The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
F1 champion Verstappen wins Abu Dhabi for 19th victory of record-breaking year
Max Verstappen’s outstanding season ended with a comfortable victory at the Abu Dhabi on Sunday, earning the Formula One champion a record-extending 19th victory of the campaign and 54th overall to move into third on the all-time list.
Verstappen finished ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Mercedes driver George Russell, and collected a bonus point for the fastest lap. His 54th career win moved him one ahead of former Red Bull great Sebastian Vettel, with only Michael Schumacher (91) and Lewis Hamilton (103) left ahead of him.
“What an incredible year,” Verstappen said after crossing the line.
Red Bull won 21 of 22 races this season, with Sergio Perez claiming two wins. “It will be very hard to have another season like this,” Verstappen said.
“You’ve smashed it out of the park this year,” Red Bull team principal Christian Horner told Verstappen on the radio. “We’re all incredibly proud of you.”
Perez was second overall this season to give Red Bull a 1-2, but the Mexican driver finished 290 points behind Verstappen. Perez crossed the line in second place Sunday but dropped to fourth because of a five-second time penalty following an incident with Mclaren’s Lando Norris.
Leclerc let Perez go past him on the final lap in the hope that Perez would finish more than five seconds ahead of Russell, with Mercedes and Ferrari both fighting for second place in the constructors’ championship. With Russell’s teammate Hamilton finishing ninth for two points and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz Jr. out of the points, Mercedes clinched second behind Red Bull in the constructors’ table. “Unfortunately it wasn’t enough,” said Leclerc, after his third podium in the past four races. “It’s just a shame we finished third in constructors ... we didn’t achieve that but I want to thank the team for doing such incredible work.”
Mercedes beat Ferrari by just three points, and while Sainz is the only other driver to win a race this season — in Singapore two months ago — his failure to score in Abu Dhabi proved costly for Ferrari.
At the end, Russell delivered. “It means a huge amount, there’s so many people back at the factory who have worked so hard to achieve this, it’s been a really challenging season,” Russell said after only his second podium this season.
Hamilton placed third in the standings but the seven-time F1 champion finished without a victory for a second straight year.
Verstappen started from pole position for the 12th time this season, more than twice as many as any other driver — with Leclerc alongside him and Oscar Piastri third.