'Max Verstappen is still the protagonist of F1' - Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Hot Takes

Max Verstappen and George Russell — Photo: © IMAGO

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

'Max Verstappen is still the protagonist of F1' - Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Hot Takes

The GPFans staff give their final hot takes of the season after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Sunday 8 December 2024 18:00

A chaotic Abu Dhabi Grand Prix saw McLaren and Lando Norris come out on top, with the former winning the constructors' championship and the latter winning the race.

The Ferraris of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc finished second and third respectively, the latter fighting brilliantly up from 19th on the grid, but it wasn't enough to overhaul the papaya team's 21-point advantage.

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The Abu Dhabi GP did not disappoint on-track either, with Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri coming together on the opening lap.

Verstappen was subsequently issued a 10-second penalty, which the champion was not pleased about serving despite the stewards finding him at fault for the incident.

With lots to unpack from the final race of the season at Yas Marina, let the GPFans team take you through the Abu Dhabi GP with their hot takes.

Lando Norris and McLaren sealed the constructors' trophy

GPFans' Abu Dhabi Grand Prix hot takes

Dan Ripley - Deputy Editor

McLaren get their title, Hamilton gets his relative 'going out on a high' at Mercedes and Verstappen continues to rant at everyone and everything as F1's resident 'man yells at cloud'.

But as F1 2024 ends and the countdown to F1 2025 starts already (if like Christmas a premature build-up wasn't already the case) then this was also a good race to take a final assessment on how Charles Leclerc will fare against Hamilton ahead of their Ferrari pairing as team-mates.

Like Hamilton, the Ferrari star too had to crawl up the grid from the back of the pack after an unfortunate qualifying session and it's usually these sorts of drives where you can mark out the great from the good.

His P3 was the real drive of the day as he ends the season on a high. Leclerc is a superior driver to Mercedes' George Russell and on this evidence he could quickly end any sort of honeymoon Hamilton will enjoy after he waltzes into Maranello.

Will Charles Leclerc beat Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari?

Chris Deeley - US Lead Editor

Thank you, Max Verstappen. Alright, there were a whole heap of little sub-plots in Abu Dhabi (thank you announcers, yes, we know, sixth place in the championship is worth £10m) but without the drivers’ champ taking advantage of his free hit race to punt Oscar Piastri into a spin there would have been precious little jeopardy on Sunday.

This has been the longest season in F1 history, and by god it’s felt like it at times. Some 1,500 laps of racing and countless more in qualifying and practice, we were so close to ending on a real damp squib.

Then Verstappen hit Piastri and made this race really fun, sparking off a chain reaction of nudges (nice one Oscar, what you really needed was to run straight into a Williams), spins and penalties.

Is Verstappen the best driver on the grid right now? You can argue that back and forth. But you cannot argue that he isn’t the protagonist of the sport.

Max Verstappen's first lap crash in Abu Dhabi garnered criticism

Matt Hobkinson - Global Lead Editor

Max Verstappen is feeling the consequences of his actions.

The Red Bull star called the stewards “stupid idiots” for their decision to hand him a penalty after his collision with Oscar Piastri.

But the truth is that he played a huge role in the severity of that punishment before the race had even begun.

His aggressive driving with Lando Norris in Mexico, and numerous incidents previously, lit the touchpaper for the stewards to hand out more severe penalties for incidents like these.

As Martin Brundle so excellently put it - if Max doesn’t want to get penalised, then don’t run into other people.

He has rarely had to fight alongside other cars in previous seasons, but he might need to get used to it for 2025.

Max Verstappen received a 10-second time penalty at Yas Marina

Ronan Murphy - Social Media Editor

It’s done. The 2024 F1 season is done. Max Verstappen won, sure. But it was not the procession of previous seasons. Lando Norris pushed him hard, Sergio Perez made things hard on himself, and all of us watching hardly had a breather.

The longest season in Formula 1 is over. But there is little down time between now and the 2025 season, with just 98 days until the next edition begins.

And what a next edition we have in store. Lewis Hamilton joining the World Constructors’ Championship runners-up, and Red Bull looking to get back to the top themselves after a year where Max was Max and Checo checked out.

In Abu Dhabi, he checked out pretty early, casting even more doubt on his future. Which should give us F1 fans plenty to talk about for the next weeks and months. Can Red Bull really come back with him as their number 2 driver?

Lando and McLaren are definitely a force to be reckoned with. But don’t sleep on Charles Leclerc. Never mind, Lewis Hamilton.

Forget about Christmas or New Year’s. There are only 98 sleeps to go.

Was the Abu Dhabi GP Sergio Perez's last race?

Simmey Hannifin-Donaldson - F1 Journalist

Red Bull and Max Verstappen should be worried!!

Whilst McLaren and their star man Lando Norris have come in for a lot of criticism this season — and rightly so at times — it was calm as you like from the papaya outfit and their British star at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix with the constructors’ championship on the line.

After Oscar Piastri was taken out by Max Verstappen in the first corner, it would have been easy for the nerves to kick in and mistakes to happen, but as Ferrari chased them down both on track and in the standings, it was collective composure from the McLaren pit wall and indeed Lando Norris out front.

It truly was a championship-worthy drive, and whilst it only wrapped up the constructors’ and not the drivers’ title, Norris proved that when the pressure is on, he can deliver.

It was a clear indication that Norris and the team have learned from their setbacks in 2024, and providing they have the pace once again next season, they will surely mount an even stronger challenge for both championships once again in 2025.

Can Lando Norris take the title in 2025?

Sheona Mountford - F1 Journalist

So that’s Liam Lawson to Red Bull then isn’t it?

Sergio Perez’s DNF at the start of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix encapsulated his 2024 season perfectly, a woeful end to what has been a terrible year.

Red Bull’s third place finish in the constructors’ was also confirmed, but can they really improve their position next year?

If they opt for Lawson, the short answer is no.

Once again he failed to beat Tsunoda in Abu Dhabi, and if he can’t beat his team-mate now he has no chance alongside Max Verstappen in 2025.

The team would be better off promoting Tsunoda, who after all has bested every team-mate put in front of him, but regardless of what he does Red Bull do not seem to be interested in him.

So here’s to Lawson and his promotion! Take it in now, because it won’t be long before we’ll start talking about his demotion.

And so the Red Bull cycle continues…

Is Liam Lawson really the right option for Red Bull?

Written by

Sheona Mountford - F1 Journalist

Sheona Mountford is a motorsport journalist specialising in F1. As a writer and contributor, she covers a wide range of motorsport series from F1 to F1 Academy, responsible for breaking news, live race coverage and in depth analysis of the sport and the culture around it.

View full biography

Red Bull Max Verstappen Ferrari Mercedes McLaren Lando Norris