Max Verstappen ended an unparalleled season in style at the Abu Dhabi GP

Finished. After the sun set in Abu Dhabi, under the lights of the magnificent Yas Marina Circuit, the ‘Grand Circus’ closed its doors until next year at the last Grand Prix of the season, the Abu Dhabi GP. The year started in March with Max Verstappen crushing it. And it ended the same way. He achieved his 19th victory of the season in 22 races that same year, a feat that says it all. Absolute record and one that no one could possibly beat. With him, he achieved a winning ratio of 86% of the total, surpassing Alberto Ascari’s 75% dating back to 1952. This fact says everything about how long Max’s legacy can last over time in history

F1 2023 Abu Dhabi GP results

Formula 1 World Cup classification

Max Verstappen has the best car. That’s true. But it’s also true that saying he won just because of that is an oversimplification and a lack of analysis. It would be unfair not to highlight Max’s ability to be almost infallible. The Dutch driver is always at the decisive moment. He was in pole position yesterday after a weekend where he seemed uncomfortable. And this Sunday, at the most critical moment, at the start, he again marked the difference against Charles Leclerc.

The Monegasque driver came out well to retain his pole position at Turn 1 and gave a masterclass in defense against Leclerc. The Monegasque tried it at turn 6, but Max took the outside to take the inside of the next turn into first place with better traction. And on the second lap, he defended himself again with better acceleration on the outside. But I like Charles more and I can’t. He could try, even pass Max to take the lead. But this is nothing against the grain. In the long run, Verstappen’s race pace will be impossible for him. Max is the leader no matter what. But he chose to do it the way of a champion. She did not give up on Charles and began to run away. He put a 5″ gap before his first stop, which he maintained even as he extended his second stint. He won by 15 seconds.

The Dutch are crushed again. He has no rival. He won, again, hoping his marriage of success will continue next year. His rivals ended up praying that the opposite would happen, that in an increasingly equal grid, things would also be equal in the fight for victories, which this year has been almost all for Verstappen. Only Pérez, at the start, won two races, and Sainz, in Singapore, achieved the only victory by a non-Red Bull driver. F1 deserves a bigger show in the fight for the jackpot.

Leclerc, brilliant last experiment

Charles, who lost the race, turned his attention to the fight for the Constructors’ World Championship. With Carlos Sainz out of the points as he started 16th (he ended up abandoning on the last lap), the Monegasque had to fight alone for Ferrari’s runner-up position against Mercedes, which started the race 4 points ahead of the Italians. Behind Charles was ‘Checo’ Pérez in the final laps.

Knowing that the Mexican had a 5″ penalty for holding Norris, knowing that Russell was the driver chasing the Mexican, he invented a desperate final play to try to gain the Constructors’ runner-up position by reducing the points to Russell. He asked his engineer. because of the time difference between ‘Checo’ and George and then decided to let Pérez pass.

He knew that if the Mexican didn’t get 5 seconds ahead of him, he would stay in second place and let him pass to try to slow Russell down so that George would stay more than 5 seconds behind the Mexican and thus lose of place. Leclerc tried, but in the end he was 1 second short. Russell was 3rd and Hamilton 9th, enough points to defend a tight 2nd place in the Constructors’ World Championship for Mercedes.

Carlos Sainz could do nothing to help. His qualifying result penalized him too much on a track like this. Their only hope is in some ‘Safety Car’. Therefore, their strategy is based on buying tickets, extending their two stops as much as possible. Starting in the 16th, the points were difficult and they decided to take the maximum risk. By prolonging his first stop, he lost any chance of a comeback. He had to extend his second stop as long as possible with the sole aim that a ‘Safety Car’ would give him wings. But his raffle number did not come out. Luck was not on his side. He ended up making his second stop, forced to put on another tire compound, on the last lap. He did not leave the pits, leaving the 18th position.

Alonso achieved 4th in the World Cup against all odds

Sainz finished 4th in the World Championship, tied 200 points behind Alonso, with Norris 5th and Leclerc 12th. But what happened this Sunday, with Leclerc in 2nd position and Norris 5th, sank to him in that fight. And Alonso, who was the driver who started with the worst weapon in these last races, was surprising, maintaining the 4th position in the World Championship, tied on points with Charles, whom he beat for having more podium this year. Unbelievable. Fernando endured everything and against everything. Just a few races ago it seemed impossible for Fernando not to sink against Charles and the McLarens. Even he didn’t plan to stick around after qualifying. He considered the 4th position defeated and was happy with the 7th. But he did.

Fernando Alonso continued to ride in 7th position and together with his team he had an error-free race to maximize his result. ‘Checo’ Pérez overtook him with a faster Red Bull and, at times, was close to the McLarens, but in the end he was unable to overtake the two Woking cars and fight for 4th in the Constructors for Aston Martin. Norris was 5th and Piastri, 6th. Alonso, 7th, won the final battle against Tsunoda (8th) and, above all, Lewis Hamilton, whom he drove crazy in a hand-to-hand fight after his second stop. Alonso overtook Hamilton as the Asturian left the pits for the last time. Fernando complained about his lead in the straight, but eventually managed to get the car into the Englishman’s position to secure his position.