[ad_1]
Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen took advantage of the pole position he won in qualifying, led from start to finish and won the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, his last in F1 this season. It was only the Dutchman’s second win of the year (the 10th in his career).
The other two positions on the podium were with Mercedes: the Finn Valtteri Bottas took second place and the English Lewis Hamilton, who returned to the circuit after recovering from covid-19 and being out of the Sakhir GP, secured third place.
Pietro Fittipladi de Haas finished 19th in the race. The American team adopted a strategy to always keep Danish Kevin Magnussen ahead of the 24-year-old Brazilian.
Sergio Pérez has problems with the car and leaves the race
With an uncertain future in F1, Sergio Pérez could have had a melancholic end in the category. The Mexican started last because Racing Point changed the element of the car’s power unit and left the race still in its first laps after his vehicle suffered an oil pressure problem: he was forced to park the car and leave the circuit . .
Teams change strategy with Safety Car
The incident involving Pérez caused the race management to decree the virtual Safety Car and some teams opted to switch to hard tires (believing that it would be possible for them to last until the end of the race), changing the strategy on the circuit. The decision to use the virtual tool for the physical Safety Car to enter the track was modified to remove Sergio Pérez’s car from the track.
Ricciardo starts on hard tires and gains positions with strategy
The Australian Renault driver was one of the few drivers who started on hard tires. Ricciardo did 40 laps on the tires and after starting in 11th position, he gained some positions after failing to stop after Pérez’s accident and finished the race in 7th position.
The Abu Dhabi GP disappoints in emotions
The Middle East circuit will not miss the F-1 fan. The last race of 2020 had no emotions on the track and the lack of overtaking points left the protocol competition. One of the most emblematic cases that reflects this is the loss of the title of Fernando Alonso in 2010, who for not overtaking lost that season to Sebastian Vettel.
Ferrari ends season with poor performance
Once again, Ferrari drivers Charles LeClerc and Sebastian Vettel underperformed. The Monegasque finished the race in 13th position and the German, in sequence, in 14th.
Abu Dhabi GP grid finale
1st: Max Verstappen / HOL – Red Bull Racing
2nd: Valtteri Bottas / FIN – Mercedes
3rd: Lewis Hamilton / ING – Mercedes
4th Alexander Albon / TAI – Red Bull Racing
5th: Lando Norris / ING – McLaren
6th: Carlos Sainz / ESP – McLaren
7th Daniel Ricciardo / AUS – Renault
8th: Pierre Gasly / FRA – AlphaTauri
9th Esteban Ocon / FRA – Renault
10th – Lance Stroll / CAN – Racing Point
11th Daniil Kyvat / RUS – AlphaTauri
12th – Kimi Raikkonen / FIN – Alfa Romeo
13th – Charles LeClerc / MON – Ferrari
14th – Sebastian Vettel / ALE – Ferrari
15th – George Russel / ING – Williams
16 – Antonio Giovinazzi / ITA – Alfa Romeo
17th – Nicolas Latifi / CAN – Williams
18th Kevin Magnussen / DIN – Haas
19th Pietro Fittipaldi / BRA – Haas
Who did not complete
– Sergio Pérez / MEX – Racing Point
