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What happened last time out in Abu Dhabi? A recap of the 2023 season finale
The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix joined the F1 calendar in 2009, and apart from 2011, 2012 and 2013, it has been the Grand Prix to round out the year, and it will continue to do so until 2030 at the earliest. In 2023, that was the case, and in the season finale, second place in the constructors' championship and some huge prize money was the big battle, with that fight happening between Mercedes and Ferrari.
Verstappen and Red Bull cap off a record-breaking season
Of course, at the front of the grid, as it had been for the whole of 2023, was the unbeatable Max Verstappen and his RB19. For one final time in the season, he took pole position and waltzed to race victory by some 18 seconds, winning his 19th race of the season out of 22 Grands Prix, breaking Alberto Ascari's record of the highest win rate that he set in 1952, with the Dutchman winning 86.36% of races in 2023.
Verstappen also collected 21 podiums in 22 races, yet another record broken by the now 27-year-old, the kind of dominance that has never been seen on the track, and it may never be seen ever again. Red Bull won 21 out of the 22 Grands Prix in the 2023 season, breaking the record for the highest percentage of Grand Prix wins by a team in just one season with 95.45%.
Mercedes hang on to P2 in the constructors'
Behind Verstappen and Red Bull in their respective championships, the battle was on. Lewis Hamilton was set to take P3 in the drivers standings behind Verstappen and Sergio Perez, but in the constructors' championship, it was all to play for between Mercedes and Ferrari.
Charles Leclerc qualified in P2 behind Verstappen, while George Russell took P4. Behind them, Hamilton was only fast enough for P11 around the Yas Marina Circut, while it was an even worse performance from Carlos Sainz, unable to make it out of Q1 by only going 16th fastest.
Leclerc held onto P2 from the start, as did Russell from P3, but Hamilton was able to move up to P9 as the race neared its end, meaning Mercedes were ahead of Ferrari by just three points. Sainz found his way up to P10 at one stage, but he had not made his mandatory pit stop. As a result, he dropped back down the order and out of the points, with a safety car not coming to his aid.
There could have been one after Perez battled with Lando Norris for fourth place in the final ten laps of the Grand Prix. During their battle, they banged wheels, and it was the Red Bull driver who was guilty of colliding with the Brit, resulting in a five-second penalty. The Mexican did overtake Russell as the race neared its end, but the Mercedes driver stayed within five seconds, meaning he moved back up to third as the penalty was applied.
Leclerc finished comfortably in P2, and the Monegasque driver deliberately slowed down to give Perez a slipstream and create the five-second gap between himself and Russell, but he could not do that. As a result, Mercedes hung on and took P2 in the constructors' championship by three points.
Alonso finishes with best season in ten years
One of the stories of the season was the brilliant pace of Fernando Alonso and Aston Martin in 2023. The Spaniard moved to the British team from Alpine, and although there were no wins for him, he earned eight podiums throughout the season, the most on the grid behind the two Red Bull drivers.
As a result of some brilliant performances, he was able to score 206 points which was good enough for P4 in the drivers' standings, giving him his best result in F1 since he came runner up in the 2012 and 2013 seasons for Ferrari. Leclerc finished level on points with Alonso, but due to tiebreaking rules, the Spaniard finished ahead of the Monegasque driver.
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