It’s Monday, November 27, 2023 and this is Racing Recap, your summary of last weekend’s motorsports action. Formula One ended its season in Abu Dhabi with yet another Max Verstappen victory. Unlike F1, the MotoGP title fight went down to the season-ending Valencian Grand Prix. Pecco Bagnaia sealed his championship defense as contender Jorge Martin put himself and Marc Marquez in the gravel.
Mercedes Beats Ferrari For 2nd In Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was a coronation run for Max Verstappen. Red Bull’s world champion won pole on Saturday, then led 52 laps of the 58-lap race en route to his 19th race win this season. Verstappen finished his year with an unprecedented total of 1,003 laps led, running out front for 75.7 percent of the time. No driver had surpassed the 70 percent threshold since Jim Clark in 1963.
Much of the race’s real intrigue was happening behind Verstappen as Ferrari and Mercedes battled for second in the World Constructors’ Championship. Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc was running in second behind Verstappen, but the head-to-head struggle was complicated by Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez. Ferrari needed George Russell to finish lower than third to beat Mercedes.
Perez was running third on the track, but behind Russell with a five-second penalty applied for colliding with McLaren’s Lando Norris. Leclerc decided it was in his team’s best interest to give the Red Bull driver a slipstream to try and pull away from the Mercedes. The ingenious tactic wasn’t enough, and Perez was classified just over a second behind Russell.
Race Results
1. - Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
2. - Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) - +17.993 seconds
3. - George Russell (Mercedes) - +20.328 seconds
4. - Sergio Perez (Red Bull) - +21.453 seconds
5. - Lando Norris (McLaren) - +24.284 seconds
Jorge Martin Crashes Out In MotoGP Finale
With a 21-point lead, Francesco Bagnaia was in prime position to defend the MotoGP World Championship in Valencia, Spain. The Ducati driver just needed to have an average race weekend, while his title rival Jorge Martin had to be spectacular. Martin qualified sixth but won the sprint race to claw the deficit down to 14 points.
Martin’s championship pursuit ended only after five laps on Sunday. The Pramac rider ran wide in Turn 4 and crashed in the gravel trap. Martin also collected Marc Marquez in his farewell outing with Repsol Honda. Bagnaia eventually won both the race and championship.
Race Results
1. - Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati)
2. - Johann Zarco (Pramac) - +0.360 seconds
3. - Brad Binder (KTM) - +2.347 seconds
4. - Fabio Di Giannantonio (Gresini) - +3.176 seconds
5. - Raúl Fernández (RNF) - +4.636 seconds