17 of the 20 drivers picked medium tyres for the start of the season finale, with Stroll, Sainz and Bottas going for the hards.
Leclerc got a better start but Verstappen swept in at turn 1 to maintain position. The Monegasque driver tried to make moves down the long first and second straights in the middle sector as well, but the Dutchman held on.
Norris passed Russell at the start around the outside for P4, while Hülkenberg fell six spots after a horrible start. Gasly and Hamilton both gained two spots as Perez dropped to 10th. The second Ferrari of Carlos Sainz made up three positions to go into 13th.
On lap 3, Perez got back through on the Mercedes of Hamilton with a comfortable pass into turn 1.
A lap later, Lando Norris overtook Piastri before turn 6 to take P3 from his McLaren teammate. Russell went on the attack three laps later but the Australian defended well into turns 9 and 10.
Magnussen and Ricciardo pitted early to change to the hards. The Australian had a tear-off in his brake duct and was forced to box.
On lap 11 after multiple attempts, Russell got Piastri out of a shape into turn 6 with a lock-up and eased by on the second straight with a much better exit.
Despite some fantastic defending from Pierre Gasly, he eventually had to give up the spot to Sergio Perez as the Mexican passed before turn 9 to take P8.
Fernando Alonso pitted at the end of lap 12 from P7 as he switched to hards early on. McLaren responded a lap later with Piastri and he just got out in front.
Russell and Norris came in on the following lap and a painful 5.1s stop for the McLaren driver saw him drop behind his former F2 rival. They came out in P13 and P14, just ahead of Piastri and Alonso.
Race leader Max Verstappen pitted at the end of lap 16 after holding a 2s lead over Charles Leclerc before boxing. The Monegasque responded a lap later and rejoined just over 3s behind the Dutchman.
With Yuki Tsunoda not pitting, the Japanese driver led the first laps of his F1 career, ahead of Stroll and Sainz on their hards. The AlphaTauri driver eventually pitted at the end of lap 22 and dropped to P12.
Verstappen led Leclerc, Russell, Norris, Piastri, Alonso, Perez, Ricciardo, Hamilton and Tsunoda was the top 10 on lap 24 following Sainz’s first stop. The Spaniard returned to the track in P16.
Perez continued his charge through the pack as he overtook Alonso and Piastri to move into P5 by the halfway mark.
Verstappen held a 6s lead over Leclerc and Russell. Norris, Perez, Piastri, Alonso, Hamilton, Tsunoda and Stroll completed the top 10.
The first of the main runners to make a second stop was Lando Norris as he boxed from P4 at the end of lap 33. Mercedes responded a lap later and had to as Russell just came out in front of his former F2 rival.
Ferrari did the same with Leclerc and managed to stay ahead of both.
After their second stops, Alonso and Hamilton went into battle. The Spaniard came out just ahead of his former teammate and fierce rival, with Alonso trying to play DRS games before turn 5 to let Hamilton by before the detection point. It didn’t work as the seven-time World Champion passed him. However, the two-time F1 World Champion got him back a tour later.
Red Bull extended a long way with Perez and he pitted at the end of lap 42, returning to the circuit in P6 and going on the charge.
Alonso’s lack of straight-line speed hurt him badly as he ended up getting stuck behind Sainz for multiple laps before a big lunge eventually saw him pass into turn 5. Hamilton would follow through a lap later with a big move into turn 9.
Following an easy move on Tsunoda, Sergio Perez tried to overtake Lando Norris for P4 on lap 47 but made contact heading into turn 6. The Brit had given plenty of space on the inside and forced the McLaren off the track. Perez was hit with a 5-second penalty for it.
Eventually Perez got by a lap later in the same spot to move into P4 on the road.
The Mexican quickly gained on Russell and made his move with five laps to go with a bold move into turn 9 to take P3 on track.
Leclerc gave Perez DRS on the last lap to try and help the Mexican pull a 5-second gap on Russell to help Ferrari get second in the Constructors’ Championship. However, he could only pull 3.8s and Perez fell to 4th in the final classification.
Verstappen reached a thousand laps led and cruised to the victory at Yas Marina, going 3rd on his own in his all-time victory list with 54 wins. Leclerc and Russell completed the podium.
Photo Credit: Red Bull Content Pool
Perez, Norris, Piastri, Alonso, Tsunoda, Hamilton and Stroll rounded out the top 10.
There was a cracking final lap battle between Tsunoda and Hamilton for P8. The Brit made a move into turn 9 but had a snap mid-corner and it let the Japanese driver back through.
- Mercedes held off Ferrari for P2 in the Constructors’ Championship
- Williams held off AlphaTauri for P7 in the Constructors’ Championship
- Alonso beat Leclerc to P4 in the Drivers’ Championship on countback
