Verstappen Caps Dominant 2023 F1 Season

Formula 1 2023 concluded in Abu Dhabi with Max Verstappen and the Oracle Red Bull Racing team claiming victory in what was a dominant season for them

- Charan Karthik

Brazil

AT SAO PAULO, ADVERSE weather conditions brought a premature end to qualifying, with championship leader Max Verstappen setting the fastest lap at 1:10.727, followed by Charles Leclerc for Ferrari and the Aston Martin duo of Lance Stroll and Fernando AIonso occupying the second row. Behind them were Lewis Hamilton and George Russell for Mercedes, followed by Lando Norris for McLaren with former teammate, Carlos Sainz, in his Ferrari, completing the fourth row. Rounding off the top 10 were Sergio Perez (Red Bull) and the Australian rookie, Oscar Piastri, in the McLaren.

During the Sprint, Verstappen took lead on the first lap and stretched it to the end of 24 laps, beating Norris and Red Bull teammate Perez who were ahead of Mercedes' Russell and Ferrari's Leclerc.

On the Sunday, the lights went out with pole-sitter Verstappen taking lead into the first corner. Leclerc was absent due to his crash on the warm-up lap owing to hydraulic failure. Behind the leader was Norris, followed by Hamilton, who jumped ahead of the Aston Martins that had started slow. Following that, the Safety Car was out immediately with the race being redflagged after AIex AIbon of Williams went into the barriers, hitting the Haas of Kevin Magnussen; a chain reaction pulling in Piastri's McLaren and Daniel Ricciardo's AIpha Tauri too. The barriers having been fixed, the race was restarted after a 30-minute delay with Verstappen on pole, followed by Norris, Hamilton, and the Astons.