ABU DHABI 28 November 2017: Finland’s Valtteri Bottas won the Etihad Airways Formula One Abu Dhabi Grand Prix from Mercedes teammate and Drivers’ Championship winner Lewis Hamilton.
Valtteri Bottas won from pole position with Lewis Hamilton finishing in second behind him as the 2017 season came to a close.
It is his third victory, having scored his maiden win at Sochi this season and followed it by taking the flag in Austria and concluded a very strong weekend for the Finn.
As Mercedes ran away and hid at Yas Marina, Sebastian Vettel came home a distant third for Ferrari, 15 seconds down the road, said Wam
Earlier Story: The start of the 2017 Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will once more be marked with the spectacular Etihad Airways and Fursan Al Emarat fly past as the teams, drivers and 60,000 fans at Yas Marina Circuit welcome the finale of the 2017 Formula 1 season.
Etihad Airways’A380 pilot, Captain Adel Al Zubaidi, will be in the cockpit of the superjumbo as it skims the start line of Yas Marina Circuit at 400 kph, trailed by the nimble fast jets of the UAE’s air display team Fursan Al Emarat.
“We are proud to present the aerial show that will mark the opening of the final race of the Formula 1 Grand Prix of 2017, and for Etihad Airways to be the sponsor,”said Captian Al Zubaidi.
“This is my second participation in the aerial show for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix after I participated last year. We trained in preparation for this at Etihad Airways headquarters for four hours over two days via flight simulators. We also practiced with the Emarat Al Fursan team last Friday in the air.
“The speed of the plane is 400 km per hour and we fly 800 feet above Shams Tower. Flying a large plane is usually more difficult than piloting a small aircraft, so we always keep in close coordination with Al Fursan team.”
The Etihad Airways fly-past has become synonymous with the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix with months of planning taking place before the formation is performed ahead of the Formula 1® season finale on race day.
The total flying time is 50 minutes from take-off to landing at Abu Dhabi International Airport and once in the air, the aircraft enter a holding pattern for about 10 minutes, during which they complete several passes over Yas Marina Circuit.
The Etihad Airways flypast will begin at 16:47 taking place after the UAE National Anthem, minutes before the start of the 2017 Formula 1 Grand Prix on Sunday 26th November.