Can F1's new race director handle double title pressure? Abu Dhabi GP preview

Alpine, RB and Haas are also in a constructors’ battle of their own, with the three teams separated by 13 points in a fight over sixth. The team that comes out on top could earn an estimated £72m, while eighth-place is worth around £13m less — which could be a critical difference in the highly competitive midfield.

But aside from just constructors’ battles, there are other big season finale stories elsewhere on the grid too: from experienced drivers completing their final races with their respective constructors; a driver making his debut to a race director under pressure to perform.

Here’s everything to watch out for across the 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix weekend:

The last dance 

The 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will mark the end of many key partnerships across the grid, with Lewis Hamilton, Carlos Sainz, Nico Hülkenberg, Kevin Magnussen, Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu all confirmed to be parting ways with their current respective teams after the season finale.

Hamilton’s departure from Mercedes is likely to be where most eyes will focus, as together over a 11-year period, they have become the most successful driver/team pairing in the history of Formula 1. Behind the wheel of a Silver Arrow, Hamilton has captured 84 race victories — two of which have come this year — 153 podium appearances, 78 pole positions and six drivers’ world titles.

But, despite all that greatness, the two giants of motor sport are seemingly ending on bitter terms. Hamilton has largely struggled with Mercedes’ most recent F1 creation, the W15, and even threatened to leave the team early after a particularly disastrous race weekend in Brazil.

“At this point. I really don’t care,” Hamilton told media when asked about his lack of pace during free practice in Qatar. “I just want to get through these next couple of races and do my job, turn up and looking forward to the winter break.”

In Abu Dhabi, Mercedes are again expected to struggle, meaning a fairytale victory for Hamilton is unlikely. But while the Briton is seemingly counting down the moments before he gets to race in red, there are others who are dead set on ending their season on a high note.

Sainz, who will complete his last race for Ferrari in Abu Dhabi before moving to Williams for 2025, has voiced his motivation to capture one last win in red — a feat that, if achieved at Yas Marina, would bolster the Maranello outfit’s constructors’ title chances significantly.

“Nothing would make me happier than achieving something like that before the end of the year,” he said. “I’m going to give it my absolute best.”

Similarly, Haas and Sauber are expected to cordially part ways with their respective drivers, with both outfits running completely refreshed drivers line-ups for next season. Haas is also still in the hunt for sixth in the constructors’ standings, and will be relying on their driver’s vast experience to deliver a good result.

There’s still a race to go and we’ll go in there guns blazing,” said Magnussen, who looks to be completing the final race of his F1 career in Abu Dhabi. “We deserve better but luck unfortunately hasn’t been on our side recently. We’ve just got to do what we can. As I said, still a round to go – five points’ deficit is not the easiest of tasks, but still all to play for.”

Rui Marques back in the race director hot seat

Rui Marques was appointed as F1’s newest race director in Las Vegas, replacing Niels Wittich who had taken over from Michael Masi in 2022.

Marques has brought a “wealth of experience” from his stint as F2 race director to the role, according to the FIA, but has already come under fire for controversial decisions made at the Qatar GP.

When Alex Albon’s wing mirror came loose and fell onto the circuit — proving an obvious hazard — there was no virtual safety car or safety car deployment made by the race director. When Valtteri Bottas ran over the mirror, shattering carbon fibre across the circuit, Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz quickly suffered race-changing punctures.

Now Marques may face his toughest challenge in Abu Dhabi where there’s not only the constructors’ championship at stake, but also a tightly-contested Formula 2 championship. As Marques’s successor Janette Tan was removed from her post before taking charge of a race, he will take on the F2 responsibilities as well.

Given both jobs are considered too big for one person, and the high stakes of the season finales, there’s a lot on Marques’s shoulders this weekend, at a venue that’s seen its share of controversial decisions in the past.

Is time finally up for Sergio Perez at Red Bull? 

After Sergio Perez failed to extract a single point from an entire sprint race weekend in Qatar, while his team-mate finished eighth in the sprint and then won the Grand Prix, his Red Bull team boss had some interesting things to say.

“First of all, we’ve won nine grands prix this year to five of any other team,” said Christian Horner said asked about the Mexican driver. “Now, all of those nine have come from Max [Verstappen], whereas every other team has split between two drivers.

“We are out of the constructors’ and that’s very frustrating because that’s obviously where the financial revenues are distributed from.”

To put Perez’s underperformance into perspective, you need not to look at his team-mate, but at Pierre Gasly. Despite being behind the wheel of a woeful Alpine for the vast majority of the season, the Frenchman has been able to score 27 points over the last three rounds. Meanwhile Perez has scored 28 points over the last ten.

“Checo knows the pressures of this business and we are going to give him all the support we can to the chequered flag in Abu Dhabi and what he decides to do, that will be his decision at the end of the day,” added Horner. “I think he’s old enough and wise enough to come to his own conclusions but there is still a race to go so let’s get to the end of Abu Dhabi and see where we are at.”

Since Horner’s comments, reports have speculated that Perez will step down from his Red Bull seat at the end of the season and move into an ambassador role — similar to Daniel Ricciardo. Then for 2025, Liam Lawson looks likely to become Verstappen’s team-mate, with Isack Hadjar filling in to replace the Kiwi at RB.

But nothing is confirmed just yet. So we’ll just have to wait and see how this all plays out.

Is Jack Doohan’s F1 debut really an Alpine tryout? 

In an unexpected twist, Alpine decided to release Esteban Ocon from his contract after the Qatar Grand Prix, with Jack Doohan promoted from his reserve role to replace the Frenchman in Abu Dhabi.

Doohan has already been confirmed as Pierre Gasly‘s F1 team-mate at the Enstone outfit for next year, but this weekend’s race isn’t just focused on giving the Aussie some much-needed experience.

As mentioned by Chris Medland for Motor Sport, “there remains a degree of uncertainty over whether he actually will get to take up his race seat in 2025, with Franco Colapinto’s early performances and significant financial backing having caught the eye of Flavio Briatore and co.”

With Alpine in a close fight for sixth in the constructors’ standings, Doohan will be thrown into the deep end in Abu Dhabi and could be expected to deliver the results. Contributing to the team’s success with a points-paying finish could go a long way in securing his F1 seat for next year. But should he underperform or be outshone by Colapinto, Doohan’s F1 dreams could be over before they’ve really even begun.

F2 title battle 

While F1’s drivers’ title battle has long been decided, with Max Verstappen clinching his fourth consecutive world championship in Las Vegas, it’s all yet to be decided in Formula 2.

Gabriel Bortoleto currently leads Isack Hadjar by just half a point in the drivers’ standings, meaning that the champion will be crowned during Sunday’s feature race — which takes place shortly before F1’s own season finale.

Bortoleto has thoroughly impressed in his first season of F2, scoring feature race wins in Austria and Monza and finishing on the podium in Imola, Monte Carlo, Spa-Francorchamps and Losail. 15 further point-scoring finishes have showcased the Brazilian’s consistency and even convinced Mattia Binotto that he was worthy of an F1 drive, as the Sauber boss announced Bortoleto as Nico Hülkenberg’s team-mate for 2025.

On the other hand, Hadjar’s immediate motor sport future looks less certain. The Frenchman and Red Bull junior enters this weekend as the F2 title favourite, having already secured feature race victories at Albert Park, Imola, Silverstone and Spa as well as podium finishes in Monaco, Austria, Hungary and at the most recent round in Qatar.

But even if he secures the F2 title over Bortoleto at Yas Marina, Hadjar’s F1 options continue to hinge on the whereabouts of Sergio Perez. Should the Mexican choose to leave, Hadjar would be in contention for a seat at RB — should either Liam Lawson or Yuki Tsunoda be promoted to replace Perez. But should Perez stay, Hadjar would likely have to join the likes of Theo Pourchaire and Felipe Drugovich on the sidelines for 2025.