Leclerc takes second place in the championship
Max Verstappen has ended a mighty Formula 1 season in style with his fifteenth victory this year. Teammate Sergio Pérez failed to take second place in the championship. That went to Charles Leclerc, who narrowly trumped Pérez for P2 in Abu Dhabi.
After fourteen previous victories this year, Max Verstappen also won the Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi and ends the year with fifteen victories. Verstappen already secured title prolongation in Japan at the beginning of last month.
In the final race on the Yas Marina circuit, however, it was mainly about second place in the World Cup standings behind the unapproachable Verstappen. Sergio Pérez, Verstappen’s teammate at Red Bull, and Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc both entered the 22nd grand prix of the season with 290 points. Leclerc managed to stay just ahead of Pérez in Abu Dhabi and finished second in both the race and the championship.
For Lewis Hamilton, his first F1 season without wins ended with a downer. The Brit retired with a handful of laps to go and saw P4 pass by, partly because of that. Carlos Sainz eventually crossed the line in fourth. Hamilton’s teammate George Russell was fifth.
The 2023 Formula 1 season starts on the weekend of March 5. Then it’s time for the Bahrain Grand Prix.
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– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl