NOVEMBER 27, 2023
The Abu Dhabi racing weekend came to a close on November 26th, 2023 with Max Verstappen winning the Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Formula 1 Grand Prix 2023 at the Yas Island circuit in Abu Dhabi, UAE. This is a record win for Verstappen who won the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2023 for the fourth year in a row (2020, 2021, 2022) and he also became the first driver in history to surpass 1,000 laps led in a single season. This was Verstappen’s 54th career win, wherein he surpassed Sebastian Vettel for third on the all-time win list, behind Michael Schumacher’s 91 and Lewis Hamilton’s 103. Verstappen’s 1,003 laps led this season equals the total led by McLaren in their 1988 season with Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna.
Race winner Max Verstappen of the Netherlands driving the (1) Oracle Red Bull Racing RB19 performs donuts on track during the F1 Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi at Yas Marina Circuit on November 26, 2023 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
After a stupendous final lap, donuts on the track make for some of the best victory shots in Formula 1 with the car in fumes and flames, and the winning Verstappen did not disappoint. The son of former Formula 1 driver, Jos Verstappen and former go-kart racer Sophie Kumpen, this was Verstappen’s 19th win out of 22 races of the season this year. Charles Leclerc, a Monégasque racing driver for Scuderia Ferrari, finished second and British driver George Russell for Mercedes, took third place in last evening’s race at the Yas Marina circuit.
Race winner Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing celebrates on the podium during the F1 Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi at Yas Marina Circuit on November 26, 2023.
Verstappen is of Belgian and Dutch descent and competes under the Dutch flag in Formula 1 for the Red Bull racing team. Verstappen is a Formula 1 world champion of 2021, 2022, and 2023, having sealed his title in Qatar this year. He is at the top of his game this year, breaking and making many records with his wins, but he will officially be World Champion when he receives the trophy during the FIA’s annual prize-giving ceremony in the first week of December in Azerbaijan this year. In world sport like Super Bowl, the World Cup and NASCAR, the trophies are awarded immediately to winning champions as is the norm worldwide, but in the FIA, champions have to wait till the ceremony to be given their well-earned trophies.
Max Verstappen of the Netherlands driving the (1) Oracle Red Bull Racing RB19 on track during the F1 Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi at the Yas Marina Circuit on November 26, 2023.
Race winner Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing looks on in parc ferme during the F1 Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi at Yas Marina Circuit on November 26, 2023.
Race winner Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing celebrates on the podium during the F1 Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi at Yas Marina Circuit on November 26, 2023.
The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is a Formula 1 motor racing event which takes place over 58 laps of the 5.281-kilometre Yas Marina Circuit on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. The first race took place at the Hermann Tilke-designed Yas Marina Circuit on Yas Island on November 1st 2009. Yas Island is a 2,550 hectares (25.5 km) island on the east coast of Abu Dhabi and the 2009 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was the first major event to take place on the circuit. British Formula 1 driver and seven-time world champion, Lewis Hamilton has had the most wins on the Yas Marina circuit so far, winning the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in 2011, 2014, 2016, 2018 and 2019, driving for Mercedes AMG Petronas.
Disclaimer: Any part of the content on the rubinaakhan.com website cannot be reproduced without prior permission and crediting the website and the author. The © ahead of a name is the copyright of the subject in the photograph and not shot by Rubina A Khan.
Rubina A Khan 