The event was held at the
Yas Marina Circuit in
Abu Dhabi for the 17th time in the circuit's history, across the weekend of 5–7 December. The Grand Prix was the twenty-fourth and final race of the
2025 Formula One World Championship and the 17th running of the
Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. This was the last Grand Prix to utilise the
power unit configuration
introduced in 2014. A revised configuration without the Motor Generator Unit-Heat (MGU-H), but with a higher power output from the Motor Generator Unit-Kinetic (MGU-K), will be introduced for
2026. The event marked the final race of the
ground-effect generation of cars introduced in , and the last of the
drag reduction system (DRS) introduced as an overtaking aid in , as cars with active aerodynamics and moveable wings will be introduced in 2026. This race marked
Honda's last race as a power unit supplier to
Red Bull and
Racing Bulls, with the company exclusively supplying
Aston Martin in 2026. It was also
Renault's final race as an engine supplier for its team
Alpine, with the manufacturer planning to discontinue engine production post-2025; as such Alpine will become a customer of
Mercedes engines from 2026.
Championship standings before the race Going into the weekend,
Lando Norris led the
Drivers' Championship with 408 points, 12 points ahead of
Max Verstappen and 16 ahead of his teammate
Oscar Piastri, who were second and third, respectively.
McLaren, who won the
Constructors' Championship at the
Singapore Grand Prix, leads with 800 points ahead of
Mercedes and
Red Bull Racing, who were second and third with 459 and 426 points, respectively.
Championship permutations With Norris being outscored by Verstappen and Piastri in the preceding
Qatar Grand Prix, he was unable to secure the Drivers' Championship. As such, it was decided in this race, marking the first time the final round of the season was a championship decider since , and also the first time more than two drivers were contenders for the title at the last event since . Norris and Piastri both had an opportunity to win their first title at this event, and
McLaren's first Drivers' Championship since , while Verstappen had an opportunity to win his fifth in a row. Verstappen could break
Sebastian Vettel's record for the most championships won with
Red Bull, and would have become the second driver to win five titles in a row after
Michael Schumacher from to for
Ferrari; and Piastri could have become
Australia's first Drivers' Champion since
Alan Jones won in for
Williams. The top three drivers had an opportunity to win the championship in the following manners:
Entrants The drivers and teams were the same as published in the season entry list with two exceptions;
Yuki Tsunoda at
Red Bull Racing held the seat originally held by
Liam Lawson before Lawson was demoted back to
Racing Bulls from the
Japanese Grand Prix onward, and
Franco Colapinto replaced
Jack Doohan at
Alpine from the
Emilia Romagna Grand Prix onward on a race-by-race basis. During the first practice session, eight teams fielded alternate drivers who had not raced in more than two Grands Prix, as required by the Formula One regulations: •
Jak Crawford and
Cian Shields for
Aston Martin in place of
Lance Stroll and
Fernando Alonso, respectively. Shields made his Formula One practice debut. •
Paul Aron for
Alpine in place of
Pierre Gasly. •
Ayumu Iwasa for
Racing Bulls in place of
Liam Lawson. •
Ryō Hirakawa for
Haas in place of
Esteban Ocon. •
Luke Browning for
Williams in place of
Alexander Albon. •
Arvid Lindblad for
Red Bull in place of
Yuki Tsunoda. •
Patricio O'Ward for
McLaren in place of
Oscar Piastri. •
Arthur Leclerc for
Ferrari in place of
Lewis Hamilton. The Grand Prix marked
Nico Hülkenberg's 250th race start, and
Charles Leclerc's 150th race start with
Ferrari. The Grand Prix was Tsunoda's last as a Red Bull driver and the last Grand Prix to feature the
Sauber team before they become
Audi in .
Tyre choices Tyre supplier
Pirelli brought the C3, C4, and C5 tyre compounds designated hard, medium, and soft, respectively, for teams to use at the event. == Practice ==