The 2023 Formula 1 season is nearing its end, but this weekend the racers and teams will come together one last time. At the Yas Marina Circuit, the best F1 drivers get to put their best foot forward for the last time this season. Max Verstappen has won the past three editions of the season finale, although the 2021 edition still leaves a bad aftertaste with many F1 fans. Hopefully we will get a slightly more peaceful edition this year.
Las Vegas
It was the first Grand Prix in Las Vegas since 1982. On the gambling city’s world-famous strip, Max Verstappen once again became champion, bagging victory number 18 of the season. The reigning world champion had to fight hard in this spectacular race, but eventually made it ahead of Charles Leclerc and Sergio Pérez.
Verstappen started from second starting position and had a good start, entering the first corner side by side with Leclerc. They drove each other wide and ended up off track, but Verstappen managed to take the lead. Slightly behind them, Alonso got into a spin, causing problems for several drivers. A virtual safety car was deployed. Shortly after the neutralisation, Lando Norris made a mistake and made a hard crash. Moments later, Verstappen fell back to 11th place due to a time penalty and a pit stop. Pérez then made up many positions and was second, behind Leclerc. Verstappen soon caught up with most of his opponents, capturing the top three in one image a little later. In the closing stages, it became especially exciting in the battle for second place, as Leclerc still found a connection with Pérez and was able to overtake him moments later.
Max Verstappen
The Dutchman is having a very good year, already taking 18 out of 21 GPs. He also became world champion for the 3rd time this year. Given his dominance, the Red Bull racer is also travelling to the final weekend this year as favourite.
In Las Vegas, he did not seem happy, but he still finished in first place. Afterwards, he did complain about the travel schedule. He would like to see another date for the Las Vegas GP, as the world champion (and along with him all other drivers) now have to travel straight on to Abu Dhabi.
Charles Leclerc
The Monegasque did not make things easy for Verstappen in Las Vegas, surprising Sergio Pérez for second place. He also seemed to be on his way to first place, but a safety car brought the two Red Bull racers back into the race. Leclerc achieved five podium finishes on the season, but was not once in first place.
Sergio Pérez
Pérez, like Verstappen, drives for Red Bull Racing. He already achieved 9 podium finishes this year, and his strong race in Las Vegas allowed him to secure the first 1-2 position for Red Bull Racing. He has also won two GPs already, in Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan. In Las Vegas, he was a formidable opponent for Charles Leclerc. The two of them made it exciting, but Leclerc was just able to surprise Pérez and claim second place.
Lewis Hamilton
The Brit is second in the list of favourites. He is also the record holder at the UAE circuit with five wins. In Las Vegas, however, he kept it rather modest, finishing in 7th place. He says himself that he probably could have been in contention for a podium finish had he not been involved in two collisions. Hamilton reached 6 podium finishes this year, but could not win a single one. So the 7-time world champion is underperforming this year.
Programme
After almost nine months and a journey of many tens of thousands of kilometres, the 2023 Formula One season comes to an end in Abu Dhabi. This edition of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will be held on Sunday, November 26. The race will start at 5pm local time. The drivers will then drive 58 laps around the Yas Marina Circuit, measuring some 5.281 kilometres in length.
Two one-hour free practice sessions are scheduled on Friday. The first session will go on at 13:30 local time, the second at 17:00. Qualifying and the race itself will take place under similar conditions, so this last session is the most important. On Saturday, the drivers will be allowed one more hour of practice at 2.30pm in Abu Dhabi. At 6pm local time, final qualifying will begin. On Sunday, November 26, the race starts at 5pm local time.
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