I agree with Gene's comments. Abu Dhabi was a very watchable race with Norris leading the race convincingly.
It began as the race of penalties.
Shame that Hulkenberg got a three place grid penalty from his 4th to a 7th grid start position. I think Hulkenberg can at times do the wrong thing, and based on his years of driving he should know the rules, but if Verstappen passed for overtaking at the pit exit without a penalty then it is tough to penalise the Hulk.
I enjoyed watching the tributes to Lewis Hamilton’s time at Mercedes, the interview with Valtteri Bottas (who seems to have many outside ventures on the go outside F1!). Of course it was also Zhao Guanyu’s final race with Kick Sauber too and Kevin Magnussen’s final race with Haas.
But Wow what a start to the race! Perez being hit by Bottas and Perez immediately out of the race. Perez has had no luck this year and must be worried that Red Bull will break his contract and replace him.
Piastri starting second on the grid but Verstappen sent him spinning in the opposite direction which meant Piastri was suddenly down to last place. What a mess! Verstappen was given a 10 second penalty for hitting Piastri. Piastri hit the back of Colapinto’s car before that even happened and he was issued with a 10 second penalty also so a disastrous start for Piastri who would have wanted to contribute good points for Mclaren. Colapinto retired his car at Lap 28.
Verstappen already had the driver championship. There was no 'reason' for this type of driving ruining both their races.
LeClerc gained 11 places amongst all the chaos from 19th to 8th by Lap 3! Remarkable!
Guanyu had a 5 second penalty for a false start.
Liam Lawson had a bad pitstop with the front left wheel being loose so he had to return to the pits and was then ‘awarded’ a 10 second penalty for an unsafe release. Disappointing as that really shouldn't happen. Lawson’s car stopped at Lap 57.
Bottas locked up at Lap 32 hitting Magnussen as he left the pit lane exit. A lot of damage to Bottas’ car meant a DNF for Bottas in his last race. Magnussen seemed to be doing his best to enjoy his last race achieving fastest lap throughout the later stage of the race. His placement was ruined by the Bottas incident but at least he was able to finish his final race.
Ferrari tried hard to beat McLaren, but even with a second and third finish McLaren were still too many points ahead ensuring that they won the Constructor Championship. The only way Ferrari could win would be if Norris made a mistake, which Lando was determined would not happen as it all lay on his shoulders due to Piastri's misfortunes.
Hamilton made up many places from his starting pole position of 16th to finish fourth, passing Russell in the last lap.
Starting so far back on the grid was unfortunate for Hamilton who wanted to shine in his last race for Mercedes but when his car picked up and dragged a bollard that Magnussen had knocked on his final hot lap in Qualifying he had no chance of starting in a decent position.
He should be proud of his drive, making it to fourth and Ferrari will be very happy to have him. Even though it was sad and it is a shame that Bonnington, his race engineer, can't go with him to Ferrari I look forward to seeing Lewis race in red.
I feel a bit sorry for Carlos Sainz who continued to perform for Ferrari and is going to Williams, a chance to help that team build but not a team with wins in their near future.
There was a lot going on in this race with the Constructor championship the main focus. The fireworks as Norris crossed the line and the McLaren symbol created by drones hovering in the sky above made me think that the Constructors Championship is far more important than the driver's championship. Max who?
Finishing places at Abu Dhabi –
1. Norris
2. Sainz
3. Le Clerc
4. Hamilton
5. Russell
6. Verstappen
7. Gasly
8. Hulkenberg
9. Alonso
10. Piastri
11. Albon
12. Tsunoda
13. Zhou
14. Stroll
15. Doohan
16. Magnussen
17. Lawson DNF
18. Bottas DNF
19. Colapinto DNF
20. Perez DNF
