Sergio Pérez has 290 points, tied with Charles Leclerc, from Ferrari; The Mexican needs to finish above the Monegasque to secure runner-up at the Abu Dhabi GP
“A pity. It’s been a great season anyway,” says Checo Pérez on the radio.
Max Verstappen 15 wins in the year. Historic mark of wins in one year in F1.
PODIUM:
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VERSTAPPEN
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Leclerc
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Pérez
Max Verstappen wins and Charles Leclerc is second and is runner-up in F1. Checo Pérez is third in the race and third in the world championship. It is the best position of Checo Pérez in F1 and of a Mexican in the category.
LAST LAP… Czech is not even in DRS.
Lewis Hamilton, lap 56 and going slow down the track. That Mercedes fell off. Leclerc with stragglers in front… 2.5 seconds behind Leclerc.
And the turns are over. It will be very fair at the end.
A bit to the relief of Ferrari, is that perhaps they calculated that going ‘you for you’ once morest Red Bull was impossible and they had to try something different. They have done it and so far Leclerc is runner-up, but seeing the pace that one brings and the other Czech would have to have an ‘easy’ time. How much will Leclerc have saved?
Verstappen: “The tires are fine. Just tell Checo to go to full, the tires will be fine,” reports the Dutchman on the radio.
Checo Pérez, lap 47 of 48, passes Lewis Hamilton. That Mercedes cost him a lap and a half, but now yes, he is hand in hand once morest Leclerc. A Leclerc with 25-turn wheels.
Leclerc: “I think I can’t go to the pits now? They answer: “We think we will be passed at the end of the race…”. Ferrari’s response to its driver is incredible, while Checo Pérez fights for position once morest Lewis Hamilton Hamilton’s pending account with Checo for 2021.
Checo Pérez is going at a rhythm of 1.29 basses once morest the 1.30 basses of Leclerc and Verstappen. Clearly Czech is the hare and Verstappen
Carlos Sainz has the advantage of the cooler tyre, but is 13 seconds behind the Mexican.
Carlos Sainz to the pits and also George Russell… Checo Pérez now to P4
Checo Pérez fastest lap: 1.29.199. They ask Leclerc to manage the tire more.
Max Verstappen asked to increase tire management… Does Red Bull set the stage for Max to protect Checo at the end?
Checo Perez to pits. Lap 34 of 58. Go from hard to hard. And the temperature has already dropped. This stint did not last long. Checo rejoins P6, behind the Mercedes.
Alpine removes Fernando Alonso’s car. Charles Leclerc with fastest lap: 1.29.744, he is 2.4 seconds away.
Checo Pérez and Max Verstappen now slower than the Ferraris, around 4 tenths slower. And finally Vettel goes to the pits: there were 25 laps on a medium tire and now from 19th position on a hard tire he will have to finish the race like this, or this will not have made the slightest sense.
Sebastian Vettel complains regarding the strategy: “we are going very slow… we are going to be passed by everyone and we are like a duckling”.
Sebastian Vettel is another driver who might go to a single stop: he has 22 laps on the medium tire. Bottas and Magnussen have not pitted either, they have 22 with the hard one.
Pit Stop: Charles Leclerc goes to boxex for the hard tire. Leclerc stopped on lap 22 of 58, just at the threshold that Pirelli estimated to try to go to a single stoppage.
Checo Pérez’s fastest lap: 1.29.798…
“I think the floor is broken,” Hamilton communicates over the radio. Thus Ferrari will have a clearer outlook towards the constructors’ sub-championship.
Until now Fernando Alonso complies with what he said, take care of Sebastian Vettel’s career. He doesn’t attack him even though he’s in DRS range. Ocon is 13th with a better pace.
Pit Stop: Mercedes had problems with George Russell’s car. This way they will not be able to fight once morest Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari.
Pit Stop: Checo Pérez to the pits and goes from the medium to the hard tire. Esteban Owith one lap he also went through the pits and still put on a hard tire.
Ahead, the rhythm of Checo Pérez’s Red Bull falls. Charles Leclerc is already within a DRS shot of the Mexican. If Checo does not finish ahead of the Monegasque Ferrari, Leclerc is runner-up.
The battle between Ocon and Vettel continues, with Alonso consenting to Sebastian, he does not attack him.
“Something is happening with the car…”, repeats Lewis Hamilton. Recall that the driver had to take evasive measures at the start once morest Sainz’s Ferrari and, when he went off track, he stepped on a deterrent that caused him to jump and fall hard. Maybe the floor of that car is damaged and loses load in the curves.
George Russell passes Lewis Hamilton. Something happened to Hamiton’s Mercedes: “I’m losing power… what’s going on?” he asks over the radio.
The hottest front fight is still Sainz vs. Lewis Hamilton. The Ferrari passes the Mercedes, while further back Sebastian Vettel and Esteban Ocon fight for the P8 of the Alpine. Lurking behind them is Fernando Alonso.
Very intelligent Lewis: he let the Ferrari pass in sector three, knowing that sectors 1 and 2 would come fast and where there is DRS, and of course, he passed Sainz under braking at turn 6, at the end of the longest straight on the track .
Lewis Hamilton returns the position to Carlos Sainz, since he won it off the track following that little incident they had at the start. The same Leiws Hamilton is already attacking the Ferrari once more.
The Red Bulls in the 39th minute, clearly the fastest in this start of the race with medium tires and sun. We’ll see what happens when the star hides and the temperature drops a bit.
Lando Norris moved up one position to pass Russell – two ‘old’ F2 rivals now in contention for position in F1.
Good start for the Red Bull. Charles Leclerc attacked Checo in turn three but the Mexican held on the inside. Carlos Sainz lost position once morest Lewis Hamilton, then attacked the Brit and Lewis had to take evasive action…
THE LAST RACE OF FORMULA 1 2022 STARTED…
Pierre Gasly starts with a red tire from 17th position -it will be an aggressive stint to recover positions-. Kevin Magnussen comes out 16 with hard and Valtteri Bottas from 18 with hard. The rest will start the competition with a medium tire. All with new tires. Start formation lap…
Cars and drivers ready. The formation tour will take place and then the 22nd appointment of the season will start, the last of 2022…
The drivers give Sebastian Vettel a ‘corridor’, who runs his last Formula 1 race today. Drivers from their teams also say goodbye: Alonso from Alpine, goes to Aston Martin (Vettel’s place); AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly passes Alpine; Haas’s Mick Schumacher (no team) and McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo (no team).
Pirelli has a two-stop strategy planned: start on a medium tire, do 16 or 23 laps with that set and move to a hard tire set (white), get to lap 37 to 44 and go through another set of mediums (yellow ). Pirelli has an option of a shorter first stint on a medium tire, then moving to two stints on a hard tire; The other alternative is to extend the second stint with a hard tire as long as possible, and do a short last stretch of the race with a red (soft) tire.
For the most daring, the Italian manufacturer considers it possible to make a single stop: start with medium and extend until lap 22 to 29 and finish the rest of the competition with hard.
A peculiarity of this track: the race starts at sunset and ends at night. That varies the temperature and it is important that the cars are well balanced to deal with this obvious change due to the tyres.
Is he Abu Dhabi Grand Prixon the artificial island of Yas, the island that gives the circuit its name: Yas Marina. The drivers will close the season with 58 laps at the 5,281-meter Abu Dhabi circuit (306.1 kilometers), which hosted its first Grand Prix in 2009 and will decide the 2022 runners-up.
There are three drivers who can achieve the runner-up, with Checo Perez y Charles Leclerc as favourites, both tied on points. Leclerc like this, is runner-up and therefore Checo Pérez, who starts second, has to finish in a better position. The Monegasque long just behind the Red Bull number 11 of the Mexican.
The other pilot with mathematical possibilities is Georger Russell, but it needs many things to happen: that Checo Perez y Charles Leclerc not add a single point and that he, Russell, add the maximum number of points possible: 26 –25 for winning the race plus one for having the fastest lap–.
Red Bull is favorite for the race, with the cars taking the first starting line. Pole for Max Verstappen and second position for Checo Perez. It is the first time that this Red Bull duo has achieved the first starting row -the team had not had it since Mexico 2018-.
Then the two will follow Ferraricon Charles Leclerc y Carlos Sainz and follow the Mercedes con Lewis Hamilton y George Russell. Red Bull’s race pace looks the strongest and followingwards it will be a one-on-one between Ferrari and Mercedes, who are also in contention for second place in the constructors’ championship.
STARTING FORMATION
FIRST ROW
.1. Max Verstappen NED Red Bull 1:23.824
.two. Sergio Perez MEX Red Bull 1:24.052
SECOND ROW
.3. Charles Leclerc MY Ferrari 1:24.092
.4. Carlos Sainz ESP Ferrari 1:24.242
THIRD ROW
.5. Lewis Hamilton GBR Mercedes 1:24.508
.6. George Russell GBR Mercedes 1:24.511
FOURTH ROW
.7. Lando Norris GBR McLaren 1:24.769
.8. Esteban Ocon FROM Alpine 1:24.830
FIFTH ROW
.9. Sebastian Vettel GER Aston Martin 1:24.961
10. Fernando Alonso ESP Alpine 1:25.096
SIXTH ROW
11. Yuki Tsunoda JPN Alpha Tauri 1:25.219
12. Mick Schumacher GER Haas 1:25.225
SEVENTH ROW
13. Daniel Ricciardo* AUS McLaren 1.25.045
14. Lance Stroll CAN Aston Martin 1:25.359
EIGHTH ROW
15. Zhou Guanyu CHN Alfa Romeo 1:25.408
16. Kevin Magnussen DIN Haas 1:25.834
NINTH ROW
17. Pierre Gasly FRA Alpha Tauri 1:25.859
18. Valtteri Bottas FIN Alfa Romeo 1:25.892
TENTH ROW
19. Alexander Albon THA Williams 1:26.028
20. Nicholas Latifi CAN Williams 1:26.054.
*Ricciardo carries a three-position penalty from the Sao Paulo GP.
