Red Bull’s Max Verstappen won the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi as Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc beat team-mate Sergio Perez to secure second place in the championship.
Leclerc, who was Verstappen’s title rival earlier this year before Ferrari’s season imploded in a flood of errors and reliability issues, held off Perez on divergent strategies to take second place.
Sebastian Vettel’s last race ended in disappointment, with the four-time champion lamenting what he saw as poor strategy by Aston Martin.
Vettel took the final point for 10th after Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes pulled away from fourth place with three laps to go.
Hamilton’s result means he finished a season without a win for the first time in his career – ending a record he alone held.
Verstappen’s victory was his 15th of 2022, extending the new record he set this year for wins in a single season.
“It was a good race,” Verstappen said. “It was all about tire management. I think we dealt with the mediums pretty well and then the hard tires until the end.
“A 15th win of the season is incredible. It’s been really nice to work with the whole team and to be able to achieve something like this. I know it’s going to be difficult to replicate but it’s also a very good motivation to try and do well again next year.”
Vettel’s 299th and final race deservedly ended in the points, although it could and should have been so much better for the German after qualifying five places ahead of team-mate Lance Stroll but finishing two places. behind the Canadian in the race.
The 53-time race winner’s one-stop strategy worked against him, but the point was at least rewarding at the end of a tribute-strewn weekend for the 35-year-old retiree.
“You know how it is. I wish I could have gotten a few more points. I enjoyed the race. A little different warm up to get to the race but when the lights went out it wasn’t than racing,” Vettel said.
“It’s a great day, a big thank you to everyone. Lots of smileys is good. I’m sure I’ll miss it more than I feel right now.”
Verstappen dominates as Leclerc wins consolation of second
Verstappen dominated the race and his victory was never in doubt, but the fight between Leclerc and Perez made the race tense.
Ferrari chose a one-stop strategy for Leclerc, the same as Red Bull with Verstappen, while Perez stopped twice.
That left the Mexican coming back from a 23-second deficit in the final 24 laps should he beat Leclerc in a fight that would be decided by who finishes ahead, as they went into the race tied on points.
Perez closed in on the Ferrari to within a second of a lap and more for a while, but Leclerc deftly measured his tires to cross the line 1.3 seconds ahead.
Many will think he deserves second place in the championship, as he had an outstanding season, winning three races to Perez’s two, and had an inferior car to Perez for the vast majority of the year.
“We got it,” Leclerc told the radio, obviously delighted. “Good job guys.”
It was small consolation for Leclerc in a season where he was 46 points ahead of Verstappen after just three races only to see his hopes evaporate in the next few events as Ferrari suffered a series of strategic errors and breakdowns. of engine.
But Ferrari has for once succeeded in its strategy in Abu Dhabi.
They resisted the temptation to stop just after Perez was delayed on his first stop and then traffic when he reappeared – which would have given Leclerc a chance to stop next time and take second place.
Instead, they stuck to their pre-race plan of a one-stop strategy, and even faked a pit stop to lure Perez, and made the one-stop shop work.
It was biting for a while for Leclerc, especially as Perez lost chunks of his lead for several laps after his second pit stop, but he remained calm and held on.
“It was good, I was 100% sure we could do it,” Leclerc said. “We had a perfect race for us. I knew the only way to beat Checo was with tire management and strategy, we had one stop and it really worked.
“I really hope that next year we can take a step forward in the championship – we will continue through the winter break to catch up with Red Bull.”
A difficult end for Mercedes
Hamilton had a spectacular start to the race. He passed Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari off the line, only for the Spaniard to pass him back at the chicane at the end of the first long straight.
Hamilton then bounced off the curbs of the corner, throwing the car about a meter into the air before crashing backwards. Hamilton believed the car suffered damage, but Mercedes could not initially see any.
Hamilton cut the chicane and re-entered the track ahead of Sainz, only to be told he had to surrender the position a few laps later.
Hamilton began to complain of a loss of power and, alongside his tires overworking on his first attacking laps, he lost pace and began to slip back and lose a place to team-mate George Russell.
Russell himself then had dramas, suffering a late pit stop, which led to a dangerous exit in which he nearly collided with McLaren’s Lando Norris, and for which he received a penalty of five seconds.
Despite his early problems, Hamilton was on course to finish fourth on a one-stop strategy like Verstappen and Leclerc until he suffered a hydraulic failure in the closing stages.
This promoted Sainz and Russell to fourth and fifth ahead of Alpine’s Norris and Esteban Ocon, which meant Alpine’s fourth place in the constructors’ championship was confirmed, ahead of McLaren and behind Mercedes.
