Polesitter Max Verstappen won the Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix to complete the most dominant season in F1 history. It was Verstappen’s 19th win of the year and seventh consecutive.
Verstappen crossed the line over 17 seconds ahead of Charles Leclerc, with George Russell less than three seconds back. Sergio Perez was fourth (he finished second on the track but a five-second penalty dropped him to fourth). McLaren’s Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were fifth and sixth, respectively, with Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso in seventh. Alpha Tauri’s Yuki Tsunoda parlayed a one-stop race to an eighth-place finish, with Lewis Hamilton taking ninth, followed by Lance Stroll in 10th.
“It was an incredible season,” Verstappen said. “It was a bit emotional on the in-lap – it was the last time I was sitting in the car, which has given me a lot.
“I have to say a big thank you to everyone at Red Bull. It’s been an incredible year. It will be hard to do something similar again, but we definitely enjoyed this year.”
In the driver standings, Verstappen scored the maximum 26 points to finish the season with 575 points, dwarfing Perez’s second-place total of 285. Hamilton finished third with 234 points.
In the constructor standings, Red Bull closes the season with 860 points. Mercedes edged Ferrari in a tight battle for second, with 409 points to Ferrari’s 406.
The Race
Verstappen held off Leclerc’s strong bid in the short chute leading into turn one and then had to battle to keep the lead as Leclerc took a look at turn seven and then at turns eight and nine. Norris slipped by Russell for third, and McLaren ran 3-4.
Verstappen finally put some distance to Leclerc, keeping the Ferrari out of DRS range. But Leclerc kept the gap close while also dealing with Piastri’s charge behind him. Norris then passed Piastri to begin his own chase of the Ferrari.
Piastri held off Russell’s attempt for fourth on lap seven as there were several battles for position up and down the order. Russell and his Mercedes teammate Hamilton were looking to maintain Mercedes’ four-point lead over Ferrari for second in the constructors standings.
At lap 10, Verstappen’s lead over Leclerc was about 1.5 seconds, and it seemed the Dutchman was wisely managing his medium tires while keeping Leclerc a safe distance behind.
Russell was still stuck behind Piastri, and with Hamilton languishing in 10th, it was imperative…
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