Sport

Max Verstappen wins the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix to cap dominant season

It was a record-breaking 19 wins from 22 races for the Red Bull driver

Race winner Max Verstappen of Red Bull. Photograph: Mark Thompson/Getty
Race winner Max Verstappen of Red Bull. Photograph: Mark Thompson/Getty
Giles Richards
Sun Nov 26 2023 - 15:29

Max Verstappen won the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix to finish the 2023 Formula One season with another dominant victory of the type that has led him to a record-breaking 19 wins from 22 races.

In the battle for second in the constructors’ championship, Mercedes came out on top, holding the place over Ferrari who were third. McLaren too held their fourth place in the standings, a major achievement given how slowly they had started the season.

Verstappen won with absolute ease out front from pole, with a 17-second gap over second-placed Charles Leclerc at the flag. With Mercedes’ George Russell and Lewis Hamilton claiming third and ninth and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz out of the points, the Scuderia did not have enough to catch their rivals for second.

Hamilton is under investigation for a pit-lane infringement, involving his pit crew failing to wear correct eye protection during a stop but which will probably involve only a fine for the team rather than any penalty for the driver.

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Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were in fifth and sixth, enough to maintain their lead over Aston Martin and claim fourth. They were off the pace early in the season, sixth and 137 points behind Aston Martin before the Austrian GP but with the upgrades the team brought to the Red Bull Ring, they performed a superb comeback, completed in Abu Dhabi.

In what was another fairly processional affair at the Yas Marina circuit, Verstappen was in a class of his own once more, untroubled out front. Mercedes did well to hold their place, with Russell in particular being nerveless in doing enough to close it out at the last as Red Bull’s Sergio Pérez, who was fourth, charged at the death but to no avail.

Russell had to hold third to Leclerc to seal their place and he did so with no little precision and control. Pérez passed him on lap 54 and was looking to make up five seconds for a penalty imposed on the Mexican after he clashed with Norris.

It was a tense finale. If Russell had finished fourth, with Hamilton in ninth, Ferrari would have claimed the runners-up place, the teams equal on points but Ferrari taking it by virtue of their one win this season.

Pérez made up almost three seconds and Leclerc let him past in a last-gasp effort to help the Mexican but Russell held the place as the laps counted out.

Verstappen’s 54th victory means he has surpassed Sebastian Vettel’s career tally of 53, making the Dutchman the third most successful driver by wins in F1 history behind only Hamilton and Michael Schumacher. During a short period of complete control at the front of the field he has taken a remarkable 34 of those wins in the last two seasons.

He finishes with 19 wins from 22 races, surpassing his own tally of 15 last year and far beyond the previous record of wins in a season of 13 achieved by Sebastian Vettel and Schumacher. He has a superb car, superior to the rest of the field, but it remains an extraordinary achievement of consistency and flawless delivery that it is hard to imagine being equalled. The run includes 10 consecutive wins, between the Miami and Dutch GPs, another record demonstrating immense control.

Red Bull too finish with numbers that are unparalleled. They have won 21 races, beating the previous record held by Mercedes when they gained 19 from 21 in 2016. They might have even pulled off a flawless season but for being off the pace in Singapore, where Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz took the flag. Verstappen has already said that addressing that one weakness is a goal for the team next season, ominous intent indeed for a driver who has been all but untouchable in 2023.

Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll were in seventh and 10th for Aston Martin and Yuki Tsunoda in eighth for AlphaTauri. – Guardian