Max Verstappen Triumphs at Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Ending Mercede's Six-Race Winning Streak
Max Verstappen, the Red Bull driver, ruled the roost at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, putting an end to Mercedes' six-race winning streak on Yas Marina Circuit.
The 23-year-old ace outclassed Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton effortlessly, with the Mercedes duo nabbing the second and third spots, respectively.
Verstappen secured his second season victory and the tenth of his career, remarking, "I had fun today. We pretty much got everything right. When you start from the front, you can control the pace, making things easier."
Alexander Albon, Verstappen's teammate, finished fourth, while Hamilton was under pressure to surrender the third spot.
The Unremarkable End to a Challenging Season
The end of the season brought a somewhat disappointing conclusion. Like many sports, Formula 1 was postponed at the beginning of the pandemic in 2020 and eventually resumed with a reduced schedule, numbering 17 races.
Hamilton continued to shine during the year and claimed his seventh career title. However, it was not a fitting end to the season for the 35-year-old driver.
After the race, Hamilton confessed battling the after-effects of Covid-19 and was satisfied with completing 55 laps without an error.
"No one can win them all," Hamilton stated after the race. "Given all I've gone through in the past weeks, I'm content with the race performance, albeit not as good as we had wanted, but congratulations to Max."
Hamilton experienced physical strain throughout the season. Despite his stellar form for most of the year, he admitted, "Today, I wasn't in top form."
The only excitement at the race could perhaps be attributed to the fastest cars. Both McLaren and Racing Point aimed to clinch the third spot in the Constructors' Championship. Racing Point even held a 10-point lead early in the race. However, after Sergio Pérez retired prematurely, the race morphed into a nail-biting contest between McLaren and Racing Point.
Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz of McLaren finished fifth and sixth, before they unexpectedly moved up to third place – their best result since 2012.
With only 96 days remaining until the start of the new season, the teams are eager to get back in action.
Enrichment Data
The standings and team performances in the 2020 Formula 1 Constructors' Championship after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix are as follows:
- Mercedes - 573 points
- Drivers: Lewis Hamilton (347 points) and Valtteri Bottas (226 points)
- Red Bull Racing - 319 points
- Drivers: Max Verstappen (214 points) and Alexander Albon (105 points)
- McLaren - 202 points
- Drivers: Lando Norris (97 points) and Carlos Sainz Jr. (105 points)
- Racing Point - 195 points
- Drivers: Sergio Pérez (125 points) and Lance Stroll (70 points)
- Renault - 181 points
- Drivers: Daniel Ricciardo (119 points) and Esteban Ocon (62 points)
- Ferrari - 131 points
- Drivers: Charles Leclerc (98 points) and Sebastian Vettel (33 points)
- AlphaTauri - 107 points
- Drivers: Pierre Gasly (75 points) and Daniil Kvyat (32 points)
- Alfa Romeo - 8 points
- Drivers: Kimi Räikkönen and Antonio Giovinazzi
- Haas - 3 points
- Drivers: Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen
- Williams - 0 points
- Drivers: Nicholas Latifi, George Russell, and Jack Aitken
