Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2026 Schedule: Practice, Qualifying & Race Times

The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2026 schedule is confirmed: the race runs on Sunday 6 December 2026 at 5:00pm UAE time (1:00pm UK time) at Yas Marina Circuit, with practice on Friday 4 December and qualifying on Saturday 5 December. It is the season finale — round 23 of 23 — and a twilight race, starting in daylight and finishing under the floodlights. The full timetable, in UAE and UK times, is below. The race is confirmed to go ahead, but check formula1.com and abudhabigp.com for official updates before you travel.

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2026 Schedule at a Glance

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2026 Schedule: Full Session Timetable

Every Formula 1 session at Yas Marina Circuit, in UAE local time (GMT+4) and UK time (GMT — four hours behind Abu Dhabi in December). Times as published on formula1.com, checked 10 November 2026.

Practice 2 and qualifying are deliberately scheduled at the same time of day as the race, so teams gather their data in matching light and track temperatures. The support programme runs around the F1 sessions: Formula 2 stages the final two races of its 2026 season at Yas Marina, and the AZM GT Trophy also races across the weekend.

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2026 Dates

The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2026 dates are Thursday 3 to Sunday 6 December 2026, with the cars on track from Friday 4 December. Thursday 3 December is “Super Thursday”: the Fanzone opens, there is a pit lane walk and a concert, but no cars on track. The wider Yasalam programme runs from Wednesday 2 to Sunday 6 December, with after-race concerts each evening. One caution: the abudhabigp.com FAQ page lists the concert nights shifted one day later than the majority of sources (including formula1.com), so confirm your concert night on the official site. The on-track schedule above is not affected by that discrepancy.

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Practice Times

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix practice times are spread across Friday and Saturday. Practice 1 runs Friday 4 December, 1:30pm–2:30pm UAE (9:30am–10:30am UK), and Practice 2 follows the same day, 5:00pm–6:00pm UAE (1:00pm–2:00pm UK). Practice 3 is on Saturday 5 December, 2:30pm–3:30pm UAE (10:30am–11:30am UK), a few hours before qualifying.

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Qualifying Time

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix qualifying time is Saturday 5 December, 6:00pm–7:00pm UAE time — 2:00pm–3:00pm in the UK. Qualifying sets the grid for Sunday’s race, and at Yas Marina it runs entirely under the floodlights, in the same twilight conditions as the race itself. In 2025, Max Verstappen took pole here with a 1:22.207.

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2026 Race Time

The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2026 race time is Sunday 6 December at 5:00pm UAE time (1:00pm UK time). It is Formula 1’s only twilight race: the cars start in daylight and finish under the floodlights, with sunset on race weekend at around 5:37pm. The race is scheduled to run for up to two hours, so expect the chequered flag at around 6:30pm–7:00pm UAE time.

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Start Time

The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix start time is 5:00pm local time in Abu Dhabi — 1:00pm in the UK, 9:00am on the US East Coast and 6:00am on the US West Coast. The formation lap begins a few minutes before the hour, so be in your seat by 4:45pm UAE time at the latest.

How Many Laps Is the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix?

How many laps is the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix? The race is 58 laps of the 5.281 km Yas Marina Circuit — a total race distance of 306.188 km. A typical winning time is around one hour 26 minutes: Max Verstappen won the 2025 race in 1:26:07.469. The fastest lap ever recorded at Yas Marina is 1:25.637, set by Kevin Magnussen in 2024.

Is There an Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2026 Sprint Race?

No — there is no Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2026 sprint race. Abu Dhabi is not one of the six sprint venues in 2026, so the weekend follows the standard format: three practice sessions, one qualifying session and the Grand Prix itself. The sprint-format weekends in 2026 are elsewhere on the calendar. At Yas Marina the only sprint race on the bill is Formula 2’s Saturday sprint, which is part of the support programme rather than the Formula 1 weekend.

Who Won Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2025?

Max Verstappen won the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2025, driving for Red Bull Racing. He took pole position, led from the start and won the 58-lap race in 1:26:07.469, ahead of Oscar Piastri’s McLaren in second (+12.594 seconds) and Lando Norris’s McLaren in third (+16.572 seconds). It was Verstappen’s eighth win of the 2025 season — but it was not enough for the title. Norris’s third place was exactly what he needed: he secured his maiden Drivers’ World Championship by just two points over Verstappen (423 points to 421), with Piastri third in the standings.

Is the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2026 Confirmed?

Yes. After the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix were cancelled or postponed in 2026, the final two races of the season were in doubt. Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali confirmed on 3 October 2026 that “everything is confirmed for Qatar and Abu Dhabi” and that “the calendar is confirmed”, and FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem confirmed the same on 20 October. The official Formula 1 calendar lists Abu Dhabi on 4–6 December 2026 as round 23, the finale. That confirmation was based on the information available at the time, so still check abudhabigp.com and formula1.com for official updates before you travel — and for tickets, prices, concerts and transport, see our complete Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2026 guide.

Last updated: 10 November 2026