First get on the scales. The Formula 1 world champion couldn’t avoid it as soon as he climbed out of his car at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The result: everything correct. In a figurative sense, Max Verstappen is, despite his gaunt frame, the biggest heavyweight in Formula 1. In any case, he is invaluable for his racing team: his 54th victory on Sunday, this time ahead of Charles Leclerc in the Ferrari and Mercedes driver George Russell, was at the end of the season the 19th this year – in 22 races.
In March, April and September someone was faster, twice his teammate Sergio Perez and once Carlos Sainz (Ferrari). “We would never have dreamed of this, it has surpassed everything we have achieved so far,” says Red Bulls sports director Helmut Marko to the TV channel Sky: “It is a shame that Dietrich Mateschitz (Red Bulls until his death in 2022) Bull co-owner/ed.) was no longer able to witness this incredible performance, especially from Max.”
Not a hint of weakness
The chief driver dominated the last Grand Prix right from the start, although he was still under pressure from Leclerc on the first lap. At no moment did Verstappen, who pushed Sebastian Vettel out of third place in the list of Grand Prix winners, show even a hint of weakness. If you look at the results, never before has a driver been so dominant. Never before has a driver won so many races between the start of the season and the finale.
Verstappen collected 575 points, 290 more than his teammate Perez, who finished second in the overall standings ahead of Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes/234). The champion’s performance alone would have been enough for Red Bull to win the constructors’ championship. The racing team ended the year with a lead of 451 points. “It will be difficult to do something similar again. You can always do something better,” said Verstappen, “we will try next year.”
The idea that the Dutchman will improve tends to create the nightmares of the competition. “He has improved everywhere,” said Marko, “he can push the limits in every situation. When a time penalty threatened, he immediately gained a second. His confidence and lightness have increased, but most importantly his ability to manage the tires. We haven’t seen the zenith (of Verstappen/ed.) yet.” But where could the 26-year-old still improve? “He is sometimes impatient,” added Marko, “if the car doesn’t immediately meet his expectations.”
On Sunday things went like clockwork again. Not a single technical defect occurred in Verstappen’s car from the first lap of the race in Bahrain in March until the last lap. He led more than a thousand laps. And so the spectators in the filled stands, supposedly 60,000, watched the cut-throat competition behind the series winner. One overtaking maneuver followed another in an attempt to gain something at the last moment. Even if it’s just prestige.
Ferrari vs Mercedes
This is how the duel between Ferrari and Mercedes was moderated. But what good does it do for those doomed to win to become second best? Especially if the second person is the leader of a chasing group that is far behind, to put it bluntly, and lagging behind. “I’m not interested in second place,” Toto Wolff, Mercedes team boss, has repeatedly claimed in recent weeks. His radio messages on Sunday suggested an unbroken fighting spirit.
As Lewis Hamilton (9th) circled in midfield, the boss called out to him: “You are the second fastest in the field.” Loosely translated: up, forward! Mercedes then wanted to finish ahead of Ferrari, or at least be ahead of the Italians in the big reckoning. When Russell also asked, the pilots were instructed to drive “as fast as possible.”
Not much later, Leclerc intervened via radio and asked his team how things were going in the race. The Monegasque was finally ready to offer Perez, who was charging from behind, a slipstream in the second Red Bull and let him pass without resistance on the last lap.
In the hope that the Mexican could gain enough time that he would only fall back to third after the five-second penalty for a collision. Nicely calculated. Although Perez crossed the finish line in second place, he was not five seconds ahead of Russell and fell back to fourth place. “We have something to celebrate then,” said Russell. His boss Wolff liked the conciliatory ending, also because it brings something countable.
Anno Hecker Published/Updated: Recommendations: 1 Hermann Renner Published/Updated: Sönke Sievers, Las Vegas Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 7
As second in the constructors’ championship, Mercedes receives $15 million more from the prize money, three points ahead of Ferrari. Nico Hülkenberg’s Haas racing team could use such a grant after the disaster in 2023. The German (15th) dominated his teammate the entire year. But he couldn’t change anything about last place for Haas. Maybe it can be done in 97 days. Then things get going again.
