Data (GMT+4)

Friday

• Free Practice: 11:30 – 12:15
• Qualifying session: 19:00 – 19:30
• Press conference: 20:00

Saturday

• Feature race: 18:40 (31 laps)
• Press conference: 20:00

Sunday

• Sprint race: 13:35 (22 laps)
• Press conference: 14:35

Note: The FIA F2 press conference takes place in the F1 press conference room.

Season Stats
37 George Russell’s margin over Alexander Albon in the Championship Standings ahead of the final round.
3 Russell and Albon each won 3 Feature Races in 2018.
1 Carlin has scored only one win in 2018 so far. ART Grand Prix took 7 victories whilst DAMS took 5.
16 The number of podiums scored by Carlin which is 4 more than ART Grand Prix and 5 more than DAMS.

Warm Up // Alexander Albon – DAMS

Abu Dhabi is one of the coolest tracks we go to, obviously it’s at night so that’s an interesting one for the driver. Generally it’s quite a low-speed track in places, it’s quite similar in style to Sochi. The tyres will be very difficult, especially as we’ll be on super-softs – if you look at this year, everyone’s been just trying to survive in the six laps before you can stop, and I think managing that was what gave Tadasuke (Makino) the win in Monza. We’re going to have something like that in Abu Dhabi, quite possibly the worst place to have that! It’ll be an interesting race, there’ll be possibilities to overtake – hopefully it’ll be a nice weekend!

The Stakes         

The final round of the 2018 FIA Formula 2 Championship will be held this weekend at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi. The circuit is well known to the teams and drivers given the amount of testing carried out at the circuit (with more to be carried out following the race weekend). Both titles are on the line with George Russell and Alexander Albon battling for glory which promises to provide an entertaining spectacle for the fans.

In the previous round at Sochi in Russia, both title rivals took victory, Albon taking the top honours in the Feature Race while Russell fought back to the front of the pack in the Sprint Race. Meanwhile, Lando Norris fell out of contention with two DNFs – his worst race weekend result to date.

As Russell enjoys a 37 point lead ahead of Albon, it will be up to the Thai driver to have a perfect weekend to try and ruin his challenger’s hopes for success. Meanwhile, in the Teams’ Championship, Carlin’s advantage is still strong: the British squad sits on top 51 points ahead of ART Grand Prix whilst DAMS stand 8 points behind ART. The stage is set. You don’t want to miss a scrap of the action!

Pirelli Quote – Mario Isola
“Abu Dhabi always serves up a spectacular ending to the F2 season, often with fantastic racing as the championships are decided. Tyre strategy and management is usually central to this. The drivers have to tackle a circuit that combines many different demands, and with the softest compounds nominated, they will have to consider how to best use their tyres over a race distance. Unlike Formula 1, the Formula 2 drivers are also running in the heat of the day, which clearly increases the demands on the tyres.”

Noteworthy

• The race weekend at Yas Marina is the final round of the 2018 FIA Formula 2 season.
• Both Teams and Drivers’ titles are up for grabs.
• Second and third places in both Championship Standings are also to be decided in the season’s last round.
• In the previous round at Sochi, title contenders George Russell and Alexander Albon took victory.
• Russell extended his championship advantage to 37 points over Albon.
• There is a maximum of 48 points up for grabs for the drivers in Abu Dhabi.
• Following two DNFs in Russia, Lando Norris is no longer in the running for the 2018 F2 crown.
• The Briton from Carlin’s third place in the standings could be in jeopardy as Nyck De Vries lies 13 points behind Norris in fourth place.
• Daniel Ticktum joins BWT Arden to run alongside Nirei Fukuzumi at Yas Marina.
• In the Teams’ Championship, Carlin leads the way, 51 points ahead of ART Grand Prix. DAMS are third, 8 points behind ART.
• There is a maximum of 78 points to score for the teams.
• Alessio Lorandi has received a 5 place grid drop for Round 12 Feature Race for causing a collision with Nicholas Latifi in Sochi Sprint Race.
• Niko Kari will also lose 3 places on Yas Marina Feature Race starting grid after he exceeded the track limits on the opening lap of Sochi Sprint Race and failed to give back three positions.