F1 Update: Verstappen closes out dominant season on a high note

It seemed only fitting that the most dominant driver of the year, one whose levels of success have never been seen in the sport’s decades-long history, finished out the season on a high note. In the last two Grand Prix of the season, in Las Vegas and Abu Dhabi, Max Verstappen may have won, but did so in very different fashions.

The Las Vegas GP was one of, if not the most, hyped-up race of the year. The race here brought the F1 race total in the U.S. up to three, showing a severe increase in the sport’s popularity in the States.

The weekend started in one of the worst ways possible in the first practice. While driving over a manhole, Carlos Sainz’s car received severe damage after the manhole cover came loose.

Sainz’s team was forced to repair the car which resulted in a grid penalty. In addition to Sainz, Esteban Ocon also received damage to his chassis from the incident. The damage, however, wasn’t just limited to those on the track.

Upon discovering that all manholes on track needed to be inspected, officials canceled FP1 after just eight minutes, much to the dismay of fans. While fans received discounts at the F1 shop as a refund, some filed a lawsuit days later.

While Verstappen did eventually pick up his 18th win of the season, his path to victory was one of his most difficult of the season. After an aggressive move to take the lead from Charles Leclerc on lap one, the Dutch driver was handed a five-second penalty for forcing Leclerc off the track.

Even this penalty couldn’t keep Verstappen down, however. Using a combination of safety cars (which were more than plentiful in the race), pit strategy and raw speed, Verstappen sliced and diced his way through the field en route to a win in the first F1 race in Vegas since 1982.

Leclerc came in on the last lap to spoil a 1-2 finish for the Red Bull cars, a move that would prove critical in the points battle.

Heading into Abu Dhabi, the focus wasn’t as much on Verstappen as it was more focused on the battle for fourth in points. Fernando Alonso, Leclerc, Lando Norris and Sainz were all in striking position to steal the position away.

For Verstappen in this race, the driver didn’t have to start behind the eight-ball. In the season finale, he led all but six laps in what was the most fitting way possible to end the season.

The main battle of this race wound up being between George Russell and Leclerc. With Leclerc being close to moving up to fourth in driver points and Ferrari breathing down the neck of Mercedes in Constructors points, the pressure was on for both drivers.

This battle came down to how far behind Sergio Perez they finished. Leclerc needed to finish two positions higher than Russell and had the perfect opportunity for this.

After letting Perez, who had a five-second penalty that would be tacked on at the end of the race, Leclerc tried to purposely slow Russell to where the British driver finished more than five seconds behind Perez.

In doing this, Leclerc would’ve had enough points for Ferrari to finish second in the Constructor Standings. This didn’t pan out however as both drivers finished around four seconds behind Perez.

The battle for fourth in points went to Alonso as he won the tie-breaker with Leclerc.

With this F1 season in the rear, the sky’s the limit for next season. Time will only tell how Verstappen can follow up this dominant season.

Ethan Ellis is a third-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email ece5133@psu.edu.