It was a familiar face at the top of the leaderboard for the 15th time this year, Max Verstappen cruising to victory in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
The 2022 World Champion started on pole for the race and was quick to fend off fellow front-row sitter, teammate Sergio Perez, into Turn 1.
With the World Championship safely locked up for the Dutchman, the true battle was for second place between Charles Leclerc and Sergio Perez.
It was the Ferrari that triumphed in that battle, Red Bull’s two-stop strategy failing to give the Mexican a chance to pass to Monegasque is the dying stages of the event.
The team, and driver, will be left lamenting whether the strategy was the right call. He did, however, manage to pass the likes of Carlos Sainz, George Russell and Lewis Hamilton, all on one-stop strategies, in his charge to attempt to secure second.
It was to little to late as he fell an agonising 1.4 seconds short of Leclerc and had to settle for third.
Carlos Sainz came home some 20 seconds off the pace for fourth, George Russell behind and facing a 5-second penalty for an unsafe release. The additional time didn’t affect his result due to the sixth-placed Lando Norris being more than 25 seconds up the road.
It was Russell’s teammate, Hamilton, who was in the wars, failing to finish for Mercedes’ first mechanical DNF of 2022. The cause of the problem was believed to be a hydraulic issue on Lap 55 of 58.
This non-finish combined with a strong performance from Ferrari means the Italian outfit finishes the year second in the Manufacturers Championship with Mercedes confined to third.
Alpine triumphed over McLaren in their season-long rivalry for fourth in the championship, despite Fernando Alonso failing to finish, also with reliability issues.
It was left up to Esteban Ocon to ensure Norris and Daniel Ricciardo were challenged. He did so, coming home an impressive seventh behind Norris but ahead of Ricciardo who finished ninth.
After 22 races only 14 points separated the two outfits.
It was much tighter in the battle between Aston Martin and Alfa Romeo for sixth in the standings, the latter with a five point advantage heading into the finale and keeping their spot despite Lance Stroll scoring 4 points in eighth and Sebastian Vettel scoring a sole point in 10th.
This meant the two outfits finish the season locked on points, Alfa Romeo keeping the spot due to achieving theirs earlier. Their drivers Zhou Guanyu and Valtteri Bottas finished 12th and 15th respectively.
Season finales are always a bitter affair as we farewell drivers from the grid and begin preparation for the new year.
It’s a bittersweet farewell from Ricciardo as he exits McLaren, for the incoming Oscar Piastri, after underperforming over the past two years for the team.
“We’ll always have Monza, [however],” he said in a letter sent to McLaren fans earlier this week, recognising the squads historic one-two finish at the Italian circuit last year, the Australian’s final of eight race victories in the sport.
He may return to the series next year, albeit in a reserve or test driver capacity. Whilst this is yet to be confirmed, Red Bull’s Head of Driver Development Helmut Marko has spilled the beans, again, that he expects the Australian to be joining them.
One driver we won’t see back on the track is Vettel as he farewells a magnificent career that’s seen him claim four World Championships and 122 podiums, including 53 race wins.
The German will be sorely missed by the Paddock and fans alike as he retires for family commitments and to allow junior drivers to come through.
Vettel has been a fan favourite for a long time now and has come across as much more than just a driver. The 35-year-old has built this reputation through promoting local causes over race weekend, including the mining of oil sands in Canada and helping build a hotel for bees in Austria.
He’s also been sighted picking up litter in the stands after events and appeared on TV shows addressing the climate crisis.
He’ll be joined by great friend Mick Schumacher on the sidelines, the fellow-German shown the exit door by Haas following a difficult two seasons in the sport.
Son of the great Michael Schumacher, Mick has worked hard to build his own successes in the sport. He heritage meant fans have eagerly followed but an underperforming car combined with lackluster performances has seen him rarely challenge the top 10.
Youth is still on his side, however, meaning we could well see him back in the sport in future. He will be replaced by compatriot Niko Hulkenberg at Haas.
Drivers can now rest easy with the 2022 season finished, the Bahrain Grand Prix opening the season on the 5th of March.
