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2009 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
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2009 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
The 2009 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (officially the 2009 Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix) was the seventeenth and final Formula One motor race of the 2009 Formula One season. It took place on 1 November 2009 at the 5.554 kilometres (3.451 mi) Hermann Tilke-designed Yas Marina Circuit. It was the inaugural Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and also the first ever day-night Grand Prix (starting at 17:00, with sunset at 17:43 on raceday).
The race was won by Sebastian Vettel for Red Bull, with polesitter Lewis Hamilton (driving for McLaren) having retired due to a brake failure. This was the last Formula One race for Kazuki Nakajima and Giancarlo Fisichella and the Brawn GP, BMW Sauber and Toyota teams (respectively). As of 2026[update] this is the last F1 race to feature in-race refueling, as the practice was banned for the 2010 season. It was also the last Grand Prix appearance of a BMW-powered car in Formula One.
Jenson Button had secured the title of World Champion in Brazil, but only two points separated the second-placed and third-placed Sebastian Vettel and Rubens Barrichello. Brawn GP was declared Constructors' Champion in Brazil with Red Bull second, but third position overall was still undecided between McLaren and Ferrari.
Tyre supplier Bridgestone selected the medium and soft tyres for the Grand Prix weekend. This would be Kimi Räikkönen's last race of his first stint with Ferrari before moving on to the World Rally Championship in 2010. (Räikkönen returned to Lotus for the 2012 season.) This would be the last race in Formula One for Nico Rosberg at Williams and for Robert Kubica (replacing Alonso at Renault in 2010) at BMW Sauber. This would be the last race for Nick Heidfeld until the 2010 Singapore Grand Prix.
As in Brazil, Kamui Kobayashi continued to race for Toyota as Timo Glock was ruled out after he was injured in a crash at the Japanese Grand Prix during qualifying.
In keeping with FIA regulations that state the practice and qualifying sessions must be run under the same conditions as the race, the practice sessions were run in the late afternoon and early evening so as to simulate the transition between day and night.
The sessions were dominated by the McLaren team, with Lewis Hamilton spending most of his time on or near the very top of the timing sheets. He set the early standard in the first session, producing a fastest lap of 1:43.939. Teammate Heikki Kovalainen struggled initially, but eventually set the fastest time of the second session – 1:41.307, two-tenths of a second faster than teammate Hamilton. – and retained his pace in the third.
At Ferrari, both Kimi Räikkönen and Giancarlo Fisichella struggled, spending most of the weekend at the bottom of the timing sheets, though a pair of last-minute one-lap charges by Räikkönen saved the team from total embarrassment. Fisichella was less than impressed with Yas Marina's underground pit exit, claiming it was both very difficult and dangerous, despite it remaining incident-free.
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2009 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
The 2009 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (officially the 2009 Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix) was the seventeenth and final Formula One motor race of the 2009 Formula One season. It took place on 1 November 2009 at the 5.554 kilometres (3.451 mi) Hermann Tilke-designed Yas Marina Circuit. It was the inaugural Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and also the first ever day-night Grand Prix (starting at 17:00, with sunset at 17:43 on raceday).
The race was won by Sebastian Vettel for Red Bull, with polesitter Lewis Hamilton (driving for McLaren) having retired due to a brake failure. This was the last Formula One race for Kazuki Nakajima and Giancarlo Fisichella and the Brawn GP, BMW Sauber and Toyota teams (respectively). As of 2026[update] this is the last F1 race to feature in-race refueling, as the practice was banned for the 2010 season. It was also the last Grand Prix appearance of a BMW-powered car in Formula One.
Jenson Button had secured the title of World Champion in Brazil, but only two points separated the second-placed and third-placed Sebastian Vettel and Rubens Barrichello. Brawn GP was declared Constructors' Champion in Brazil with Red Bull second, but third position overall was still undecided between McLaren and Ferrari.
Tyre supplier Bridgestone selected the medium and soft tyres for the Grand Prix weekend. This would be Kimi Räikkönen's last race of his first stint with Ferrari before moving on to the World Rally Championship in 2010. (Räikkönen returned to Lotus for the 2012 season.) This would be the last race in Formula One for Nico Rosberg at Williams and for Robert Kubica (replacing Alonso at Renault in 2010) at BMW Sauber. This would be the last race for Nick Heidfeld until the 2010 Singapore Grand Prix.
As in Brazil, Kamui Kobayashi continued to race for Toyota as Timo Glock was ruled out after he was injured in a crash at the Japanese Grand Prix during qualifying.
In keeping with FIA regulations that state the practice and qualifying sessions must be run under the same conditions as the race, the practice sessions were run in the late afternoon and early evening so as to simulate the transition between day and night.
The sessions were dominated by the McLaren team, with Lewis Hamilton spending most of his time on or near the very top of the timing sheets. He set the early standard in the first session, producing a fastest lap of 1:43.939. Teammate Heikki Kovalainen struggled initially, but eventually set the fastest time of the second session – 1:41.307, two-tenths of a second faster than teammate Hamilton. – and retained his pace in the third.
At Ferrari, both Kimi Räikkönen and Giancarlo Fisichella struggled, spending most of the weekend at the bottom of the timing sheets, though a pair of last-minute one-lap charges by Räikkönen saved the team from total embarrassment. Fisichella was less than impressed with Yas Marina's underground pit exit, claiming it was both very difficult and dangerous, despite it remaining incident-free.
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