The last of this season’s 22 grands prix still has many fronts open and marks the farewell date for four-time champion Sebastian Vettel
Formula 1 faces the end of its 73rd season in an Abu Dhabi GP that, unlike what happened in 2021, will not decide who will be world champion. Max Verstappen and Red Bull have been at it for a few weeks now and they will just have to help Sergio Pérez to finish second if they want to. And it is that this last race of the year is undeniably touched by the indiscipline and infidelity of the current king of the league with his partner and loyal squire. The refusal to let Pérez pass on Brazil’s final lap has deeply tarnished the public image of Verstappen, who, after taking a public beating, vowed to help Checo.
The Mexican is tied with Charles Leclerc on 290 points, and while no one is aiming for second place, both will fight tooth and nail to achieve it. Whoever is ahead this weekend will be the one who takes the trophy, but whoever loses it will not be able to blame what happened in Yas Marina: both have had a gray season in terms of their expectations. If that happens, Pérez will not lose second place in Abu Dhabi, but will have done so in a campaign that could have been significantly improved, just as Leclerc will punish his own and Ferrari’s failures during this campaign with a painful loss.
This will be one of many battles to be decided in the Drivers’ Championship. Fifth between Hamilton and Sainz (only 6 points difference) will measure Mercedes’ ability to show they are on the rise after the double achieved at Interlagos a few days ago. A little further back, in the battle for eighth place, very morbid: in Alonso’s farewell to Alpine, he is only five points behind a rebellious Ocon for whom he will have nothing to forgive or owe after being an unworthy teammate. such an. It will be a dog face.
Less passionate will be the fight for eleventh place between two drivers who, former teammates, will say goodbye to F1 together. Daniel Ricciardo, without a place at McLaren, will leave the competition for a hypothetical sabbatical year, while Sebastian Vettel will, surprisingly, leave for good. The German is in decline after long being the great dominator and emperor of the league, regarded by his rivals as a tough enemy, but also a loyal companion in battle. Respected and loved by fans and drivers alike, F1 is losing one of those competitors with a very clear moral compass and who has always expressed his opinion without forcing it, something his successor as league dictator, Hamilton, has failed to do.
It will also be the last race for other lower zone drivers, such as a forgettable Nicholas Latifi whose greatest contribution to F1 will crash at the same track a year ago and inadvertently trigger the most exciting final lap in recent years. This Thursday, it was additionally confirmed that a pilot who could be more than he was will also not follow. Mick Schumacher is the example that the surname weighs no more than a few gray years, with no significant achievements for better or for worse. The heir disappointed and will be replaced in 2023 by ‘Mr Lobo’, Nico Hulkenberg, who returns as a full-time driver after working as a substitute for several teams in recent years.
Whoever continues in the league, but not in his current team, will be a Fernando Alonso who will shoot one less session this weekend. The Asturian will be bequeathing his Alpine to the team’s tester, Jack Doohan (son of the legendary 500cc motorcycling champion), in a first practice session with four other rookies on the grid: Schwartzman for Sainz in Ferrari, O’Ward for Norris in McLaren, Drugovich for Vettel at Aston Martin and Lawson for Verstappen at Red Bull. The irrelevance of the first free practice session in Abu Dhabi, with the track normally very dirty and temperatures unrelated to what will be seen in the race, makes it a favorable session to warm up the youngsters.
When the test on Sunday is over, all eyes go straight to the test on Monday. Fernando Alonso will test for the first time wearing the green Aston Martin suit (just as his replacement, Pierre Gasly, will do with the Alpine blue) to meet his new mechanics, engineers and more. Thus a new era begins in his endless career: ‘The Plan’ ends, ‘The Mission’ begins.
Source: La Verdad
I am Shawn Partain, a journalist and content creator working for the Today Times Live. I specialize in sports journalism, writing articles that cover major sporting events and news stories. With a passion for storytelling and an eye for detail, I strive to be accurate and insightful in my work.
