All Formula 1 teams will once again give everything they can in the final race of the season. Max Verstappen has been world champion for several weeks, but who will be number 2: Charles Leclerc (Ferrari, F1-75) or Sergio Pérez (Red Bull Racing, RB18)?
All attention was also focused on Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin, AMR22) who said goodbye to Formula 1 in Abu Dhabi. Earlier this season, the four-time world champion announced that he would leave Formula 1. How popular he is on the grid and far beyond it became clear once again from all the thanks and congratulations to him.

Last race for Schumacher, Latifi and Ricciardo

The other German on the grid, Mick Schumacher, also leaves, but not voluntarily. In the two seasons with team Haas, Schumacher's qualities have not come to the fore. His seat will go to an old acquaintance in 2023: Nico Hülkenberg!
Nicholas Latifi (Williams, FW44) also has to do something else next year. The Canadian, of course, made himself immortal with his crash in 2021 at the Yas Marina Circuit with which he helped Max Verstappen to his first world title. Furthermore, he performed mainly below par.
Finally, Daniel Ricciardo also stepped into a Formula 1 car for the last time in Abu Dhabi. He leaves team McLaren (MCL36). A few days after the final race, the Australian announced that he would return to Red Bull Racing as the third driver.

Sebastian Vettel strong in qualifying

Max Verstappen took pole position fairly easily in qualifying on Saturday. In addition, he also gave teammate Pérez another tow, who recorded a good second time. For example, the Bulls occupy the front row on Sunday; a good starting position for Pérez in his battle with Leclerc for P2 in the championship. The second row went to team Ferrari, with Charles Leclerc in P3 and Carlos Sainz in P4. Behind them again were the Mercedes (W13) of Lewis Hamilton (P5) and George Russell (P6). Those who stood out positively were Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin, AMR22) and Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren, MCL36). The highly experienced drivers enjoyed their final qualifying and even made it through to Q3. It gave Vettel P9 in Sunday's starting grid. And Ricciardo even recorded the eighth fastest time. But the likeable Australian still had a five-place grid penalty for crashing Kevin Magnussen (Haas, VF22) a week ago in São Paulo, Brazil. He was therefore moved back to P13.

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

The Yas Marina Circuit was all about strategy. Who went for a one stop and who counted on two pit stops during the race? The right strategy was especially important for Pérez and Leclerc's chances of P2 in the F1 championship; both were on 290 points in the standings.

The race, which started in daylight and finished in the dark, got off to a good start for Max Verstappen. Pérez briefly tried to overtake him in the first corner combination, but quickly gave up. Behind the two Red Bulls, Charles Leclerc retained P3. Behind it, Carlos Sainz and Lewis Hamilton got into a fight. Sainz pushed the Briton off the track, with the Mercedes W13 flying over a curb and coming off the asphalt with four tires. Hamilton then rejoined ahead of Sainz but was told to hand the position back to the Spaniard. Moments later, Hamilton overtook the Ferrari with starting number 55.

Damage to Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes W13

There were fears of floor damage to Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes W13 due to the major collision with the kerbstone. What exactly was going on was not clear during the race, but Hamilton could not keep up with the pace of the rest. He first saw Sainz (Ferrari, F1-75) and then teammate George Russell pass by.

In midfield, Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin, AMR22) battled with Esteban Ocon (Alpine, A522). The German drove one of the better races of this season on P9! Behind Vettel was the other veteran in his last race for team Alpine: Fernando Alonso. The two-time world champion can't wait to take over Vettel's seat at Aston Martin next season. This race in Abu Dhabi also ended disappointingly in a DNF for the frustrated Spaniard halfway through.

Pérez (Red Bull Racing, RB18) pits first

At the head of the race, Max Verstappen was unthreatened in the lead with Sergio Pérez at a safe distance. The Mexican was signaled on lap 16 to come in for his tire change. He thus relinquished his second position to Charles Leclerc. On the hard tyre, Pérez came back behind Sebastian Vettel, who was battling with the Red Bull driver. On the new tires, Pérez had a lot less grip than Vettel. He lost unnecessarily precious seconds in his goal to finish in P2. Eventually he overtook Vettel and Pérez started a race to catch up.

On lap 21, Verstappen dove in for his pit stop and rejoined the track just ahead of Pérez. The Dutchman was instructed to handle his tires well, so that he could finish the race with a one-stop.
One lap later (22) Ferrari called in Charles Leclerc. The Monegask was therefore the last driver of the top teams to make his pit stop. He came back on track behind Pérez but quickly made up a lot of time. On P2, Pérez complained that Max Verstappen's pace was too slow. His teammate would hold him up. No one understood exactly what the Mexican meant. Verstappen mainly drove constant lap times to manage his tires. When Verstappen increased his speed a bit, Pérez lost the connection with the Dutchman.

Ferrari opts for the opposite strategy to Red Bull Racing

Pérez's hard tire had suffered a lot and his lap times were sinking. With Charles Leclerc in his mirrors, something had to be done. The Red Bull team called in the Mexican again. At the same time, Leclerc was told that Ferrari was going for the opposite strategy. So he had to finish the race on his current set of tires…

Sergio Pérez did everything he could to reconnect with Leclerc. But the Mexican ended up in heavy traffic. The first stragglers were put on a lap. Some teams were also fighting each other, such as AlphaTauri (AT03) with Haas (VF-22) and Alfa Romeo (C42). The drivers did not step aside too quickly for the much faster Red Bull RB18.

Yellow flag for touché Schumacher and Latifi

In lap 38 there was a yellow flag: Mick Schumacher (Haas, VF-22) tapped the rear wheel of Nicholas Latifi (Williams, FW44). Both turned beautifully synchronized over the asphalt and ended up next to the track. If a safety car came now, the whole field would join together again and Charles Leclerc could even attack Max Verstappen. But the Haas and the Williams were able to continue. Schumacher received a time penalty in his last Formula 1 race. Due to damage to his Formula 1 car, Latifi ended his Formula 1 career with a DNF.

Exciting final phase of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

Lap after lap Sergio Pérez got closer to Leclerc. But first he had to deal with Lewis Hamilton in the fight for P3. That resulted in nice overtaking actions from both drivers. Finally, on lap 47, Pérez managed to leave the Briton behind. Now he had just under ten laps left to overtake the Monegask. For that he had to be one second faster per lap than the man in the Ferrari. His engineer encouraged him, it was still possible!
On lap 55 Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes W13 finally gave up. A hydraulic problem forced him to finish the race three laps from the finish!

Charles Leclerc now had Pérez's Red Bull RB18 in his mirrors and really got everything out of the Ferrari to stay ahead of him. If the race had lasted one lap longer, Pérez could have attacked… It didn't come to that. Charles Leclerc finished half a second behind Pérez on P2 in the race to take second place in the 2022 F1 Championship. Pérez had to settle for P3.

As a spectacular fireworks display erupted on and around the circuit, the top 3 donuts rotated in front of the main grandstand. Sebastian Vettel, who took one last point for his team in P10, also said goodbye to the top class in motorsport in style with a few smoking donuts!

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