Verstappen beat Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and George Russell of Mercedes, fending off an early challenge from Leclerc but, as per usual, his dominance was unchallenged thereafter.
His team-mate Sergio Perez finished second on the road but dropped to fourth due to a 5s penalty after a clash with McLaren’s Lando Norris.
2023 F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix results
How the 2023 F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix unfolded
Polesitter Verstappen just held his advantage over Leclerc on the short sprint to Turn 1, with Oscar Piastri’s McLaren running third from team-mate Norris, who passed Russell’s Mercedes around the outside of Turn 2.
Leclerc almost passed Verstappen at the end of the back straight but the champion again just did enough to hold him off through Turn 6.
Further back, Perez passed Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) for ninth on lap three after Hamilton had moved ahead of him off the track at Turn 1 straight after the start.
Norris DRS-ed past Piastri to take third on lap four. Russell attacked Piastri on lap seven, almost getting ahead into Turn 9, and tried again two laps later with the same result.
Piastri locked up at Turn 6 on lap 11, allowing Russell to ease past him on the following straight to reclaim fourth. Perez overtook Pierre Gasly (Alpine) for eighth on lap 12.
Piastri was the first of the leaders to pit on lap 14, just holding off Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin as he rejoined, which had pitted a lap earlier.
Norris pitted a lap later and lost third to Russell due to a slow stop.
Hamilton hit Gasly at Turn 6, after the Frenchman locked up and overslowed for the apex. Gasly was then furious to be undercut by his team-mate Ocon in the opening pitstops.
Verstappen pitted on lap 17, promoting Leclerc to the lead for a lap until he too stopped.
Verstappen held a 3s lead after the pitstop cycle played out, but Leclerc had Russell much closer behind and had to push on his fresh rubber after running longer.
Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri) was the last of the medium-tyred starters to pit, enjoying a handful of laps out front before stopping on lap 23.
By half distance at dusk, Verstappen extended his led to over 6s ahead of Leclerc, while Perez passed Alonso and Piastri to snatch fifth by lap 28.
The second round of stops occurred from lap 34, with Norris the first of the top five to pit. Russell covered that on the next tour, while attempting to undercut Leclerc, who likewise responded, and was aided by Russell getting stuck…
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