Abu Dhabi GP: Verstappen victorious yet again as Mercedes pips Ferrari to P2

Max Verstappen continued his ultra-dominant 2023 campaign by scoring his record 19th victory ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who pressured him early on before fading.

Meanwhile, Mercedes narrowly beat Ferrari to second place in the constructors' championship by just 3 points in an eventful race filled with pitstop infringements and a bizarre low-speed collision between Sergio Perez and Lando Norris.

At the start, Leclerc got a great launch to pull alongside polesitter Verstappen but had to settle for P2 after the champ swept around his outside.

Verstappen masterfully managed his medium tires in the opening stint to build a 2s gap while Leclerc struggled with degradation.

By stopping two laps earlier, Verstappen perfectly undercut Leclerc to emerge with the lead up by 4 seconds, virtually securing the win already.

Later on, Mercedes' shrewd strategy to pit Russell again with 15 laps left gave them fresher rubber and crucially, track position over Carlos Sainz’s one-stopping Ferrari.

This late strategic play proved pivotal in their tense battle for P2, with Russell promoted back to 3rd post-race after Perez's penalty.

Red Bull split strategies with Perez starting on hards and running long to aim for a one-stopper while Verstappen managed a two-stop to perfection.

His early undercut gave him control while Perez carved through the field from P9 before his collision with Norris.

Mercedes reacted to Ferrari’s strategy moves by covering their stops but crucially double-stopped Russell late-on to jump Sainz who gambled unsuccessfully on worn hard tires hoping for a safety car.

Leclerc challenging early may have forced Verstappen into stopping earlier than ideal.

Ferrari focusing on Sainz’s one-stopper backfired greatly as he was retired in the end. The team losing out on 3 points to Mercedes was influenced partly by Leclerc gifting Perez P2 unsuccessfully.

In an intense battle for P2 in the standings, Mercedes showed strategic nous to emerge just ahead of Ferrari by 3 points.

Ferrari were left ruing an unsuccessful one-stop strategy for Sainz after Russell, who battled Perez and Leclerc all race long, was promoted back to third at the death.

Earlier, Perez collided bizarrely with Norris while battling for position in a move that got him a penalty and brought Russell into play at the front.

Leclerc allowed Perez past to try unsuccessfully to aid his points gap then chased him home to no avail as Mercedes celebrated beating Ferrari.

2023 Abu Dhabi GP Race Results

Drivers Standings

Team Standings