Well, we have made it. Formula One is over for another year. But, before we log off for the Winter Break, there's the matter of recapping the somewhat-entertaining Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, where numerous championship positions would need deciding on and Max Verstappen ending the season how he started, starting on pole position. Also, continuing his streak of front row starts is Charles Leclerc, lining up second for Ferrari. With everyone lined up on the grid and the formation lap completed, for the final time in 2023, it's lights and away we go. (Crofty does it better than me.)
It's not the easiest of starts for Verstappen as he goes into turn one with Leclerc climbing all over the back of him. After his mistake in qualifying, Lando Norris passes fellow Brit - George Russell, for fourth, while further back, Pierre Gasly moves his Alpine further up the grid, passing the faster cars of Lewis Hamilton and Sergio Perez, both of who had poor qualifying performances. As the leaders head towards turn five, Leclerc attempts a move on Verstappen. However, the Red Bull driver defends with all his might, leaving the Ferrari to drop back into the clutches of Oscar Piastri's McLaren, who then tries his move, with the aid of DRS, on lap three. The Australian cannot get by and is instead passed by Norris, his own teammate, who has just posted the fastest race lap thus far.
Lap five and the first driver comes into the pitlane. It's Kevin Magnussen pitting for Haas. He locked up his tyres on the previous lap which could explain why he is in so early. He swaps his medium compound for hards and returns to the track. By lap seven, other drivers start to complain of degredation, with Alpha Tauri bringing in Daniel Ricciardo for his stop due to a tear off in one of his brake ducts. It gets removed and he is on his way once again. On track, Verstappen is 1.5 seconds clear of Leclerc. The closer racing seems to be at the back of the field with Magnussen, Logan Sargeant, Alexander Albon and Zhou Guanyu, all noted for forcing each other off the track. However, they all get away with it.
On lap nine, Russell tries a move on Piastri but ends up running wide at turn nine. Lelerc and Norris, sitting in second and third respectively, have had their most recent lap times deleted for, you guessed it, track limits. McLaren are on the radio to Piastri, praising him for his good tyre management. As they say that, Russell makes the move again, this time making it stick and moving himself up to fourth. With Russell leaving Piastri behind, the McLaren is now falling into the clutches of Alpha Tauri's Yuki Tsunoda. Another driver on the move is Perez, passing Gasly for eighth, as he attempts to salvage his weekend.
More pitstops and this time it's Fernando Alonso who's followed in by Oscar Piastri the following lap. They both ditch the medium tyre for the hard and find themselves back on track side by side. Using DRS, Alonso tries to pass at turn six but the McLaren locks up his fresh tyres, stopping the Spaniard from passing. Meanwhile further pitstops take place for Nico Hulkenberg, Zhou, Norris and Russell. However, it's disaster for Norris with a slow stop, handing his on track net position to Russell. Despite the pitstops all around them, Verstappen and Leclerc choose to carry on.
Hamilton and Gasly are now battling in the mid-field. They make slight contact after Gasly locks up into turn six, damaging Hamilton's front wing. The latter pits at the end of the lap for fresh rubber, he doesn't change his front wing. Verstappen and Leclerc also pit, handing the lead to Tsunoda. Perez and Gasly are the next to come in, but Gasly is the real loser here, being jumped by his teammate while he is in for new tyres. "I don't get how you can undercut me with the other car [Ocon]," Gasly tells Alpine over team radio. Teammate Esteban Ocon, originally a number of positions behind, pitted numerous laps ago.
Carlos Sainz, who was out in Q1 in qualifying, is yet to pit and is passed by Verstappen. The Ferrari team advise him to let Leclerc by, which he does. Verstappen, after also passing Lance Stroll, is back up to second, on the hunt for Tsunoda and the race lead. The gap is currently 3.4 seconds. As one Red Bull edges closer to the lead, the other one, Perez, posts the fastest lap of the race.
More pitstops are triggered when race leader Tsunoda dives into the pitlane. With the hards now fitted, he returns to the track down in twelfth. After going long by starting on the hards, Sainz also pits, fitting another set of hards. That's a two stop confirmed. Meanwhile, Perez is still flying, diving by Alonso at turn six to take sixth from the Aston Martin driver.
With everyone, bar Bottas, now on new tyres, the order is looking somehwhat back to normal. Verstappen leads with a 5.3 seconds lead over Leclerc and Russell, who complete the top three. Gasly is still having issues after being jumped by his teammate in the pits. "Where are we losing time? Why are we so **** slow?" He is told that he picked up some damage in his earlier clash with Hamilton, which is now hindering his race pace.
Several drivers are now making moves through the field. Tsunoda is let through by teammate; Ricciardo, who is then passed by Stroll. Sainz is past Hulkenberg for a miserable fifteenth and Perez, still flying, makes it past the McLaren of Piastri. Meanwhile, Bottas finally makes his stop, swapping his hard tyres for the mediums. This triggers yet more pitstops with several drivers, including Norris, Russell and Leclerc, coming in to cover themselves from any impending undercut. With a number of front runners coming in, this has given Perez the jump into second. His teammate, Verstappen, is happily chipping away while in the lead. He tells the team; "You can box Checo ahead of me if you want."
Going down the straight, Hamilton passes Alonso for eleventh. "We have the slowest car on the straight by far!", is the Aston Martin driver's complaint. However, Hamilton is less than impressed with the Spaniard, accusing him of brake testing as he (Alonso) exited the pits ahead of the Mercedes driver. Replays show that Alonso did indeed slow before the braking zone heading into turn five. The stewards note the incident who decide that no further investigation is neccessary.
It's taken some time but the first black and white flag has been shown for track limits. Albon is the unlucky recipient. Looking at the Championship standings, Ferrari are currently ahead of Mercedes. However, they still need to pit Sainz who has been told; "Try to go as long as possible. Waiting for a safety car." Elsewhere, Red Bull bring in Perez for his final stop. he returns to the track in sixth. But, with fresher rubber than those around him, he could be about to prove that Red Bull does, in fact, give you wings. Tsunoda, in the sister Red Bull car, is instead on a one-stop strategy and is starting to struggle, Norris and McLaren make their way past the Alpha Tauri for fourth. Verstappen pits from the lead, returning to the track, well, in the lead.
Race control have been pretty busy noting incidents this evening, with Hamilton their next victim, for a pit stop infringement. Perez is still on a mission to finish the race on the podium, he passes a struggling Tsunoda for fifth, still with some way to go. Sainz, still waiting for that safety car, is also struggling on his tyres. He has just has his eighth place taken by Alonso. As for Hamilton and his pitstop infringement, he has been joined by Gasly who will be investigated for the same thing, after the race.
Perez is now within DRS range of Lando Norris. He dives down the inside at turn six, making contact with the McLaren, forcing him onto the run off area. Norris retains his position, but did he gain an advantage? The Red Bull tries again the next time around, but this time making it stick, cleanly. He is up to fourth. However, it's not all good news as he also finds himself under investigation for the clash with Norris the lap before. As for Hamilton and Gasly; Verstappen, Sargeant and Zhou have now joined the frame. All their pitstop infringements reportedly refer to their pitcrews not wearing the required eye protection during the pitstops. In the meantime, Perez has been slapped with a five second time penalty. Despite this, he's now onto the back of Russell and passes into turn nine. If he can build a five second gap then the podium is his.
After being told about Perez's penalty, Leclerc suggests he drops back to allow the Red Bull to overtake and build a five second gap to Russell. As friendly as this sounds, it's all in the plan to help Ferrari gain second in the Constructors Championship. If Russell fails to finish on the podium, Ferrari have done it. As for the second Ferrari, he finally pits on the penultimate lap, but doesn't return to the track. He's the first retirement of the race.
Onto the last lap and Leclerc has let Perez through. They are currently three seconds clear of Mercedes which, right now, is not enough. Verstappen, still out front, comes around the final corner to take the last win of the season. Perez comes through in second, ahead of Leclerc, but it's not enough. The Red Bull misses the five second gap by one second and falls to fourth. Leclerc takes second and Russell third, handing second place in the Championship to Mercedes. Norris and Piastri come home in fifth and sixth for McLaren. Then comes Alonso, Tsunoda, Hamilton and Stroll, as the final point scorers for 2023.
So, there we have it folks. The 2023 F1 season is complete. Love them or hate them, there is no denying that Verstappen and Red Bull have achieved wonders this season, winning every race bar one. Nineteen of those were Verstappen alone.
What does 2024 hold for us? We have some time to wait but it will be worth it!
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