The Formula One finale is just around the corner and, despite the main prizes being off the table, there are still points to be made at Yas Marina Circuit over the weekend.
Max Verstappen won his second consecutive title four races ago, with this season’s 14 triumphs already being an F1 record, while Red Bull wrapped up the constructors’ championship three races ago.
This leaves the driver’s runner-up slot as the main prize up for grabs in Abu Dhabi, and that will be a straight fight between Red Bull's Sergio Perez and Charles Leclerc of Ferrari.
One of the main talking points from the last F1 event in Sao Paulo last weekend was an apparent bust-up between Verstappen and teammate Perez.
Things appeared to get heated at the end of the race when the Dutch driver refused to give up his sixth place position, which would have aided his cohort’s fight for second place in the championship with Leclerc.
After arriving in Abu Dhabi, Verstappen was keen to indicate that he would not do the same thing again and that he would support Perez if a similar situation arose.
“If the opportunity is there to help, as a team we’re going to do that,” the reigning and soon to be recrowned champion said when asked about what he might be prepared to do for his teammate.
Verstappen admitted to being affected by some of the negative publicity surrounding the incident. “It does get to me,” the driver said.
Lewis Hamilton, who will celebrate 200 races for Mercedes on Sunday, was wary of making predictions about the team’s chances over the weekend, but teammate George Russell was more bullish about a possible podium finish.
“We’ll be going for it,” Russell said, after revealing how high morale was within the camp after his own storming victory in Brazil, backed up by Hamilton’s second place.
Abu Dhabi GP 2021
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Race winner and 2021 F1 world champion Max Verstappen and his Red Bull Racing team celebrate on the podium after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at Yas Marina Circuit on December 12, 2021. Victor Besa / The National -
Verstappen fought off Lewis Hamilton in a nail-biting finish. Victor Besa / The National -
Verstappen runs to celebrate with his team. Victor Besa / The National -
The Dutch driver clinched the race and the championship on the final lap. Victor Besa / The National -
Race fans cheer as Verstappen wins. Victor Besa / The National -
Verstappen enjoys that winning feeling. Reuters -
Verstappen drinks in the moment as Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton looks dejected after finishing second. Reuters -
Verstappen and Hamilton go head to head on the track. Victor Besa / The National -
An Etihad Airways flyover before the race. The airline sponsored the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Victor Besa / The National -
Verstappen in action. Victor Besa / The National -
Hamilton took an early lead. Victor Besa / The National -
Verstappen and Hamilton led the championship going into the final race. Victor Besa / The National -
The start of the race. Reuters -
Drivers pose for their end-of-season picture before the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. AP -
Aston Martin's Sebastian Vettel before the race. Reuters -
Fans of Verstappen and Hamilton before the race. Reuters -
Hamilton looks relaxed before the race. Reuters -
Verstappen looks like he means business. Reuters -
Hamilton soaks up the early atmosphere. Victor Besa / The National -
Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas with his girlfriend Tiffany Cromwell. Victor Besa / The National -
Verstappen arrives at the circuit with his girlfriend Kelly Piquet. Reuters -
Hamilton on the Yas Marina Circuit. AFP
Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel will be retiring from F1 at the end of this season, but there was some jocularity between the drivers on Thursday, with Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton both intimating a return to F1 for the German driver would not be far away.
“He’ll be back,” Hamilton said in an amused tone, with a similarly smiling Vettel not contradicting him.
“I’ll need to find a lot of things to keep me busy,” the German driver admitted about what lay ahead in his immediate future.
On Thursday it emerged Mick Schumacher may be left without an F1 race seat next year after Haas signed the more experienced Nico Hulkenberg to replace him.
The German’s results were not deemed good enough in his two seasons with the US-based team to convince seniors to retain him for 2023.
Schumacher, for his part, seemed unfazed about the decision, saying he still aimed to finish on a high in Abu Dhabi.
So, with everything largely decided, the atmosphere among the drivers at Yas remains cordial and upbeat. However, if previous events in an up-and-down season are anything to go by, there could well still be drama ahead.
