BOITUMELO RANTAO
RED Bull Racing enjoyed their first win in Abu Dhabi since 2013 with rising star Max Verstappen claiming his second 2020 win in astonishingly comfortable fashion. His first win of the season came in the early stages of the 2020 season at the 70th Anniversary GP in Silverstone.
Verstappen was in unfamiliar territory, on lap 48, 12 seconds clear of second-place Valterri Bottas “I expected a very tough fight today but I think we managed everything very well and there was never really a moment where I felt under pressure which is a pretty good feeling.”
Verstappen flipped the traditional order of the race leaders, leading Mercedes duo of Bottas and eventual third place finisher Lewis Hamilton for each of the 55 laps in the final race of the season.
“It has been a very enjoyable two days which we didn’t really expect coming into the weekend.” He concluded.
Red Bull’s fantastic day culminated with Verstappen’s Thai teammate, Alex Albon, who is still unsigned for the 2021 season, finishing in fourth after some sublime driving early in the race.
McLaren’s breakout season finished with third place in the teams’ constructors championship. A powerful fifth and sixth finish saw the British team establish themselves as the team to beat in the midfield battle. Ferrari’s newest addition Carlos Sainz took sixth in his last race for McLaren.
“I’m very proud to be a member of the McLaren F1 team today. We asked a lot from our people this year, but amid the pandemic and a great deal of uncertainty everyone stayed focused on the job in hand.” said Andreas Seidl, McLaren Team Principal
Sainz’s 2021 replacement Daniel Ricciardo finished in 7th ahead of AlphaTauri driver, and one of 2020 newest race-winners, Pierre Gasly. Last week’s podium sitters Esteban Ocon and Lance Stroll completed the top 10.
The last race of the season was also the final for former world champion Sebastian Vettel at Ferrari. He will drive for Aston Martin in 2021, the team currently known as Racing Point.
