TEAM-BY-TEAM analysis of the season-ending Abu Dhabi Formula One Grand Prix at Yas Marina (in final championship order):
RED BULL (Max Verstappen 1, Sergio Perez 4)
Verstappen took his record 19th win of the season, 54th of his career, seventh in a row, and fourth in succession in Abu Dhabi. He won from pole and also set the fastest lap. The Dutch driver has set records for most points scored in a season (575), and most podiums (21), and he became the first driver to lead more than 1,000 laps in a season. He finished 17.9 seconds clear of Leclerc, troubled by the Ferrari only on the opening lap. Perez started ninth and finished second on track, let through by Leclerc on the penultimate lap for strategic reasons, but a five-second penalty for a collision with McLaren’s Norris dropped him to fourth. Red Bull ended the season with 21 wins in 22 races.
MERCEDES (George Russell 3, Lewis Hamilton 9)
Russell started fourth, dropping to fifth at the start before passing McLaren’s Piastri on track and Norris in the pits to ensure Mercedes beat Ferrari as best of the rest behind Red Bull. Hamilton gained three positions at the start from 11th on the grid but was passed by Perez on lap three. He damaged his front wing in a collision with Alpine’s Gasly while fighting for sixth on lap 15. The season was the first without a Mercedes win since 2011 but an improvement on third overall in 2022.
FERRARI (Charles Leclerc 2, Carlos Sainz 18)
Ferrari looked at one point like clinching second but Sainz falling out of the top 10 ended those hopes. The Spaniard started 16th on hard tyres, running a very long second stint in the hope of a safety car that never came. He made his second stop with two laps remaining but Ferrari retired the car, although he was classified. Leclerc let Perez past on the penultimate lap, knowing the Mexican had a five-second penalty but hoping he would deprive Russell of vital points. Ferrari still end the season as the only team to beat Red Bull.
MCLAREN (Lando Norris 5, Oscar Piastri 6)
Piastri started third and Norris fifth, with the two running third and fourth on lap one before positions were reversed. Norris lost fourth to Russell with a 5.1-second first pitstop and collided with Perez on lap 47, with the Mexican handed a penalty for it. Norris is the first McLaren driver since Jenson Button in 2011 to score more than 200 points in a season. Piastri’s rookie season is the best since Hamilton in 2007.
ASTON MARTIN (Fernando Alonso 7, Lance Stroll 10)
Alonso finished fourth overall, although level on points with Leclerc, on podium finishes and said it had been his best and most consistent season since 2012. The Spaniard started seventh with Stroll 13th but suffered high tyre wear. Alonso was noted by stewards for possible erratic driving after his second stop when Hamilton had to brake in a hurry. The team’s final points tally of 280 compared to last year’s 55.
ALPINE (Esteban Ocon 12, Pierre Gasly 13)
Gasly started 10th and Ocon 12th, with the former eighth after the opening lap. Contact with Perez early on and then Hamilton on lap 15 damaged his car while Ocon pitted on the same lap on a one-stop strategy. Gasly switched to a two-stop but was angered by the team giving Ocon priority.
WILLIAMS (Alex Albon 14, Logan Sargeant 16)
Williams held on to seventh place overall, their highest finish to a season since 2017, after a difficult evening. Albon lost five places at the start after qualifying 14th. Sargeant must now wait for a decision on his future with the team.
ALPHATAURI (Yuki Tsunoda 8, Daniel Ricciardo 11)
Tsunoda led for the first time in his F1 career, only the second Japanese driver to do that after Verstappen and Leclerc had pitted. He was voted Driver of the Day by fans after his one-stop race. Ricciardo started on a one-stop strategy but switched to two after a visor tear-off strip was caught in a brake duct. The team needed to outscore Williams by eight points but in the end, managed only four. The race was a farewell for team boss Franz Tost as well as the AlphaTauri name.
ALFA ROMEO (Guanyu Zhou 17, Valtteri Bottas 19)
The Alfa Romeo name departs from F1 after six seasons as title sponsor with Swiss-based Sauber in transition to becoming the Audi factory team from 2026. Bottas went for a one-stop strategy while Zhou pitted twice.
HAAS (Nico Hulkenberg 15, Kevin Magnussen 20)
Hulkenberg started eighth on medium tyres but dropped to 12th on lap one and made two stops. Magnussen started 17th on mediums, pitting for hard tyres on lap four and again on lap 22.
