Abu Dhabi Glass Prix Glass Prix Report
COCKTAIL CONSTRUCTORS CHAMPIONSHIP
ABU DHABI GLASS PRIX — YAS MARINA CIRCUIT
Race 24 of 24 | December 7, 2025
NORTHROP RAISES THE GLASS: BRIT BLITZ CLAIMS THE CHAMPIONSHIP CROWN
By our Senior Mixologist-at-Large
Under the blazing floodlights of Yas Marina, with 203,000 spectators watching on and the entire Cocktail Constructors Championship hanging by a cocktail umbrella, Logan Northrop did what champions do: he kept his Brit Blitz Rum Punch pointed in the right direction, absorbed every ounce of pressure the field could pour at him, and crossed the line in third place to claim the most coveted trophy in shaken-and-stirred motorsport.
It was, in the most literal sense, a glass half full — and then some.
Northrop entered the season finale just twelve points clear of Marten Vandenberg (Rapid Bull Motorsport), with Papaya Racing teammate Ollie Pastore a further four back. Three drivers, one championship, fifty-eight laps of desert circuit. The tension was so thick you could have strained it through a cocktail sieve. If this was a menu item, it was the house special: one part domination, one part bravery, two parts panic on the pit wall, and a lime twist of chaos to finish.
VANDENBERG DOMINANT, BUT NOT DOMINANT ENOUGH
From the moment Marten Vandenberg's Dutch Dynamo Charge roared off pole position — that bourbon base firing on all cylinders, the Red Bull mixer providing the kind of high-octane propulsion that had terrified the field all season — it was clear Rapid Bull Motorsport had brought their finest build to the desert. The bourbon gave the car that deep, muscular low-end punch off the line, while the 120 ml can of Red Bull acted like a fully uncorked energy recovery system down the Yas Marina straights. A squeeze of fresh lemon juice kept the nose sharp on rotation, and the result was a drink-car in devastating balance.
Vandenberg drove an immaculate race, managing his lemon-twist garnish with surgical precision and never putting a wheel wrong across all fifty-eight laps. He won by 12.594 seconds — which in cocktail terms is roughly the gap between "neatly stirred" and "already halfway gone." His eighth race victory of the season was dominant, clinical, and ultimately... not quite enough. The cruel mathematics of the Cocktail Constructors Championship meant that even a flawless Vandenberg performance could not deny Northrop the title, so long as the Brit Blitz Rum Punch crossed the line in the top three. And cross it he did.
He may have missed the championship by just two points, but this was a reminder that Rapid Bull's late-season turnaround was no fluke. Vandenberg drove like a man already making 2026 everyone else's problem.
PASTORE'S AUDACIOUS OPENER
The drama began before the first lap was even complete. Ollie Pastore, piloting the Aussie Apex Zero on the harder compound, pulled off the move of the season around the outside of Turn 9, demoting his own teammate Northrop to third in one breathtaking sweep. It was the kind of audacious manoeuvre that had the Papaya Racing pit wall simultaneously gasping and punching the air — and made at least two engineers spill their garnish trays.
On paper, the Aussie Apex Zero shouldn't have had that sort of bite so early on, but the pineapple juice delivered tremendous lateral grip, the passionfruit syrup kept the mid-corner balance lively, and the ginger beer provided a crisp top-end fizz that held together beautifully over the long first stint. Pastore ran a brave, extended opening stint before pitting for fresh medium tyres, and ultimately brought his machine home in a superb second place — a result that, while not delivering him the championship, underlined exactly why this title fight went all the way to the final glass.
NORTHROP'S NERVE-SHREDDING TITLE RUN
Meanwhile, Northrop's Brit Blitz Rum Punch faced a rather more turbulent evening. The dark rum base provided the raw pace, and the orange and pineapple juice made it versatile through the slower sections, but the grenadine-weighted rear end made for a nervous machine under pressure. The fresh lime juice kept the front end alive throughout — and that proved crucial more than once.
The first test came immediately, courtesy of his own teammate. Demoted to third on lap one, Northrop knew a podium finish was enough for the title. The universe, naturally, chose that precise moment to make everything as uncomfortable as possible.
The second test came in the form of Christophe Lefevre (Fierano Racing), who spent the opening stint lurking menacingly in the DRS zone aboard his Monaco Maestro Blood Orange Spritz. Those blood orange notes were singing in the Abu Dhabi heat, the honey syrup smoothed the traction phase beautifully, and the sparkling water kept the whole platform light on its feet. Lefevre probed and prodded with genuine menace — but while his drink had elegance, it just lacked that final straight-line kick to complete the pass. A touch more aggression in the recipe — perhaps a sharper lemon ratio or a more assertive rosemary setup — might have turned "spirited fourth" into "podium thief."
The real heart-in-mouth moment, however, arrived when Northrop encountered Yoshi Takeda (Rapid Bull Motorsport) running an offset strategy. Takeda, in the Samurai Speed Highball, deployed every last drop of his Japanese whisky base in what Rapid Bull presumably hoped would be a tactical blockade. The cold ginger ale chassis flexed under braking as Takeda weaved to protect his position — pushing the defensive line so far that Northrop was nearly forced onto the grass. The stewards had seen enough. A five-second penalty was applied. The lemon juice may have sharpened the Highball's reflexes, but the chassis was oversteering into desperation. Rapid Bull wanted a roadblock; they got a warning label.
Northrop, his orange slice garnish miraculously intact, powered through to safety. By the time the chequered flag fell, just sixteen-and-a-half seconds separated him from the race winner — and just two points separated him from Vandenberg in the final championship standings. Two points. You could fit that margin in a thimble.
THE REST OF THE TOP TEN
Lefevre's fourth place was nonetheless a fine effort — he clocked the fastest lap of the race at certain points, and the rosemary sprig garnish provided genuine aerodynamic flair deep into the stint. The two-stop strategy ultimately cost him the podium positions he craved, but the Monaco Maestro Blood Orange Spritz was one of the prettier machines on circuit all evening.
Graham Radcliffe (Silver Spear Racing) endured a lonely fifth in the Silver Streak G&T. After a poor start and persistent brake complaints, his race became an extended meditation on the phrase "solid but unspectacular." The gin base gave him clean direction changes, but the elderflower liqueur — so elegant in cooler European climates — appeared to wilt in the desert heat, and the tonic water fizz flattened noticeably over the long stint. A respectable result that nonetheless screams winter rebuild.
Francisco Aroca's Iberian Iron Sunset Cooler was arguably the midfield performance of the race. The pomegranate juice delivered exceptional braking stability, the blood orange base gave warm and consistent pace, and the honey syrup kept the rear planted through the slower corners. Sixth place was a fine way to close out a challenging season for Ashton Marvel Racing — classic Aroca, classic cooler.
Etienne Ordaz (Hawk Motorsport) drove brilliantly in seventh, his Normandy Knight Apple Fizz keeping the charging Britannia Bolt Fizz of Lawrence Harrington (Fierano Racing) at bay in a fierce late-race battle. Cloudy apple juice and pear juice are not, on paper, a terrifying performance package — but the honey syrup helped tyre life, the sparkling water kept the car nimble, and the rosemary garnish added just enough edge. Harrington, who had started deep in the field on soft-compound muddled strawberries and committed to a bold two-stop plan, drove with fire and fury to eighth, with the vodka base delivering clean overtakes and the final-stint pace genuinely impressive.
Niklas Heinrich (Audacious Autowerks) celebrated his 250th race start with a points finish in ninth, his Rhine Racer Spritz climbing from eighteenth on the grid through calm, efficient racing. Those cucumber slices may sound more spa menu than race winner, but they kept the platform cool and composed over a long opening stint, and the elderflower liqueur base delivered smooth mid-race pace that belied his starting position entirely.
Tenth, and the final championship point, belonged to Laurent Stern (Ashton Marvel Racing) in the Maple Mach Old Fashioned — a result that required penalties and post-race arithmetic to secure, but points are points. The Canadian whisky and maple syrup package remains a heavy, old-school bruiser: excellent in short bursts, less ideal when the race becomes a sprint finish. The orange peel and bitters gave it enough late-race complexity to hang around when it mattered.
THE FLAT POURS AND THE NEARLY MEN
Just outside the points, Gustavo Bartolini's Samba Surge Punch finished eleventh after losing ground late — the white rum and passionfruit syrup gave early sparkle, but the package got thoroughly bogged down in traffic. Owen Barrington crossed the line near the points but dropped to twelfth after a penalty for changing direction too many times while fighting Stern; the Rookie Rush Fizz had genuine pace, but its gin-and-grenadine balance still runs a little too hot under pressure.
Cesar Serrat was thirteenth in the Matador Motion Sunset, a drink that looked pleasant but lacked menace. More blood orange intensity or a more assertive rosemary profile would help considerably. Takeda, penalised, wound up fourteenth. Kari Ambrosini was fifteenth in the Roman Rocket Spritz, whose white rum and Aperol pairing never found clear air — the Aperol component creating an unbalanced ride in the desert conditions that more soda water simply couldn't correct. Arthur Arun took sixteenth in the Thai Thunder Cooler, hurt by a pit lane speeding penalty and a race spent in traffic; the coconut water was smooth, but the mango nectar lacked straight-line sting when it was needed most.
Toro Tempo Racing had a miserable evening. Ilan Halimi's Parisian Pulse Rush and Lachlan Lockhart's Kiwi Comet Crush finished seventeenth and eighteenth respectively, both hampered by penalties and poor race rhythm. The tequila-Red-Bull concept in Halimi's machine still feels like it should work better than it does — the fresh lime juice may need rebalancing over the winter. As for Lockhart, the muddled kiwifruit and strawberry syrup are entertaining in isolation, but the setup becomes genuinely messy when the race turns physical.
Alpen GP closed the season exactly as they'll want to forget it. Pascal Girard was nineteenth in the Alpen Arrow Spritz and Fausto Cattaneo twentieth in the Pampas Predator Spritz, both a full lap down. The elderflower cordial in Girard's package wilted comprehensively in the heat — a more aggressive passionfruit syrup and a sharper lemon ratio would generate the downforce the car so desperately lacks. Cattaneo's red grape juice and pink grapefruit combination lacked acceleration from the first corner to the last; a switch to blood orange juice and a bolder mint setup would at least give the Pampas Predator something to work with in 2026.
CHAMPION'S WORDS
"Oh God, I've not cried in a while," said a tearful Logan Northrop, standing atop his Brit Blitz Rum Punch on the Yas Marina start-finish straight, doing donuts as the crowd roared. "It's a long journey. First of all, I want to thank everyone at Papaya Racing. Marten and Ollie — incredible competitors, incredible drinks, and I've learnt so much from both of them."
Two points. One championship. Fifty-eight laps of the finest cocktail racing the world has ever seen.
The Brit Blitz Rum Punch was not always the most explosive machine in the field, but over twenty-four rounds it proved adaptable, resilient, and ice-cool under pressure. Dark rum for backbone, citrus for clarity, and just enough sweetness to keep the whole operation from turning bitter. Papaya Racing leaves 2025 with the drivers' crown and the team title — a championship double mixed to perfection.
And as Northrop celebrated under the Yas Marina lights, one truth became impossible to ignore: in the Cocktail Constructors Championship, sometimes the quickest drink wins the night.
But the best-balanced one wins the bar.
Cheers. 🍹
RACE PODIUM: 🥇 Marten Vandenberg — Dutch Dynamo Charge (Rapid Bull Motorsport) 🥈 Ollie Pastore — Aussie Apex Zero (Papaya Racing) 🥉 Logan Northrop — Brit Blitz Rum Punch (Papaya Racing) ⭐ 2025 Cocktail Constructors Champion