Max Verstappen achieved a new victory this Sunday, dominating the Abu Dhabi GP to close the season in the best way possible after winning his third Formula 1 title. Mercedes confirmed themselves as constructors’ runners-up.
Race summary
Despite three strong attacks in the first lap, Verstappen (Red Bull) maintained the lead ahead of Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), and then managed to distance himself. McLaren had a good start, with Oscar Piastri in third and Lando Norris in fourth ahead of George Russell (Mercedes).
Changes in the podium positions, with Piastri unable to hold off Norris and Russell, dropping to fifth. Piastri was the first of the front-runners to change tires, followed by Norris and Russell. The latter managed to gain position on track from Norris. This left Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri) in third.
Leclerc made the tire change on lap 18, with Verstappen responding by staying ahead of the Monegasque in fourth. Tsunoda and Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) were in the top two, as they had not changed tires.
After both entered the pits, the classification at the top returned to its previous order, with Verstappen in first with a lead of over four seconds over Leclerc. Russell was the new third-place driver.
The McLarens lost the “train” of the podium fight and Piastri was even overtaken by Sergio Pérez (Red Bull), dropping to fifth place with less than 30 laps completed. Norris changed tires for the second time on lap 34, dropping to tenth. Russell responded one lap later and maintained his position ahead of his compatriot. On lap 36, Leclerc changed tires again, which dropped him to sixth. Meanwhile, Pérez was in second and Piastri in third.
With the tire changes ahead of him, Leclerc quickly returned to the podium positions and Russell moved up to fourth, also with overtakes on track. Pérez delayed his tire change, staying in second place until he went to the pits on lap 43. He returned to the track in fifth place, ahead of Tsunoda. On lap 44, Verstappen changed tires again, calmly returning to the track in first. Leclerc was second and Russell was third, both isolated.
On lap 47, a battle for fourth place between Norris and Pérez, who even had a slight touch. The British driver came out on top in the first attack… but on the next lap, the Mexican was stronger, becoming the fourth-place finisher. On lap 51, Pérez was given a five-second penalty, being deemed responsible for the previous contact with Norris.
Meanwhile, it was reported that Verstappen would be investigated after the race due to a pit lane infringement. He was not the only one in this situation, as it involved the mechanics’ equipment.
Despite the penalty, Pérez continued to attack and overtook Russell. However, in order to maintain the position, he had to gain five seconds on him, a task that was not easy. Leclerc let Pérez overtake on the final lap, but he had second place guaranteed due to the penalty imposed on #11.
Verstappen was the winner 12.105s ahead of Leclerc, with Russell in third. Pérez finished in fourth place after the addition of the five-second penalty, with Norris in fifth. Piastri crossed the finish line in sixth ahead of Tsunoda, with Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) in eighth.
Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) finished ninth and Stroll completed the points-scoring positions. With Sainz only in 18th, Mercedes secured second place in the Constructors’ World Championship ahead of Ferrari.
Results:
