F1 heads to the United Arab Emirates this weekend for the final race of the season. A Grand Prix whose main challenge will be the fight between Mercedes and Ferrari for second place in the constructors’ championship.
Suspense has not been the key word of this Formula 1 season. This is mainly the fault of Red Bull, and particularly Max Verstappen. The Dutchman reduced the competition to the level of a stooge. The 26-year-old driver won his third world crown at the beginning of October, in Qatar, when there were still five Grands Prix remaining on the calendar. One figure perfectly sums up Vesrtappen’s ultra-domination in 2023: he won 18 of the 21 Grands Prix contested this year, a new record in this area that he had already established a year earlier with 15 victories.
While he will be able to try to set the bar at 19, this weekend, during the last race of the season scheduled in Abu Dhabi, Max Verstappen has more than double the points than his runner-up, who does not is other than his teammate Sergio Perez, in the world championship ranking (549 against 273). The first driver from another team, Lewis Hamilton, is relegated to…317 points! We are far, very far from the wonderful battle between the Dutch and the British to obtain the title in 2021.
The overwhelming dominance of one driver is obviously not very good news for Formula 1. For the last race before a break of almost four months, the stakes are minimal. The podium for the World Drivers’ Championship is already known and only uncertainty remains as to the name of the team which will finish in second place. Currently runner-up to the untouchable Red Bull, Mercedes only has four points more than Ferrari before battling it out on the United Arab Emirates circuit.
The battle is likely to rage between Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz on one side, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell on the other. Especially after the episode in Las Vegas where Mercedes was the only team to have vetoed the 10-place penalty inflicted on Carlos Sainz on the starting grid after a manhole cover destroyed the car. Spaniard during the first free practice session. Enough to spice up a race that still lacks a little flavor.
What time to follow the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix?
After several races contested in prime time or, like last week, early in the morning, we return to more traditional times during this last Grand Prix of the season. If it is three hours less in France than in Abu Dhabi, the program will be quite standard for a viewer in Europe. The drivers will take the stage on Friday morning for the first of three free practice sessions, while qualifying, on Saturday, and the race, on Sunday, will take place from 3 p.m. and 2 p.m. respectively.
- Free practice 1 at 10:30 a.m. on Friday November 24 (duration: 1 hour)
- Free practice 2 at 2 p.m. on Friday November 24 (duration: 1 hour)
- Free practice 3 at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday November 25 (duration: 1 hour)
- Qualifying at 3 p.m. on Saturday November 25 (duration: 1 hour)
- Grand Prix at 2 p.m. on Sunday November 26 (duration: 2 hours maximum)
On which TV channel to watch the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix?
The last Grand Prix of the season will be broadcast exclusively on the channels of the Canal group, holder of the rights to the Formula 1 world championship. The different channels will share the event since the three free practice sessions and the qualifying sessions will be broadcast on Canal++ Sport while, as usual, the race will be broadcast on Canal+.
- Friday November 24: Free 1 at 10:10 a.m. + Free 2 at 1:40 p.m. on Canal+ Sport
- Saturday November 25: Free 3 at 11:10 a.m. + Qualifications at 2:40 p.m. on Canal+ Sport
- Sunday November 26: “La Grille” at 1:55 p.m. then departure of the Grand Prix at 2 p.m. on Canal+
Do you prefer to follow the Grand Prix on your computer, tablet or from the warmth of your bed with your smartphone and your duvet? No problem, this twenty-second and final Grand Prix of the season will of course also be viewable in streaming. Two possibilities are open to you: access to the Canal+ streaming platform MyCanal or via the official F1 website, F1.com. Both will offer the entire practice sessions, qualifying sessions and races live but also in replay. On MyCanal, activating expert mode also allows you to combine screens, multi-cameras (including on-board cameras) and data, for example pilot times in real time. On F1.com, the live broadcast of the tests and the race is supplemented by replays, documentaries and even historical reminders via the F1TV Pro serviceoffered at 64.99 euros per year or 7.99 euros per month.