The Sportspedia
Max Verstappen seemed comfortable all along during the final Grand Prix of the 2020 Formula 1 season: the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Verstappen (NED, Red Bull) led the way from get go, holding both Mercedes at bay (Bottas and then Hamilton) on the start. Lando Norris (ENG, McLaren) was able to pass Alexander Albon (THA, Red Bull) and held that position for a few laps until the Thai driver passed him.
On lap 10, Sergio Pérez’ (MEX) Racing Point came to a halt just once again with an engine problem, which is odd given that it is a brand new Mercedes engine and that is the reason why he started from the back row.
This was going to severely complicate Racing Point’s chance of securing third on the Constructor’s Championship. And it could be especially painful if this turns out to be his last ever F1 race since he does not have a seat for next year, but it is possible that he can run for Red Bull next year or some other team in 2022.
The Safety Car came out and Mercedes pitted their cars on lap 11 for hard tires and World Champion Lewis Hamilton (ENG, Mercedes) was not very impressed by it.
Not much happened in the following laps, with Verstappen holding Bottas off by over 1 seconds past lap 50, with Hamilton around 3 seconds behind and Albon around further 4.8 seconds behind. Then Verstappen would extend his advantage over Bottas but Hamilton and Albon would get significantly closer, in one of Albon’s strongest races.
Then came the McLaren of Norris and Carlos Sainz (ESP), and the Renault of Daniel Ricciardo (AUS), who also posted the fastest lap of the race. Then came Pierre Gasly (FRA, AlphaTauri), Esteban Ocon (FRA, Renault) and Lance Stroll (CAN, Racing Point), with a useless point for the Constructors’ Championship.
This result didn’t do much to the Driver’s Championship: 1st Lewis Hamilton, 2nd Valtteri Bottas, 3rd Max Verstappen and 4th Sergio Pérez, although it did change the things in the Constructors’ Championship: Mercedes is the Champion over Red Bull but Racing Point lost the third place to McLaren, who have left their dark ages behind.
