Verstappen wins 19 out of 22 F1 races in 2023 season

UAE Winning the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Red Bull Dutch driver Max Verstappen closed the 2023 season with 19 wins over 22 races.

Verstappen completed the 58 laps at Yas Marina in 1 hour 27 minutes 2.624 seconds, 17.993 seconds faster than Ferrari runner-up Charles Leclerc. This overwhelming victory helped the defending champion end 2023 on a high note for both himself and the Red Bull team.

With 19 wins from 22 races, Verstappen set a new record for winning percentage in F1 history - 86.4%. Two races ago, at the end of the Brazilian Grand Prix, Verstappen broke the record of winning percentage in a season of 75% set by Alberto Ascari in 1952. But winning the last two races and setting a new record of 11% more than the old record shows the superiority of Verstappen and Red Bull.

Verstappen drifts on the Yas Marina track to celebrate his victory on the evening of November 26. Photo: X / redbullracing — Verstappen drifts on the Yas Marina track to celebrate his victory on the evening of November 26. Photo: *X / redbullracing*

At the end of the race, Verstappen was emotional when he brought his car to the prize-giving area. "Those were my last moments in the car that has helped me so much this season. It has been an incredible season. It will be very difficult to do the same again. Red Bull is working hard to have a more competitive car for next season. Other teams will try to beat us, but we are ready for all the challenges that are coming," the champion said after the prize-giving ceremony.

The Dutchman’s Abu Dhabi win came easily as he had the lead, with the most pressure on Verstappen’s RB19 coming in the opening lap, where Leclerc’s SF23 attacked three times at the end of the straights but was quickly beaten by Verstappen at Turns 1, 6 and 7.

The race that ended Red Bull's successful season would have been even more perfect if their other driver, Sergio Perez, had finished second. However, the Mexican was penalized five seconds for colliding with Lando Norris's MCL60 at Turn 6 on lap 60. This penalty, despite finishing second after a surprise overtake on Leclerc on the penultimate lap, saw Perez drop to fourth. Ferrari instructed Leclerc to slow down to allow Perez to pass in order to gain a points advantage over Mercedes in the battle for second place in the constructors' standings.

Ferrari's calculation was to let Perez pass in the hope that the Mexican, with fresher tyres, could open up a gap of more than five seconds to Russell, who was running fourth, and overcome the five-second penalty to finish third. But in the end, Perez only managed to open up a gap of less than four seconds, and the Red Bull driver fell from second to fourth, 1.1 seconds behind Russell.

Leclerc finished second, but could not help Ferrari take second place. Photo: X / ScuderiaFerrari — Leclerc finished second, but could not help Ferrari take second place. Photo: *X / ScuderiaFerrari*

Leclerc could have slowed down in the final laps to hold Russell back and allow Perez to open up a gap of more than five seconds, but the Monaco driver kept up the pace. As a result, Mercedes finished second in the constructors' standings. Before the final race, the German team was four points ahead of Ferrari. In Abu Dhabi, Leclerc finished second with 18 points, Russell third with 15, Hamilton ninth with two points. Meanwhile, with Carlos Sainz not scoring any points, Ferrari, despite having a three-point lead at the final race, was still one point behind its rival for the season.

"This result means a lot to the whole team after a difficult season. I'm really happy that Mercedes kept second place," Russel said after the race in Abu Dhabi.

Leclerc regretted: "Perez was penalized 5 seconds, so we tried to get him faster enough before Russell. I tried to help, but unfortunately it was not enough. It was really disappointing to lose second place in the constructors' standings, but I am proud that Ferrari recovered strongly after a difficult time at the beginning of the season."

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Results

Rank on one's own	Racer	Team	Location departure	Number of tire changes	Fastest individual lap	Achievements	Point
1	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	1	2	1 minute 26.993 seconds	1 hour 27 minutes 02.624 seconds	26
2	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	2	2	1:28,199	+17,993 seconds	18
3	George Russell	Mercedes	4	2	1:28,187	+20,328	15
4	Sergio Perez	Red Bull	9	2	1:27,493	+21,453	12
5	Lando Norris	McLaren	5	2	1:28,164	+24,284	10
6	Oscar Piastri	McLaren	3	2	1:28,138	+31,487	8
7	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin	7	2	1:28,256	+39,512	6
8	Yuki Tsunoda	AlphaTauri	6	1	1:29,256	+43,088	4
9	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	11	2	1:28,372	+44,424	2
10	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	13	2	1:28,050	+55,632	1
11	Daniel Ricciardo	AlphaTauri	15	2	1:28,571	+56,229
12	Esteban Ocon	Alpine	12	1	1:30,033	+66,373
13	Pierre Gasly	Alpine	10	2	1:29,016	+70,360
14	Alexander Albon	Williams	14	2	1:27,845	+73,184
15	Nico Hulkenberg	Haas	8	2	1:29,217	+83,696
16	Logan Sargeant	Williams	20	2	1:28,580	+87,791
17	Zhou Guanyu	Alfa Romeo	19	2	1:28,746	+89,422
18	Carlos Sainz Jr.	Ferrari	16	2	1:29,452	Abandon the race
19	Valtteri Bottas	Alfa Romeo	18	1	1:29,863	Abandon the race
20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	17	2	1:29,934	Abandon the race

+) Fastest-lap: 1 minute 26.993 seconds set by Max Verstappen (Red Bull) on lap 45.

Final individual rankings for the 2023 season

Rank on one's own	Racer	Team	Point
1	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	575
2	Sergio Perez	Red Bull	285
3	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	234
4	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin	206
5	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	206
6	Lando Norris	McLaren	205
7	Carlos Sainz Jr.	Ferrari	200
8	George Russell	Mercedes	175
9	Oscar Piastri	McLaren	97
10	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	74
11	Pierre Gasly	Alpine	62
12	Esteban Ocon	Alpine	58
13	Alexander Albon	Williams	27
14	Yuki Tsunoda	AlphaTauri	17
15	Valtteri Bottas	Alfa Romeo	10
16	Nico Hulkenberg	Haas	9
17	Daniel Ricciardo	AlphaTauri	6
18	Zhou Guanyu	Alfa Romeo	6
19	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	3
20	Liam Lawson	AlphaTauri	2
21	Logan Sargeant	Williams	1
22	Nyck de Vries	AlphaTauri

Final team standings for the 2023 season

Rank on one's own	Team	Point
1	Red Bull	860
2	Mercedes	409
3	Ferrari	406
4	McLaren	302
5	Aston Martin	280
6	Alpine	120
7	Williams	28
8	AlphaTauri	25
9	Alfa Romeo	16
10	Haas	12