 2021 Yas Island Race 1
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|---|---|---|
 The Yas Marina Circuit was given a few tweaks for 2021. | ||
| Race Information | ||
| Date | 11 December 2021 | |
| No. | 114 (21 of 2021) | |
| Event | 2021 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
| |
| Location | Yas Marina Circuit Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates | |
| Format | 120 km / 45 minute (Sprint Race) | |
| Lap length | 5.281 km (3.281 mi) | |
| Distance | 23 laps / 121.463 km (75.474 mi) | |
| Fastest Lap | ||
| Driver |  Olli Caldwell
| |
| Team |  Campos Racing
| |
| Time | 1:39.070 on lap 22 | |
| Race Result | ||
| First | Second | Third |
 Jehan Daruvala
|
 Felipe Drugovich
|
 Oscar Piastri
|
| Winner Team | Carlin
| |
| Time | 38:33.605 | |
| Race Guide | ||
| Previous | Next | |
 2021 Jeddah Feature Race
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2021 Yas Marina Sprint Race 2
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The 2021 Yas Marina Sprint Race 1, formally known as 2021 Yas Island Formula 2 Race 1, was the twenty-first race of the 2021 FIA Formula 2 Championship staged at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates on 11 December 2021.[1] The race would see Jehan Daruvala secure his second win of the campaign, as Oscar Piastri secured the Championship title with two races to spare.[2]
Qualifying for the Feature Race was also used to establish the grid for the penultimate Sprint Race of the season, with the top ten reversed as per-2021's modified race weekend format.[3] Piastri had once again dominated the session to claim pole position for the Feature, meaning he started the Sprint Race 1 from tenth, while Daruvala was handed pole position after finishing qualifying in tenth.[3]
The start of the race saw Ticktum streak into the lead when the lights went out, while Felipe Drugovich secured second ahead of Liam Lawson.[2] Behind, however, the majority of the rest of the top ten would be stunned by Piastri, as the Australian pilot sent the #2 Prema storming up from tenth to sixth before the first corner.[2]
Indeed, Piastri's charge almost carried him past teammate Robert Shwartzman too into the first corner, although he duly backed off with Shwartzman himself trying to take advantage of Dan Ticktum getting shoved wide by Lawson.[2] However, after the first few corners the order quickly settled, with Daruvala establishing his lead ahead of Drugovich, while Lawson secured third.[2]
After letting the pace settles the two Premas would begin to turn the screw, with Shwartzman lunging past Ticktum into the chicane before Piastri ran right around the outside of the #5 Carlin at turn nine.[2] A couple of laps later and Shwartzman was firing past Lawson to secure third, the position he needed, minimum, to keep his title hopes alive, while Piastri required another lap to clear the #7 Hitech.[2]
With that the race settled again, with Shwartzman unable to really catch Drugovich, who was himself just remaining within DRS range of Daruvala but not close enough to pull a move.[2] Then, as the race passed half-distance, Shwartzman suddenly managed to halve the gap to Drugovich, dragging Piastri with him, hinting at a potential three-way scrap for victory.[2]
Drugovich responded and managed to get into striking position behind Daruvala, sending a lunge into the chicane and briefly getting ahead, only for Daruvala to regain the lead into turn nine.[2] Shwartzman, meanwhile, would fall away from the lead duo after that, focusing on tyre preservation to get to the finish, with Piastri seemingly having settled for fourth.[2]
That was until the closing laps, when Piastri sensed that Shwartzman's pace was wavering and duly sent a lunge into turn nine to grab third.[2] Shwartzman tried to resist but a lock-up into turn twelve settled the issue, as ahead Daruvala finally broke out of DRS range of Drugovich.[2]
That settled the race and the Championship, with Daruvala managing the final moments to claim his second win of the campaign, while Drugovich had to keep an eye on his mirrors to deny Piastri second place.[2] Third, meanwhile, would be enough for Piastri to claim the title with two races to spare, while teammate Shwartzman was fourth ahead of Lawson.[2] Ticktum was next up ahead of Théo Pourchaire, while Guanyu Zhou rounded out the scorers.[2]
Background[]
Just five days would pass between the chequered flag falling in Jeddah and the field setting out to start Free Practice in Abu Dhabi for the final round of the 2021 campaign.[1] However, while the field would find themselves in familiar surroundings, they would find that the Yas Circuit had been revised for the Series' first visit since 2019 in order to appease calls for better racing at the venue for Formula One.[4] The modifications saw a revised end to the first sector, cutting out turns four and five, while the second chicane had been changed into a gently banked hairpin, drastically cutting the overall lap time.[4]
Updated Ailments[]
The most important news ahead of the final round of the season was that Théo Pourchaire and Enzo Fittipaldi had escaped from their huge startline crash at the 2021 Jeddah Feature Race without serious injury, with Pourchaire fit enough to compete in Abu Dhabi.[5] Fittipaldi, meanwhile, had been kept in the King Fahad Armed Forces Hospital in Jeddah overnight with a fractured right heel and gash over his left eyebrow.[5] The young Brazilian pilot would be released later in the week and returned to his home to recuperate, leaving Charouz Racing System with a vacant seat for the finale having rebuilt his car.[5]
Fittipaldi's replacement would be Richard Verschoor, who returned to the series having missed the round in Jeddah due to funding issues that had undermined a quietly impressive rookie campaign.[6] Elsewhere, ART Grand Prix confirmed that Pourchaire would compete in Abu Dhabi having been declared fit by the FIA doctors, while HWA Racelab announced that Jake Hughes would return to replace Logan Sargeant.[7]
Jeddah Jostle[]
Oscar Piastri was on the verge of the Championship title, the Australian racer having moved onto 213.5 points for the campaign after his fifth victory. That left Piastri with a 51.5 lead over teammate Robert Shwartzman, meaning he could win the title in the 2021 Yas Marina Sprint Race 1 if he finished in sixth, regardless of what Shwartzman could do. Furthermore, Shwartzman was now the only driver who could deny Piastri the title, with third placed Guanyu Zhou needing a perfect weekend in Yas Marina and see Piastri fail to register a single point.
Prema Racing were the 2021 FIA Formula 2 Championship Champions with a round to spare after the final battle of Jeddah, the Italian squad having claimed 375.5 points after twenty races. That left them 140 points clear of Carlin in second, and with only 107 points left to fight for in Yas Marina, the Italian squad were too far away to be challenged. Carlin were hence left in a scrap for second, with UNI-Virtuosi 14.5 points behind in third, and Hitech Grand Prix in fourth 26.5 away.
Entry List[]
The full entry list for the 2021 Yas Marina Sprint Race 1 is displayed below:
- * Placeholder liveries are show for the second drivers in each team.
Grid[]
The grid for the first Sprint Race of the weekend was set by reversing the top ten results from qualifying for the Feature Race, as per-FIA Formula 2 Championship rules.[3]
| Pos. | Pos. | |
|---|---|---|
| Driver | Driver | |
| ______________ | ||
| Row 1 | ______________ | 1 |
| 2 | Jehan Daruvala | |
| Dan Ticktum | ______________ | |
| Row 2 | ______________ | 3 |
| 4 | Felipe Drugovich | |
| Liam Lawson | ______________ | |
| Row 3 | ______________ | 5 |
| 6 | Théo Pourchaire | |
| Ralph Boschung | ______________ | |
| Row 4 | ______________ | 7 |
| 8 | Robert Shwartzman | |
| Guanyu Zhou | ______________ | |
| Row 5 | ______________ | 9 |
| 10 | Jack Doohan | |
| Oscar Piastri | ______________ | |
| Row 6 | ______________ | 11 |
| 12 | Marcus Armstrong | |
| Christian Lundgaard | ______________ | |
| Row 7 | ______________ | 13 |
| 14 | Roy Nissany | |
| Marino Sato | ______________ | |
| Row 8 | ______________ | 15 |
| 16 | Jüri Vips | |
| Richard Verschoor | ______________ | |
| Row 9 | ______________ | 17 |
| 18 | Bent Viscaal | |
| Jake Hughes | ______________ | |
| Row 10 | ______________ | 19 |
| 20 | Olli Caldwell | |
| Clément Novalak | ______________ | |
| Row 11 | ______________ | 21 |
| 22 | Guilherme Samaia | |
| Alessio Deledda | ______________ |
Race[]
Report[]
Results[]
The final classification of the 2021 Yas Marina Sprint Race 1 is displayed below:
| 2021 Yas Marina Sprint Race 1 Race Result | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos. | No. | Name | Team | Laps | Race Time | Strat. | Fastest lap | Pts. |
| 1st | 6 | Jehan Daruvala
|
Carlin
|
23 | 38:33.605 | 
|
1:39.850 | 15 |
| 2nd | 4 | Felipe Drugovich
|
UNI-Virtuosi
|
23 | +2.079s |
|
1:40.052 | 12 |
| 3rd | 2 | Oscar Piastri
|
 Prema Racing
|
23 | +2.915s |
|
1:39.797 | 10 |
| 4th | 1 |  Robert Shwartzman
|
Prema Racing
|
23 | +3.581s |
|
1:39.529 | 8 |
| 5th | 7 |  Liam Lawson
|
Hitech Grand Prix
|
23 | +11.243s |
|
1:40.274 | 6 |
| 6th | 5 | Dan Ticktum
|
Carlin
|
23 | +12.978s |
|
1:40.177 | 4 |
| 7th | 10 |  Théo Pourchaire
|
ART Grand Prix
|
23 | +14.120s |
|
1:40.368 | 2 |
| 8th | 3 |  Guanyu Zhou
|
UNI-Virtuosi
|
23 | +15.595s |
|
1:40.413 | 1 |
| 9th | 21 |  Ralph Boschung
|
Campos Racing
|
23 | +17.081s |
|
1:40.482 | |
| 10th | 17 | Marcus Armstrong
|
DAMS
|
23 | +17.539s |
|
1:40.412 | |
| 11th | 11 | Jack Doohan
|
 MP Motorsport
|
23 | +18.530s |
|
1:40.448 | |
| 12th | 8 |  Jüri Vips
|
Hitech Grand Prix
|
23 | +19.270s |
|
1:40.197 | |
| 13th* | 24 | Bent Viscaal
|
Trident
|
23 | +27.226s |
|
1:39.876 | |
| 14th | 16 |  Roy Nissany
|
DAMS
|
23 | +29.927s |
|
1:40.397 | |
| 15th | 9 |  Christian Lundgaard
|
ART Grand Prix
|
23 | +32.099s |
|
1:40.509 | |
| 16th | 15 | Guilherme Samaia
|
 Charouz Racing System
|
23 | +32.636s |
|
1:40.839 | |
| 17th | 12 | Clément Novalak
|
MP Motorsport
|
23 | +37.036s |
|
1:40.685 | |
| 18th | 23 | Alessio Deledda
|
 HWA Racelab
|
23 | +48.948s |
|
1:41.271 | |
| 19th | 25 |  Marino Sato
|
Trident
|
23 | +54.333s |
|
1:40.665 | |
| 20th† | 20 | Olli Caldwell
|
Campos Racing
|
23 | +1:43.561 | -
|
1:39.070† | |
| Ret | 22 | Jake Hughes
|
HWA Racelab
|
19 | Damage |
|
1:40.337 | |
| Ret | 14 | Richard Verschoor
|
Charouz Racing System
|
11 | Engine |
|
1:40.301 | |
| Source:[9] | ||||||||
- Italics indicate that a driver set fastest lap.
- * Viscaal served a five second time penalty for causing a collision with Lundgaard.[10]
- † Caldwell set the fastest lap of the race but was ineligible to claim the bonus points as he finished outside of the top ten.
Milestones[]
- Oscar Piastri declared as the 2021 FIA Formula 2 Championship for Drivers Champion.
- Piastri became the first Australian driver to claim the title and the third to do so in their rookie season.
- Piastri won the 2021 Anthoine Hubert Award for the best rookie of the season.
- Jehan Daruvala claimed his third victory.
- Carlin earned their eleventh victory as an entrant.
- First fastest lap recorded by Olli Caldwell.
Standings[]
With two races to spare Oscar Piastri was declared as the 2021 FIA Formula 2 Championship Champion, the Australian rookie having secured 223.5 points in 21 races. Teammate Robert Shwartzman would hence have to settle for second, with victory in the Second Sprint, and Guanyu Zhou failing to score, enough for the Russian pilot to seal the position before the final race. Zhou, meanwhile, faced a late fight for third with Dan Ticktum, while Théo Pourchaire was a distant contender for the top three in fifth.
Prema Racing had seen their title winning margin reduced after the first fight in Yas Marina, although the damage had only been minimal. Indeed, Carlin had managed to cut a single point out of Prema's advantage as they sought to secure second, the British squad having moved onto 254.5 points after Jehan Daruvala's victory. UNI-Virtuosi had slipped 20.5 behind but remained a significant threat with two races to go, while Hitech Grand Prix were also in contention in fourth.
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Only point scoring drivers are shown.
References[]
Images and Videos:
References:
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 'FIA Formula 2 Championship 2021 season provisional calendar announced', fiaformula2.com, (FIA Formula 2, 10/11/2020), https://www.fiaformula2.com/Latest/1lFF2lrhzJbOeFTnd2hPE4/fia-formula-2-championship-2021-season-provisional-calendar-announced, (Accessed 11/11/2020)
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 'SPRINT RACE 1: Piastri crowned F2 champion as Daruvala wins on track in Yas Marina', fiaformula2.com, (FIA Formula 2, 11/12/2021), https://www.fiaformula2.com/Latest/2y78sTecfS0DIwxyUZIb6m/sprint-race-1-piastri-crowned-f2-champion-as-daruvala-wins-on-track-in-yas, (Accessed 07/04/2021)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 'QUALIFYING: Piastri beats rookie Doohan in Yas Marina for fifth successive pole', fiaformula2.com, (FIA Formula 2, 10/12/2021), https://www.fiaformula2.com/Latest/3UA2rrRskE7xWoPxOO9fxu/qualifying-piastri-beats-rookie-doohan-in-yas-marina-for-fifth-successive, (Accessed 07/04/2022)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 'REVEALED: The track changes aimed at improving overtaking at Abu Dhabi’s Yas Marina Circuit', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 24/06/2021), https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.revealed-the-track-changes-aimed-at-improving-overtaking-at-abu-dhabis-yas.rejS8Xxbgoom5yPUInsek.html, (Accessed 07/04/2022)
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 'Update 07/12/21: Statement: Incident During FIA Formula 2 Feature Race, Jeddah', fiaformula2.com, (FIA Formula 2, 06/04/2022), https://www.fiaformula2.com/Latest/6WL8eTCX97wxat5fPodugT/update-07-12-21-statement-incident-during-fia-formula-2-feature-race-jeddah, (Accessed 06/04/2022)
- ↑ 'Verschoor to replace Fittipaldi in Abu Dhabi for the final round of the season', fiaformula2.com, (FIA Formula 2, 08/12/2021), https://www.fiaformula2.com/Latest/7n7K4zjjWiviSbnB47sFsd/verschoor-to-replace-fittipaldi-in-abu-dhabi-for-the-final-round-of-the, (Accessed 07/04/2022)
- ↑ 'Hughes set for HWA RACELAB return in season finale at Yas Marina', fiaformula2.com, (FIA Formula 2, 07/12/2021), https://www.fiaformula2.com/Latest/3J71zfWNVp14bP0BHbryub/hughes-set-for-hwa-racelab-return-in-season-finale-at-yas-marina, (Accessed 07/04/2022)
- ↑ Archived, 'Teams and Drivers', fiaformula2.com, (FIA Formula 2, 2021), https://web.archive.org/web/20210816222954/https://www.fiaformula2.com/Teams-and-Drivers, (Accessed 27/03/2022) - Original
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedResults - ↑ 'Viscaal handed post-Sprint Race 1 time penalty', fiaformula2.com, (FIA Formula 2, 11/12/2021), https://www.fiaformula2.com/Latest/5NEYm0pcMWYymEAw1l5MW4/viscaal-handed-post-sprint-race-1-time-penalty, (Accessed 08/04/2022)