The end of the Formula 1 season, as always, is evaluated subjectively by the author.
Yuki Tsunoda – 9.5
Excellent end to the season and four symbolic points for Alpha Tauri in the Constructors’ Championship: Tsunoda became one of the heroes of the weekend. In qualifying, the Japanese took sixth place, showing his best result of the season, and then he was the only one to complete the race with a pit stop and remain in the top ten.
Max Verstappen – 9
On Friday, the world champion had balance problems and felt unsafe on the track, but together with the engineers he overcame all the problems, won the classification and confidently overtook the entire peloton in the race. In theory, we could find fault with the error of the last classification attempt, but we won’t.
Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Results:
Now it’s official: we are witnessing a record dominance in the history of Formula 1!
Carlos Leclerc – 9
Charles took advantage of the unexpected speed of the Ferrari in qualifying, found himself on the front row of the starting grid and really fought with Verstappen for half a lap: the car was no longer enough for him. Towards the end, Leclerc even tried to make a Sainz-style combination and help Pérez, but it was no use. It’s beautiful though!
George Russell – 8.5
At the start, Russell missed Norris and was only able to regain the position after a problem with the McLaren mechanics. Otherwise, George had a great weekend, passing Piastri in time and, despite Leclerc’s best efforts, taking the podium. If the Briton had been lower, Mercedes would have lost second place in the Constructors’ Championship.
Leclerc, Verstappen and Russell on the podium at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
Photo: Clive Rose/Getty Images
Fernando Alonso – 8.5
A good performance at the end of the season brought Alonso to fourth place in the overall standings; Fernando had not been this high in 10 years. In Abu Dhabi, the former champion’s main rival was Tsunoda, and the Spaniard overtook him three laps before the finish line, and before resisted Hamilton. Technology did not allow us to have more.
Lando Norris – 8
Norris made a mistake again at a crucial moment in qualifying and finished fifth on the grid, although he had every chance of starting alongside Verstappen. On the other hand, Lando entered the top three already on the fourth lap and lost the race to Russell due to a hesitation from the mechanics at the pit stop.
The Briton had problems in qualifying before:
The McLaren leader began to make frequent mistakes. Is Norris really a great driver?
Oscar Piastri – 7.5
At Yas Marina, Piastri competed in Formula 2, but still failed to achieve a perfect lap in qualifying. Furthermore, Oscar was once again inferior to Norris in distance and already in the first laps he allowed Lando to take the lead. Otherwise, the debutant held on with dignity and finished in the top six, but lost six seconds to his teammate.
Spear ride – 7
The Canadian was not successful in qualifying: he made mistakes and lost to Alonso in the second segment by almost 0.3 seconds. Due to the low initial position, the strategists decided to take a risk and spend two segments strongly, and for the Canadian, unlike Sainz, the plan worked. Considering the speed of the car, finishing in tenth place is a success.
Stroll seems to have overcome the crisis
Photo: Getty Images
Pierre Gasly – 7
Gasly qualified tenth and at the start he reached eighth place, but then he began to lose momentum due to damage to the rear of the car and after the first pit stops he found himself behind his teammate. Gasly could no longer get out of the bottom half of the pack and finished in a disappointing 13th place.
Alejandro Albon – 7
At Yas Marina, Williams had nothing to brag about. Albon took 14th place in the standings, making it clear that it was almost impossible to get more out of the car, and in the end he finished there, just behind the Alpin drivers. In theory, it would be possible to overtake the French if it weren’t for a bad start, but the top 10 was unattainable.
Max failed to ruin the championship:
But it was a good and interesting F1 season! Yes, yes, we really believe that.
Nico Hulkenberg – 7
Hulk qualified eighth in excellent fashion, although due to his elimination he only completed one lap in practice. Unfortunately, already in the first laps the German fell to 14th place and, despite a fairly decent job with the tires, he did not have the pace to fight for the top 10. Even Albon in Williams, Hulkenberg’s Haas lost more than 10 seconds at the finish line.
Sergio Perez – 6.5
Checo had a chance to finish the season with a podium, but lost it when he went too hard in his fight with Norris. Sergio easily separated himself from Lando by five seconds, but due to a penalty he fell behind Russell in the standings. Qualifying was also not without problems: Pérez made mistakes and blurs in both attempts in Q3.
Pérez created problems again
Photo: Getty Images
Valtteri Bottas – 6.5
Alfa Romeo showed promising pace on Friday, but Bottas qualified only in 18th place. Valtteri decided to risk going the distance with a pit stop, but even before stopping in the pits he began to let those in them pass, and with difficulty stretched the “middle” during the last 25 laps.
Lewis Hamilton – 6
A failure in qualifying (0.35 seconds behind Russell!) predetermined a sad end to the season. In the first segment, Lewis barely managed to establish himself in tenth place, and in the end he lost eighth place in the fight with Alonso, finishing ninth. Although Mercedes, as Russell demonstrated, allowed him to get on the podium.
Verstappen wouldn’t mind Lewis joining:
Did Hamilton ask to join Red Bull? Has the former champion really lost faith in Mercedes?
Esteban Ocón – 6
After a fairly normal qualifying, the strategists decided to take a risk with a pit stop, but for Okon, unlike Tsunoda, this plan did not work out. At some point, Esteban reached the top 10, but in the end he was inferior even to Daniel Ricciardo and did not qualify for points.
Guanyu Zhou – 5.5
The Chinese driver seemed weaker than Bottas throughout the weekend and lost to his teammate in qualifying by almost 0.4 seconds. Zhou was able to overtake Valtteri only thanks to the different tactics of his teammate, but in the end he only took 17th place, losing, among other things, to Logan Sargent. It’s not the best season finale.
Zhou hasn’t been able to face Bottas for two years now
Photo: Getty Images
Daniel Ricciardo – 5
Unlike Tsunoda, Ricciardo did not contribute any points to the team. In qualifying, Dan only took 15th place and for the first time he broke into the top 10, only closer to half the distance. However, after the second pit stop, the Australian did not have enough speed to return to the points group, and in the end Ricciardo finished 0.6 seconds behind the points.
Carlos Sainz – 5
In the season finale everything went wrong for the Spaniard. In qualifying, Carlos failed to make it out of Q1 and blamed the strategists for it, and in the race he was too clever with two tough segments and lost his chances of scoring points even before the inevitable second pit stop. Perhaps, if it were not for an accident in training, the strategists would have learned that two tough matches in a row would not work.
Kevin Magnussen – 4.5
In qualifying, the Dane lost to Hulkenberg by more than 0.3 seconds and was eliminated in Q1 for the twelfth time (Nico, by comparison, only missed the second segment five times). On the fifth lap of the race, Kevin dropped back to last place and eventually finished there, falling behind the Alfa Romeo drivers.
Logan Sargent – 4
The American failed to shine at the end of the season, and even more so, with almost a year of experience in reserve, Logan did not achieve a single fastest lap in qualifying. Starting from the last position, Sargent spent the entire race among the middle drivers and was only able to overtake Magnussen and the Alfa Romeo drivers in the final laps.
Readers’ Choice:
Classification
Who is the worst driver of the Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix?
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