Red Bull driver Max Verstappen has offered a sign of things to come next year by winning the last race of the Formula 1 season in dominant style at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
His victory was only his second this season, such has been the dominance of Mercedes.
But he drove flawlessly from pole position to hand Mercedes a rare defeat, finishing a whopping 16 seconds ahead of Valtteri Bottas and 18.4 clear of world champion Lewis Hamilton.
It was the first time Mercedes has not won at the Yas Marina circuit since Sebastian Vettel’s 13th win of the season cemented his fourth world title with Red Bull back in 2013.
Australia’s Daniel Ricciardo signed off his Renault tenure in style, making his final lap the fastest of the race as he finished in seventh.
“At the end, I really risked it all to get the fastest lap,” Ricciardo said after the race. “So, I get a point, which doesn’t change anything.
It meant Verstappen missed out on a ‘grand slam’ of taking pole, leading for every lap, taking the win and registering the fastest lap.
Ricciardo is moving to Mclaren next season.
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Red Bull will take momentum going into the next campaign.
“We will definitely go into the winter with a good feeling,” Verstappen said after his 10th career win.
“It’s always nice to win the last race, especially after a year like this when it’s been very tough.”
But he knows there is still a considerable gap to close, especially in qualifying. Verstappen’s pole on Saturday was his first of the 17-race campaign, compared to 15 for Mercedes.
Red Bull needs to get him to the front of the grid more regularly to exploit his outstanding race pace.
“You can’t just rely on this result. We know we still have to improve a lot and we know some areas where we have to really work on,” he said.
“That’s not only on the car, but power-wise we need more. I hope we learn from the last few years, it’s not like we do it on purpose.”
He has earned plaudits during a season when he was the only driver to ever trouble Mercedes, even with a slower car.
“Absolutely clinical,” team principal Christian Horner told Verstappen on the team radio.
Hamilton praised Verstappen and expects him to challenge more strongly in 2021.
“We’ve obviously got a fight on our hands next year, no doubt,” said Hamilton, who was driving after recovering from the coronavirus.
“It was a really hard race for me physically. All year physically I have been fine, but today I definitely wasn’t. I am just glad it is over.”
ABC/AP
