Abu Dhabi GP: Verstappen dominates win as Leclerc secures second
20th November 2022Red Bull’s Max Verstappen won the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in dominant fashion while Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc secured second-place in the championship.
It was a good start from the Red Bull duo of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez, with the former out in front ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton, in P3 and P4 respectively.
While the field worked through the opening corners, Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz forced Hamilton off the track at the opening chicane (at turns six and seven) but the Spaniard quickly relinquished his position.
The incident between both Hamilton and Sainz was noted by the race stewards. Spaniard was noted for forcing Hamilton off the track while the seven-time world champion was noted for leaving the track and gaining an advantage.
Both drivers were let go from race control as the stewards deemed no further action for the incident.
By lap eight, the top six were two-by-two in their order. Verstappen led Perez out in front, Leclerc and Sainz occupied P3 and P4 respectively while Hamilton remained ahead of Mercedes’ George Russell (in P5 and P6).
Esteban Ocon (Alpine) and Yuki Tsunoda (Alpha Tauri), Mick Schumacher (Haas) and Pierre Gasly (Alpha Tauri) peeled into the pit lane to complete their stops on lap 15 – to fit the hard tyres on. A lap later, Perez and Russell veered into the pit lane to swap their medium tyres for the hard compounds.
However, Russell was released into the path of Lando Norris’ McLaren which forced the #4 McLaren to slam the brakes on to avoid a collision. The stewards quickly put the Mercedes driver under investigation.
The British driver was soon given a five-second time penalty for an unsafe release.
As a result of Perez and Russell’s stop, Verstappen remained out in the lead ahead of Leclerc and Sainz respectively. While Russell’s out-lap was cleaner, Perez found himself stuck in traffic – in P7 – which consisted of Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel (P5) and Alpine’s Fernando Alonso (P6). The Mexican driver was able to quickly
Despite the first set of pit stops, Verstappen remained out in the net-race lead. The Dutchman quickly returned to the lead after Lelcerc to pitted from the lead of the race on lap 22.
Vettel was the last driver was pit from the race, on lap 26, to get rid of his worn medium compound tyres for a fresh set of hard tyres. It meant all of the drivers were sat out on track with the white-ringed Hard tyres.
In his final outing for Alpine, Alonso peeled into the pit lane to retire his car on lap 29 ‘with a suspected water leak.’
On lap 34, Perez came in for a second stop to swap his worn hard tyres for a fresh set. Red Bull’s decision, fortunately, allowed the Mexican driver to filter back out onto the circuit without any traffic in his way.
Leclerc was set to come into the pits, in a bid to undercut Perez, but the Monegasque was forced to remain out on track when the Red Bull driver peeled off into the pit lane.
The yellow flag was brought out for the first time, on lap 39, after Schumacher and Williams’ Nicholas Latifi collided at turn five. Schumacher tried to go for a gap but the outgoing WIlliams driver closed the door, in the middle of the corner. As a result, the Haas’ front wing collided with Latifi’s rear-left tyre and spun both drivers out.
Fortunately, both drivers were able to continue on.
The stewards quickly slapped Schumacher with a five-second time penalty for causing a collision.
As Hamilton’s win-steak came to a crashing end – as the only F1 driver to secure a win in every season they have competed in – the seven-time world champion’s car conked out on lap 56.
It was relayed to Hamilton that there was an issue with his hydraulic system as the #44 Mercedes struggled to down-shift. As a result, Hamilton was forced to slowly return to the pit lane to retire from the race.
When the chequered flag fell, on the 2022 season and the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Verstappen cruised to the finish line as Leclerc pipped Perez to the runner-up spot in the championship.
Podium:
- Max Verstappen, Red Bull
- Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
- Sergio Perez, Red Bull
That’s it for the article; Abu Dhabi GP: Verstappen obtains 15th win as Leclerc secures second!
As the season has come to an end, what has been your favourite moment of the 2022 season? Let us know in the comments!
Also, from ApexMotorsports.co.uk…
To mark a fantastic Formula 1 career and four world championships: Danke Seb. You will certainly be missed.
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Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.
I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
Kamron Kent
Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
