Abu Dhabi F1 Grand Prix 2023 results: Official times and gaps as Mercedes pip Ferrari despite GENIUS Leclerc call

While Max Verstappen took his 19th season victory at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Mercedes pipped Ferrari to secure second place in the constructors' championship.

Charles Leclerc executed a late strategic manoeuvre aiming to secure Ferrari's second-place finish in the standings.

With Sergio Perez's five-second penalty for colliding with Lando Norris, Leclerc intentionally allowed Perez to overtake him on the last lap. However, the plan hinged on Perez finishing at least five seconds ahead of George Russell for Ferrari to gain sufficient points against Mercedes, but Russell managed to finish within 3.8 seconds of the Mexican.

Lewis Hamilton lumbered to a ninth-placed finish, while Sainz, having started P16, eventually retired after Ferrari's hopes of a safety car pit strategy faded with a lap to go.

Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri secured fifth and sixth positions, concluding a successful season for McLaren. Fernando Alonso managed to surpass Norris and Leclerc to fourth in the drivers' standings, securing the advantage with a late pass on Yuki Tsunoda.

Tsunoda, employing a relatively unique one-stop strategy, briefly led the race and matched his season-best finish with P8.

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2023 results

The final classification from the Yas Marina Circuit was as follows:

1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull): 1:28.545

2. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari): +17.993

3. George Russell (Mercedes): +20.328

4. Sergio Perez (Red Bull): +21.453

5. Lando Norris (McLaren): +24.284

6. Oscar Piastri (McLaren): +31.487

7. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin): +39.512

8. Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri): +43.088

9. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes): +44.424

10. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin): +55.632

11. Daniel Ricciardo (AlphaTauri): +56.229

12. Esteban Ocon (Alpine): +66.373

13. Pierre Gasly (Alpine): +70.360

14. Alex Albon (Williams): +73.184

15. Nico Hulkenberg (Haas): +83.696

16. Logan Sargeant (Williams): +87.791

17. Zhou Guanyu (Alfa Romeo): +89.422

18. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari): RET

19. Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo): +1 LAP

20. Kevin Magnussen (Haas): +1 LAP

Fastest Lap

Max Verstappen (Red Bull):

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