What Could Be At Stake On F1 In The Last Race Of The Year In Abu Dhabi?

Max Verstappen and Red Bull repeated the world championship in 2023 and did so quite early and, therefore, attention was focused on other battles such as the drivers’ runners-up position, which was decided in favour of Sergio Pérez in the last GP of Las Vegas. However, there are still many battles that will be decided in the last round of the year.

1. The team runner-up: Mercedes against Ferrari

After seeing how last season ended, perhaps this was predictable, although, after Aston Martin’s good start, the perspectives on who would be Red Bull’s top pursuer this year probably changed. But finally, everything returned to normal.

Mercedes and Ferrari have arrived at the last race of the season locked in an exciting battle for second place in the constructors, separated by a minimal difference. At the moment, the Germans have 392 points in their locker, while the Italians are slightly behind, with a total of 388 points, that is, only four less.

Considering that the distance between them is so small, we will have to pay attention to how both teams perform in Yas Marina since finishing second or third in the team standings can make a big difference financially, which in turn could be very important in the budgets of the next campaign.

2. The honour of the other notable greats: Aston Martin and McLaren

Although the green team started the season in style, the truth is that little by little they fell into a black hole from which they recently seem to have emerged. Something that made them go from second position in the constructors’ world championship to their current fifth place, with McLaren, which started the year very poorly, having an opposite progression that has allowed them to rise to fourth place.

However, in the last two races, the Silverstone team seems to have recovered at least a large part of its competitiveness and, including Brazil and Las Vegas, they have cut some points from the Papaya team that has restored their confidence that, if Everything goes well, being able to recover the fourth position of honour is not impossible.

Right now, McLaren has 284 points, while Aston Martin has 273, eleven units less which, seeing what happened last weekend, allows those at Silverstone to think that a comeback is within reach. Finishing fourth or fifth, for both, could also make a considerable difference in their budgets for 2024.

3. Be the best of the Spanish in F1 2023: Alonso versus Sainz

With different fortunes and a practically opposite dynamic this season, Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz have reached the last test of the course with the same points, 200 specifically. Although the Madrid native is the one who surpasses the Spaniard, despite having fewer podiums he has achieved a victory he is the only one who has achieved it without counting the Red Bulls. Due to this, Sainz is fourth in the classification and Alonso fifth, although everything will be decided in Abu Dhabi, whoever finishes ahead will win the Spanish duel, while if (hopefully not) neither finishes the race, it will be the one from Ferrari who wins.

Although surpassing your compatriot is not a notable title, it is always a pleasure to achieve it.

4. Who is the leader of Ferrari? Leclerc and Sainz, a power struggle

Being the first sword of Ferrari could be said to be the dream of almost all drivers who come to Formula 1, until not long ago, it was clear that Charles Leclerc was it at Ferrari. However, since Carlos Sainz arrived at the Maranello entity, he has been surprised by his good level and is not at all considered a “second driver” as he once said before he arrived in Italy.

In 2021, the Spaniard beat his teammate in the direct duel, while in 2022 it was Leclerc who prevailed with more superiority. But, with the score tied (1-1), this 2023 is tipping the balance again in favour of Carlos Sainz. With one race weekend to go, the Madrid native is fourth with 200 points, while the Monegasque is in seventh place with 188 points, a difference of 12 points that still makes the internal power struggle at Ferrari possible. is very open, so surely many eyes in Yas Marina will focus on both Leclerc and Sainz, who initially start with some advantage. Winning this battle could be a blow to the table.

5. Leader wanted in Alpine: the tense rivalry between Gasly and Ocon

Although very far from the head fights, since Pierre Gasly joined the French team, with Esteban Ocon as a teammate, everyone echoed about their bad personal relationship and the effect that this could have internally on the structure.

And, after a somewhat relaxed start to the season, in the second part of the year, with both drivers very even in terms of points, the hostilities between the two have grown at times, largely because, probably, whoever wins this internal duel, could become Alpine’s project leader, both in 2024 and going forward.

In a delayed 11th position, Gasly leads Ocon with a difference of only four points, so a fight of the titans is expected, surely with tension if both meet on the track again, during the next Abu Dhabi GP. For the first of them, it would be important to defeat his teammate in her first year on the team, while the second will try to show that he can continue being the first sword of the French team.

6. The other fights between drivers in F1 2023

At the moment, Alonso occupies fifth position in the constructors’ standings and could even finish fourth. The same situation for Aston Martin in the constructors’ standings, but when you look across the team’s garage, Lance Stroll is tenth, well behind the Spaniard and if things don’t go his way in Abu Dhabi, he could even finish outside the top 10, something that would be a very bad image for the Canadian compared to what his boxing neighbour has done. He is almost tied for tenth place, but he is 11 points ahead of Gasly, so it is still not 100% mathematical. On the other hand, although it seems unlikely, there are still mathematical options that Daniel Ricciardo surpasses Yuki Tsunoda in points having only competed in eight races (counting Yas Marina), which would be a big blow on the table just before 2024 which in theory both could fight to get Sergio Pérez’s current seat at Red Bull for 2025.

7. The teams in the lower zone risk many millions

With one race left to close the curtain on the current campaign, Williams is seventh and has 28 points in its locker, while AlphaTauri has 21, Alfa Romeo with 16 and Haas F1 Team, only 12. The fact that the points difference between the last four qualifiers is so small means that all of them are at stake this weekend.

For any of these four teams, finishing a position above or below in the world championship is key for their budgets for the next season, so there will be very interesting fights in search of the mistakes of the teams in front to try to reach points.

8. How far will Verstappen’s records go in F1 2023?

To date and after 21 grand prix contested, Max Verstappen has managed to win a total of 18 races, registering a new record of victories in a single year that could even increase to 19 this weekend. In terms of percentages, the Dutchman has won 85.71% of the races so far, another record that the Red Bull driver has set after surpassing the 75% achieved by  Alberto Ascari in 1952. But if he also achieves victory in Abu Dhabi will end the season with 86.36% wins, a percentage that is difficult to match given what we have seen. 

Taking into account that in the last three Abu Dhabi GPs, Verstappen achieved three poles and three victories, everything indicates that he could repeat this year and increase his numbers to four in a row. Can anyone stop the Dutchman’s dominance?