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2024 F1 Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi — Results & aftermath

Norris wins season finale at Yas Marina, as McLaren hang on to win Constructors’ crown despite opening lap Piastri-Verstappen collision; Ferrari come up just short with solid Sainz P2, Leclerc recovery to P3; Hamilton ends Mercedes career on high note with late pass on Russell for P4 after P16 start

Lando Norris capped off a breakout 2024 season with a victory under the lights of Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi on Sunday, the last race of the year, securing McLaren their first Constructors’ Championship since 1998, besting a game and revitalized Scuderia Ferrari for motorsports’ ultimate cash prize. Despite teammate Oscar Piatsri having his race ruined by an opening lap collision with an unnecessarily aggressive Max Verstappen, and despite Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz running a flawless race to take P2 and teammate Charles Leclerc putting in a heroic effort to surge from a P19 start on the grid to third place on the podium, Norris’s win provided team McLaren with the necessary margin to secure the crown in the season’s final round. Arguably the best driver in F1 from Round 6 on even with Verstappen clinching his fourth consecutive Drivers’ title, Norris earned 13 podiums and a career-high 4 victories, as the McLaren MCL38 drastically improved after a slow start and eventually overhauled the mighty Red Bull factory team, while simultaneously fending off the much improved Prancing Horses down the stretch. While there was no shortage of chaotic moments behind him, including an early Virtual Safety Car brought about when the second Red Bull of the star-crossed Sergio Perez couldn’t get re-fired after tangling with Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas also on Lap 1, Norris controlled the race from the front at Yas Marina with seeming ease, cruising home to take the checkered flag nearly six-seconds ahead of Sainz.

Norris’s teammate Piastri had a challenging day to say the least. Starting from P2 in a Papaya front row lockout, he was unceremoniously punted by Verstappen while simply going for the apex at Turn 1. Piastri was then subsequently penalized for running into the back of Williams’ rookie Franco Colapinto just as the brief  VSC period was ending on Lap 23. That penalty was not assessed until after Piastri had pitted to doff his flat-spotted opening set of Medium Pirellis in favor of the Hards, meaning he would definitely have to come in again and serve it later in the race with less time to recover. In the end, Piastri was forced to mount a frantic charge through the midfield as the laps wound down in this 58-lap contest, finally securing P10 and a point with only four to go. Verstappen faced a similar race trajectory for his early transgression against the Aussie, the Red Bull ace’s lack of maturity surfacing once again in sarcastic comments about the stewards’ decision to penalize him despite clearly being 100% at fault. After serving his ten-seconds on Lap 30, Verstappen likewise knifed his way through back-markers and midfield runners en route to a P6 finish. So, yes, Verstappen has now won four Driver’s titles on the trot, putting him into the rarefied air of Formula 1 history. But one can only hope he takes this offseason to reflect a bit on just what kind of champion he wants to be and how he wants the world to perceive him — as a perpetual enfant terrible or a true ambassador of the sport?

It was a day of mixed emotions for the always classy Sainz, who kept it tidy and came home runner-up in his final race for the Scuderia. Sainz will head over to Williams next year but there is no doubt his quite solid campaign, where he scored 250 points and placed fifth in Drivers’, led to Ferrari’s significant second place in the Constructors’ ahead of the once-untouchable but now third place Red Bull team. Leclerc will also have much to be proud of looking back on 2024, even if he is still searching for his first F1 crown. The Monegasque finished with aplomb, and deployed all of his considerable skills to earn that remarkable P19-to-P3 result, picking up and amazing 11 spots on the opening lap alone before the VSC was deployed. Leclerc also finished third in the Drivers’ standing and will certainly be hoping Ferrari’s significant improvement continues in 2025.

Soon to be ex-Mercedes stalwart Lewis Hamilton will be hoping the same thing for the rejuvenated fortunes of the team from Maranello, since the seven-time champ will be crossing over to take Sainz’s seat and partner Leclerc next year. Hamilton had a vintage performance in Abu Dhabi in his final drive for the Silver Arrows, utilizing an opposite Hard-to-Medium tire strategy while starting from P16 after an unlucky Saturday qualifying saw him collect an errant bollard at an inopportune time. Hamilton ran an extra long opening stint on those Hards, making it all the way to Lap 35 before coming in for fresh Mediums and thereby over-cutting all but the top contenders to rejoin in P7 after a lightning stop by his pit crew. Lewis then skillfully hunted down as many drivers as he could on his both fresher and better performing Pirellis, including teammate George Russell on the last lap, to surge to a P4 finish and a thrilling end to one of the most remarkable driver and team partnerships in the history of the sport. Russell had to settle for P5 on the day but he can also be secure in the knowledge that he will be the undisputed team leader for mighty Mercedes in 2025, as they look to bounce back from a disappointing couple of years and rookie Kimi Antonelli takes over for Hamilton.

Pierre Gasly continued his fine run of form for suddenly surging Alpine with an impressive P7 result, helping the team take an improbable P6 in the Constructors’. Rookie Jack Doohan, who will take over the second car next season, replaced Esteban Ocon one race early and completed the event in P15. Nico Hulkenberg was also solid in his final race for Haas F1 before returning to Sauber next year, the veteran German pilot scoring a quartet of points in P8. And Fernando Alonso, who thoroughly bettered Aston Martin teammate (and the boss’s son) Lance Stroll all year long, did so again, making the most of his mediocre mount to sail home in P9, while Stroll continued to scuffle and finished out of the points in P14.

Top 10 finishers of the Abu Dhabi GP:

POS

NO

DRIVER

CAR

LAPS

TIME/RETIRED

PTS

1

4

Lando Norris

McLaren Mercedes

58

1:26:33.291

25

2

55

Carlos Sainz

Ferrari

58

+5.832s

18

3

16

Charles Leclerc

Ferrari

58

+31.928s

15

4

44

Lewis Hamilton

Mercedes

58

+36.483s

12

5

63

George Russell

Mercedes

58

+37.538s

10

6

1

Max Verstappen

Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT

58

+49.847s

8

7

10

Pierre Gasly

Alpine Renault

58

+72.560s

6

8

27

Nico Hulkenberg

Haas Ferrari

58

+75.554s

4

9

14

Fernando Alonso

Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes

58

+82.373s

2

10

81

Oscar Piastri

McLaren Mercedes

58

+83.821s

1

Complete race results available via Formula1.com.

Final Constructors’ Standings are here.

Final Drivers’ Standings are here.

That wraps up an enthralling 2024 F1 season — have a great winter break and look forward to seeing you, along with all the new faces in new places, in 2025!

2023 F1 Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi — Qualifying results

Verstappen takes pole for final race in Abu Dhabi, earns 12th of season; Leclerc fights back for P2; Piastri best McLaren in P3 as Norris slides down to P5

Red Bull’s peerless Max Verstappen took the final pole of the season with aplomb during the last Saturday Qualifying of 2023 for tomorrow’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at Yas Marina Circuit. With nothing left to prove in his historically dominant World Championship campaign this year, Verstappen nevertheless outpaced the rest of the field to make it 12 total poles out of twenty-two race weekends. The flying Dutchman will go for his record-extending nineteenth victory of the season in Sunday evening’s Grand Prix under the futuristic light show of Yas Marina and it would be a brave man indeed who would bet against him.

The real battles in tomorrow’s race should be behind the now three-time champion, as Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc pulled a scorching lap out of the bag at the death of Q3 to set the second fastest time and earn the right to start alongside Verstappen on the front row. That makes it five front row starts in a row for the Monegasque, including three poles, as Leclerc looks not only to end his year on a high note with another podium but also help pull the Scuderia ahead of mighty Mercedes for P2 in the all-important Constructors’ standings. But both Ferrari and Mercedes had only one car progress into the final Quali session, as George Russell outpaced teammate Lewis Hamilton to the tune of P4 to P11, while the second Prancing Horse of Carlos Sainz had a disastrous effort that saw him bounced out in Q1 and starting tomorrow down in P16. Sainz had a heavy shunt in Free Practice 2 on Friday so perhaps his car is still ailing after the rebuild but certainly the Spaniard is also lacking for pace and confidence at this sneakily tricky track. Continue reading →

2022 F1 Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi — Results & aftermath

Verstappen caps historic championship season with win #15 in Abu Dhabi; Perez loses out to Leclerc for P2 in race and total points; Vettel bows out in style with point finish

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen capped off his second successive Formula 1 Championship season  in imperial style, dominating the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix for his record extending 15th win of the 22-round 2022 campaign. Starting from pole under the lights of the futuristic Yas Marina Circuit in this early evening-into-night race, Verstappen stormed away at the start and never truly relinquished his lead or faced a real challenge throughout this 58-lap contest. The Dutch master and his team made a one-stop strategy look easy while other struggled to execute it, a fitting metaphor for just how superior the RB-18 has been in Verstappen’s hands compared to any of the other contenders. In the end, Verstappen took the checkers nearly 9-seconds to the good of the P2 Ferrari of Charles Leclerc, a fitting end to what has been a truly historic F1 season by any era’s standards.

Pics courtesy GrandPirx247.com

However, that second place by Leclerc may also loom equally as large as Verstappen’s superlative accomplishments when the story of 2022 is recounted in years hence. Red Bull gambled on a split, two-stop strategy for their second driver, Sergio Perez, convinced that it was the best path for the Mexican to finish ahead of Leclerc and thereby claim second in the Drivers’ standings. But it didn’t work out, as Perez, who started alongside Verstappen on the grid in P2, lost vital track position when he made his second stop for a fresh set of Hard Pirellis on Lap 34, reemerging in P6 after conceding P2 to the hard-charging Lecerc. Ferrari may have also contributed to Red Bull’s move by relaying a dummy call to Leclerc about their own intentions of a two-stopper but in the end, Leclerc stayed out and ran his second set of tires all the way to the end, only having stopped back on Lap 21.

Crucially, the Ferrari seemed to really come alive on that set of Hard tires, whereas it struggled for consistant pace on the opening set of Mediums. Red Bull were hoping tire deg would doom the Ferarri and Perez’s many laps fresher rubber would prevail in the end. But Perez had to make so many overtakes in his final stint, including of sometimes recalcitrant back-markers, that the laps just ran out on the Mexican’s second-place dreams. Leclerc took P2 in the race by 1.3-seconds and that resulted in the Monegasque eeking out P2 in the Drivers’ Standings by a slim 3-points. While all seemed cordial in the post-race holding pen between Verstappen and his disappointed teammate, one wonders whether Verstappen’s rather petty decision not to allow Perez to overtake him at the end of the Brazilian GP last week will fester in Perez’s mind over the winter break and what it will mean for team dynamics next year.

For Leclerc, on other hand, that strong result in the final race ensured his runner-up states to Verstappen as truly the second best driver of the year despite hopes of perhaps challenging for the title. But after a strong start, Ferrari just couldn’t keep up with Red Bull’s pace of development or the superiority of the car in Verstappen’s peerless hands. Coupled with unforced errors on the pit wall and driver side, Ferrari had to be content to claim runners up in the Constructors’ title and to see Leclerc prevail over Perez for second in the Drivers’. The second Prancing Horse of Carlos Sainz capped off the strong effort in Abu Dhabi with a P4 finish and the fabled Scuderia from Maranello will now have the off-season to try and creep closer to Red Bull even as they watches Mercedes gain on them in the second half.

But much of Mercedes recent momentum appeared illusory at Yas Marina. While Lewis Hamilton and George Russell looked competitive at the start, it quickly became clear that they were once again back to being the third best team on the track, as they had been for much of the season. While Russell was able to salvage P5, he had nothing for Sainz’s Ferrari late in the race. And to add insult to a rare winless season for Lewis Hamilton, the seven-time champion DNF’d with terminal hydraulic failure on Lap 55, perhaps a residual effect from going airborne over the tall curbs while dicing with Sainz on the opening lap. While they were much improved after their woeful, porpoising-plagued start of the fist half, the Silver Arrows braintrust will be working long and hard over the winter to master this era’s tricky new aero formula, which has left them at a severe deficit to both Red Bull and Ferrari after a previous run of eight Constructors’ Titles under the prior formula.

Rounding out the Top 10, McLaren’s Lando Norris drove solidly to take P6 and teammate Daniel Ricciardo scored points in P9 in his last drive for the team after a very difficult year for the affable Aussie. Esteban Ocon was the lone Alpine to score in P7, his outgoing teammate Fernando Alonso having another retirement in a season plagued by them after a terminal water leak on Lap 28. And Aston Martin were able to bring both cars home in the points, with Lance Stroll finishing in P8 and Sebastian Vettel taking the last point in P10. While it was a far cry from his halcyon days when he was winning four titles on the trot for Red Bull, it was still a fine way for Vettel to drive off into the sunset and cap off what has surely been a Hall of Fame-worthy career. As has been said more than once this race weekend — Danke, Seb!

Top 10 finishers of the Abu Dhabi GP:

POS NO DRIVER CAR LAPS TIME/RETIRED PTS
1 1 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING RBPT 58 1:27:45.914 25
2 16 Charles Leclerc FERRARI 58 +8.771s 18
3 11 Sergio Perez RED BULL RACING RBPT 58 +10.093s 15
4 55 Carlos Sainz FERRARI 58 +24.892s 12
5 63 George Russell MERCEDES 58 +35.888s 10
6 4 Lando Norris MCLAREN MERCEDES 58 +56.234s 9
7 31 Esteban Ocon ALPINE RENAULT 58 +57.240s 6
8 18 Lance Stroll ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES 58 +76.931s 4
9 3 Daniel Ricciardo MCLAREN MERCEDES 58 +83.268s 2
10 5 Sebastian Vettel ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES 58 +83.898s 1

Complete race results available via Formula1.com.

The final Driver Standings are here.

And the final Constructor’s’ Standings are here.

With 2022 now done & dusted it’s time to ride out the void of the winter break as best we can and get ready for an even more competitive season next year where Ferrari will hopefully continue their progress towards Red Bull’s high water mark and Mercedes will join the party as a bona fide contender after showing massive improvement to their chassis in the second half of this season. Hope to see you in early March when F1 returns in Bahrain to kick off a jam-packed, potentially 24-round 2023 campaign!

2022 F1 Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi — Qualifying results

Red Bull lock out front row for Abu Dhabi season finale with Verstappen on pole, Perez P2; Leclerc P3 & Sainz P4 for Ferrari as Mercedes struggle for pace

‘Looking to end their double championship season in style, Red Bull locked out the front row for Sunday’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix after Saturday’s three-rounds of knockout qualifying. 2022’s Drivers’ Champion Max set down a blazingly quick lap time of 1:23.824, making him the only driver to get into the 1:23s at any point in the day. The Dutch master accomplished this even while somewhat playing the team game, as opposed to last week’s inexplicable fit of pique in Sao Paulo, by helping teammate Sergio Perez with a tow in the first sector of their final flying laps, which enabled the Mexican to outpace Ferraris’ Charles Leclerc for the second fastest time in Q3 and P2 on the grid. Leclerc, who is tied with Perez on points for second in the Drivers’ standings, will start P3 come Sunday but still leads Perez if all things stay equal by virtue of having won more races this year. Leclerc’s Scuderia stablemate Carlos Sainz took P4, outpacing both Mercedes, which struggled for pace under the lights at the high-abrasion Yas Marina Circuit. Lewis Hamilton was able to better his teammate George Russell, last week’s race winner in Brazil, but the Silver Arrows duo could muster no better than P5 and P6 respectively after showing more promising signs of performance improvement in the prior three rounds.

McLaren’s Lando Norris, returned to good health after feeling ill in Brazil a week ago, put in a stout effort to claim P7 on the grid, with outgoing teammate Daniel Ricciardo good enough for P10 in his last race for McLaren. They sandwiched Esteban Ocon’s Alpine in P8 and the Aston Martin of Sebastian Vettel in P9. The German four-time champion had an inspired quali and got the absolute most from his Aston as he prepares to ride off into the sunset after tomorrow’s race.

Top 10 qualifiers for the Abu Dhabi GP:

POS NO DRIVER CAR Q1 Q2 Q3 LAPS
1 1 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING RBPT 1:24.754 1:24.622 1:23.824 17
2 11 Sergio Perez RED BULL RACING RBPT 1:24.820 1:24.419 1:24.052 18
3 16 Charles Leclerc FERRARI 1:25.211 1:24.517 1:24.092 17
4 55 Carlos Sainz FERRARI 1:25.090 1:24.521 1:24.242 16
5 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 1:25.594 1:24.774 1:24.508 21
6 63 George Russell MERCEDES 1:25.545 1:24.940 1:24.511 20
7 4 Lando Norris MCLAREN MERCEDES 1:25.387 1:24.903 1:24.769 17
8 31 Esteban Ocon ALPINE RENAULT 1:25.735 1:25.007 1:24.830 17
9 5 Sebastian Vettel ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES 1:25.523 1:24.974 1:24.961 18
10 3 Daniel Ricciardo MCLAREN MERCEDES 1:25.766 1:25.068 1:25.045 15

Complete qualifying results available via Formula1.com.

Tomorrow’s race airs live on ESPN2 beginning at 8AM Eastern here in the States. Will Verstappen really be ready to help Perez in his quest for second in the Drivers’ or will the return of Me-Me-Me Max rear its ugly head if he sniffs a win? Hope to see you then to find out how it all shakes out as we close out the 2022 F1 season!

2021 F1 Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi — Results & aftermath

MIRACLE MAX: Verstappen seizes first Championship after late Safety Car ruins Hamilton’s bid for an unprecedented eighth title; Shell-shocked Mercedes still win record eighth Constructors’ Title in controversial season finale

In one of the most controversial Grand Prix in Formula 1 history, let alone for a Championship-deciding season finale, Red Bull’s superb Max Verstappen prevailed over Mercedes ace and seven-time World Champ Lewis Hamilton in Sunday’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix to take his first-ever F1 crown. Under the bright lights of Yas Marina Circuit and the glare of lifelong expectations, the Dutch wunderkind, running P2 and around 13-seconds behind Hamilton,  took advantage of a late Safety Car caused by Williams’ Nicolas Latifi crashing out on Lap 53 to nip into the pits for a fresh set of Soft Pirelli tires. Meanwhile, Mercedes did not feel able to pit Hamilton even though he was on relatively ancient Hard tires already some 30-laps-old with five to go in this 58-lap contest because they didn’t want to cede the ever-valuable track position. That left Hamilton highly vulnerable should the wrecked Williams be able to be cleared before the laps of the race ran out. To the marshals’ and the race director’s credit, they decided to everything possible to clear the stranded Williams and associated debris and restart the race, thereby letting the two title contenders finish fighting it out under green.

To get to that point, however, Race Director Michael Masi had to insert himself into the outcome by first not allowing the five lapped cars between Hamilton and P2 Verstappen to pass the Safety Car and get back to the tail end of the field. This enabled the marshals to safely clear Latifi’s car. With a little over a lap now remaining, Masi then changed his edict and had the lapped cars overtake to clear the top two, allowing Verstappen to pull right alongside Hamilton for the restart towards the end of Lap 57, As the Safety Car ducked back into the pits, Hamilton tried to get the drop on Verstappen by controlling and scooting away at the restart. But the Dutchman didn’t let him gain much of advantage and his faster, fresher rubber soon proved too much for the Mercedes man to overcome. By Turn 5 of the final lap, Hamilton was easy meat and, despite fighting like the champion he is and always will be, Hamilton could no longer hold off the inevitable. Verstappen slipped by to take a lead that seemed impossible just five laps prior in front a enthralled fans of all rooting interests. Hamilton tried one more desperation lunge but Verstappen quickly distanced him, pulling away and coming to the checkers some 2.256-seconds ahead of his season-long nemesis. They say to be the best you’ve got to beat the best and that’s exactly what young Max did today to become the fourth youngest F1 Champion at the age of 24-years and 73 days (active drivers Hamilton is the second-youngest champ, Sebastian Vettel first). Continue reading →

2021 F1 Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi — Qualifying results

FINAL DUEL IN THE DESERT: Verstappen and Red Bull ace Hamilton and Mercedes for all important pole at Yas Marina; Norris pips P3 from Perez

With the 2021 Formula 1 season and Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships down to the last race at the futuristic Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, Saturday’s qualifying took on added import and Red Bull and Max Verstappen got the better of their arch rival, Mercedes ace Lewis Hamilton. With the two title aspirants entering the weekend in a dead heat on Drivers’ points and Verstappen only ahead by virtue of the race wins tiebreaker, the Red Bull braintrust pulled a clever maneuver to give their star contender the edge by deploying wingman Sergio Perez to give the Dutchman the draft at a crucial time in Q3. That enabled Verstappen to set a fast lap that Hamilton, running without a draft from his teammate, Valtteri Bottas, was unable to match. So Verstappen will line up from the pole and Hamilton in P2 for tomorrow’s race. Adding another complication to the mix, Verstappen will be starting on a set of Soft Pirellis after flat-spotting his Mediums in Q2 while Hamilton will be on the theoretically preferred Medium rubber to start. It should make it a very interesting strategic race and will likely find Hamilton hunting down Verstappen on the faster Soft tires as the season reaches its fascinating climax.

Behind that elite top two, Lando Norris managed to wrest away P3 on the grid from Perez with a brilliant final hot lap, relegating the Mexican veteran to P4. But that was still better than what Bottas could accomplish, as the Finn could do no better than the sixth fastest lap in his final qualifying attempt with Mercedes. They sandwiched Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, who bettered his teammate Charles Leclerc, P5 to P7. Yuki Tsunoda was the only AlphaTauri to get into Q3 and qualified P8, while Alpine’s Esteban Ocon set the ninth fastest time and the second McLaren of Daniel Ricciardo slotted in at P10.

Top 10 qualifiers for the Abu Dhabi GP:

POS NO DRIVER CAR Q1 Q2 Q3 LAPS
1 33 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING HONDA 1:23.322 1:22.800 1:22.109 20
2 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 1:22.845 1:23.145 1:22.480 19
3 4 Lando Norris MCLAREN MERCEDES 1:23.553 1:23.256 1:22.931 20
4 11 Sergio Perez RED BULL RACING HONDA 1:23.350 1:23.135 1:22.947 24
5 55 Carlos Sainz FERRARI 1:23.624 1:23.174 1:22.992 22
6 77 Valtteri Bottas MERCEDES 1:23.117 1:23.246 1:23.036 20
7 16 Charles Leclerc FERRARI 1:23.467 1:23.202 1:23.122 23
8 22 Yuki Tsunoda ALPHATAURI HONDA 1:23.428 1:23.404 1:23.220 22
9 31 Esteban Ocon ALPINE RENAULT 1:23.764 1:23.420 1:23.389 20
10 3 Daniel Ricciardo MCLAREN MERCEDES 1:23.829 1:23.448 1:23.409 19

Complete qualifying results available via Formula.com.

Tomorrow’s race airs live on ESPN2 beginning at 8AM Eastern here in the States. With the Drivers’ Championship coming down to this final race it should be absolutely nail-biting stuff. Hope to see you then to find out how it all shakes out!

2020 F1 Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi — Results & aftermath

Red Bull’s Verstappen runs away from Mercedes to take easy win in season finale; Bottas P2, Hamilton P3 in procedural contest

With Mercedes engines suffering from a mysterious MGU-K issue that left them down on power, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen had no problem sprinting away from this year’s dominant Constructors’ champions to take an easy victory at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, at long last earning the supremely talented Dutchman his first win of the truncated 2020 season. After a run of unpredictable race results, perhaps none more so than last week’s surprise win for Racing Point’s Sergio Perez after Mercedes self-destructed in the pits, Sunday’s finale was a purely procedural affair at the Yas Marina circuit, a track where overtaking is always at a premium even with the DRS gimmick. The pole-sitting Verstappen easily swanned away from the Silver Arrows of Valtteri Bottas and champion Lewis Hamilton, who returned from a COVID infection and did not seem to possess his usual superlative stamina. Regardless, no one could challenge Verstappen’s Red Bull at this day-into-night race and no gambles were taken by the Mercedes brain trust that might have jeopardized Bottas’ second place in the Drivers’ points and allowed Verstappen to claim that honor if the inconsistent Finn finished below P2. After last week’s debacle, the reigning Contructors’ champs were content to play it safe and see their men come home P2 and P3, with Bottas leading home Hamilton, but Verstappen outclassing Bottas by a whopping 15.9 seconds. Don’t count on this being a harbinger of a real challenge to Mercedes’ potential dominance next season, as the Merc engines were clearly ailing and nearing end of life here in round 17, especially as they chose not develop them much further after clinching their record seventh title in a row way back at Imola in early November with eight races still to go. But For verstappen the victory was still sweet, saving the best for last in this challenging year by earning his first victory of a frustrating season when he almost always had to look at a Silver Arrows tailpipe no matter how well he drove.

Pics courtesy GrandPrix247.com

Verstappen’s much maligned teammate Alexander Albon also did his part by showing good form and staying close enough to the top three to make any strategic pit stop gamble the Mercedes pit wall may have wanted to try a nonstarter, as either Bottas or Hamilton would surely have come out behind the mercurial Thai. So he helped Red Bull keep Mercedes honest, holding off even a long shot threat to Verstappen’s supremacy on this day and coming home a solid fourth place. Along with another fourth in Styria in Round 2, a third in the first Bahrain race and another opportunistic podium earlier in Tuscany in Round 9, the result in Abu Dhabi might be enough for Albon to keep his seat at the big Red Bull team, which is what Christian Horner and the other VIPs have always said they wanted, at least in public. But if so, he will need to work hard on qualifying pace, where he was buried by Verstappen all season long, to give himself a better shot at earning high places in the races rather than constantly trying to fight his way through theoretically inferior cars with all the attendant risk that entails. Of course, Albon’s erratic track record over the course of the year still might not be enough to keep Red Bull from replacing him with the free agent Sergio Perez, who has had his best year in F1 by far. Either way, all should be revealed in this particular soap opera very soon.

Pics courtesy GrandPrix247.com

It was also a banner day for McLaren, capping a fine comeback season by not only seeing their drivers Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz finish an impressive P5 and P6 respectively but also earning a very valuable third place in the Constructors’ with that big points haul. The storied team was able to regain at least some of its past glory by leapfrogging the powerful Racing Point team for that coveted position on the final day when Lance Stroll could only muster and point in P10 and a luckless Perez DNF’d on Lap 10 with transmission failure. While Perez didn’t really get a chance to defend his wonderful win at Sakhir a week ago and Stroll somewhat underwhelmed after starting from P8, the Racing Point team still has a lot to be pleased with as they head into the offseason as the fourth best Constructor and ready for the change to Aston Martin branding and Sebastian Vettel partnering Stroll for 2021.

While Renault couldn’t overtake their nearest rivals McLaren and Racing Point and had to settle for fifth in the final Constructors’ standings it was still a good year for the French team, who will rebrand as Alpine for next year. Veteran Daniel Riccardo, who will leave to drive for McLaren next year, finished P7 and Esteban Ocon took P9. Ocon will remain at Renault/Alpine and partner with returning two-time champ Fernando Alonso in 2021. AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly, who had a breakout season including a win at Monza in Round 8, came home P8 to secure tenth in the Drivers’ Standings.

A final word on Ferrari: The Scuderia finished a woeful campaign on a woeful note, with Charles Leclerc P13 and the outgoing Vettel P14 in ostensibly his final race in a Prancing Horse, both behind the P12 of the “junior” Alfa Romeo driven by the venerable Kimi Raikkonen. Here’s hoping that Ferrari’s boasts about massive engine upgrades for next year are true — and perhaps Sainz arrival will pick things up, as well — because sixth in the Constructors’ with barely a chance of challenging Racing Point, McLaren or Renault for positions, let alone Mercedes and Red Bull for wins, simply won’t cut it for another season.

Top 10 finishers of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix:

POS NO DRIVER CAR LAPS TIME/RETIRED PTS
1 33 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING HONDA 55 1:36:28.645 25
2 77 Valtteri Bottas MERCEDES 55 +15.976s 18
3 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 55 +18.415s 15
4 23 Alexander Albon RED BULL RACING HONDA 55 +19.987s 12
5 4 Lando Norris MCLAREN RENAULT 55 +60.729s 10
6 55 Carlos Sainz MCLAREN RENAULT 55 +65.662s 8
7 3 Daniel Ricciardo RENAULT 55 +73.748s 7
8 10 Pierre Gasly ALPHATAURI HONDA 55 +89.718s 4
9 31 Esteban Ocon RENAULT 55 +101.069s 2
10 18 Lance Stroll RACING POINT BWT MERCEDES 55 +102.738s 1

Complete race results available via Formula1.com.

Final Drivers’ Standings are here.

Final Constructors’ Standings are here.

The next race, gods willing, will be on March 21st, 2021 back at good old Melbourne, Australia. Enjoy the offseason wherever you are and hope to see you then!

2020 F1 Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi — Qualifying results

Verstappen snatches pole at Yas Marina to break Mercedes’ season-long streak; Bottas betters Hamilton for P2 to spoil the champion’s return

After missing last week’s wild and wooly Sakhir Grand Prix due to COVID, Mercedes ace Lewis Hamilton returned for Round 17 and the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the final race of the strange, abbreviated 2020 F1 season. But if the current and seven-time World Champion expected to simply come back in and grab an easy pole after his enforced absence his teammate Valtteri Biottas and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen had other ideas. After struggling somewhat throughout Saturday qualifying, Hamilton appeared to have done enough to hook up a pole-worthy lap when the checkers flew at the end of Q3 and he went to the top of the pylon. But his time as provisional fastest man on the day was short-lived when Bottas came steaming home six-tenths ahead of his illustrious stablemate, seeming to simultaneously get the better of Hamilton while also keeping Mercedes’ season-long pole streak comfortably intact. But barely a moment later, Verstappen crashed the Silver Arrows celebration by laying down a time of 1:35.246, .025 better than Bottas and good enough to give Red Bull — and any team not named Mercedes — their first pole of the year. So P2 Bottas will start on the front row alongside pole-sitter Vertspappen, who will have a hungry Hamilton right behind him on the second row in P3. With Verstappen having crashed out on the opening lap last weekend, Hamilton seeing the young substitute George Russell nearly win in his car and Bottas being thoroughly outclassed by the substitute Russell just as he has been by Hamilton for most of the season, the list of competing motivations to win tomorrow’s race and the resultant pressure on the drivers is almost too delicious to contemplate. Simply put, the start at Yas Marina for the Abu Dhabi GP on Sunday could be absolutely bananas.

The McLaren of Lando Norris also acquitted himself exceedingly well, out-qualifying his teammate Carols Sainz P4 to P6 and taking a spot alongside Hamilton on the second row of the grid. For good measure, Norris also bettered Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate Alexander Albon, who once again was found slightly wanting with his qualifying efforts with only the fifth fastest time. Continue reading →

2019 F1 Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi — Results & aftermath

Hamilton dominates in Abu Dhabi to end championship campaign in style; Verstappen P2, Leclerc P3, as Bottas battles from last to fourth

Mercedes’ ace Lewis Hamilton capped off his sixth championship season with a dominant win at Yas Marina Circuit in Sunday’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. In the final race of the 2019 F1 campaign, a late afternoon affair that goes from day to night conditions, Hamilton and his Silver Arrow were as untouchable as they gave been throughout the year. The newly minted 6-time champ claimed his 11th victory of the year out of twenty-one GPs and finished far ahead of his closest pursuers. Hamilton won from pole and also set the fastest lap of the race for a bonus point, coming home a whopping 16.77 seconds ahead of the second place Red Bull of Max Verstappen. It was a suitably perfect performance in what has been another banner year for the 34-year-old, who was justifiably left wishing that the season could continue after his effortless win. It also gave Hamilton 84 career wins, shockingly close to what seemed to be Michael Schumacher’s record F1 total of 91. No doubt Lewis will be dreaming of overtaking Schumacher for that milestone in 2020, as well as tying the German legend’s even more awesome achievement by racking up a seventh Drivers’ title. But all that is in the future and for now Hamilton can ride off into the winter break knowing that he was unquestionably the supreme Formula 1 ace in 2019 and has put himself in the conversation as one of the best in the sport’s fabled history.

Pics courtesy GrandPrix247.com

For Verstappen it was also a relatively easy day that saw the Dutchman hold off challenges from Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and turbo lag issues from his own car to secure a P2 finish and lock down third place in the Drivers’ ahead of the hard-charging Leclerc. The Monegasque Ferrari man, who had  breakout year and seems destined for greatness if given the right equipment, finished P3 in the race and survived an after-race investigation for fuel irregularities that led to a hefty fine for Ferrari but no penalties for Leclerc. Behind the top three, Hamilton’s Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas drove a superb race after starting from the rear of the grid due to engine penalties, clawing his way all the way up to a P4 finish just about a second behind Leclerc for the last podium place. One wonders if the Finn’s result might have been even better had a technical glitch not prevented the DRS system from operating until Lap 18. Continue reading →

2019 F1 Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi — Qualifying results

Hamilton earns pole for final race of the season; Bottas second quickest but starts at rear due to engine penalties; Verstappen qualifies P3

Lewis Hamilton, looking to close out his 2019 championship season in suitably dominant style, earned his first pole position since Germany in Saturday qualifying for tomorrow’s season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The Mercedes ace and newly minted 6-time World Champion was head and shoulders above his nearest competition en route to the top spot on the timing sheets, besting his teammate Valtteri Bottas by 2-tenths of a second. Unfortunately for Bottas that strong effort in the gloaming of Yas Marina Circuit was for nought, as the Finn will be relegated to the back of the grid due to multiple power unit replacement penalties. It should make for an exiting race for the Silver Arrow’s number two man, who has already clinched second overall in the Drivers’ standings, as he powers his way through back of the field in the opening laps of tomorrow’s race.

Third fastest was Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who struggled to keep his rear tires under him when pushing hard but crucially out-qualified Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in his quest to take third in the Drivers’ points when the curtain comes down after tomorrow’s GP. Leclerc somehow managed to muff his timing and could not set a better fast lap than P4 before the checkers flew to end Q3. The talented Monegasque, who had a breakout year and seems to be on the cusp of greatness, will be pushing hard at the start of tomorrow’s race to try and overtake Verstappen and claim third overall in the season’s standings for himself. Continue reading →