Verstappen wins season finale

ABU DHABI: Red Bull’s Max Verstappen won a record-extending 15th race of the year at the Abu Dhabi GP on Sunday to conclude one of the most dominant seasons in Formula One history.

A year on from Verstappen’s tense and controversial win over Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes to seal his first title, there was little drama at the Yas Marina Circuit. Verstappen (1:27:45.914) stayed ahead of his teammate Sergio Perez at the start and was never seriously challenged after that on his way to victory. “Incredible to win again here, 15th win of the season is unbelievable,” said Verstappen, who finished the season with 454 points.

“It has been really enjoyable to work with the whole team and to be able to achieve something like this this year.” Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc (+8.771 seconds) held off Perez’s (+10.093 seconds) challenge on old tires to finish second and clinch second place in the championship standings, thwarting Red Bull’s bid to have its drivers placed first and second. Leclerc (308 points) finished three points ahead of Perez (305 points) in the standings.