ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Here’s a guide that tells you what you need to know about the upcoming Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. It’s the 24th and final round of the 2025 Formula 1 season, and a three-way title decider between Lando Norris, Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri.
— In the U.S., on ESPN.
— Other countries are listed here.
Friday: First and second practice.
Saturday: Third practice and qualifying.
Sunday: Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, 58 laps of the 5.28-kilometer (3.28-mile) Yas Marina Circuit. It starts at 5 p.m. local time (8 a.m. EST / 1300 GMT).
The final race of every F1 season since 2009 has been held under lights on the seafront in Abu Dhabi, including the controversial finish which saw Verstappen beat Lewis Hamilton to the 2021 title on the final lap. Overtaking is difficult and the race has been won by the driver on pole position every year since 2015, including Norris last year.
Norris had the chance to wrap up the title at last week's Qatar Grand Prix but a pit strategy blunder by McLaren handed Verstappen the win to boost his title defense chances, with Piastri second and Norris fourth in Qatar. That means that Norris will still win the title if he's on the podium in Abu Dhabi. Even if Verstappen wins the race, he needs to hope Norris is fourth or lower. Even if Piastri wins the race, he still requires Norris to finish outside the top five.
— Norris says he won’t ask Piastri to move over if needed in F1 title decider
— McLaren’s botched strategy call helps Verstappen win Qatar GP as F1 title fight goes to final race
— Red Bull voices regret after Kimi Antonelli is threatened online over Lando Norris incident
— Hadjar to partner Verstappen at Red Bull in 2026 as Tsunoda loses F1 seat
— Toyota deepens connections in F1 by sponsoring Haas team in 2026
11 — Norris can become the 11th different British driver to win the title. Verstappen is the only Dutch champion and Piastri could become Australia's first champion in 45 years.
5 — Verstappen has the chance to win the F1 title five years running, a feat only achieved by Michael Schumacher in 2004.
34 — Piastri led Norris by 34 points and Verstappen by a vast 104 points following the Dutch GP in August, but hasn't won a Grand Prix since then and is now 16 points off the lead. Norris leads overall with 408 points, Verstappen has 396 and Piastri 392.
“Honestly, I mean I would love it but I don’t think I would ask it because it’s up to Oscar if he would allow it. I don’t think it’s necessarily down to me.” — Norris on whether he'd like Piastri to help him out if Verstappen is on course to win the title decider.
“I’m very relaxed. Nothing to lose, you know?” — Verstappen.
“Obviously, I need a fair few things to happen this weekend to come out champion, but I’ll just make sure I’m in the right place at the right time and see what happens.” — Piastri.
AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
Winner Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands, centre, second placed McLaren driver Oscar Piastri of Australia, left, and third placed Williams driver Carlos Sainz of Spain celebrate on the podium after the Qatar Formula One Grand Prix, in Lusail, Qatar, Sunday, Nov. 30, 2025.(AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)
Cars exit the pitlane during a safety car session at the Qatar Formula One Grand Prix in Lusail, Qatar, Sunday, Nov. 30, 2025.(AP Photo/Altaf Qadri, Pool)
President Donald Trump said U.S. forces will keep hitting Iran “very hard” in the next two or three weeks and bring the country “back to the Stone Ages,” even as he touted the success of U.S. operations and argued that all of Washington’s objectives have so far been met or exceeded.
Trump said Iran would continue to face a barrage of attacks in the short term.
“We are going to hit them extremely hard over the next two to three weeks,” Trump said. “We’re going to bring them back to the Stone Ages, where they belong.”
Trump didn’t say anything about negotiations with Iran or bring up the April 6 deadline he set for Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz, the critical waterway for global oil and gas transport. He has threatened to attack Iran's energy infrastructure if the strait was not reopened.
Trump also did not offer a clear path to end the supply disruptions that have sent energy prices soaring. He did not mention the possibility of sending U.S. ground troops into Iran, or NATO, the trans-Atlantic alliance he has railed against for not helping the U.S. secure the waterway.
Oil rose more than 4% and Asian stocks fell after the comments. Oil prices were sharply higher following Trump’s remarks. Brent crude, the international standard, jumped 4.9% to $106.16 per barrel. Benchmark U.S. crude rose 4% to $104.15 a barrel.
U.S. gas prices jumped past an average of $4 a gallon for the first time since 2022 on Tuesday, as the Iran war continues to push fuel prices higher worldwide. Analysts say those high fuel costs will trickle into groceries as businesses’ transportation and packaging costs pile up.
Here is the latest:
A New York-based think tank said Thursday that U.S. President Donald Trump’s speech suggests he “is willing to leave the Strait of Hormuz off the table, leaving other nations to deal with the consequences.”
“Trump’s message was that the United States can sustain its own economic and energy ecosystem, while countries dependent on regional exports will either have to buy from the United States or manage the Strait themselves,” the Soufan Center wrote.
“While Trump explicitly thanked U.S. allies in the Persian Gulf for their cooperation and allyship, an expedited U.S. withdrawal without securing the Strait will leave many of these countries, whose economies are dependent on energy exports, in the lurch.”
Fuel prices in Thailand soared again on Thursday after the government further cut subsidies, sending diesel price to over 44 baht ($1.35) per liter, about 12% increase.
The surge was the second time in a week, after a majority of fuel prices rose by 6 baht ($0.18) per liter last Thursday.
Democrats are criticizing Trump’s primetime address to the American people on the war in Iran as “incoherent” and as doing little to answer “the most basic questions the American people,” according to statements from two Democratic lawmakers released on Wednesday.
Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., noted that Trump owed Americans more answers about a conflict that has driven up prices on gas “alongside rising prices for diesel, fertilizer, aluminum, and other essentials, with consequences that will continue to ripple through the economy for a long time to come” in his statement.
Meanwhile, Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., released a statement that said the “speech was grounded in a reality that only exists in Donald Trump’s mind.”
Murphy went on to add that “no one in America, after listening to that speech, knows whether we are escalating or deescalating.”
Oil rose more than 4% and Asian stocks fell after U.S. President Donald Trump said in his first national address since the Iran war began that the U.S. will keep hitting Iran very hard.
Trump also said the United States will “finish the job” in Iran and that military operations could wrap up soon.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 was down 1.4% to 53,004.81 in early Asia trading on Thursday. South Korea’s Kospi lost 3.4% to 5,292.36. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.8% to 25,082.59.
U.S. futures were down more than 0.7%.
Oil prices were sharply higher following Trump’s remarks. Brent crude, the international standard, jumped 5% to $106.22 per barrel. Benchmark U.S. crude rose 4.2% to $104.36 a barrel.
Members of civic groups hold signs against the U.S. and Israel attacks on Iran near the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
Israel's rescue teams and residents take shelter as sirens sounds next to a site struck by an Iranian missile in Bnei Brak, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
A family who fled Israeli shelling in southern Lebanon warm themselves by a bonfire next to tents used as shelters in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
People stand near a damaged van beside scattered debris following an Israeli strike in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
A firefighter extinguishes a car at the site of Israeli airstrikes, in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
