Max Verstappen on Sunday closed out the 2023 F1 season with a win at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, marking his 19th victory of the season. Verstappen’s win gave Red Bull Racing in every race except for the Singapore Grand Prix. Additionally, Verstappen now sits solely in third place with 54 career F1 victories.
Both the drivers’ and constructors’ championship were settled several races ago, meaning the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix became a battle for second place in the constructors’ championship between Ferrari and Mercedes.
Sergio Perez originally finished second, followed by Charles Leclerc and George Russell, which would have secured a second-place finish in the constructors’ championship for Ferrari. However, Perez was assessed a 5-second penalty for an incident with Lando Norris, elevating Leclerc and Russell to P2 and P3. The penalty resulted in a 3-point advantage for Mercedes for second.
Now that the season is over, all teams will have three months to regroup and put together a new vehicle to hopefully challenge Red Bull for the 2024 F1 season, which begins March 3rd, 2024 in Bahrain.