Despite the tactical attempts of Charles Leclerc and George Russell, Max Verstappen controlled and dominated the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix victory.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc got off to a strong start in the Abu Dhabi F1 GP, but pole sitter Max Verstappen maintained his Red Bull’s lead despite several attempts to get in front of the Monaco. , McLaren’s Oscar Piastri took the lead. Row 3rd place.
McLaren’s Lando Norris was fourth ahead of Mercedes’ George Russell, AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda was sixth, and after several cars tried to pass each other on two straights, the Aston He edged out Martin’s Fernando Alonso and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly.
This meant Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton finished ninth ahead of Red Bull’s Sergio Perez, with the Mexican overtaken by the Briton in the turn one final. However, the Red Bull driver eventually managed to pull the Mercedes driver and Gasly up to eighth place, with Alonso pitting and moving up to seventh place.
While Verstappen led Leclerc, Piastri was under pressure from Norris, who easily passed him. It wasn’t easy for Russell to get past the Australian. He made several attempts in the double DRS zone, but the McLaren driver held his position.
However, Russell’s results weren’t much better, finishing in 4th place. Piastri was under pressure from Tsunoda, with Perez a short distance away in sixth place. Hamilton began to close in on Gasly, but the Frenchman’s accident left Gasly in a vulnerable position.
Hamilton collided with the rear of Gasly, damaging Gasly’s front wing and also damaging the rear of the Alpine. The pit stop game started at the front, with Tsunoda leading the F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix for a few laps before AlphaTauri made a late decision to make a pit stop.
Verstappen got back in front of Leclerc as soon as he pitted, but the third place position was swapped. Norris’ late stop meant he was behind Norris, while Piastri finished fifth ahead of Alonso and Perez. However, the Mexican racer overtook them and took fifth place.
Around the middle of the Grand Prix, Piastri was in 6th place, ahead of Alonso, and Hamilton moved up through the pit stops, finishing 8th in the top 10, ahead of Tsunoda and Ricciardo. Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll finished 11th ahead of Alpine’s Esteban Ocon due to a long first stint.
The loser was Gasly, who was very upset as he felt he was lagging behind Hamilton and Ocon. The Grand Prix continued until the second stop, started by Norris, followed by Russell and Leclerc among the others.
However, Leclerc defended his position on the track ahead of Russell and Norris, and the McLaren driver did not fight as hard for third place as the Ferrari and Mercedes drivers. There was a moment between Alonso and Hamilton that involved the stewards.
Alonso clearly braked Hamilton when he wanted the Briton to pass him before DRS. Stewards decided there was no need for an investigation as the Spaniard was ahead of the Mercedes driver and Ocon was also involved in the dispute.
There was a separate investigation against Hamilton for a pit violation, and Gasly also had to be investigated. At the front, Verstappen was well ahead of Leclerc and Russell, but Norris had to defend hard against Perez in the battle for fourth place.
There were some awkward moments between the two left-handers as Norris was on the outside and Perez wasn’t rotating enough on the inside. This move was investigated, but the Mexican rider rejoined on the next lap and finished fourth.
Piastri finished sixth from Tsunoda, Alonso eighth from Hamilton, and Sainz finished in the top ten, but the Spaniard was forced to stop again. Verstappen, Williams’ Logan Sargent and Alfa’s Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu were also involved in pit stop violations.
This was caused by the mechanic not wearing safety glasses. Meanwhile, Perez was given a five-second penalty for causing a collision that confused the Mexican player, who then began chasing Russell. When Leclerc started playing tactically, he passed him and took third place.
He tried to get past Perez and get in between Russell, but it was all in vain. Verstappen won the F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, beating Leclerc and Russell by 17.993 seconds, but Perez finished second to him, but a penalty ultimately dropped him to fourth.
Unlike Sainz, who appeared to be eliminated on the final lap, Hamilton also picked up points, allowing Mercedes to maintain second place in the overall standings, ahead of Ferrari. Behind Perez, Norris took fifth place ahead of Piastri, while Alonso overtook Tsunoda for seventh place.
The Spaniard, like Leclerc, reached seventh place in the Drivers’ Championship with 206 points. The Japanese driver’s efforts were also in vain after Williams remained seventh in the constructors’ championship, three points behind AlphaTauri.
Kakuda was forced to fight for eighth place as Hamilton tried to overtake him on the final lap, but Stroll moved into the top ten ahead of Ricciardo and the Japanese driver returned to eighth place. Behind him were Ocon and Gasly, with Albon in 14th place with no further points.
Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg was 15th ahead of Williams’ Logan Sargent, Guanyu and Sainz, who were classified despite their pit stops. Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas was in his 19th place ahead of Haas’s Kevin Magnussen, with the last three drivers finishing one lap behind Verstappen’s.
More to come
