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Lewis Hamilton is crowned 6 th time F1 World Champion 2019 and Mercedes Benz AMG Petronas is crowned Constructors World Champion season 2019 -
Just over eight months and one week after the lights went out in Melbourne to signal the start of the campaign, the 2019 season comes to an end in a few days’ time in Abu Dhabi at the season’s only day/night race.
And what a battle it’s been. Twenty-
Classic Cars
And the weekend at Yas Marina promises to be spectacular, not just because of the F1 cars in action on track but also because, for the first time ever, the Grand Prix will also feature a live auction of some of the most important and beautiful racing and road machinery ever built. And fans will have a ringside seat for all the drama…
This weekend in Abu Dhabi, Formula 1 and RM Sotheby’s will bring together some truly legendary F1 cars and a carefully curated selection of rare and desirable supercars for an incredible auction. And prior to Saturday evening’s live sale on the F1 grid, fans will have the chance to get up close and personal with some of the finest machinery on four wheels, including a title-
This weekend F1 will team up with RM Sotheby’s to host the first international collector car auction in the region at Yas Marina. Can you explain why classic cars and F1 are a good fit?
We have a hugely passionate audience. They are obsessed with Formula 1 machinery but our research also tells us that they are passionate about all kind of automobiles. They live and love race cars and road cars – sports cars classic cars, single-
The benefit for us is that not only are we able to bring the glamour of F1 together with the rarefied world of high-
How will the cars add to fans’ enjoyment of the race weekend?
One of the key features of how we organised this auction is that we have agreed with RM Sotheby’s that the cars will be displayed at the circuit in the F1 Fan Zone.
The easiest thing for us to do would have been to stage the auction off-
With that in mind, we have embedded the auction and the cars themselves into the Formula 1 event. Even if 99% of us can only dream of buying one, we want fans to be able to see these cars, to get up close to them and to enjoy their rarity. And we have some truly special cars on show.
What kind of machinery can fans expect to see?
Well, top of the bill has to be the ex-
We also have a 1990 Ferrari F40, which was signed by Sebastian Vettel at the launch of this partnership with RM Sotheby’s earlier this year at the Bahrain Grand Prix.
There’s also a Jaguar C-
And on Saturday they’ll be sold?
Yes. The cars will be displayed behind the main grandstand in the F1 Fan Zone on Friday and all day Saturday. Then, on Saturday night, the cars will be lined up on the grid under lights and we’ll hold the auction live. Formula 1 will be filming the event, too, so fans will be able to enjoy the action. The reserves on some of these cars extend beyond $5m so we expect plenty of drama as the bids come in. It promises to be quite spectacular and, after all, spectacle is what Formula 1 is about.
The car sale is obviously beyond the reach of almost everyone who’ll see the cars, but there is a way for us regular folk to get a taste of the action isn’t there?
Absolutely. There is a huge amount of amazing Formula 1 memorabilia being auctioned online. Fans from anywhere in the world can bid and there are some wonderful pieces available, including helmets from Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher, Kimi Räikkönen and Nelson Piquet, as well as race suits, gloves, steering wheels, car nose cones and even a Ferrari F2002 engine!
This is the first F1 / RM Sotheby’s event. Are you already planning for 2020?
We’ve got an extensive race calendar and it’s a question of agreeing between us which events might be a success. Formula 1 has some amazing locations – Monaco, Monza, Singapore, Montreal, Mexico City – that we’re almost spoiled for choice but yes, we are already talking about two more events in 2020.
And that means fans will get the chance to see a host of historic race cars and incredible supercars in the future?
Yes. We hope that events such as this really enhance the whole experience of being at a race, for the fans attending the race all the way up to the premium VIP guests. When people come to a Formula 1 race we want them to experience something amazing and unique – not just on the track but in every aspect of the Grand Prix weekend. We want them to go home thinking ‘wow, that was an incredible experience, when can I go again?’
It’s the final race of the 2019 season and it brings with it an important milestone for this year’s champion and for two drivers for whom this weekend at Yas Marina looks like being their last in F1 for the moment…
Lewis Hamilton is set to make his
250th Grand Prix start in Abu Dhabi.
With 83 wins so far Hamilton has a 33.33% win record. As a comparison Jim Clark recorded 25 wins from 72 starts for a win rate of 34.7%, while Michael Schumacher scored 91 wins from 306 starts giving him a rate of 29.7%.
Sunday’s race will be Hamilton’s 140th start for Mercedes, with whom he has scored 62 wins.
This weekend’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will be Nico Hülkenberg’s 177th Grand Prix start, and sadly, it looks like being his last for the foreseeable future.
The German, who is currently without a seat for 2020, made his F1 debut at the 2010 season-
With no seat available for 2011 Hülkenberg spent that season as a test driver with Force India before claiming a race seat at the team in 2012. He switched to Sauber for a single season 2013 but then returned to Force India for three years before moving to Renault in 2017.
Nico has finished as high as fourth on three occasions (Belgium 2012, Korea 2013 and Belgium 2016). He has so far scored two fastest laps (Singapore 2012 and China 2016) and currently has 511 championship points to his name.
Sunday will be Robert Kubica’s 97th F1 start and again it’s set to be the Pole’s final Grand Prix for the foreseeable future as he prepares to part company with Williams at the end of the season.
Kubica made his race debut with BMW Sauber at the 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix. He spent the following three season with BMW, during which he scored his only pole position (Bahrain 2008) and his sole F1 win (Canada 2008). When BMW departed the sport at the end of 2009 he switched to Renault but prior to the following season a serious rallying accident derailed his career.
He completed a remarkable comeback by joining Williams this year and scored a point at the German Grand Prix. In all Kubica has one win, 11 other podium finishes, one pole position, four front-
Charles Leclerc currently has seven pole positions in 2019, meaning that whatever happens this weekend he’ll end the season with the most starts from the front of the grid.
This year Leclerc started from pole in Bahrain, Austria, Belgium, Italy, Singapore, Russia and Mexico. His closest rival is Valtteri Bottas who has scored five poles so far this year.
On Sunday Kimi Räikkönen will become
Formula 1’s second most frequent starter, as he takes part in his 312th Grand Prix.
The Finn will pass the 311 races of Fernando Alonso and edges closer to Rubens Barrichello’s record of 322 starts.
Räikkönen’s 312th start, which will be made with Alfa Romeo, will come 6846 days after his first, with Sauber, at the
2001 Australian Grand Prix.
RISING FORCES
The FIA Formula 2 Championship returns for a thrilling final round in Abu Dhabi, with the on-
A fiercely competitive season saw Nyck de Vries clinch the Drivers’ Championship in Sochi last time out after a superb campaign, but there’s still plenty to play for with four drivers battling it out to be vice-
Nicholas Latifi, Luca Ghiotto, Sérgio Sette Câmara and Jack Aitken all have the opportunity to claim the honour, with just 35 points separating second-
Latifi is 10 points ahead of Ghiotto, but the UNI-
To make things even more interesting, Latifi and Ghiotto are the leading points scorers for their teams, as DAMS and UNI-
DAMS’ advantage has grown steadily throughout the year, with the French squad adding another eight points to their total last time out in Sochi, so the pendulum would need an almighty swing in the opposite direction for UNI-
DAMS currently lead the British outfit by 53 points, but with 78 points available in Abu Dhabi be sure to keep an eye on Ghiotto and team-
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F1 Food Fest is a celebration of all the incredible cuisines from across the F1 race calendar and will incorporate well-
For the FORMULA 1 ETIHAD AIRWAYS ABU DHABI GRAND PRIX 2019 Food Fest Stations will serve 21 cuisines reflecting the 21 race calendar this year.
Working with F1 race promoters, food and beverage areas at F1 Fan Zones will be transformed into a food haven, hosting a variety of food stations from across all 22 races. Vendors at each location from across the world will source locally relevant foods from the different locations F1 race in, and provide an authentic and delicious experience for fans.
Ticket holders can also take part in the ultimate food tasting competition, by logging their food experience in an F1 Food Fest passport, and submitting their log of activity to @F1 on Twitter and Instagram using #F1FoodFest.
Fans who sample the most cuisines will be entered into an exclusive competition, with a chance to win exclusive money-
In 2020 Formula 1 will race in the following 22 countries, all of which will be represented by the F1 Food Fest stations throughout the season:
Australia -
Saif Al Noami, Deputy CEO ADMM, said:
“At Yas Marina Circuit we look to continually innovate our fan engagement and entertainment offering and the addition of Formula 1’s Food Fest further bolsters our packed schedule of weekend activities. This is a great opportunity for ticket holders to eat their way around the Formula 1 calendar and have the chance to win ‘money can’t buy’ prizes, it will appeal to all our visitors and will certainly add to the global feel of this racing spectacle.”
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