F1 Champ Verstappen Finishes Season In Style With Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Win

Max Verstappen capped off a remarkable Formula One season in sublime fashion as he cruised to victory in the season finale at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

The win was Verstappen's 15th of the season, extending the record he set this year to ensure RedBull finished the season in style.

Leclerc, who was Verstappen's title rival earlier this year before Ferrari's season imploded in a flood of errors and reliability failures, held off Perez on divergent strategies to take second place.

Despite his early problems, Hamilton was on course to finish fourth on a one-stop strategy like Verstappen and Leclerc until he suffered a hydraulic failure in the closing stages.

The DNF for the 7-time champion means that Hamilton finished the 2022 F1 season without a single win to his name.

That promoted Sainz and Russell to fourth and fifth ahead of Norris and Alpine's Esteban Ocon, which meant Alpine's fourth place in the constructors' championship was confirmed, ahead of McLaren and behind Mercedes.

In his final race of a glittering and title-laden F1 career, Sebastian Vettel scored a point in the Aston Martin, though he was disappointed with his team's strategy.

Vettel will mostly be remembered for his years at Ferrari and more importantly his time at RedBull, where he won 4 straight championships between 2010 and 2013.

He finished the race just behind Daniel Ricciardo, who is also leaving the sport - potentially permanently - as he exits McLaren for a soon-to-be-confirmed move back to Red Bull as a development driver.

Fellow multiple champion Fernando Alonso suffered another DNF, his fourth from the last seven races of his Alpine career before he replaces Vettel in the Aston Martin for 2023.