Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Prediction: A fight between Ferrari and Mercedes in the season finale

The 2023 Formula 1 season has reached its final stop in Abu Dhabi where the final dilemmas in the driver and constructor standings will be resolved, including the fight for second place between Ferrari and Mercedes in which Mercedes has a four-point lead. The Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi will host a Formula 1 race for the 15th time, and for the 12th time it will be the last race of the season. In a season where Red Bull and Verstappen's dominance has destroyed any uncertainty in the title race, the main focus ahead of the season finale is the battle for second place between Ferrari and Mercedes. It is also uncertain in the fight for fourth place in the driver's standings, in which Alonso and Sainz each have 200 points, and Norris 195 after the collision in Las Vegas last weekend. In the last race, Verstappen equaled Vettel in the number of victories (53), and two victories before that he equaled Prost, another four-time world champion. The Dutchman broke his own record for the number of wins in a season (18) in Las Vegas, and he has a chance to improve that number in the season finale in Abu Dhabi.

The last act of the Formula 1 season is traditionally played at the Yas Marina track in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates. The first race in Abu Dhabi was held in 2009 at sunset, under the imposing lights that were on from the start to the end of the race to facilitate visibility during the transition from day to night. The track, designed by Hermann Tilke, was built as part of a project to build the artificial Yas Island, which also includes the port, Ferrari World theme park, Yas Water World and the Du Arena concert hall. This man-made island is also home to various shopping centers, golf courses and hotels and is a display of huge money and the desire to show it from this part of the world. At the end of 2014, the organizers signed a contract with Formula 1 for the long-term stay of this track in the World Championship calendar, which was recently extended until at least 2030.

Max Verstappen won the pole position for the last race of the season in Abu Dhabi and the 32nd in his career after a convincing performance on the Yas Marina circuit, and Charles Leclerc will be his company on the front row for the third time in a row.

Although the champion is known for some time now, there are still battles between the drivers and the teams in the Constructor’s championship. Ferrari showed some improvement recently and they hope that they can win over Mercedes for the 2nd place. Lewis Hamilton has revealed that he and team-mate George Russell used the same set-up in qualifying for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and has urged his team to understand what may have caused their lack of performance. The seven-time champion was sorely missed this weekend. The Mercedes driver even said after the free practice that it will be a challenge for him to enter Q3. The senior British driver in the Silver Arrows experienced just such a thing in qualifying at the Yas Marina Bay track. Hamilton failed to make the final round of qualifying and had to settle for eleventh place, in contrast to George Russell's fourth place finish. I believe that Hamilton as former champion will want to end the season in style and I think that he will easily finish in top 6 in Abu Dhabi.

OUR PREDICTION: Lewis Hamilton in the top 6