Abu Dhabi GP: Max completes domination

Max Verstappen won the final race in Abu Dhabi in a smooth way. Charles Leclerc finished P2 but couldn’t get P2 for Ferrari.

Mega Max in Abu Dhabi

As what we have expected to see in almost of the races this season, Max Verstappen started from Pole and zoomed off in the horizon without looking back at all. Charles LeClerc tried to get ahead in the beginning but Max bossed him around. To Charles’ credit he did manage to stick around Max but no way was he in a situation to overtake.

Max completes his absolute domination, winning his record-breaking 19th win of the season in Abu Dhabi. It is a record with looks difficult to break in the near future. He also became the first driver to lead for 1000 laps in a season. He would thoroughly cherish the victories and enjoy the season break.

Checo as always did not start from a place deserving of the RB19 car. Still he managed to get past many drivers to finish behind Max. However a 5-second penalty for bumping in George meant that the final position was P4. He needs to get himself together and look towards a fresh start in 2024. Thankfully Red Bull doesn’t have a solid replacement for him, else his position was in trouble.

Mercedes gets the P2 position

George had a season to forget, in fact he himself mentioned that it was the worst season of his career. But the last race in Abu Dhabi did redeem him a bit and he will go in the winter season as a happy man. George made the most of his not-the-best Mercedes car and managed to get the final podium position which ensured that Mercedes edged ahead of Ferrari. Lewis had a race – and a season to forget. While he made the most of the car given to him, he still couldn’t get past Checo and finished P3. Abu Dhabi was a race to forget for him and he finished outside the points.

LeClerc works his magic in the race

It was surprising to see how efficiently and smoothly LeClerc was running his Abu Dhabi race, maintaining his P2 position, while his team-mate struggled the entire weekend. Charles tried his best to keep George Russell at bay but George still snatched the podium position and got the respectable P2 for Mercedes in the constructors.

2023 final points : Max cappped a brilliant season in Abu Dhabi