F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix: Verstappen to finish off record-breaking season

Formula 1’s 2023 season will conclude with this weekend’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at the Yas Marina Circuit.

The venue, located on a man-made island about a 30-minute drive from downtown Abu Dhabi, was specially designed for Formula 1, and has firmly established itself as the location for the finale. 

The atmosphere in Abu Dhabi depends on the circumstance, with a tense and edgy aura if a title is on the line, contrasted with a relaxed and end-of-school vibe if there’s little at stake. 

The end of the 2023 campaign falls firmly in the latter camp, with Max Verstappen having long sewn up a third successive title, after a season in which he has annihilated the opposition. 

He has already taken the most victories in a single season, led the most laps in one year, and smashed his own record for the highest points tally. 

Verstappen has won 18 of this year’s 21 races and is now tied for third in the all-time win list with four-time champion Sebastian Vettel, on 53 victories, leaving only Lewis Hamilton (103) and Michael Schumacher (91) further up the charts. 

At his current rate it is not unfathomable to consider Verstappen threatening those tallies within the next couple of years. 

Max aiming for four

Yas Marina’s circuit provides little in the way of challenge to drivers, with the circuit featuring few notable corners, while there is extensive run-off through the majority of the lap. 

The circuit was modified slightly in 2021, in order to provide greater opportunities for racing, and the tweaks have been well-received.

A fiddly chicane in the first sector was opened up into a hairpin while another slow and off-camber complex was removed and replaced by a long-radius 180-corner.

Both of those sections of track came to prominence in the nail-biting 2021 finale, in which Verstappen defeated Lewis Hamilton on the last lap of the season to claim a maiden world title. That grand prix was riddled in controversy, amid the dubious application of the regulations.

Verstappen’s 2021 race win was sandwiched by more sedate triumphs at the 2020 and 2022 finales.

It means the reigning World Champion is chasing a fourth successive Abu Dhabi Grand Prix victory as he seeks to cap his dominant 2023 campaign in style. 

What else?

Hamilton has a record five Abu Dhabi wins – and sealed his 2014 title at the venue – but he looks poised to go win-less for a second successive season in Formula 1.

Of the current grid the only other driver to have triumphed in Abu Dhabi is Valtteri Bottas – in 2017 – but he is now plying his trade at the back of the grid with Alfa Romeo. 

It has not been a kind circuit for Ferrari; the manufacturer has never won in Abu Dhabi in 14 prior attempts, with Red Bull and Mercedes tied on six victories apiece. 

Is there anything to play for?

First, second and third in the Drivers’ Championship are all wrapped up, with Sergio Perez’s podium in Las Vegas sealing him the runner-up position in the standings, while also confirming Lewis Hamilton in third place. 

In the more lucrative Constructors’ Championship only four points separate Mercedes and Ferrari in the battle for second spot, while McLaren’s advantage over Aston Martin for fourth has been trimmed to 11 points. 

It is unlikely that there will be big swings further down the field, given Yas Marina’s tendency to produce a straightforward event, but Williams still holds a mere seven-point advantage over AlphaTauri in seventh place overall.

Recommended Bets

Back Max Verstappen to win the race @ 1.34
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