. The Bulls started strong and Mark even overcame a collision with Rubens Barrichello to maintain his position. Both Bulls were looking good for a podium, but when Hamilton suffered a brake failure on lap 18, he was forced to retire his McLaren. The Bulls were then free to take their fourth one-two finish of the season with Seb finishing 17 seconds ahead of Mark.
A Lot Of Happy Memories In Abu Dhabi© Getty Images
Going into the 2010 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the Team had sewn up its first Constructors’ Title, but the drivers’ competition was still wide open.
Four drivers were fighting for the title; Fernando Alonso was top on 246 points, with Mark Webber behind him on 238, Seb Vettel had 231 and, with an outside chance, Lewis Hamilton was on 222.
There was plenty of maths being worked out before the race to see what would be needed for the Bulls to make it a double-winning season. It was a fantastic start to the weekend for Seb, taking pole in qualifying and having the best chance for the win.
Seb got away at the start and Alonso and Mark were battling it out behind. Mark and Alonso pitted early in the race, but then found themselves in traffic and unable to overtake. Seb went long and stayed in front of the pack. He took the win and then had an agonising wait to hear over the radio where his rivals had finished. Alonso and Mark struggled to make ground, finishing seventh and eighth respectively sealing the title for Seb. Amazingly, he hadn’t led the Drivers’ Championship at any point during the season, except at the final chequered flag.
In 2011, Seb and the Team arrived in Abu Dhabi as champions. Seb had taken the Drivers’ title in Japan and the Team had won the constructors in Korea. However, Seb didn’t have it all his own way in the Grand Prix. He started on pole and was hoping to add another win to his season’s tally.
Unfortunately, Seb suffered an unexpected puncture at the start of the race, only making it round the first few corners before spinning off and dropping down the field. The early disaster saw him retire from the race – his first retirement from a Grand Prix in 20 races.
Heading into the 2012 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, five drivers and two constructors were in with a chance of winning their respective titles, so every point was critical.
Mark qualified in P2 and Seb P3, but unfortunately Seb’s RB8 did not have enough fuel left at the end of the running for FIA inspection, and so he was disqualified from Qualifying. Making the most of the situation they were in, the Team made the decision to update the setup on the car meaning Seb would start from the pitlane for the Grand Prix.
Through a few bumps, damaged front wing and a safety car, Seb managed to climb from the very back of the grid to the third step on the podium. After such a heroic drive, he and the Team celebrated as much as they would if it was a race win, and was essential to keeping Seb in the fight for the Drivers’ Title that year and on the way to claiming his third Championship.
One of the drivers knocked out the title race in Abu Dhabi 2012 was the Team’s own Mark Webber. He was quite a way off the lead, but still had a mathematical chance going into the race. On lap 39 Mark was sitting in P8 and on the charge, then a domino effect between a few drivers ahead of him ended the Aussie’s race; Paul di Resta forced Sergio Pérez wide at turn 13. As Checo re-joined the track he cut across the front of Roman Grosjean. As Grosjean tried to avoid contact with Checo he didn’t spot Mark making a move on the inside and the pair collided and were both forced to retire from the race, ending Mark’s 2012 title hopes.
The Bulls had already completed their fourth double winning Championship season in 2013 before arriving in Abu Dhabi, but it was all about to change.
2013 was to be the end of the V8 era, before the V6-hybrid engines replaced them. The start of the hybrid era saw several years of Mercedes dominance, but things started to turn around in 2020. Mercedes had already won both championships, but Max was on fire at the final race of the year. He took pole position and followed that up with the race win – at the time only the 10th win of his career.
Vettel wins the 2013 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix© Mark Thompson/Getty Images
It was a line in the sand and there was a confidence around the Team going into the off season, ahead of the iconic 2021 season…
It was the tightest title race in the sport’s history heading into the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. After 21 races, Max and Lewis Hamilton were equal on points, setting up a mouth-watering winner-takes-all decider in the desert.
Max started on pole, but Hamilton took the lead away from the Bull early in the race. Hamilton began to pull away and looked to have the title in the bag. Then on lap 50, Nicholas Latifi crashed into the barrier causing the deployment of the Safety Car. When Lewis stayed out, Max dived into the pits for fresh rubber, he was back out behind Hamilton as the laps were counting down. With only a few laps remaining, it wasn’t clear if the race was going to end under Safety Car regulations. It was decided that the backmarkers were cleared to unlap themselves and that there would be one lap of racing left to decide the title.
Max used the grip of his fresher tyres and got past the heavily defending Lewis at Turn 5 and took the lead from Hamilton. The two fought for the whole lap, but Max was able to hold off the Mercedes and took the chequered flag and the first Drivers’ Title of his career.
Since that victory in 2020, Max has been unstoppable in the United Arab Emirates. He has not only taken pole and won every time, but he’s also collected the fastest lap twice making it two hattricks in four wins.
Last year was the most dominant season where he won by 17 seconds and took the bonus point for the fastest lap, rounding off a near perfect season for himself and the Team.
Through The Lens: Abu Dhabi 2023
Getting A New Perspective© Vladimir Rhys
First Ever 1-2 Finish In Drivers' Championship© Vladimir Rhys
Your Class Of 2023© Vladimir Rhys
Season Finale© Vladimir Rhys
Max And Rocky© Vladimir Rhys
Important Practice© Vladimir Rhys
Flying On Track© Vladimir Rhys
Ladies And Gentleman, The RB19© Vladimir Rhys
Max '3 Time World Champion' Verstappen© Vladimir Rhys
Max will be looking to make it five wins in Abu Dhabi Grands Prix in a row this weekend. He and Checo will return to the Yas Marina Circuit for Free Practice One on Friday at 13:30 track time (09:30UTC). Make sure you head over to our Race Hub for the latest results, exclusive news, epic images and interviews with the Bulls.
