The 2023 F1 season comes to a close with the same result as 18 other races this season with a win for Max Verstappen. To cover all the action and so much more for the final time this season is our 2023 Abu Dhabi F1 Grand Prix Result Summary which covers both races and anything else of interest.
This 2023 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Result, Lap by Lap, Review & Summary gives you just enough to catch up with. With just a hint of cynicism, bias, opinion and colour. The perfect bite sized review for those who couldn’t be bothered, or don’t have enough time. And you get it for both the main race on Sunday and the Sprint Race on Saturday. So read on.
READ MORE:
2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix Review
2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix Ratings and Driver of the Year
Our 2023 F1 Calendar & Results
2023 Abu Dhabi F1 Grand Prix Result Race Summary
Didn’t see the race live? Don’t have time to watch the whole race? Well here are the top laps where stuff happened. We write these live as we go, sort of like a minute by minute for the football, but marginally more interesting.
Setting the scene – It may have been another pole position for Max Verstappen, but qualifying has certainly got compeditive in the second half of the season. Charles Leclerc took second from Oscar Piastri in third, but Lando Norris looks lively and a mistake on his last lap hides true pace. Mercedes who ended up 4th and 11th look race ready. Carlos Sainz didn’t make it out of Q1, so his job is a harder one. It all looks promising, like a lot of grands prix in the second half of the season, but will probably end up a cruising Max Verstappen win, like a lot of grands prix in the second half of the season.
GRID (Starting Order) – VER LEC PIA RUS NOR TSU ALO HUL PER GAS
Lap 1 – Max Verstappen misses the start yet beat Charles Leclerc into turn one by going around the outside. Leclerc tries again down the back straight and he almost gets in front Verstappen shuts the door again. Lando Norris jumps George Russell to make it a McLaren 3-4. Further back Pierre Gasly and Lewis Hamilton grab a few places at the expense of Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg whose Haas race reverse has started early – 8th to 13th. No accidents which is good and a little disappointing.
ORDER – VER LEC PIAS NOR RUS TSU ALO GAS HAM PER
Lap 3 – DRS is available now but no change among the top cars, the gap teasing fans looking for a battle but not close enough for actual position swapping. Sergio Perez takes 9th from Lewis Hamilton which is of mild interest to few.
Lap 5 – Lando Norris asserts top dog status at McLaren and overtakes Oscar Piastri down the back straight. Norris has the pace to win this, a win is just two cars away.
Lap 6 – Kevin Magnussen pits for new tyres on only lap 6. That Haas really has become a pile of shite in races in the second half of the season. Or he’s on a 12 stop strategy.
Lap 9 – George Russell tries but is unable to get past Australian Oscar Piastri for fourth. Much like the Ashes and Cricket World Cup. If you overlook the British driver ahead in 2nd.
ORDER – VER LEC NOR PIA RUS TSU ALO GAS PER HAM
Lap 11 – George Russell gets past Piastri into the fast hairpin, just moments after the F1 coverage applauds Piastri’s great defending. Piastri is now under pressure from Yuki Tsunoda right away.
Lap 12 – Sergio Perez doing his thing, overtaking Pierre Gasly for 8th, after underwhelming in qualifying again. Fernando Alonso pit for the record, first car in the top ten to do so. May as well as a train was forming behind Gasly.
Lap 14 – Oscar Piastri pits for new boots, trying to cover Alonso and undercut the cars in front. Piastri comes out of the pits just in front of Alonso
Lap 15 – Lando Norris pits, George Russell pits. Lando Norris’ pitstop was twice as long as Russell’s and the Mercedes jumps the McLaren for now.
Lap 17 – Max Verstappen pits but Charles Leclerc stays out. The Red Bull comes out in 7th place such is the bunched field, behind Carlos Sainz who started 16th on the grid. Leclerc and Perez pit a lap later leaving Yuki Tsunoda to enjoy leading a race for the first time. Lance Stroll is second too
Lap 19 – Max Verstappen gets past Carlos Sainz and sets a new fastest lap just to let everyone know he’s still the fastest in the best car.
Lap 23 – Yuki Tsunoda’s fun ends as he pits from the lead. He drops down to 12th.
ORDER – VER LEC RUS NOR SAI PIA ALO PER RIC HAM
Lap 26 – We’ve missed Sergio Perez overtaking Fernando Alonso for 6th and the Mexican setting a fastest lap. Oh well. He probably get pass Piastri in the next lap or so too. Yeah Lap 29 does it.
Lap 30 – A lap after the halfway point and it looks like business as usual for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix as Max Verstappen is a comfortable six seconds ahead of Charles Leclerc. Russell and Norris have two seconds gaps to the cars in front and Sergio Perez is the main on the move. But it’s all academic for the race win. Why would the last race be any different when the guy leading has won 18/21 races this season.
ORDER – VER LEC RUS NOR PER PIA ALO HAM TSU STR
Lap 34 – Second pit stop seal has been broken for the top half of the race when Lando Norris gets some new rubber. Mercedes pit George Russell a lap later despite his insistence that his tyres were fine and he didn’t want to pit.
Lap 39 – After most of the leading cars pit – except the Rd Dulls – Yuki Tsunoda drops a few positions as Leclerc and Russell take away his temporary lofty position. One stop ain’t gonna work here.
Lap 47 – Sergio Perez battling for fourth is the closest battle among the top cars. Perez makes a late move after the back straight and they collide. Perez claims Norris turned in on him. Norris says Perez ran into him. orris keeps 4th for now. A lap later Sergio Perez takes fourth but the clash is under investigation.
Lap 53 – The stewards find in favour of Lando Norris and throw a five second penalty at Sergio Perez. Daniel Ricciardo moves up to 12th. While that isn’t usually interesting, in the battle with Williams for the team championship it is. If Ricciardo can get to 10th it will bring the teams together in the season standings.
Lap 55 – Sergio Perez is in a hurry after getting his penalty. He overtakes George Russell for third and has four laps to build a gap big enough to absorb the five second penalty.
Last lap – Sergio Perez’s efforts to finish on the podium are helped with Charles Leclerc letting the Red Bull past. But he finishes 3.9 seconds in front of George Russell so drops from 2nd to 4th. Lewis Hamilton passes Yuki Tsunoda and then has a big slide and hands the place back to Tsunoda. Oh, and Max Verstappen won easy.
FINAL ORDER (Across the line) – VER LEC RUS PER NOR PIA ALO TSU HAM STR
Here we go through the field and highlight the very best (Great) of the race, and the plodders, the over-ambitious, the out of luck, and simply hopeless (Grape).
These points get added to our Driver of the Season scores. points for a great nomination, and -5 for the worst or grapest driver in the pack. Then it is +2 /-2 for honourable or dishonourable mentions.
THE GREAT-EST – YUKI TSUNODA
Alpha Tauri cars don’t get to lead very often so Yuki Tsunoda getting a chance to do that is worth a lofty position in our great and grape. Qualified a career best 6th, and was a top ten car all race. Saved his best for last.
HONOURABLE MENTIONS
MAX VERSTAPPEN – Win, pole position, fastest lap. A 19th win and yet another perfect grand prix haul sees him sign off a record-breaking season that will never happen again in style.
CHARLES LECLERC – Second best but solid enough for Charles Leclerc.
GEORGE RUSSELL – Good qualifying with 4th on the grid, and secures a podium, beating his seven-time World Champion team mate.
MCLAREN – Maybe not the best result they could hope for, but progress from the start of the season. Genuine fourth best car at minimum now.
THE GRAPE-EST – CARLOS SAINZ
Knocked out in Q1 which put him in a bad position for most of the race, and he was the race’s only DNF with a lap to go.
DIS-HONOURABLE MENTIONS
WILLIAMS – Zero pace in the race. Logan Sargeant has a nervous off season wait to see if he returns in 2024.
HAAS – Another race of mildly promising qualifying followed by disappointing (at best) race.
Was it a good race, loads of action, tense, or just a big, fat, snooze-fest?
We rate the big race itself, so we know which races to go back and watch in the off season or one to simply remember the winner for the post season quiz nights.
Note: this is for the combined races.
SEASON IMPORTANCE – 9 / 10
Battles for constructor positions are settled which is worth lots of money are settled in the final race.
ON TRACK ACTION – 6 / 10
Decent action down the field, and even an opening lap tussle for the lead between Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen.
ENDING 3 / 10
Sergio Perez needing to find five seconds gap to George Russell was the highlight in a quiet-ish end to the race. Either that or we napped through the good stuff.
OVERALL RATING 18 / 30
Not a bad race to end the season. A different winner or a better challenge would have been nice.
2023 F1 Season Power Rankings
Stay tuned for our Power Rankings from the race soon as it is currently being calculated and will be ready on Monday.
Who not check out last race which includes the season ratings so far: Mexican Grand Prix and 2023 Driver Ratings.
