Who is the worst driver of the Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix?

Who is the worst driver of the Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix?

Evgeny Kustov November 26, 2023, 23:00 Moscow time Audio version: Your browser does not support the audio element.

What will weigh more: an accident, a terrible tactic or a terrible start?

We continue with our new column: after finishing each F1 race, we invite you to choose the worst driver yourself. Additionally, in this ranking survey we encourage you to evaluate the performance of the drivers on race day, without taking into account qualifications and other sessions. In other words, it turns out to be a kind of “Runner of the Day” award in reverse.

Based on the results of the race at the Abu Dhabi circuit, the editors selected six contenders for the title of worst driver, and now only you can determine the name of the “winner.”

Use the ▼▲ arrows to select and write in the comments why you made this particular decision.

Important: The “Ranking” functionality is available only in the normal version of the “Championship”. If you accessed this material through the search page, you will see a generated list without voting buttons.

Who is the worst driver of the Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix?

Photo: Clive Rose/Getty Images

Sergio Perez

Checo seems to have made a worthy breakthrough, but is it worth praising the owner of the best car in the peloton, who the day before, through his fault, only finished ninth? Sergio would not have made it to our column if it had not been for his clash with Lando Norris in the fight for fourth place. Pérez could well have passed McLaren without incident or penalties, but in the end he lost his place on the podium.

Photo: Mark Thompson/Getty Images

Carlos Sainz

Like Bottas, the Spaniard made the wrong decision to start on hard tyres. Unlike Alfa Romeo, Ferrari quickly decided to switch to a tactic with two pit stops, but the race already broke down in the first segment: Sainz simply did not have enough pace. Perhaps the car has not been fully restored after Friday’s accident, but ultimately this again becomes a question for the driver.

Photo: Clive Rose/Getty Images

Valtteri Bottas

The Finnish driver and his team set an example of meaningless perseverance. Very quickly during the race it became clear that the tactic with a long, very long first segment on hard tires did not work, but the Swiss did not change anything, waiting until the end for a safety car. There was no safety car and Bottas ended up having a disastrous race, finishing 19th behind his teammate.

Photo: Mark Thompson/Getty Images

Kevin Magnussen

After the race, the Dane honestly admitted: the only positive thing is that it was the last stage of the season. On Sunday nothing went right for Magnussen: he made a very early first pit stop, gained nothing thanks to it and ended up suffering for almost the entire race with worn tires. Kevin was the twentieth and last.

Photo: Clive Rose/Getty Images

Nico Hulkenberg

An unpleasant start from the German: Niko accelerated badly, then positioned the car poorly in the first corners and finally fell from eighth to 13th place. To justify Hulk, let’s say that this did not in any way affect the final result: the Haas driver missed everyone who would have been ahead of him anyway. And yet, it is unacceptable to start so badly.

Photo: Mark Thompson/Getty Images

Lewis Hamilton

Of course, the Briton spoiled badly the day before, but still, starting from 11th place, Lewis could have counted on more than just recovering two positions. The Briton crashed a bit strangely into Gasly’s Alpin from behind and then lost two battles at once: first he failed to leave Alonso behind and on the last lap he failed in his attack on Tsunoda.

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