Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and F1 Championship review

By Oli Dickson Jefford

The Formula 1 season came to a thrilling, dramatic and hugely controversial end at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Sunday - and have any of us quite recovered yet?

Max Verstappen won his first world title with a final-lap overtake of Lewis Hamilton that came about in unprecedented circumstances, with Hamilton and Mercedes forced to settle for the consolation of taking an eighth straight Constructors’ Championships.

 

Verstappen and Hamilton’s duel aside it was a dramatic race elsewhere, with several surprises and mini-battles during and settled by the Grand Prix.

 

Verstappen pips Hamilton: how it unfolded

It had been one of the most dramatic seasons in history and just the second time in F1 history that the two leading drivers were tied heading into the final race.

 

The Dutchman picked up a surprise pole with an astonishing performance in qualifying, but at the start of the race it was Hamilton who immediately went to the front.

 

There was controversy early on when Verstappen attempted an overtake and Hamilton retained his lead by cutting a corner, though the stewards ruled that the seven-time champion did not have to give the place back.

 

After that, Hamilton built up a solid lead ahead of his rival and it looked as if the seven-time champion would win an outright record eighth title throughout much of the rest of the grand prix.

 

There was one moment where Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez was able to hold off the Brit and allow Verstappen to gain ground after the two main protagonists had pitted.

 

Perez defended admirably, but eventually Hamilton did get past and rebuilt his lead, and despite his tires tiring out it appeared he would comfortably fend off his rival.

 

That was until Williams’ driver, Nicholas Latifi, crashed after his tyres picked up dust following a duel with Haas’ Mick Schumacher and the safety car was brought out with five laps to go.

 

Mercedes decided to keep Hamilton out on his worn tyres, while Verstappen pitted for a third time to give himself the best chances of making up ground.

 

And then- rather sensationally- race director Michael Masi reversed his original decision and allowed the lapped drivers between the two to move ahead of Hamilton, leaving the two together with one lap to go.

 

Verstappen had the fresher tyres and used his advantage superbly, overtaking his rival in the final lap and holding off any charge from Hamilton to claim race and championship victory.

 

What else happened?

All eyes were understandably on Hamilton and Verstappen, but completing the podium was third-placed Carlos Sainz who performed incredibly well all weekend.

 

The Ferrari driver finished ahead of both AlphaTauri drivers, with Yuki Tsunoda ending his rookie season with a career-best fourth place and Pierre Gasly ending his impressive season with fifth place.

 

Valtteri Bottas couldn’t finish higher than sixth in his final race for Mercedes, with Lando Norris recovering to finish in seventh after a late puncture and Alpine drivers Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon in eighth and ninth respectively.

 

Charles Leclerc rounded out the top ten, with Sebastian Vettel and Daniel Ricciardo just missing out on the points.

 

It was a disappointing end to Kimi Raikkonen’s career as he was forced to retire, while his teammate Antonio Giovinazzi also retired in what was likely his last F1 race.

 

And George Russell also had to retire in his final race for Williams ahead of his move to Mercedes.

 

How it leaves the championship

The record books will show Verstappen finished in first place with 395.5 points, with Hamilton trailing in second place with 387.5 points.

 

And though Mercedes are still likely to challenge the result amid the controversy, it is unlikely that will change.

 

Bottas sealed third place with 226 points while Perez- who eventually retired from yesterday’s race- finished fourth with 190 points.

 

Sainz’s superb podium finish yesterday saw the Ferrari driver seal fifth with 164.5 points, with McLaren’s Norris sixth in 160 points and Charles Leclerc just a point behind in seventh for Ferrari.

 

Riccardo finished eighth in his first season with McLaren, with Gasly finishing an impressive ninth and Alonso rounding out the top ten in his return to F1.

 

Mercedes comfortably sealed the Constructors Championship in the end, finishing with 613.5 points ahead of Red Bull’s 585.5 points.

 

Ferrari sealed an impressive third place with 323.5 points, adding to the excitement, with optimism about just how well Leclerc and Sainz could do in the next generation of cars debuting next season.

McLaren finished a solid campaign in fourth place on 275 points, with Alpine ending their debut season in fifth and AlphaTauri in sixth.

 

Aston Martin’s disappointing campaign ended in seventh place with Williams in eighth, Alfa Romeo in ninth and Haas the only team not to get any points.

 

In 96 days, it will all start again at the 2022 Bahrain Grand Prix.

Photo Credit: Getty Images