Photo by Qian Jun/MB Media/Getty Images
The final race of the 2023 Formula 1 season is upon us. And while there might not be a fight at the top of the table in both the Constructors’ Championship and the Drivers’ Championship, some fascinating battles are ready to unfold at Yas Marina in the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Which means we will fire up the live blog one more time for the final 58 laps of the season.
Max Verstappen and Red Bull have already locked up the Drivers’ and Constructors’ titles, respectively, and Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Pérez has clinched second in the Drivers’ standings. But here is what is at stake Sunday at Yas Marina:
Second in the Constructors’ Championship: Just four points separate Ferrari and Mercedes, with Mercedes in the lead
Fourth in the Constructors’ Championship: Just 11 points separate McLaren and Aston Martin, with McLaren in the lead
Seventh in the Constructors’ Championship: Williams is in the lead with 28 points, but AlphaTauri (21), Alfa Romeo (16) and Haas (12) all have a chance in this fight
Fourth in the Drivers’ Championship: Verstappen and Pérez have clinched first and second, and Lewis Hamilton is locked into third place. But four drivers — Carlos Sainz Jr., Fernando Alonso, Lando Norris, and Charles Leclerc — all have a shot at fourth behind the top three. Sainz and Alonso are tied with 200 points each, and the Ferrari driver has the tiebreaker edge on all three of the other drivers at the moment as he is the only non-Red Bull driver to have won this season. Norris is just five points behind those two and Leclerc, who will start the race second, has 188 points on the season.
Here is the starting grid for the season finale, barring any last-minute changes:
The race gets rolling at 8:00 a.m. Eastern, and we will have updates all morning long. So check back early and often!
