Max fourth in final race of the season: "Very happy"

Published on 27 November 2016 by Stefan Meens

Max Verstappen finished his second season in Formula 1 in fifth place after a fourth place in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Lewis Hamilton took his tenth win of the season. Nico Rosberg’s second place secured the German’s first world title. Sebastian Vettel claimed the final podium spot.

“I’m happy with today”, said Max. “After the first corner I was last but we recovered well with a one stop strategy. Vettel had better tyres at the end so he could attack. But I think it was a good race.”

Regarding the first corner clash with Nico Hulkenberg, Max is realistic: “It was a racing incident. I don’t think he expected me and he just took the racing line. Regardles, it was a special year for me. I’m happy to end the year with a good result, especially after yesterday.”

At the start of the race, the two Mercedes hold on to the lead, followed by Kimi Raikkonen in third. Meanwhile, Max has to resume the race from the back after a spin following a clash with Nico Hulkenberg. After one lap, the Dutchman is up into P17; after seven he is back in the top ten.

Whilst the top six pit, Max is maximising the life of his soft Pirellis, switching to a one stop strategy. After the first round of stops, the Red Bull youngster finds himself in second, behind Hamilton but in front of Rosberg.

In lap 20, the German makes a decisive move past the Dutchman after which the latter pits for a new set of soft tyres. He rejoins the race in eighth, with the seven drivers ahead still needing to make a pit stop. In lap 26, Max overtakes Perez for sixth and quickly moves up to fourth after Raikkonen and Ricciardo make their final stops.

Vettel is the last of the front runners to pit. In lap 36, the German collects a set of the faster super-soft Pirellis and rejoins in sixth. The Ferrari driver then sets about chasing the Red Bulls. In lap 46 Daniel Ricciardo has to concede fourth to Vettel.

Further back the order, Jolyon Palmer and Carlos Sainz clash after the Renault driver clumsily rear ends the Spaniard. Both drivers are able to continue their race, something that cannot be said of Jenson Button. The 2009 world champion’s final race ends prematurely with a right front suspension failure.

Back at the front, Vettel is pressing Max hard for the final podium spot. Making effective use of the DRS and the fresher, faster tyres, the Ferrari passes the Red Bull in lap 51.

In the closing stages, Lewis Hamilton is backing up Nico Rosberg into Vettel and Max. Despite the Ferrari driver closing the gap and being within DRS range, Rosberg is able to fend off the threat from behind to clinch his first world championship.

Lewis Hamiton holds on to the lead to win his tenth Grand Prix of the season. The Red Bulls finish the final race of the year in fourth and fifth, securing third (Ricciardo) and fifth (Max) in the championship.

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix - Yas Marina Circuit - Sunday 27 November

01 44 Lewis Hamilton      Mercedes                   	55 1:38:04.013
02  6 Nico Rosberg        Mercedes                   	55 +0.439s
03  5 Sebastian Vettel    Ferrari                    	55 +0.843s
04 33 Max Verstappen      Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer  	55 +1.685s
05  3 Daniel Ricciardo    Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer  	55 +5.315s
06  7 Kimi Räikkönen      Ferrari                    	55 +18.816s
07 27 Nico Hulkenberg     Force India Mercedes       	55 +50.114s
08 11 Sergio Perez        Force India Mercedes       	55 +58.776s
09 19 Felipe Massa        Williams Mercedes          	55 +59.436s
10 14 Fernando Alonso     McLaren Honda              	55 +59.896s
11  8 Romain Grosjean     Haas Ferrari               	55 +76.777s
12 21 Esteban Gutierrez   Haas Ferrari               	55 +95.113s
13 31 Esteban Ocon        MRT Mercedes               	54 +1 lap
14 94 Pascal Wehrlein     MRT Mercedes               	54 +1 lap
15  9 Marcus Ericsson     Sauber Ferrari             	54 +1 lap
16 12 Felipe Nasr         Sauber Ferrari             	54 +1 lap
17 30 Jolyon Palmer       Renault                    	54 +1 lap
NC 55 Carlos Sainz        Toro Rosso Ferrari         	41 DNF
NC 26 Daniil Kvyat        Toro Rosso Ferrari         	14 DNF
NC 22 Jenson Button       McLaren Honda              	12 DNF
NC 77 Valtteri Bottas     Williams Mercedes          	6 DNF
NC 20 Kevin Magnussen     Renault                    	5 DNF

Final championship standings

01	Nico Rosberg       	GER	Mercedes                    385
02	Lewis Hamilton     	GBR	Mercedes                    380
03	Daniel Ricciardo   	AUS	Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer   256
04	Sebastian Vettel   	GER	Ferrari                     212
05	Max Verstappen     	NED	Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer   204
06	Kimi Räikkönen     	FIN	Ferrari                     186
07	Sergio Perez       	MEX	Force India Mercedes        101
08	Valtteri Bottas    	FIN	Williams Mercedes           85
09	Nico Hulkenberg    	GER	Force India Mercedes        72
10	Fernando Alonso    	ESP	McLaren Honda               54
11	Felipe Massa       	BRA	Williams Mercedes           53
12	Carlos Sainz       	ESP	Toro Rosso Ferrari          46
13	Romain Grosjean    	FRA	Haas Ferrari                29
14	Daniil Kvyat       	RUS	Toro Rosso Ferrari          25
15	Jenson Button      	GBR	McLaren Honda               21
16	Kevin Magnussen    	DEN	Renault                     7
17	Felipe Nasr        	BRA	Sauber Ferrari              2
18	Jolyon Palmer      	GBR	Renault                     1
19	Pascal Wehrlein    	GER	MRT Mercedes                1
20	Stoffel Vandoorne	BEL	McLaren Honda               1
21	Esteban Gutierrez  	MEX	Haas Ferrari                0
22	Marcus Ericsson    	SWE	Sauber Ferrari              0
23	Esteban Ocon       	FRA	MRT Mercedes                0
24	Rio Haryanto       	INA	MRT Mercedes                0