It wasn’t a world sprint, but it was very similar in intensity and pathos. The final confrontation between Charles Leclerc and Sergio Perez, or the two remaining candidates in the running for the final place of honor in the drivers’ standings, offered a duel that in the end exceeded even the same expectations as on the eve.
It seemed like a Hollywood script, with two riders and two teams focusing on two different strategies. In the end everything converged in view of the checkered flag, on the edge of a single second, the margin that made the difference.
Charles Leclerc, celebrates his second place in the Abu Dhabi GP
Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
Charles Leclerc won, at the end of an extraordinary race that saw him sip pure performance with tire management. Perez entered the pit lane on lap fifteen to switch from the medium tires fitted at the start to the hard ones, an operation that Leclerc completed six laps later.
After the stop, Leclerc returned to the track eight seconds behind Perez, and from that moment he began a forcing that brought him to two seconds behind Red Bull on lap 32, thanks to an excellent pace that the F1-75 immediately had with hard tyres.
At that point it was clear that the only possibility for Perez to finish the race in front of the Ferrari was to differentiate his strategy, and the garage called Checo back on lap 33. Back on track, Perez found himself twenty seconds behind his rival, and the run-up has begun, punctuated by a good initial pace.
Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing RB18, leads Charles Leclerc, Ferrari F1-75, in the early stages of the Abu Dhabi GP
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
The assault was not successful for just one lap, but in such a close confrontation no flaws were allowed, and Perez was not impeccable in overtaking Hamilton (it took him two laps at a time when his performance was decidedly better than Mercedes) and was also unlucky in the final lapping of the Gasly-Albon tandem.
“I probably lost a second or so at that juncture – commented Perez – I thought Gasly was leaving me the space to get in and I delayed braking to get by, but luckily I kept a bit of a margin because when he closed we went very close to contact”.
Perez was called upon to push to the maximum of his possibilities, Leclerc to manage a set of hard for thirty-seven laps, caressing the tires and with a countdown that communicated the gap from Checo.
Sergio Perez on the podium: he is the loser in the battle for second place in the drivers’ championship
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Everything coincided perfectly for Leclerc, who arrived at the finish line with a few precious tenths of a margin which saved him from the DRS area. “Today I think Ferrari and Charles ran a fantastic race – commented Perez – they had excellent tire management and were stronger than us especially in that first stint (with the hard tyres) when I had a major drop complicating the our strategy”.
The place of honor conquered by Leclerc coincided with the possibility of being able to compete in a race in which tire management (one of the problems paid for by the F1-75 starting in the summer) has become an extra weapon, and among the ‘more on a track not tender with the tires. But the result is also the result of 58 laps in which Leclerc fielded his entire repertoire.
“Mine was a 110% race from the first to the last lap – he commented – the perfect race, I don’t think it would have been possible to come up with anything more. I knew that the only chance to beat Red Bull was to differentiate the strategy, playing with tire management, which we did really well today.”
The expression with which Leclerc left the Yas Marina paddock was very different from what we saw seven days ago at Interlagos. He wanted to end 2022 with a smile and he succeeded thanks to an exceptional race that placed Charles where he deserves to be.
#Abu #Dhabi #vice #Perez #surrenders #Leclerc #tire #wizard