F1 LIVE: Abu Dhabi Grand Prix result and reaction as Max Verstappen wins after Lewis Hamilton retires
Max Verstappen celebrated his second title with a victory at the final race of the season as Charles Leclerc beat Sergio Perez to second place
Max Verstappen completed his championship year by taking victory at Formula 1’s season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – as Lewis Hamilton’s record of winning in every season of his career went up in smoke when he retired with three laps remaining.
Verstappen finished 8.7 seconds clear of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who made a one-stop strategy work to secure runner-up spot in the standings, ahead of Sergio Perez. The Red Bull driver stopped one more time than Leclerc, but failed to catch the Monegasque in the closing stages and finished third. Carlos Sainz was fourth for Ferrari with Hamilton’s teammate George Russell fifth, leaving Mercedes behind the Italian team and third in the constructors’ championship.
Verstappen snatched victory from Hamilton a year ago to claim his maiden title in the most contentious of circumstances, but the Dutch driver has been the standout performer of 2022 and his win here under the thousands of bulbs that light up the Yas Marina Circuit was his 15th from 22 appearances. Hamilton left Abu Dhabi at the end of last season pondering if he would ever return, so aggrieved was he by Michael Masi’s officiating of the decider that cost him a record eighth crown. The seven-time world champion decided against retirement, but he will head into this season’s winter break having failed to register a single win – the first time that has happened in his career, which began in 2007 – and reflecting on a DNF that summed up a sour campaign. Elsewhere, Lando Norris finished sixth for McLaren, with teammate Daniel Ricciardo ninth in his last race for the British team. Sebastian Vettel started ninth and finished 10th in his final F1 appearance.
Follow all the reaction with our live blog below.
F1 LIVE: Abu Dhabi Grand Prix updates
Full race report:
Max Verstappen wins Abu Dhabi GP to crown second F1 world title
Leclerc held off Perez in the final moments to claim second place in the drivers’ championship, while Hamilton failed to finish and Vettel claimed a point in his last F1 race
F1 LIVE: Abu Dhabi Grand Prix updates
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F1 LIVE: Abu Dhabi Grand Prix updates
Vettel: “I wish it would have been a couple more points, but I enjoyed the race.
“It was a bit of a different warm-up today, but then it’s full-on race mode.
“I’m sure I’m gonna miss this more than I understand right now.”
F1 LIVE: Abu Dhabi Grand Prix updates
Verstappen, who is booed: “It was a good race, it was all about tyre management.
“Incredible to win again here, 15th win of the season is unbelievable.
“I know it’s gonna be hard to replicate something like this, but it’s also motivation for next year.”
F1 LIVE: Abu Dhabi Grand Prix updates
Leclerc: “I was 110 per cent from first lap to last lap.
“I knew the only opportunity to beat ‘Checo’ [Perez] today was with a different strategy.
“I really hope next year we can do a step forward with the championship.
“We still need to improve in terms of race pace.”
F1 LIVE: Abu Dhabi Grand Prix updates
Perez: “At the end of the day, I’ve got to be happy, you know? I gave it my all.
“We had great moments, great battling [this season], I struggled a bit in terms of managing the tyres. Hopefully that can be something we improve for next year and generally come back stronger.”
F1 LIVE: Abu Dhabi Grand Prix updates
1. Verstappen
2. Leclerc
3. Perez
4. Sainz
5. Russell
6. Norris
7. Ocon
8. Stroll
9. Ricciardo
10. Vettel
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