Formula 1 lowered the curtain in Abu Dhabi with one of the most exciting exercises of the season. Although, as has been usual throughout the season, there was no discussion regarding the victory, once again in the hands of Max Verstappen, who has had the best year of any driver in the entire history of Formula 1. His numbers are unmatched and will take many years to be surpassed. In the last race he scored his 19th victory in 22 races, and thanks to this he surpassed Sebastian Vettel and became the third driver with the most wins in history ahead of Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton.
Beyond the abusive dominance of the Dutchman and his unparalleled numbers, in the last race second place in the constructors’ championship was at stake, with Mercedes and Ferrari in the fight, and fourth in the drivers’ championship, with Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz as contenders. And the Grand Prix revolved around those two maxims until the last lap, in which Charles Leclerc, second at that time, let Checo Pérez pass (with a five-second penalty at the end of the race) to try to slow down George Rusell (Mercedes ) and subtract the necessary points for his team to be second.
But the Monegasque’s strategy was wrong, because he did not achieve his objective and Russell added the necessary points for Mercedes to surpass Ferrari by three points, 409 to 406. As if that were not enough, second place did not allow him to be fourth in the World Cup. Finally it was Fernando Alonso, who finished in seventh position, who achieved that place in the drivers’ classification.
The high degradation of the tires was the main concern of all the teams. Most opted for two stops, but there were those, like Tsunoda or Carlos Sainz, who tried to surprise with a single pit-stop, although that strategy proved wrong.
The only time Verstappen felt intimidated all day was at the start. An aggressive Leclerc risked everything he could and came close to overtaking the Dutchman. It was just a couple of laps. Then calm arrived and the champion opened up a gap without apparent difficulties. Behind, Leclerc held on to second place against the odds until Checo allowed himself to be overtaken, who was the one who improved the most compared to the previous day’s classification and finished fourth, behind Russell.
Behind them appeared the McLarens of Norris and Piastri. Their fifth and sixth position closed the discussion about the fourth best team of the year. The promising Aston Martin finished in fifth, although the year for Fernando Alonso was better than good. The seventh position achieved in Abu Dhabi should not obscure the fact that the Asturian has achieved, at 40 years old, nine podiums and three of them second places.
The same could be said of Carlos Sainz, who suffered a lot throughout the weekend and ended up not qualifying for not using the medium tires. But the Madrid native has the honor of being the only non-Red Bull driver to achieve a victory this year. Added to this are three podiums and two pole positions. Great year for Sainz, who finished seventh in the drivers’ championship, but just a breath away from his teammate Leclerc.
