How Max Verstappen won Abu Dhabi GP to cap historic F1 season
James Holden The 2023 Formula One season ended the way it started. Max Verstappen won the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, moving him to third on the all-time wins list. Here’s what you need to know:
- In a risky move, Charles Leclerc slowed down to let Sergio Pérez pass for second place in the final laps. The Red Bull driver faced a five-second penalty and needed to build a gap to George Russell.
- Mercedes held P2 in the constructors’ standings after both drivers finished in points.
- Ferrari gambled with Carlos Sainz, committing the Spaniard to a two-stop strategy. He started P16 on a set of hard tires and stayed with the compound for his first pit stop. Drivers are required to race on at least two different compounds.
- Yuki Tsunoda needed to finish sixth for AlphaTauri to steal P7 from Williams. The Japanese driver had a dynamic start and led the race for a few laps, but in the end, he brought home eighth — the only driver out of the four to end the season finale in points.
And with that, the 2023 season has come to an end. It’s just 97 days until the lights will go out for the start of 2024.
A record-breaking season deserves a special celebration! 🍩🎆#AbuDhabiGP @Max33Verstappen @redbullracing
— Formula 1 (@F1) November 26, 2023
Verstappen, Red Bull dominant all season
The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix mirrored the usual storyline fans have seen the entire season.
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The race briefly looked as if there would be a fight for the win in the opening lap before Verstappen pulled clear of Leclerc and cruised off into the sunset (literally). The Ferrari driver said, “I obviously wanted to try and get that first place, but we also know that in the race, we lacked some pace compared to them. So, even if I would have passed Max there, I probably would have got overtaken again three or four laps [later]. And at the end, my only target was to beat the Mercedes, so I didn’t want to lose too much tire juice and also time with Max.”
Behind Verstappen, a few battles popped up in what was arguably a rather quiet race that had high stakes for many on the grid. Despite AlphaTauri’s Tsunoda starting sixth, Williams held onto P7 after finishing last in the standings in 2022 and with its biggest points total since 2017. Meanwhile, Mercedes maintained second in the constructors’ championship, which it won by three points over Ferrari, though Leclerc did make a risky move by trying to help Pérez pull five seconds clear of Russell.
“It was tight with Checo at the end,“ the Mercedes driver said. “I thought Charles was going to back me up but respect to him for keeping it clean.”
Verstappen’s victory, though, shouldn’t be overlooked. He made history once again as he became the first driver to lead 1,000 laps in a single F1 season, another instance of him showing no signs of slowing down despite wrapping up the championship several races ago. And the fact Verstappen has been untouchable for a vast majority of the season is still a concern for teams like Mercedes.
“Red Bull won by 17 seconds and they’ve not touched the car since August or July,” Lewis Hamilton said, “so you can pretty much guess where they’re going to be next year.”
Provisional race results
- Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
- Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
- George Russell (Mercedes)
- Sergio Pérez (Red Bull)
- Lando Norris (McLaren)
- Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
- Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
- Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri)
- Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
- Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
- Daniel Ricciardo (AlphaTauri)
- Esteban Ocon (Alpine)
- Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
- Alex Albon (Williams)
- Nico Hülkenberg (Haas)
- Logan Sargeant (Williams)
- Zhou Guanyu (Alfa Romeo)
- Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)
- Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo)
- Kevin Magnussen (Haas)
Required reading
(Photo: Clive Rose / Getty Images)
