Your Guide to the 2025 Season Finale Abu Dhabi GP: Start Time and Viewing Options
It all comes down to this. Twenty-three races are in the books, and the 2025 Formula One season is hitting the absolute boiling point. We’re heading to the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi for a winner-take-all brawl that’s got the entire racing world holding its breath. This isn’t just another race on the schedule. This is for all the marbles.
The Drivers’ World Championship is on the line, and for the first time since 2010, we’ve got three gladiators ready to leave it all on the track for a shot at glory. Lando Norris, the young gun from McLaren, is sitting in the catbird seat with a paper-thin 12-point lead. But right there in his rearview mirror, hungry and smelling blood, is Red Bull’s own “Mad Max” Verstappen.
And if that wasn’t enough drama, Norris’s own teammate, Oscar Piastri, is lurking just 16 points back, ready to play spoiler or maybe, just maybe, steal the show. It’s a pressure cooker of a situation that could turn a season of hard work into heartbreak in the blink of an eye.
Abu Dhabi Race Schedule
You’re not going to want to miss a second of this. Every practice session, every qualifying lap, it all matters. This is where teams fine-tune their machines, where drivers find that extra tenth of a second that could be the difference between being a champion and being the first loser. Here’s the schedule for the final showdown in Abu Dhabi. Clear your calendar, because this is can’t-miss television.
Friday, December 5th
- Free Practice 1: 4:30 a.m. ET (ESPN2/ESPN+)
- Free Practice 2: 8:00 a.m. ET (ESPNU/ESPN+)
Saturday, December 6th
- Free Practice 3: 5:30 a.m. ET (ESPN2/ESPN+)
- Qualifying: 9:00 a.m. ET (ESPN2/ESPN+)
Sunday, December 7th
- Abu Dhabi Grand Prix: 8:00 a.m. ET (ESPN/ESPN+)
Understanding the Yas Marina Battleground
The Yas Marina Circuit isn’t your average racetrack. Built in 2009, this 3.281-mile ribbon of asphalt is a modern marvel with 16 turns designed to test man and machine to their absolute limits. It’s a place where legends are made, and dreams are shattered. With a tweaked 2021 layout, the track demands a perfect blend of raw speed on the straights and pinpoint precision through the technical corners.
We’ve seen it all here. Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton have etched their names in the history books with multiple wins. Max Verstappen himself has dominated this track in recent years. This circuit doesn’t care about your reputation; it only respects speed and guts. Fifty laps of pure, unadulterated racing will decide who gets to pop the champagne and who goes home empty-handed.
The Championship Scenarios
This is where the rubber meets the road. With 25 points for a win, every position counts. Norris has the advantage, but it’s a fragile one. A third-place finish and the championship is his, no matter what anyone else does. But in racing, nothing is ever that simple. For Verstappen and Piastri, it’s go-time. They need to be aggressive, push the limits, and hope for a little bit of luck to go their way.
They need not only to perform but also to hope Norris stumbles. It’s a high-stakes game of chess at 200 miles per hour. Recent races have shown Verstappen is on fire, but McLaren has the raw speed. It’s a clash of titans, and you can bet no one is backing down. Will it be the charging bull of Red Bull or the lightning-fast McLaren that comes out on top? We’re about to find out.
