The Abu Dhabi GP as it happened

By: Jake Boxall-Legge, Haydn Cobb, Megan White

Summary

Verstappen wins the F1 Abu Dhabi GP
Leclerc takes second place ahead of Perez to secure runner-up in the drivers' standings
Vettel finishes 10th in his last grand prix
Hamilton forced to retire while running fourth after losing power and dropping down the order
Alonso retires with suspected water leak

Leaderboard

Verstappen, Red Bull
Leclerc, Ferrari
Perez, Red Bull
Sainz, Ferrari
Russell, Mercedes
Norris, McLaren
Ocon, Alpine
Stroll, Aston Martin
Ricciardo, McLaren
Vettel, Aston Martin

Status: Stopped

18:22 Never fear, 2023 isn't too far away. We'll be back for F1 pre-season testing on 23-25 February - and we can hardly wait! Until then, go well, and have a lovely winter break. Cheers!

18:20 With that, we'll call time on the live F1 coverage for the final time this season. Thank you to each and every one of you who followed during the year, it has been an honour to have you here.

18:16 Here's the full report on the final race of 2022:

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/f1-abu-dhabi-gp-verstappen-dominates-finale-leclerc-takes-second-in-championship/10402859/

17:56

17:48 Three points between Leclerc and Perez by the end - so the Brazil fiasco ultimately didn't matter. When it mattered, Ferrari got the strategy spot on - although Leclerc dug deep to make it work.

17:42 A few boos for Verstappen, but unanimous cheers for Vettel as he conducts his exit interview and collects driver of the day.

17:40 Leclerc reckons it was "a perfect race," en route to collecting second in the championship.

17:38 Vettel does his own doughnuts, and parks up on the grid as a final goodbye.

17:35 "Yes baby, we got it! Good job guys, really good race," Leclerc says.

17:33 Stroll gets eighth for Aston, Ricciardo takes ninth, and Vettel ends his F1 career as it started - with one point.

17:32 Ricciardo holds off Vettel on the final lap to keep the German in 10th - ninth position for Vettel would've put Aston Martin ahead of Alfa Romeo in the final standings! So close!

17:32 Sainz is fourth from Russell, as Norris gets sixth ahead of Ocon.

17:32 Leclerc manages to get the one-stop strategy to work out, and beats Perez to second in the race - and the championship!

17:31 And Max Verstappen closes out the season with victory at the 2022 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix!

17:30 Last lap, and Verstappen looks set to win. But will Leclerc continue to hang on from Perez?

17:30 Latifi is another late retirement in this race.

17:29 Leclerc was helped out by the squabbling Gasly/Albon battle stopping Perez from getting past, which means that Perez isn't going to get DRS just yet.

17:28 Hamilton pits and retires after that hydraulic issue.

17:28 Hamilton's retirement does promote Vettel into the points whatever happens in his fight against Ricciardo. A silver lining for the neutrals?

17:27 "I've lost shifts, shifts aren't working properly", says Hamilton, who is passed by Sainz and is struggling to get into the right gear. But that looks like the end for Hamilton's 2022.

17:26 Four to go, and Perez is 3.7s behind Leclerc. Red Bull's projection is a last-lap battle - and Perez should be set with DRS. Can Leclerc hold him off?

17:25 "We should have stopped," Hamilton says, having earlier lobbied for a two-stop. Sainz is closing in, the gap at 1.8s at the close of lap 54.

17:25 Vettel is in DRS range of Ricciardo in the fight for the final point position. Not quite how these two would've wanted to bow out but it adds some late excitement further down the order.

17:23 The gap is 5.4s between Perez and Leclerc with six to go.

17:22 "It's gonna be tight buddy, seven laps to go. All out," Bird tells Perez. Leclerc needs to keep minimising the loss of time, but it might go down to the wire.

17:20 A lap later Stroll tries the move again at Turn 6 but this time he gets it to stick to make ninth place his.

17:20 Leclerc's managing to hang on in the 1m29s, as he hopes to stop Perez from making too much time on him. He tells engineer Xavier Marcos Padros to limit the communications too to focus.

17:19 Stroll duly gets by Ricciardo to take ninth place, but only momentarily as the Australian fights back to regain the place.

17:18 Stroll takes 10th place off team-mate Vettel, probably to allow him to go after Ricciardo in ninth. "How did we get the strategy so wrong?" Vettel asks over team radio.

17:15 Norris, probably bored in his no-man's land in seventh, puts in a fastest lap of the race of 1m28.391s. Because why not.

17:15 The gap between Leclerc and Perez is now nine seconds, and it looks as though Ferrari's decision to one stop is locked in. It'll all come down to the final few laps.

17:14 Perez avoids trying to make the move into Turn 6 on lap 46, learning from Hamilton's DRS grab on the following stretch to pass the Mercedes.

17:12 "We can't lose time here. Catch and pass Hamilton," Hugh Bird says to Perez. The Mexican does, but gets a lock-up into Turn 6 and comes back under attack from Hamilton - who reclaims third.

17:11 A lap later Stroll, who went wide and off track looking for a way by Zhou at Turn 11, gets the move done on the Chinese driver to take 11th.

17:10 "I don't think I'll come back if we box," Leclerc says. "We believe we'll get overtaken at the end," comes the reply. Ferrari needs to make a call, like, now.

17:10 Ocon gets by Ricciardo into Turn 6 for eighth, while directly behind them Vettel dives up the inside of Zhou at Turn 10 to take 10th, which also invites Stroll into the fight.

17:10 A 1m28.895s for Russell this time around - the mediums look like the tyre to be on at this point.

17:08 Ocon pits for the second time in the race and comes out in ninth place. McLaren, to avoid Norris getting undercut, call in their driver a lap later and get comes out in seventh ahead of team-mate Ricciardo.

17:07 "I'm okay for now," Verstappen says when asked about strategic options. "The last 10 laps will be critical," so he's probably after a later switch if anything.

17:07 Russell indeed sets a 1m29.042s, on those mediums.