2018 Abu Dhabi F1 Grand Prix preview: schedule and how to watch it on television

This weekend, on 23, 24 and 25 November, the 2018 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix of F1 takes place. This means the curtain falls on this year’s season, a year in which Lewis Hamilton won his fifth title and in which Mercedes has also won its fifth constructors’ title, all of them consecutively over the last five years.

So, in practical terms, the only battle we will see at Yas Marina, apart from the obvious desire to end the year with a win or a podium, will be to see who will be the champion of the rest. That is, who will be the seventh-placed driver, or the first one behind the drivers of the three big teams. Nico Hulkenberg, with 69 points, is currently in that “privileged position”, followed 11 points behind by Sergio Perez, the driver who finished as the best of the rest during the 2016 and 2017 campaigns.

Likewise, we will have to see which team finishes the season as the best after Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull. If we look at the constructors’ championship standings, that honour would go to Renault with 114 points. If Haas wants to take fourth place from Renault and confirm what was expected of this team at the start of the season, it will have to score 24 more points than the drivers of the French team.

Of course, for Spanish fans the 2018 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will be the last chance to see Fernando Alonso behind the wheel of an F1 car. If he does not change his mind, and for now it seems he will not, since he has turned down good offers to continue, the two-time world champion will end his trajectory in the world of F1 with this race though not in motorsport, as we will still be able to enjoy Alonso in races such as the 24 Hours of Le Mans or the 500 Miles of Indianapolis.

For the Spanish faithful, Carlos Sainz remains as the only reference, a Sainz who will also say goodbye to his time at Renault to fill the vacancy left by Alonso at McLaren. Other drivers who will say goodbye due to a change of team this weekend are Ricciardo, who is leaving Red Bull, or Raikkonen, who is leaving Ferrari. Of those who already have their future sorted for 2019, there is also Stoffel Vandoorne, who knows he will not continue at McLaren and will make his way in Formula E and as a simulator test driver at Mercedes.

Schedule for the 2018 Abu Dhabi F1 Grand Prix

These are the full timetables to follow the 2018 Abu Dhabi F1 Grand Prix this weekend, the last of the season:

Friday 23 November:

• 10:00 -> Free Practice 1
• 14:00 -> Free Practice 2

Saturday 24 November:

• 11:00 -> Free Practice 3
• 14:00 -> Qualifying

Sunday 25 November:

• 14:10 -> Race

The television broadcast rights for Formula 1 in Spain are held exclusively by Movistar TV. So to watch the last grand prix of the year you need to be a subscriber to this platform and take out the motor package, which can be done from 10 euros a month. Likewise, it should be noted that in 2019 the rights will remain in Movistar’s hands.