🇦🇪 Abu Dhabi GP 2026

When is the Abu Dhabi GP?

The Abu Dhabi GP is round 23 of the 2026 Formula 1 season, held at Yas Marina Circuit in United Arab Emirates. Lights out is scheduled for Sunday, December 6 at 13:00 UTC. The card above converts that to your local time automatically and counts down to the start.

What time is the Abu Dhabi GP around the world?

Lights out is at 13:00 UTC. That puts the Abu Dhabi GP start at 8:00 AM EST (US Eastern / ET, New York) for North American fans, 1:00 PM GMT in the UK and Ireland (London & Dublin), and 12:00 AM AEDT in eastern Australia (Sydney & Melbourne) the next day. Full conversion across major regions and cities:

Session start times verified against the official F1 timetable on August 11, 2026. Times can change — this page reflects the last verified schedule and updates automatically when it does.

What time does the Abu Dhabi GP finish?

The Abu Dhabi GP is scheduled to finish at approximately 15:00 UTC — about two hours after the 13:00 UTC start. F1 races run to the lesser of 305 km or two hours of racing, so most last around 1h45–2h of green-flag running; a red flag or repeated safety cars can push the finish later, and the FIA caps total race time at three hours. In the UK and Ireland that is roughly 3:00 PM GMT, and on the US East Coast about 10:00 AM EST. Treat it as a planning estimate — take the exact start time above and add roughly two hours.

Qualifying converts the same way — set your alarm for 2:00 PM GMT in the UK:

About Yas Marina Circuit

The Abu Dhabi GP is run over 58 laps of the 5.281 km Yas Marina Circuit — the venue for the season finale, run as a day-to-night race in Abu Dhabi. The venue first hosted a round of the Formula 1 World Championship in 2009.

• Circuit length: 5.281 km
• Race distance: 58 laps
• First World Championship race here: 2009

Full Yas Marina Circuit circuit guide — length, race distance & every recent winner →

Who won the last Abu Dhabi GP? Recent winners at Yas Marina Circuit

Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing) won the most recent Formula 1 race at Yas Marina Circuit in 2025. Max Verstappen has won here 5 times in the last 6 runnings — more than any other driver in this span. Here are the winners of the last 6 runnings at Yas Marina Circuit:

Historical results are immutable facts, compiled from public Formula 1 records — unofficial and not affiliated with Formula 1. Verified 2026-07-10.

Abu Dhabi GP practice, qualifying times

A Grand Prix weekend is more than Sunday. The Abu Dhabi GP runs 4 timed sessions before lights out, listed here in UTC — the table above shows each one in your own timezone:

• Free Practice 1: Friday, December 4 at 09:30 UTC
• Free Practice 2: Friday, December 4 at 13:00 UTC
• Free Practice 3: Saturday, December 5 at 10:30 UTC
• Qualifying: Saturday, December 5 at 14:00 UTC

Qualifying for the Abu Dhabi GP sets the grid on Saturday, December 5 at 14:00 UTC. Open this page on race weekend and every time shown updates to wherever you are in the world.

How to watch the Abu Dhabi GP live

In the US the Abu Dhabi GP is live on Apple TV, which became the exclusive home of Formula 1 in the United States from 2026 with every session live. In the UK it’s on Sky Sports F1, with free highlights on Channel 4; and worldwide, F1 TV Pro streams every session where it’s available. Major viewer markets:

For subscription costs, free trials and how to watch F1 free in every market, see the full 2026 F1 TV & streaming guide.

Broadcast details can change — confirm with your provider before lights out. Unofficial; not affiliated with Formula 1 or any broadcaster.

Common questions about the Abu Dhabi GP

Add it to your calendar

Use Add to calendar to drop the race into your phone or laptop calendar with a 30-minute heads-up alarm. Want every round at once? Subscribe to the full-season calendar — one tap adds it to Google, Apple or Outlook and keeps it in sync if a session time changes.