F1 Abu Dhabi GP: Verstappen beats Mercedes duo to win 2020 finale
Red Bull's Max Verstappen dominated the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, winning ahead of Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton as Formula 1's 2020 season ended with a straightforward race


At the start, the top three appeared to launch equally well, with Verstappen moving to the middle of the track from pole to ward off any threat of attack from the Mercedes cars behind, scampering clear as Bottas had a slight slide exiting the first corner.
The race quickly settled down, with the top three running as they lined up on the grid, as Verstappen soon pulled a healthy gap to the following Black Arrows.
By the start of lap four of 55, Verstappen's lead was 2.2s, as he and Bottas were able to run in the mid 1m42s, while Hamilton dropped back - lapping in the 1m43s.
Verstappen edged his lead up to three seconds over the next five laps, but had to surrender that when the race was neutralised - first with a virtual safety car, then a full safety car - after Sergio Perez retired with what appeared to be a transmission problem exiting Turn 19 on lap nine.
The Racing Point driver, who had been working his way up from P19 on the grid following his pre-race penalty for taking a fresh power unit, pulled over to the side of the track just past the left-hander under the W Hotel in the third sector after losing drive.
The top three immediately pitted - then under the VSC - to switch their mediums for hards, with the situation upgraded to a full safety car as the Racing Point could not be quickly moved out of harm's way.
That meant Verstappen's lead was erased, but he quickly set about re-establishing it after acing the restart at the beginning of lap 14 - pulling away by 1.4s in the ensuing tour.
The leaders were then able to run in the 1m41s as they ran clear of the second Red Bull of Alex Albon, who had passed McLaren's Lando Norris shortly before Perez retired, with Hamilton again falling a chunk behind Bottas in third.
Verstappen kept increasing his advantage, despite concerns about making his hard tyres last to the finish, during the next phase of the race, where he was regularly able to lap in the low 1m41s while the Mercedes drivers swung between the mid-high 1m41s.
By lap 35, Verstappen's advantage had reached eight seconds, as he committed to controlling the careful way he treated his front and rear tyres to maintain the balance he was enjoying.
Although the gap between the top two then ebbed and flowed fractionally between Verstappen and Bottas as they negotiated backmarkers, with the leader concerned about vibrations he was feeling as his tyres wore further with just over 10 laps to go, the Red Bull driver never looked under major threat.
He came home to win by 15.9s after staying in the 1m41s in the final stages as the Mercedes regularly fell back to the 1m42s.
Hamilton finished 2.4s behind Bottas on his return following his COVID-19-enforced absence after the Bahrain GP.
The world champion had closed in on his team-mate during the final phase of the race, but never looking like he'd be able to get close enough to make a pass and indeed fell back away in the last laps.

Albon finished 1.5s behind Hamilton, closing in suddenly as the laps ticked down to the flag, with Norris leading home his team-mate Carlos Sainz Jr in fifth and sixth.
The result secures P3 in the constructors' championship for McLaren, although Sainz faces a post-race investigation for possibly going too slowly in the pitlane during the VSC when running in front of Lance Stroll, before he arrived for the second part of McLaren's double-stack stop.
Daniel Ricciardo rose from 11th on the grid to finish seventh, not stopping under the VSC to leap up the order and then running long on the hards he had started the race on.
In his final race for Renault, Ricciardo was able to produce strong pace as his long opening stint wore on but, after he'd pitted to take the mediums with 16 laps left, the tyre advantage he had was not significant enough for him to close in on the driver he will replace at McLaren 2021.
Ricciardo set the fastest lap of the race on the last lap - a 1m40.926s.
Pierre Gasly took eighth, putting a firm pass at Turn 11 on Stroll's remaining Racing Point just past half-distance, with Esteban Ocon getting ahead late on to steal ninth.
Stroll therefore rounded out the top 10 ahead of Daniil Kvyat.
Charles Leclerc finished 13th ahead of Sebastian Vettel in the four-time world champion's final race for Ferrari, with the duo also not stopping under the VSC to climb up the order before they fell back struggling for grip compared to those that had come in earlier.
Abu Dhabi GP result - 55 laps
Pos | Driver | Car | Gap |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull/Honda | 1h36m28.645s |
2 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 15.976s |
3 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 18.415s |
4 | Alexander Albon | Red Bull/Honda | 19.987s |
5 | Lando Norris | McLaren/Renault | 1m00.729s |
6 | Carlos Sainz Jr. | McLaren/Renault | 1m05.662s |
7 | Daniel Ricciardo | Renault | 1m13.748s |
8 | Pierre Gasly | AlphaTauri/Honda | 1m29.718s |
9 | Esteban Ocon | Renault | 1m41.069s |
10 | Lance Stroll | Racing Point/Mercedes | 1m42.738s |
11 | Daniil Kvyat | AlphaTauri/Honda | 1 Lap |
12 | Kimi Raikkonen | Alfa Romeo/Ferrari | 1 Lap |
13 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1 Lap |
14 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1 Lap |
15 | George Russell | Williams/Mercedes | 1 Lap |
16 | Antonio Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo/Ferrari | 1 Lap |
17 | Nicholas Latifi | Williams/Mercedes | 1 Lap |
18 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas/Ferrari | 1 Lap |
19 | Pietro Fittipaldi | Haas/Ferrari | 2 Laps |
- | Sergio Perez | Racing Point/Mercedes | Power Unit |
Drivers' championship
Pos | Driver | Points |
---|---|---|
1 | Lewis Hamilton | 347 |
2 | Valtteri Bottas | 223 |
3 | Max Verstappen | 214 |
4 | Sergio Perez | 125 |
5 | Daniel Ricciardo | 119 |
6 | Carlos Sainz Jr. | 105 |
7 | Alexander Albon | 105 |
8 | Charles Leclerc | 98 |
9 | Lando Norris | 97 |
10 | Pierre Gasly | 75 |
11 | Lance Stroll | 75 |
12 | Esteban Ocon | 62 |
13 | Sebastian Vettel | 33 |
14 | Daniil Kvyat | 32 |
15 | Nico Hulkenberg | 10 |
16 | Kimi Raikkonen | 4 |
17 | Antonio Giovinazzi | 4 |
18 | George Russell | 3 |
19 | Romain Grosjean | 2 |
20 | Kevin Magnussen | 1 |
21 | Nicholas Latifi | 0 |
22 | Jack Aitken | 0 |
23 | Pietro Fittipaldi | 0 |
Constructors' championship
Pos | Constructor | Points |
---|---|---|
1 | Mercedes | 573 |
2 | Red Bull/Honda | 319 |
3 | McLaren/Renault | 202 |
4 | Racing Point/Mercedes | 195 |
5 | Renault | 181 |
6 | Ferrari | 131 |
7 | AlphaTauri/Honda | 107 |
8 | Alfa Romeo/Ferrari | 8 |
9 | Haas/Ferrari | 3 |
10 | Williams/Mercedes | 0 |

MGU-K "gremlin" forced Mercedes to turn down power at F1 Abu Dhabi GP
Hamilton "massively" affected by COVID aftereffects in F1 Abu Dhabi GP

Latest news
Could mixed fortunes for F1's leading Brits turn around at Silverstone?
For the first time in many years, none of the local racers starts among the favourites for the British Grand Prix. But George Russell, Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris could have reasons for optimism
Verstappen exclusive: Why F1’s champion isn’t fazed by Silverstone return
Max Verstappen is the world’s number one racing driver… and he’s determined to keep it that way. Speaking exclusively to GP Racing's OLEG KARPOV, the Red Bull driver explains why he’s relishing the 2022 championship battle with Charles Leclerc – and why he’s not worried about returning to Silverstone, the scene of the biggest accident of his career last year
Why Red Bull’s RB17 hypercar can help its F1 team
On Tuesday, Red Bull laid out its plans to develop and build a new hypercar - the RB17 - penned by Adrian Newey. As the project itself sates Newey as a creative outlet, it also offers Red Bull's Formula 1 team a number of new and exciting avenues to pursue
What to expect from Mercedes as F1 returns to Silverstone
OPINION: The British Grand Prix is a home event for Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, with their Mercedes team based just a few miles away too. But there’s another reason why the Silver Arrows squad is eager to arrive at Silverstone this weekend, which may help it fix its remaining problems with its 2022 Formula 1 challenger
The “solemn promise” that cost quiet hero Brooks an F1 title
After two terrifying crashes, one of the best British racers of the 1950s retired before his career peaked. But that’s why GP Racing’s MAURICE HAMILTON was able to speak to Tony Brooks in 2014. Like his friend Stirling Moss, Brooks was regarded as one of the best drivers never to have won the world championship. Here, as our tribute to Brooks who died last month, is that interview in full
Inside the Faenza facility where AlphaTauri’s F1 pragmatic vision is realised
AlphaTauri’s mission in F1 is to sell clothes and train young drivers rather than win the championship – but you still need a cutting-edge factory to do that. Team boss Franz Tost takes GP Racing’s OLEG KARPOV on a guided tour of a facility that’s continuing to grow
Connecting two of Ferrari's favourite F1 sons
Gilles Villeneuve's exploits behind the wheel of a Ferrari made him a legend to the tifosi, even 40 years after his death. The team's current Formula 1 star Charles Leclerc enjoys a similar status, and recently got behind the wheel of a very special car from the French-Canadian’s career
How a 30cm metal wire triggered open warfare in the F1 paddock
Porpoising has become the key talking point during the 2022 Formula 1 season, as teams battle to come to terms with it. An FIA technical directive ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix and a second stay appearing on the Mercedes cars only served to create a bigger debate and raise tensions further