(Motorsports news) Max Verstappen never really looked doubtful as he led 1,003 laps during the whole campaign, including his 19th victory of the year after leading out of Turn 1. Charles Leclerc made a heroic effort to challenge the 2023 dominator, but his efforts to overtake Mercedes in the constructors’ championship and concentrate on those behind him were unsuccessful. Nevertheless, he displayed some amazing lateral thinking.
As the season came to an end, the final prizes and positions were distributed at the Yas Marina circuit. Fernando Alonso claimed fourth place in the drivers’ standings with a late move on Yuki Tsunoda, unintentionally confirming AlphaTauri almost missed out on catching Williams for eighth.
Verstappen concludes with another new F1 record:
It took Verstappen over two months to waltz to the 2023 world title; his victory was secured in Qatar. Ever since, he has been crushing the record he broke the previous year for the most wins in a single season, then breaking it again. With his victory in Abu Dhabi, that is currently 19. Verstappen did, however, close the year with one more record after he crossed the line and ignited the huge fireworks at the Yas Marina track. This was for the overall laps led, with 1,003 being his final total.
The Dutchman has now led 1,000 laps in a single season, matching the record set by McLaren during its illustrious dominance of 1988, but that record was shared by two more F1 greats, Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna. Verstappen was the only driver to finish every lap of the 2023 campaign. He later disclosed that, despite still needing to make one more pit stop last Sunday, he was considering reaching the 1,000-lap mark.
Mercedes overtakes the “Mount Everest” objective to take second place:
Despite all of the criticism and denigration directed at Mercedes’ W14 by its own management, the Brackley team managed to finish second in the constructors’ title, even though they had to contend with a resurgent Ferrari challenge in the second half of the season. Although the team wasn’t exactly planning on winning races last winter, good reliability made it possible for them to continuously gain points all season long.
After a less-than-expected season, George Russell mounted a strong effort to take fourth place on the road, which became third thanks to a penalty from Sergio Perez. The British player acknowledged that “Lady Luck” had been on the team’s side. Despite having a dull day by his standards, Lewis Hamilton was not in the mood to celebrate the constructors’ runner-up position because the two points he had secured provided some sort of safety net.
Leclerc’s Ferrari P2 bid displays lateral thinking akin to that of Sainz:
One of the season’s highlights came from Carlos Sainz’s tactical skill in Singapore, where he held Lando Norris and DRS together to prevent the quicker George Russell from making a last-ditch attempt to win at the Marina Bay Circuit. Being the first race of the 2023 season to be won by a team other than Red Bull, it remains an additional highlight. Charles Leclerc demonstrated at Yas Marina that he had the same amount of grey matter as his teammate.
Knowing that the title was on the line and that the places in the rear were crucial, Leclerc was told that Sergio Perez had a five-second penalty to serve following his collision with Lando Norris. This would lessen the likelihood that Perez would be able to position his vehicle between Leclerc and Russell, who is now in third place. Ferrari wanted the Mexican to finish in third in order to guarantee that the Scuderia would tie Mercedes for points and secure P2 on a countback thanks to Sainz’s victory in Singapore.
FIA agents are looking for team headwear infractions:
An unprecedented stewards’ probe took place during the latter stages of the Abu Dhabi race because it was alleged that all teams’ pit crew workers had not worn enough eye protection when changing tires. Initially, there were inquiries into the stops made by Lewis Hamilton and Pierre Gasly, but by the time Verstappen was done with the race, Williams drivers Logan Sargeant and Alex Albon, as well as Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu, had also received citations.
It is believed that pitlane marshals and officials saw the incident, which is why the stewards called all team managers after the race. The focus was on F1’s sports regulations, namely Article 34.13. According to the stewards’ bulletin, which revealed that no fines would be applied, both teams and the authorities have committed to making sure that “this article is respected by all team members in the future.”
Pitlane impeding issues are still very much in the news:
Max Verstappen demonstrated the kind of driving abilities that would be useful in an underground hotel parking lot as he was starting to get agitated after two red flags zapped away during running in FP2. He overtook the two Mercedes vehicles in the underpass of the circuit and proceeded to overtake Pierre Gasly beyond the pit exit line. The drivers supported race director Niels Wittich’s decision to put an end to that kind of behavior early on during their briefing.
However, since the maximum lap time rule was implemented, there have been more longer qualifying lines, making it difficult for drivers to locate a spot without slowing down as they leave the pits. There has been a noticeable decrease in interference during qualifying laps, but according to Carlos Sainz, a new tactic has evolved to slow down competitors’ lap speeds without drawing the stewards’ ire.
Also read: Norris: “Impressive” to crash into Perez after purposefully allowing Red Bull to pass
