Verstappen takes his 15th win of the year, Hamilton’s victory streak comes to an end and Vettel signs off with a points finish. Here are the facts and statistics from the 2022 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix!
VERSTAPPEN’S 15TH WIN OF THE YEAR
Max Verstappen recorded his 15th win of the 2022 season at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, extending his record of most victories in a single season. Verstappen ends the year having won 68.18% of this year’s Grands Prix. That’s the fifth biggest winning percentage in a single year in Formula 1 history.
Verstappen became only the sixth driver to record 35 Grand Prix victories. He is the first driver to reach that milestone since Lewis Hamilton at the 2015 Chinese Grand Prix.
This was Red Bull’s sixth victory at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, equalling Mercedes as the team with the most wins here.
Verstappen becomes the first driver to take three consecutive wins at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. He’s only the third driver, after Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel to take three wins at Yas Marina Circuit.
Verstappen ends the season with a 146 point advantage in the Drivers’ Championship. It’s the second largest winning points margin in Formula 1 history, beaten only by Sebastian Vettel’s 155 point lead at the end of 2013.
This was the eighth consecutive Abu Dhabi Grand Prix to be won from pole position.
ON THE PODIUM
With second place in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Charles Leclerc secured second in the Drivers’ Championship. This is the first time since 2018 that a Ferrari driver has finished in the top two in the end of year standings.
Leclerc finished on the podium for the first time since the Singapore Grand Prix. This was Leclerc’s 24th podium finish, equalling Stirling Moss, John Surtees and Alan Jones for 43rd on the all-time list of most top three results.
This was Leclerc’s best Abu Dhabi Grand Prix result to date. His previous best result here was third place in 2019. Leclerc becomes the tenth driver to take multiple podium finishes at Yas Marina Circuit.
Finishing in third place, Sergio Perez recorded his 26th podium finish. That sees him equal Ronnie Peterson and Eddie Irvine for 39th on the all-time list of most podiums.
Perez’s podium marked the first time he has finished in the top four at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, as well as the first time he has finished the Yas Marina race since 2019.
This was the first time since 2013 that both Red Bull drivers finished on the podium at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
This was only the second race of the season, after the Miami Grand Prix, at which all of the top three on the grid went on to finish on the podium.
VETTEL’S FAREWELL
In his final Grand Prix, Sebastian Vettel picked up points for the 219th time. He equalled Kimi Raikkonen for fourth in the all-time list of most races in which a driver has scored. This was Vettel’s tenth points-scoring race of the 2022 season.
Vettel crossed the finish line at Yas Marina Circuit for the 13th time, setting a new record for the most occasions on which a driver has finished the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. He equalled Lewis Hamilton as the driver to have scored on the most occasions at the circuit and became the first driver to have raced 700 Grand Prix laps at the venue.
This was the first time Vettel scored at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix since 2019.
Vettel was voted Driver of the Day for the 23rd time. It was the third time he has been awarded the accolade in 2022.
HAMILTON’S WIN STREAK ENDS
Lewis Hamilton retired from the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, recording his second retirement of the 2022 season. This was the first time that Hamilton has not finished on the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix podium since 2013 and the first time he has failed to finish at Yas Marina Circuit since 2012.
Hamilton equalled Kimi Raikkonen as the driver to retire on the most occasions at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. This was Hamilton’s third retirement at the circuit.
Hamilton’s retirement brought to an end his unique record of having won at least one race in every Formula 1 season in which he has competed. With a win-less year in 2022, Hamilton equals Michael Schumacher as the driver to have won in the most consecutive F1 seasons. Hamilton won a race in every year between 2007 and 2021, while Schumacher won in every year between 1992 and 2006.
Hamilton became the first Mercedes driver to retire from the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix since Nico Rosberg in 2012.
IN THE POINTS
Carlos Sainz finished fourth, recording a top five finish for the third consecutive race.
This was the first time since 2017 that both Ferrari drivers finished in the top four at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
George Russell finished fifth in the final race of the year. It ensured that he became only the third team-mate of Lewis Hamilton to out-score him over the course of a season. Jenson Button out-scored Hamilton by 43 points in 2011, Nico Rosberg out-scored Hamilton by five points in 2016 and Russell out-scored Hamilton by 35 points in 2022.
Fifth place at Yas Marina marked George Russell’s 19th top five finish of the 2022 season. This was the first time Russell has scored at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Every time he has finished the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Russell has gained one position from where he has started.
This was the first time since 2013 that neither Mercedes driver finished on the podium at Yas Marina Circuit.
Lando Norris finished in sixth place, marking the first time that he has finished the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in a better position than where he started.
With seventh place, Esteban Ocon added another six points to his 2022 tally at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. He becomes only the second driver, after Jenson Button in 2015, to score more points than Fernando Alonso during a season as team-mates.
Lance Stroll finished in eighth place, recording his best Abu Dhabi Grand Prix result to date. He had one previous points-scoring race at the track, having finished tenth in 2020.
With Stroll eighth and Vettel tenth, this was the first time since 2017 that both of the Silverstone-based team’s drivers have scored points at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Daniel Ricciardo finished ninth, picking up points for the seventh time in 2022.
This is the third time in the last four years that both McLaren drivers have scored points at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
THE OTHER FINISHERS
Zhou Guanyu recorded his third 12th place finish in the last four Grands Prix.
Alex Albon came home in 13th place, failing to score at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix for the first time.
Pierre Gasly finished 14th for the third time in the last four races.
With both Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda finishing outside of the points, this was the first time since 2018 that neither driver for the Red Bull junior team scored at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Finishing 15th, Valtteri Bottas failed to score for the first time since the United States Grand Prix. This was the first time Bottas has failed to score at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix since he retired from the 2016 race.
THE RETIREES
Fernando Alonso was the first driver to retire from the 2022 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. This was his fourth retirement in the last seven races, as well as Alonso’s first ever retirement at Yas Marina Circuit.
For the second consecutive season, Nicholas Latifi retired from the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Having recorded only one retirement in the first 12 races at Yas Marina Circuit, Williams have now recorded three retirements in the last two Abu Dhabi Grands Prix.
