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F1 Season Comes to a Close at 2019 Abu Dhabi GP

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1st corner at 2019 Abu Dhabi GP
Photo: FORMULA 1 | YouTube
2019 Abu Dhabi GP Top 10

The 2019 Formula One World Championship came to a close at the 2019 Abu Dhabi GP, where drivers fought over the last few points still up for grabs.

Lewis Hamilton, already the 2019 champion, punctuated his excellent season with one final victory. He was never truly challenged by either Red Bull or Ferrari, and while his teammate Valtteri Bottas might have been able to mount a challenge, a substantial grid penalty (for a brand new engine) meant the Finn had started last.

Max Verstappen finished second to secure his third place in the championship, ahead of both Ferrari drivers and giving Honda its best-ever final championship result in years. The battle that really mattered, though, was for sixth place in the championship.

Coming into the Abu Dhabi GP, Carlos Sainz Jr and Pierre Gasly were tied at 95 points, with Alexander Albon trailing at 84 points. Albon could’ve made up the gap with a high finishing position — possible in the Honda-powered Red Bull — but nonetheless never seemed in contention for a finish higher than fifth, which wouldn’t have been enough.


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Thus if both Gasly and Sainz finished outside of the points, Gasly would win the tie-breaker on account of his second place at the Brazilian GP. It was his best result of the season and just one better than Sainz’s third place at the same race.

Gasly, however, was nowhere near the points in Abu Dhabi, but Sainz was hovering around the top 10 during most of the race. At the end, he was 11th and desperately trying to get past Nico Hülkenberg to secure that single point that would push him ahead of Gasly in the standings. Ultimately, he managed it on the final lap, giving fans a good final show before the winter break.

Looking back, the 2019 F1 season was one of the better ones in recent years. It started dreadfully, with several sleep-inducing races and Hamilton winning 8 of the first 12 Grands Prix before the summer break. By the time F1 went back to racing in September, the title had already been all but decided.

But the second half of the season was full of exciting racing and unpredictable results. Based on the lack of regulation changes and driver changes, 2020 will probably be similar to 2019. It goes without saying that 2021 can’t come soon enough.


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Australia | Bahrain | China | Azerbaijan | Spain | Monaco | Canada | France | Austria | Great Britain | Germany | Hungary | Belgium | Italy | Singapore | Russia | Japan | Mexico | United States | Brazil | Abu Dhabi


2019 Abu Dhabi GP Championship Standings