The only thing of significance left to settle as the Formula 1 circus descended on Abu Dhabi for the final race was who would be championship runner-up to the dominant Max Verstappen: his team-mate Sergio Pérez or Max’s early season rival Charles Leclerc.
Verstappen, who’d already established a record number of wins in a season, extended that to 15 around the Yas Marina circuit: a dominant but controlled drive from pole, his one-stopping strategy imposing a very careful monitoring of his tyres. This allowed Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari never to be too far away. The conservative approach made Verstappen’s win more secure, but had a complicating effect on Pérez’s attempts at beating Leclerc.
Pérez and Leclerc arrived in Abu Dhabi equal on points so whichever of them finished ahead in this race would be the runner-up. It mattered to Leclerc as some sort of consolation to how his early season searing