Tag: Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix results: Verstappen wins last race of year

Mercedes held on to its position in the Constructors Championship and Max Verstappen ended 2023’s F1 like we all knew he would.

The 2023 Formula 1 season ended as it started — and reflected how it was for the entire year.

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen completed the most dominant season in the history of the sport, winning his 19th race of the year in Abu Dhabi. Verstappen won a staggering 86% of his races in Formula 1, breaking the record for highest winning percentage in a season and also nabbing the record for most consecutive wins in the middle of the year with 12. Verstappen finished his historic campaign with 575 points, 290 points more than Sergio Perez in second place.

There was more on the line than just Verstappen’s race, though. The most notable battle heading into Sunday’s grand prix in the desert was for second place in the Constructors Championship, with Mercedes and Ferrari both having a chance at it. Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz qualified just 16th on Saturday, and it may have cost the Prancing Horse — he finished 15th on the day, and with Charles Leclerc finishing in second but George Russell coming in at third after a Sergio Perez time penalty, Mercedes was able to keep their position in second by three points over Ferrari to end the year. There was also a small chance that Aston Martin could have taken fourth place in the Constructors Championship from McLaren, but Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri finished fifth and sixth respectively to ensure that did not happen.

Here is how the final race of the 2023 F1 season shaped out:

  1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
  2. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
  3. George Russell (Mercedes)
  4. Sergio Perez (Red Bull) [+5 seconds]
  5. Lando Norris (McLaren)
  6. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
  7. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
  8. Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri)
  9. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
  10. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
  11. Daniel Ricciardo (AlphaTauri)
  12. Esteban Ocon (Alpine)
  13. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
  14. Alexander Albon (Williams)
  15. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)
  16. Nico Hulkenberg (Haas)
  17. Logan Sargeant (Williams)
  18. Guanyu Zhou (Alfa Romeo)
  19. Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo)
  20. Kevin Magnussen (Haas)

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Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Qualifying: Verstappen takes pole, Leclerc follows behind

It’s Max Verstappen’s world, and we’re all just living in it.

It may be the last race of the season, but Red Bull driver Max Verstappen didn’t let up in qualifying.

Verstappen took pole for his historic 12th pole of the season in Abu Dhabi on Saturday, ensuring a front-row start. He was joined by Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc in second and McLaren rookie Oscar Piastri in third, a varied top three for the session.

The session was also largely affected by track limits. Williams driver Logan Sargeant looked to have gotten to Q2 with two laps in Q1, but both were deleted and he will start from 20th. Red Bull driver Sergio Perez was also set to start in fifth after his lap, but that lap was also deleted and he will start in ninth. There was some other minor controversy during the session, as Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz believed he was blocked by an Alpine car during his hot lap that saw him qualify just 16th but it was determined that he was a full throttle for the incident.

Here is how qualifying shaped out during the last race of the season:

  1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) [1:23.445]
  2. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) [1:23.584]
  3. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) [1:23.784]
  4. George Russell (Mercedes) [1:23.778]
  5. Lando Norris (McLaren) [1:23.816]
  6. Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri) [1:23.968]
  7.  Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) [1:24.084]
  8. Nico Hulkenberg (Haas) [1:24.108]
  9. Sergio Perez (Red Bull) [1:24.171]
  10. Pierre Gasly (Alpine) [1:24.548]
  11. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) [1:24.359]
  12. Esteban Ocon (Alpine) [1:24.391]
  13. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) [1:24.422]
  14. Alexander Albon (Williams) [1:24.439]
  15. Daniel Ricciardo (AlphaTauri) [1:24.442]
  16. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) [1:24.738]
  17. Kevin Magnussen (Haas) [1:24.764]
  18. Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo) [1:24.788]
  19. Zhou Guanyu (Alfa Romeo) [1:25.189]
  20. Logan Sargeant (Williams) [No Time]

How every rookie fared in FP1 at the 2023 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

11 rookies took place in FP1 on Friday in Abu Dhabi, and you can see how they did here:

Free Practice 1 of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix took place on Friday, and there may have been a few names you didn’t recognize coming out on the track.

There were 11 rookies that took place in the proceedings, as is a normal tradition for what will be the last F1 race of the year. Many of these drivers will also take part in Formula 1 testing at Abu Dhabi next Tuesday, so it’s good for teams to make sure their young participants get some seat time before then and get them used to the car.

Here are all 11 rookies that took part in FP1, ranked from fastest to slowest during the session: