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Why engine caution wasn't the biggest factor in Mercedes' Abu Dhabi defeat

Mercedes was strangely subdued in an Abu Dhabi GP that never lived up to the promise suggested from qualifying. But its concern over engine life played a negligible part, as Max Verstappen dominated 2020's final race

Alex Kalinauckas Dec 14, 2020, 4:02 PM

To hear that Red Bull has defeated the mighty Mercedes squad suggests a Formula 1 race of great excitement has taken place.

It calls to mind Max Verstappen's brilliant win in the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix back in the summer, where the Dutchman executed an excellent mix of strategy and wheel-to-wheel superiority to take down two overall faster cars - winning with style and panache.

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Author Alex Kalinauckas

Alex Kalinauckas is Autosport's Grand Prix Editor, covering every Formula 1 race since the start of 2020. After completing a master's degree in journalism at Goldsmiths College University of London in 2014, he worked for a range of motorsport and technology publications while covering national racing as an Autosport freelancer.

A lifelong motorsport fan - no one in his family can explain quite how or why such a development first occurred - Alex joined the Autosport staff in April 2017 as the magazine’s Assistant Editor covering Formula 2 and GP3, before being made Formula E correspondent and Autosport.com’s Plus Editor in March 2018. He lives in north-east London and is constantly frustrated by the Central Line.