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The grid for the Abu Dhabi GP is ready and we are all set for the last race of the season. Once again, it's the familiar face of Max Verstappen on pole position with Sergio Perez alongside him locking out the front row. We have the two Ferrari drivers in Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc in the second row and the two Mercedes drivers in the third row.
Sebastian Vettel, in his last race in Formula 1, will start the Abu Dhabi GP in P9 and will have Fernando Alonso for company in P10. So, how does the last race of the 2022 F1 season pan out? Who wins? Who will score a surprise result? Let's find out in our predictions for the 2022 F1 Abu Dhabi GP.
#1 Max Verstappen wins the 2022 F1 Abu Dhabi GP
Max Verstappen will start the race on pole position and it's safe to say that the Dutchman won't be easy to beat on Sunday. The driver came into the weekend on the back of a rather horrible race in Brazil. Max came here to make a statement against rivals like Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes that probably had their tails up after a 1-2 finish at the Brazilian GP.
By the looks of it, Verstappen has got it covered. With Perez starting the race on the front row and Mercedes on the third row, it does provide the Red Bull driver with an added cushion to work with. To add to this, the inherent pace of the Red Bull in the hands of Max Verstappen at the Abu Dhabi GP seems unmatched for now.
What is the possibility of Max Verstappen picking up win no. 15 for the season? Very high!
#2 Sergio Perez secures P2 in the drivers' championship
Sergio Perez has done an impressive job by securing a front-row start ahead of Ferrari's Charles Leclerc. What has been rather obvious all weekend is the apparent lack of freedom with which Ferrari has been able to operate its car. The Maranello-based team has been unable to run the car at peak power all weekend and that has been evident in the Sector 2 timings for the car.
The race pace for Ferrari was not the best out of the top three teams, and with both Red Bull and Mercedes having stronger sector 2 performances (with the long straights), Leclerc might find it hard to challenge or beat the Red Bulls upfront, especially Sergio Perez, the man he has to beat to finish P2 in the World Drivers' Championship.
#3 At least one Mercedes driver on the podium
Mercedes might have failed to show up in qualifying but the team has had strong race pace all weekend. This strong pace was evident in Friday's FP2 and Saturday's FP3 sessions as well. Having said that, the German team's plans to challenge Red Bull for the win somewhat went up in smoke when Mercedes could only secure a third-row start.
Both Lewis Hamilton and George Russell had impressive long-run pace on Friday. If we contrast that with the underwhelming nature of the speed that Ferrari has shown this weekend, a podium is certainly a possibility for Mercedes. We expect Mercedes to end the 2022 F1 season with a podium at the F1 Abu Dhabi GP.
#4 Sebastian Vettel scores points, none for Mick Schumacher
Sebastian Vettel has been splendid all weekend. He will start the race in P9 and will have Fernando Alonso starting alongside him in P10. In the last few races, this has been familiar territory for Vettel. The German driver has been able to place his car in these positions where he tends to challenge the likes of McLaren and Alpine.
More often than not, we've seen the Aston Martin strategy unit fail Vettel with race strategies that are at best questionable. However, for the Abu Dhabi GP, with everything working as perfectly as it is right now, expect the four-time world champion to score points. It's hard to say how many or which position for that matter, but expect the Formula 1 legend to bow out with a points finish.
Fellow compatriot Mick Schumacher, on the other hand, won't have the same luxury. Haas is just not up to the mark at the F1 Abu Dhabi GP and it's hard to see the young German scoring points in the race.
#5 Alpine secures P4 in the championship, Haas secures P8
By the looks of it, what does seem clear is that unless we have something dramatic happening in the race, Alpine should be able to defend their 19 points lead in the constructors' championship.
McLaren need a very impressive result to cut down that gap and in a race like the Abu Dhabi GP, that just doesn't happen. In all likelihood, Alpine is going to seal P4 in the championship and it's safe to say that the French team has deserved it.
For Haas, the American team is defending a two-point lead over AlphaTauri. The Faenza-based squad might have great drivers in Yuki Tsunoda and Pierre Gasly, but the car is absolutely nowhere. Outscoring Haas by two points seems out of the picture for now and it is highly likely that Haas will secure P8 in the constructors' championship at the 2022 F1 Abu Dhabi GP.
