2016 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

The 2016 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (officially the 2016 Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix) was the twenty-first and final race of the 2016 Formula One season, and the eighth time the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was held. It was held between 25 November and 27 November 2016.
The race was to determine whether Lewis Hamilton or Nico Rosberg would become World Champion of 2016. Hamilton took his third pole position at the Yas Marina Circuit, with Rosberg second on the grid. Hamilton and Rosberg both made good starts, but although Hamilton backed Rosberg into the field in the closing stages, Hamilton won the race while Rosberg finished second to become the 2016 World Champion, winning his first ever F1 title. Sebastian Vettel completed the podium. Five days later, Rosberg confirmed his retirement from Formula One.
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==Background==
At the last race in Brazil, Lewis Hamilton took his first Brazilian Grand Prix win, while Nico Rosberg took another second-place finish, moving Hamilton another seven points closer to Rosberg in the Drivers' Championship, putting the gap to twelve points. Rosberg was on 367 points, while Hamilton was on 355. Daniel Ricciardo had already secured third place in the standings, but an eighth-place finish gave him four more points to be forty-nine points ahead of Sebastian Vettel, who finished fifth in Brazil. Kimi Räikkönen's accident in the aforementioned race promoted Max Verstappen, who finished third, to fourth in the standings, five points behind Vettel. were still the Constructors' Champion of 2016, having 722 points. Meanwhile, secured second place with 446 points compared to 's 375. opened their gap to to twenty-seven points, after Williams failed to finish in the top ten in Brazil.
Driver tyre choices
Team		Driver 	 	 	 		Driver 	 	 	
 		Hamilton 	7	2	4		Rosberg 	7	2	4
 		Vettel 	7	1	5		Räikkönen 	7	2	4
 		Bottas 	7	2	4		Massa 	7	1	5
 		Ricciardo 	6	2	5		Verstappen	6	2	5
 		Magnussen 	6	2	5		Palmer 	6	3	4
 		Hülkenberg	8	2	3		Pérez 	7	3	3
 		Kvyat 	7	2	4		Sainz 	7	2	4
 		Alonso 	7	1	5		Button 	7	1	5
 		Ericsson 	6	4	3		Nasr 	6	4	3
 		Wehrlein 	6	3	4		Ocon 	6	3	4
 		Grosjean 	7	2	4		Gutiérrez 	7	3	3
Like the previous year's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the drivers used soft and supersoft tyres, and this time also used ultrasofts. Hamilton and Rosberg took the same number of sets, being seven ultrasofts, two supersofts, and four softs. Vettel, Felipe Massa and all chose just one set of supersofts, along with five soft sets and seven ultrasoft sets.
It was apparently the final race for Jenson Button before Stoffel Vandoorne races for in . Although Button has a contract available for , he doubted that he would go back to Formula One, saying that the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix might be his final race.
===Title permutations===
The title battle was held, with Nico Rosberg twelve points ahead of Lewis Hamilton:
*For Rosberg to win his first title:
**If he finishes on the podium, he will win the title
**If Rosberg finishes fourth, fifth or sixth, Hamilton must finish second or worse
**If Rosberg finishes seventh or eighth, Hamilton must finish third or worse
**If Hamilton finishes fourth or lower, Rosberg will win the title
*For Hamilton to win his fourth title:
**If he wins, Rosberg must finish fourth or worse
**If Hamilton finishes second, Rosberg must finish seventh or worse
**If Hamilton finishes third, Rosberg must ninth or worse
==Entry list==
No. 	Driver 	Entrant 	Constructor 	Chassis 	Engine 	Model 	Tyre
44 	Lewis Hamilton 	Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team	 	W07 Hybrid 	 	PU106C Hybrid 	
6 	Nico Rosberg 	Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team	 	W07 Hybrid 	 	PU106C Hybrid 	
5 	Sebastian Vettel 	Scuderia Ferrari 	 	SF16-H 	 	059/5 	
7 	Kimi Räikkönen 	Scuderia Ferrari 	 	SF16-H 	 	059/5 	
19 	Felipe Massa 	Williams Martini Racing 	 	FW38 	 	PU106C Hybrid 	
77 	Valtteri Bottas 	Williams Martini Racing 	 	FW38 	 	PU106C Hybrid 	
3 	Daniel Ricciardo 	Red Bull Racing 	 	RB12 	 	TAG Heuer 	
33 	Max Verstappen 	Red Bull Racing 	 	RB12 	 	TAG Heuer 	
27 	Nico Hülkenberg 	Sahara Force India F1 Team 	 	VJM09 	 	PU106C Hybrid 	
11 	Sergio Pérez 	Sahara Force India F1 Team 	 	VJM09 	 	PU106C Hybrid 	
20 	Kevin Magnussen 	Renault Sport F1 Team 	 	RS16 	 	RE16 	
30 	Jolyon Palmer 	Renault Sport F1 Team 	 	RS16 	 	RE16 	
26 	Daniil Kvyat 	Scuderia Toro Rosso 	 	STR11 	 	059/4 	
55 	Carlos Sainz, Jr. 	Scuderia Toro Rosso 	 	STR11 	 	059/4 	
9 	Marcus Ericsson 	Sauber F1 Team 	 	C35 	 	059/5 	
12 	Felipe Nasr 	Sauber F1 Team 	 	C35 	 	059/5 	
14 	Fernando Alonso 	McLaren Honda 	 	MP4-31 	 	RA616H 	
22 	Jenson Button 	McLaren Honda 	 	MP4-31 	 	RA616H 	
94 	Pascal Wehrlein 	Manor Racing MRT 	 	MRT05 	 	PU106C Hybrid 	
31 	Esteban Ocon 	Manor Racing MRT 	 	MRT05 	 	PU106C Hybrid 	
8 	Romain Grosjean 	Haas F1 Team 	 	VF-16 	 	059/5 	
21 	Esteban Gutiérrez 	Haas F1 Team 	 	VF-16 	 	059/5 	
Free Practice 1 only	Free Practice 1 only	Free Practice 1 only 	Free Practice 1 only	Free Practice 1 only	Free Practice 1 only	Free Practice 1 only	Free Practice 1 only
34 	Alfonso Celis, Jr. 	Sahara Force India F1 Team 	 	VJM09 	 	PU106C Hybrid 	
42 	Jordan King 	Manor Racing MRT 	 	MRT05 	 	PU106C Hybrid 	
source 	source 	source 	source 	source 	source 	source 	source
==Practice Overview==
===Practice Results===
The full practice results for the are outlined below:
No 	Driver 	Team 	FP1 	 	FP2 	 	FP3 	 	 	 	 	 	
No 	Driver 	Team 	Time 	Pos 	Time 	Pos 	Time 	Pos 	 	 	 	 	
3 	Daniel Ricciardo 	 	1:43.362	4 	1:41.390	5 	1:41.831	6 	 	 	 	 	
5 	Sebastian Vettel 	 	1:44.005	5 	1:41.130	3 	1:40.775	1 	 	 	 	 	
6 	Nico Rosberg 	 	1:43.243	2 	1:40.940	2 	1:41.168	5 	 	 	 	 	
7 	Kimi Räikkönen 	 	1:44.556	7 	1:41.464	6 	1:40.999	3 	 	 	 	 	
8 	Romain Grosjean 	 	1:45.600	12 	1:43.108	14 	1:42.805	15 	 	 	 	 	
9 	Marcus Ericsson 	 	1:45.168	10 	1:44.045	19 	1:44.238	22 	 	 	 	 	
11 	Sergio Pérez 	 	1:44.155	6 	1:42.041	8 	1:41.885	7 	 	 	 	 	
12 	Felipe Nasr 	 	1:45.778	13 	1:43.903	18 	1:43.417	19 	 	 	 	 	
14 	Fernando Alonso 	 	1:46.379	18 	1:42.366	11 	1:42.585	11 	 	 	 	 	
19 	Felipe Massa 	 	1:45.039	9 	1:42.268	10 	1:42.683	14 	 	 	 	 	
20 	Kevin Magnussen 	 	1:46.372	17 	1:44.117	20 	1:43.057	16 	 	 	 	 	
21 	Esteban Gutiérrez 	 	1:45.925	14 	1:43.012	13 	1:42.354	10 	 	 	 	 	
22 	Jenson Button 	 	1:47.127	20 	1:42.823	12 	1:42.664	13 	 	 	 	 	
26 	Daniil Kvyat 	 	2:01.989	22 	1:45.948	22 	1:44.105	21 	 	 	 	 	
27 	Nico Hülkenberg 	 	 	1:42.264	9 	1:42.067	8 	 	 	 	 	 	
30 	Jolyon Palmer 	 	1:46.219	16 	1:43.272	15 	1:42.616	12 	 	 	 	 	
31 	Esteban Ocon 	 	 	1:43.600	16 	1:43.733	20 	 	 	 	 	 	
33 	Max Verstappen 	 	1:43.297	3 	1:41.389	4 	1:40.912	2 	 	 	 	 	
34 	Alfonso Celis, Jr.	 	1:45.476	11 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
42 	Jordan King 	 	1:47.558	21 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
44 	Lewis Hamilton 	 	1:42.869	1 	1:40.861	1 	1:41.065	4 	 	 	 	 	
55 	Carlos Sainz, Jr. 	 	1:44.685	8 	1:44.478	21 	1:43.301	18 	 	 	 	 	
77 	Valtteri Bottas 	 	1:45.940	15 	1:41.959	7 	1:42.076	9 	 	 	 	 	
94 	Pascal Wehrlein 	 	1:46.458	19 	1:43.754	17 	1:43.145	17 	 	 	 	 	
Source:	Source: 	Source:	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source:	Source:	Source:	Source:	Source:	Source:
==Qualifying==
===Qualifying Results===
Pos. 	No. 	Driver 	Team 	 	Q1 	Q1 	 	Q2 	Q2 	 	Q3 	Q3 	Grid
Pos. 	No. 	Driver 	Team 	 	Pos 	Time 	 	Pos 	Time 	 	Pos 	Time 	Grid
1 	44 	Lewis Hamilton 	 	 	1 	1:39.487 	 	1 	1:39.382 	 	1 	1:38.755 	1
2 	6 	Nico Rosberg 	 	 	5 	1:40.511 	 	2 	1:39.490 	 	2 	1:39.058 	2
3 	3 	Daniel Ricciardo 	 	 	8 	1:41.002 	 	6 	1:40.429 	 	3 	1:39.589 	3
4 	7 	Kimi Räikkönen 	 	 	2 	1:40.338 	 	3 	1:39.629 	 	4 	1:39.604 	4
5 	5 	Sebastian Vettel 	 	 	3 	1:40.341 	 	5 	1:40.034 	 	5 	1:39.661 	5
6 	33 	Max Verstappen 	 	 	4 	1:40.424 	 	4 	1:39.903 	 	6 	1:39.818 	6
7 	27 	Nico Hülkenberg 	 	 	7 	1:41.000 	 	7 	1:40.709 	 	7 	1:40.501 	7
8 	11 	Sergio Pérez 	 	 	6 	1:40.864 	 	8 	1:40.743 	 	8 	1:40.519 	8
9 	14 	Fernando Alonso 	 	 	13 	1:41.616 	 	10 	1:41.044 	 	9 	1:41.106 	9
10 	19 	Felipe Massa 	 	 	9 	1:41.157 	 	9 	1:40.858 	 	10 	1:41.213 	10
11 	77 	Valtteri Bottas 	 	 	11 	1:41.192 	 	11 	1:41.084 	 	 	 	11
12 	22 	Jenson Button 	 	 	10 	1:41.158 	 	12 	1:41.272 	 	 	 	12
13 	21 	Esteban Gutiérrez 	 	 	14 	1:41.639 	 	13 	1:41.480 	 	 	 	13
14 	8 	Romain Grosjean 	 	 	12 	1:41.467 	 	14 	1:41.564 	 	 	 	14
15 	30 	Jolyon Palmer 	 	 	15 	1:41.775 	 	15 	1:41.820 	 	 	 	15
16 	94 	Pascal Wehrlein 	 	 	16 	1:41.886 	 	16 	1:41.995 	 	 	 	16
17 	26 	Daniil Kvyat 	 	 	17 	1:42.003 	 	 	 	 	
no time 	
no time 	17
18 	20 	Kevin Magnussen 	 	 	18 	1:42.142 	 	 	 	 	
no time 	
no time 	18
19 	12 	Felipe Nasr 	 	 	19 	1:42.247 	 	 	 	 	
no time 	
no time 	19
20 	31 	Esteban Ocon 	 	 	20 	1:42.286 	 	 	 	 	
no time 	
no time 	20
21 	55 	Carlos Sainz, Jr. 	 	 	21 	1:42.393 	 	 	 	 	
no time 	
no time 	21
NC 	9 	Marcus Ericsson 	 	 	PL 	1:42.637 	 	 	 	 	
no time 	
no time 	PL
107% time: 1:46.451	107% time: 1:46.451	107% time: 1:46.451	107% time: 1:46.451	107% time: 1:46.451	107% time: 1:46.451	107% time: 1:46.451	107% time: 1:46.451	107% time: 1:46.451	107% time: 1:46.451	107% time: 1:46.451	107% time: 1:46.451	107% time: 1:46.451	107% time: 1:46.451
Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source:
===Grid===
==Race==
===Results===
Pos. 	No. 	Driver 	Constructor	Laps 	Time/Retired 	Grid 	Points
1 	44 	Lewis Hamilton 	 	55 	1h 38m 04.013s 	1 	25
2 	6 	Nico Rosberg 	 	55 	+0.439 	2 	18
3 	5 	Sebastian Vettel 	 	55 	+0.843 	5 	15
4 	33 	Max Verstappen 	 	55 	+1.685 	6 	12
5 	3 	Daniel Ricciardo 	 	55 	+5.315 	3 	10
6 	7 	Kimi Räikkönen 	 	55 	+18.816 	4 	8
7 	27 	Nico Hülkenberg 	 	55 	+50.114 	7 	6
8 	11 	Sergio Pérez 	 	55 	+58.776 	8 	4
9 	19 	Felipe Massa 	 	55 	+49.436 	10 	2
10 	14 	Fernando Alonso 	 	55 	+59.896 	9 	1
11 	8 	Romain Grosjean 	 	55 	+76.777 	14 	
12 	21 	Esteban Gutiérrez	 	55 	+95.113 	13 	
13 	31 	Esteban Ocon 	 	54 	+1 Lap 	20 	
14 	94 	Pascal Wehrlein 	 	54 	+1 Lap 	16 	
15 	9 	Marcus Ericsson 	 	54 	+1 Lap 	PL 	
16 	12 	Felipe Nasr 	 	54 	+1 Lap 	19 	
17 	30 	Jolyon Palmer 	 	54 	+1 Lap* 	15 	
18 	55 	Carlos Sainz, Jr.	 	41 	Suspension 	21 	
Ret 	26 	Daniil Kvyat 	 	14 	Electrical / Wheel	17 	
Ret 	22 	Jenson Button 	 	12 	Accident Damage 	12 	
Ret 	77 	Valtteri Bottas 	 	6 	Throttle 	11 	
Ret 	20 	Kevin Magnussen 	 	5 	Hydraulics 	18 	
Source:	Source:	Source: 	Source: 	Source:	Source: 	Source:	Source:
** Palmer was given a five-second time penalty for his collision with Sainz.
==Milestones==
*Final race using the power unit token system.
*Felipe Massa's 250th start (252nd entry).
*Jenson Button's 305th and final start (308th and final entry).
*Nico Hülkenberg's final race at , Kevin Magnussen's final race at , Esteban Ocon's final race at , Esteban Gutiérrez's final race at , Pascal Wehrlein's final race at Manor, Felipe Nasr's final race at , and Valtteri Bottas' final race at .
*Nico Rosberg's first world championship and final race.
==Standings==
Drivers' World Championship	Drivers' World Championship	Drivers' World Championship	Drivers' World Championship	
Pos. 	Driver 	Pts 	+/- 	
1 	Nico Rosberg 	385 	 	
2 	Lewis Hamilton 	380 	 	
3 	Daniel Ricciardo 	256 	 	
4 	Sebastian Vettel 	212 	 	
5 	Max Verstappen 	204 	 	
6 	Kimi Räikkönen 	186 	 	
7 	Sergio Pérez 	101 	 	
8 	Valtteri Bottas 	85 	 	
9 	Nico Hülkenberg 	72 	 	
10 	Fernando Alonso 	54 	 	
11 	Felipe Massa 	53 	 	
12 	Carlos Sainz, Jr. 	46 	 	
13 	Romain Grosjean 	29 	 	
14 	Daniil Kvyat 	25 	 	
15 	Jenson Button 	21 	 	
16 	Kevin Magnussen 	7 	 	
17 	Felipe Nasr 	2 	 	
18 	Jolyon Palmer 	1 	 	
19 	Pascal Wehrlein 	1 	 	
20 	Stoffel Vandoorne 	1 	 	
21 	Esteban Gutiérrez 	0 	 	
22 	Marcus Ericsson 	0 	 	
23 	Esteban Ocon 	0 	 	
24 	Rio Haryanto 	0 	 	
Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source:
Constructors' World Championship	Constructors' World Championship	Constructors' World Championship	Constructors' World Championship	
Pos. 	Team 	Pts 	+/- 	
1 	 	765 	 	
2 	 	468 	 	
3 	 	398 	 	
4 	 	173 	 	
5 	 	138 	 	
6 	 	76 	 	
7 	 	63 	 	
8 	 	29 	 	
9 	 	8 	 	
10 	 	2 	 	
11 	 	1 	 	
Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source:
==Notes==
Category:Grand Prix articles
Category:2016 Grands Prix
Category:Abu Dhabi Grand Prix