Formula One first appeared in Abu Dhabi in the form of an F1 Festival on 3 February 2007, a free public event featuring current cars and drivers. At that festival, it was announced that Abu Dhabi had secured the right to host a Grand Prix from 2009 until 2016. Etihad Airways subsequently signed a three-year sponsorship deal for the race. The 2009 event was provisionally scheduled as the 19th and final round on 15 November, but after the Canadian and French Grands Prix were removed from the calendar the race was moved forward to 1 November and became the 17th and final round of the season.
The inaugural race was designed from the outset as a day-to-night spectacle: the start time was set for 17:00 local time, with floodlights illuminating the circuit from the beginning to ensure a smooth visual transition as daylight faded. Sebastian Vettel won for Red Bull Racing.
Vettel returned to win the 2010 race, also taking the Drivers' Championship at the event — the first time the title had been decided in Abu Dhabi. Lewis Hamilton won in 2011 for McLaren, finishing ahead of Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button. The 2012 edition produced a notable championship subplot: title leader Sebastian Vettel started from the pitlane after disqualification from qualifying and finished third, while Kimi Räikkönen won for Lotus in his return season. Vettel won a third Abu Dhabi race in 2013, leading every lap, as Red Bull celebrated their fourth consecutive Drivers' and Constructors' Championships.
The 2014 race was the concluding event of a double-points season; Lewis Hamilton won and secured his second championship. Nico Rosberg won three consecutive Abu Dhabi Grands Prix from 2015 to 2017 before Hamilton reclaimed the win in 2018. Hamilton achieved a Grand Slam at the 2019 edition — pole position, every lap led, and victory — in what was his sixth Abu Dhabi win. Max Verstappen won the 2020 race in a season that was rescheduled due to COVID-19, with the event moved from November to December.
The 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix became one of the most controversial races in Formula One history. Verstappen entered the final lap behind Hamilton under a safety car. Race director Michael Masi allowed only the lapped cars between the two championship contenders to unlap themselves — rather than all lapped cars as the regulations required — and brought the safety car in for a single racing lap. Verstappen, on fresh tyres, overtook Hamilton to win both the race and his first World Drivers' Championship. Mercedes did not appeal the result; the FIA subsequently concluded that although the correct procedure was not followed, no mechanism existed to change the classification. Michael Masi was replaced as race director by Niels Wittich and Eduardo Freitas from 2022 onwards. An extended ten-year hosting agreement covering the race until 2030 was signed on 9 December 2021.
Verstappen won the 2022 race ahead of Charles Leclerc and Sergio Pérez. In 2023, Verstappen won again and became the first driver to lead one thousand laps in a single season, also completing every racing lap of the entire year. Lando Norris won his first race at the circuit in 2024, with Ferrari's Carlos Sainz Jr. second and Leclerc third; McLaren's victory in the race helped them win the Constructors' Championship for the first time since 1998. At the 2025 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Norris finished third — enough to win the 2025 Drivers' Championship by two points from race winner Verstappen, with Oscar Piastri second.
The Yas Marina Circuit was designed by Hermann Tilke and occupies part of Yas Island, a 2,550-hectare island on the eastern coast of Abu Dhabi. The original 21-turn layout was substantially revised ahead of the 2021 race: the turn 5–6 chicane and adjacent hairpin were replaced by a single wider hairpin; a triple chicane complex was converted into a sweeping banked curve; and the radiuses of the final corners were widened to allow higher cornering speeds. The circuit currently hosts the race under floodlights, maintaining the day-to-night format established at its inauguration.