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The 2023 F1 Abu Dhabi GP ends the season with the usual suspect taking the chequered flag. The season has been next-level domination from Max Verstappen as he finds himself in a privileged position with the car under him.
With 19 wins in the bag, it has been a spectacular season for him. But this feature is not for praising the Dutchman. It's for the 20 drivers who laced up their boots for the 2023 F1 Abu Dhabi GP as we evaluate for the last time this season how they fared. So without further ado let's get straight to it.
Criteria for rating: When we rate the drivers, there are a few things that we take into consideration.
These are:
- Performance in both qualifying and race
- Results achieved compared to the potential of the car
- How many mistakes were made over the weekend
- Relative performance against their teammate
2023 F1 Abu Dhabi GP: Rating the drivers
Red Bull
Max Verstappen (Started: 1st, Finished: 1st)
Rating: 10
The defense and the wheel-to-wheel battle with Charles Leclerc at the start of the race was next level. Verstappen knew that the Ferrari driver was going to be a bit circumspect (considering the team's battle for P2).
Once he got through that, it was more or less just about managing everything and he did comfortably to complete a clean sweep.
Sergio Perez (Started: 9th, Finished: 4th)
Rating: 7.5
Sergio Perez executed the typical race weekend where he messed up qualifying and made his way through the field. The driver would have been hoping for a podium but the penalty put paid to it.
Ferrari
Charles Leclerc (Started: 2nd, Finished: 2nd)
Rating: 10
It's not often that you see a driver finish on the podium and be visibly annoyed. That was Charles Leclerc after the F1 Abu Dhabi GP as he did his best to secure Ferrari a P2 in the championship, but just couldn't do more than finish second in the race.
Carlos Sainz (Started: 16th, Finished: 18th)
Rating: 5
Carlos Sainz dropped a stinker in the worst possible race. He can blame his fellow drivers all he wants but this was a disappointing race for him and the team.
Mercedes
Lewis Hamilton (Started: 11th, Finished: 9th)
Rating: 5
Just like Carlos Sainz, Lewis Hamilton had a poor race weekend. The driver was stuck in the field and regardless of Toto Wolff's motivational calls, he didn't seem to have the performance that his teammate did.
Fortunately for Lewis and Mercedes, George Russell was up for a battle as P2 in the championship could have been in trouble otherwise.
George Russell (Started: 4th, Finished: 3rd)
Rating: 8.5
George Russell's season needed this result. He stood up and made it count when the team needed him to. A great podium for the young Brit to end the season.
Alpine
Pierre Gasly (Started: 10th, Finished: 13th)
Rating: 7
A somewhat similar F1 Abu Dhabi GP for Gasly as well. The driver probably lacked a 10th to his teammate in the race while his qualifying was better. Overall not much to write home about for the driver.
Esteban Ocon (Started: 12th, Finished: 12th)
Rating: 7
Feeling sick for the entire week and missing Thursday as well, Ocon was on the back foot before the race weekend began. By the looks of it, it didn't matter as the Alpine didn't have a hope of getting even a point in the race. A grim end to the 2023 F1 season for the driver and the team.
McLaren
Lando Norris (Started: 5th, Finished: 5th)
Rating: 8
A messy final lap in qualifying and a compromised grid position was swiftly recovered by Lando Norris early in the race. The car just didn't have the pace to fight the Ferraris or even the Mercedes at the F1 Abu Dhabi GP and hence the result was the best he could have got.
Oscar Piastri (Started: 3rd, Finished: 6th)
Rating: 7
Oscar Piastri was just a step behind Lando Norris all race weekend. He might need to work on his race pace next season and there's still a gulf between the two drivers.
Alfa Romeo
Valtteri Bottas (Started: 18th, Finished: 19th)
Rating: 6
A weekend to forget for Valtteri Bottas as the car just didn't have the pace. A poor Saturday and Sunday sums up his F1 Abu Dhabi GP.
Guanyu Zhou (Started: 19th, Finished: 17th)
Rating: 6
Zhou was arguably a 10th quicker than his illustrious teammate but that's about it as neither had anything to show at the F1 Abu Dhabi GP.
Aston Martin
Fernando Alonso (Started: 7th, Finished: 7th)
Rating: 8.5
One has to respect the genius of Fernando Alonso and how he pulled off that move on Lewis Hamilton. It was absolutely brilliant and a sign of true class from the driver.
Lance Stroll (Started: 13th, Finished: 10th)
Rating: 7
Lance did end up getting a point for Aston Martin in the end to cap off the season. He was arguably a couple of 10ths slower than Alonso and by normal standards, this was certainly an improvement.
Haas F1
Kevin Magnussen (Started: 17th, Finished: 20th)
Rating: 5
A poor qualifying followed by a poor race summed up the F1 Abu Dhabi GP for Magnussen. The Danish driver will be hoping to put together a better performance next season.
Nico Hulkenberg (Started: 8th, Finished: 15th)
Rating: 7.5
The F1 Abu Dhabi GP followed the same pattern as the rest of the season for Nico Hulkenberg. A brilliant qualifying followed by a painful race where he just had no pace. The German will be hoping for a better car next season to show what he can truly do.
AlphaTauri
Daniel Ricciardo (Started: 15th, Finished: 11th)
Rating: 6
Daniel Ricciardo will not be satisfied with the last one. The driver just messed up his Qualifying on Saturday and that came back to hurt him ultimately in the race.
Yuki Tsunoda (Started: 6th, Finished: 8th)
Rating: 8.5
A brilliant overall weekend from Yuki Tsunoda. Amazing in qualifying, followed by a great result in the race meant that he brought AlphaTauri very close to clinching P7 from Williams.
Williams
Alex Albon (Started: 14th, Finished: 14th)
Rating: 7
A decent overall race for Alex Albon. The car just didn't have the pace to compete for points and hence the Williams driver was unable to get much done in the race anyway.
Logan Sargeant (Started: 20th, Finished: 16th)
Rating: 6.5
Logan was praised by James Vowles at the end of the F1 Abu Dhabi GP for blocking Daniel Ricciardo for as long as he did. The driver has surely improved and if he does come back next season it will be interesting to see what he can do in the car.
