Max Verstappen ends season with win in Abu Dhabi; Mercedes place second in Constructors championship
Already-crowned world champion Max Verstappen has ended the 2023 season in style with victory at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix as Mercedes earned back to back second place in the Constructors championship which was won by Redbull Racing.
The Red Bull driver, starting on pole, led from start to finish as he secured a record-extending 19th win of the campaign.
Yet more success for the Dutchman means that he wins the Drivers Championship by a massive 290 points, his teammate Sergio Perez comfortably second in the standings.
Charles Leclerc and George Russell took second and third place respectively, benefitting from Perez being handed a five-second penalty at the conclusion of the race.
That helped Mercedes do what was required to retain hold of second spot in the Constructors standings, even though Lewis Hamilton was down the field in ninth position.
McLaren pair Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were behind Perez in fifth and sixth respectively, with Fernando Alonso in seventh in the Aston Martin.
Yuki Tsunoda, Hamilton and Lance Stroll completed the top 10, Carlos Sainz Jr not finishing in the second Ferrari after a late retirement.
Alonso’s seventh-placed finish ensured that he finished level on points with Leclerc in the standings, the Spaniard securing fourth on his superior finishes across the season.
Norris was just one point adrift in sixth, with Sainz having to make do with seventh when a top-six finish would have given him fourth in the rankings.
