Before the start in Abu Dhabi, most of the cards had already been distributed. The Drivers’ title was assured for Verstappen and Red Bull was sure of the Manufacturers’ triumph. The fight was for the title of vice-world champion between Perez and Leclerc. We knew that the second will be the one who will be the fastest on the last lap.
Verstappen retains the lead after the start, Perez is second, followed by Leclerc. Seven-time Mercedes world champion Lewis Hamilton finished fourth ahead of Spaniard Carlos Sainz Jr. of Ferrari.
There was a “clash” between the two at the start – Sainz attacked Hamilton and he ran off the track. A moment later, the Spaniard gave way to his rival, but the Briton “slept” a little and fell back to fifth place.
After that Verstappen led until the end of the race with others battling behind him. The Mercedes drivers got permission from the team that they could race against each other, in the end George Russell came out on top of the duel, finishing fifth. Hamilton was very unlucky as he had to retire with two laps to go due to car breakdown.
Leclerc emerged victorious from the duel for the title of vice-world champion. His team decided that the Monegasque driver would only make one pit stop and this tactic proved successful. Perez changed tires twice and although he set the fastest lap times in the closing stages, he couldn’t pass Leclerc. He came in third and missed out on the runners-up title by less than 1.5 seconds.
Halfway through the race, with Verstappen leading by more than five seconds over Leclerc, the Monegasque had an acerbic conversation with his engineer. The latter offers him to come back to the pits a second time for a tire change, but the driver declares categorically that he will not return to the pits, because later he will not be able to regain his position. As it turned out later, the driver was right, not his team.
Earlier, Perez asked on the radio if he could catch Leclerc at his current pace. We told him yes. Verstappen said the same on the radio. “Drive as much as you can, the tires will last,” he advised the Mexican.
Perez accelerates, but his defeat against his rival, 10 laps from the end of the race, more than 9 seconds, is impossible to catch up. The Mexican finished third, the second place was appreciated by the Monegasque and the whole Ferrari team.
Four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel of Aston Martin finished in 10th place. The German on his 299th F1 start scored a point and ended his sporting career. From Monday – as he announced – he will go on a very long vacation. What will he do in the future? He hasn’t decided yet.
Drivers from the Alfa Romeo Racing Orlen team failed to score any points in the final race of the season. China’s Zhou Guanyu finished 12th and Finland’s Valtteri Bottas 15th, both one lap behind the winner. In the final standings of the 2022 season, Bottas finished 10th, and Zhou Guanyu – 18th.
Verstappen won the 15th race of the 2022 season and the 35th of his career.
Wyniki GP Abu Zabi: 1. Max Verstappen (Holandia/Red Bull) 1:27.45,914 2. Charles Leclerc (Monako/Ferrari) strata 8,771 s 3. Sergio Perez (Meksyk/Red Bull) 10,093 4. Carlos Sainz Jr. (Hiszpania/Ferrari) 24,892 5. George Russell (W. Brytania/Mercedes) 35,888 6. Lando Norris (W. Brytania/McLaren) 56,234 7. Esteban Ocon (Francja/Alpine) 57,240 8. Lance Stroll (Kanada/Aston Martin) 1.16,931 9. Daniel Ricciardo (Australia/McLaren) 1.23,268 10. Sebastian Vettel (Niemcy/Aston Martin) 1.23,898 ... 12. Zhou Guanyu (Chiny/Alfa Romeo) 1 okrążenie 15. Valtteri Bottas (Finlandia/Alfa Romeo) 1 okrążenie Klasyfikacja końcowa MŚ (po 22 wyścigach): 1. Max Verstappen (Holandia/Red Bull) 454 pkt - mistrz świata 2. Charles Leclerc (Monako/Ferrari) 308 3. Sergio Perez (Meksyk/Red Bull) 305 4. George Russell (W. Brytania/Mercedes) 275 5. Carlos Sainz Jr. (Hiszpania/Ferrari) 246 6. Lewis Hamilton (W. Brytania/Mercedes) 240 7. Lando Norris (W. Brytania/McLaren) 122 8. Esteban Ocon (Francja/Alpine) 92 9. Fernando Alonso (Hiszpania/Alpine) 81 10. Valtteri Bottas (Finlandia/Alfa Romeo) 49 11. Daniel Ricciardo (Australia/McLaren) 37 12. Sebastian Vettel (Niemcy/Aston Martin) 37 13. Kevin Magnussen (Dania/Haas) 25 14. Pierre Gasly (Francja/Alpha Tauri) 23 15. Lance Stroll (Kanada/Aston Martin) 18 16. Mick Schumacher (Niemcy/Haas) 12 17. Yuki Tsunoda (Japonia/Alpha Tauri) 12 18. Zhou Guanyu (Chiny/Alfa Romeo) 6 19. Alexander Albon (Tajlandia/Williams) 4 20. Nicholas Latifi (Kanada/Williams) 2 21. Nyck de Vries (Holandia/Mercedes) 2 Klasyfikacja konstruktorów: 1. Red Bull 759 pkt - mistrz świata 2. Ferrari 554 3. Mercedes 515 4. Alpine 173 5. McLaren 159 6. Alfa Romeo 55 7. Aston Martin 55 8. Haas 37 9. Alpha Tauri 35 10. Williams 8
CM, PAP
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