On Sunday, December 12, the last race of the current season of Formula 1, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, came to an end, during which the Dutchman Max Verstappen became the winner.
During the race on the Yas Marina circuit, the driver managed to bypass the champion Lewis Hamilton on the last lap.
19 cars participated in the race, driven by Verstappen, Hamilton, Carlos Sainz, Yuki Tsunoda, Pierre Gasly , Valtteri Bottas, Lando Norris, Fernando Alonso, Esteban Ocon, Charles Leclair, Sebastian Vettel, Daniel Riccardo, Lance Stroll, Mick Schumacher, Sergio Perez, Nicholas Latifi, Antonio Giovinazzi, George Russell and Kimi Raikkonen.
Hamilton and Verstappen fought fiercely at each lap for the championship, constantly overtaking each other. The tension increased by lap 43, when the gap between the main contenders for victory was 14.1 seconds.
By the final lap, when they had the same number of points, the Dutchman changed tires. Verstappen managed to get ahead of his opponent, which allowed him to break the hegemony of the seven-time Formula 1 world champion, taking first place for the first time.
In the overall standings, Verstappen received 395.5 points, and Hamilton – 387.5.
At the end of the race, the Dutchman said that he was experiencing incredible joy. According to Verstappen, this is exactly the result he and his team wanted to achieve.
Hamilton, who finished the season in second position, congratulated the opponent. According to the Briton, his team has worked hard this year. He is proud to have been a part of this journey.
