2024 Abu Dhabi GP: Post Race Analysis

Another season concludes at Abu Dhabi and it was one of the best races we've seen around this track. Plenty of action from start to finish and a fitting end to a brilliant season.

McLaren win the Constructors Championship with a win from Lando Norris. A perfect way to finish their season. Absolutely deserving champions. It would have been heartbreaking to lose after having the best car for the majority of the season and a very solid driver line up. A very mature drive for Lando. Incredible, he got through the first lap still in the lead. Didn't make a mistake all race, pulled a gap out and won the race with ease. Probably his best win of his career when you factor in the pressure and the margins. Oscar likely would have been up there for a podium but got taken out in the first turn. A solid recovery drive for some good points.

Ferrari so close yet so far. Amazing job to them for the hard work to even put up a fight right up to the last race. It was a long shot, but the drivers and team did the maximum they could. Carlos, a beautiful farewell with a 2nd place position. He may never get the full credit he deserves at what he accomplished with Ferrari so it was a joyful way to conclude his time with the Scuderia. Charles Leclerc was sensational. A truly superstar drive which is what we need to see from anyone that wants to be a world champion in the future. Even though Ferrari fell short in the WCC, it was still a great race from them and we can be proud of the entire team.

Mercedes also had a very memorable day. The most successful driver/team pairing in history conclude their time together with another incredible race from Lewis Hamilton. Very reminiscent of Michael Schumacher's final race with Ferrari in Brazil 2006. I hope this quiets some comments that Lewis doesn't have it anymore. When it comes to races, he still knows how to get a result. George Russell can't be happy with today. Sure he beat Lewis 2 out of 3 years, and properly thumped him this season, but he got put in his place this race and at the end of their time together, Lewis does finish with more points thanks to being schooled on the last lap of the last race of the season. At a time when the fans are completely turned on him, George Russell may have some difficult times ahead.

Red Bull were not in the fight for the WCC, but not a great end to their season. Max goes for a lunge on Piastri in Turn 1. 50/50 that gets a penalty for almost any other driver, 80% chance it's considered a racing incident if it were Lando or Lewis, but 100% penalty if it's Max. The truth is, it was a deserving penalty. It was a late lunge, he had to get on top of the inside curb to have a shot at the apex and Piastri wouldn't have seen to give Max any more room than he did. Whether you believe it deserved a penalty or not, it was an unnecessary move. Max looked very strong during the race, especially on medium tires and he likely would have been on the podium at least if he was more patient. Perez perhaps finishes career with another disaster? Time will tell. If he keeps his seat at Red Bull, everyone knows by now it's not based on performance.

Alpine secure 6th in WCC on the shoulders of Pierre Gasly. He has been fantastic the last few races and was awesome once again. His opening stint was as good as anyone with some fantastic defending against much faster cars. It was only a matter of time until he dropped back, but his fight was with Haas and he stayed ahead. A very risky decision to let Doohan drive in place of Ocon with $10+ million at stake. He had a very solid and respectful debut Grand Prix. No points as expected, but he also finished just ahead of a hurt Magnussen.

Haas found some pace late in their season, but just couldn't stop the momentum from Alpine. Hulkenberg did the best he could. Kmag perhaps had a chance at points but it was far from a clean race. Shocking he wasn't forced to retire after taking a huge shunt in the rear tire from Bottas.

Aston Martin leave Abu Dhabi as one of the worst cars and yet Alonso still manages to get that tractor into the points. Stroll wasn't horrendous, but he wasn't good either. Finishing between a Zhou and Doohan. Yippy.

Williams had cars that were basically taped together. Albon gave a valiant effort but couldn't hold onto a points position. Colapinto suffered more damaged after being speared by Piastri. Those mechanics deserve a raise and some time off.

RB were no where in this race. Yuki had a horrendous start but he kept battling. Was fortunate with plenty of retirements ahead of him and finished a reasonable 12th, but was never in the fight for points. Lawson had a similar day but had to retire after the team failed to tighten on the wheel.

Sauber must be happy for this season to be over. Zhou at least gets to finish the race which could be his final GP in Formula 1. Bottas lived up to what defines his career. Can be incredibly fast in quali, but is often slow in the race with the occasional embarrassingly bad mistake that typically hurts another drivers race.

Driver of the Day: Charles Leclerc. 19th to 3rd with most of his passes being done on track. Enough said.