Leclerc: Verstappen-Hamilton season finale "the best F1 could have hoped for"
Leclerc: Verstappen-Hamilton season finale "the best F1 could have hoped for"
Charles Leclerc believes the Max Verstappen-Lewis Hamilton battle on the final lap of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was "the best F1 could have hoped for."
The world championship race went to the last lap of the season, as Verstappen took advantage of a safety car deployment to overtake Hamilton and claim his maiden F1 driver's title.
Following the arrival of a safety car with five laps remaining, the FIA announced that lapped cars would not be allowed to overtake after Nicholas Latifi's car had been cleared from the track, following a collision with the barriers.
Race director Michael Masi then reversed his decision and allowed the five lapped cars between Hamilton and Verstappen to pass the safety car, leaving the Dutchman in behind Hamilton and on fresher tyres.
Verstappen was able to pass Hamilton to take the chequered flag, and speaking to Sky Sports afterwards, Leclerc declared his feeling that the outcome had been good for F1.
He said: "To have the last race, on the last lap, is unbelievable.
"But I think it's the best that F1 could ask for. It's great to see that and congratulations to Max, he's been incredible."
Leclerc finished the race in P10 as Ferrari look to next season in an effort to be competitive with Mercedes and Red Bull.
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F1 Standings
Drivers
- Charles Leclerc
- Carlos Sainz
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- Pierre Gasly
- Esteban Ocon
- Sergio Pérez
- Max Verstappen
- Alexander Albon
- Logan Sargeant
- Lewis Hamilton
- George Russell
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Kevin Magnussen
- Fernando Alonso
- Lance Stroll
- Valtteri Bottas
- Zhou Guanyu
- Nyck De Vries
- Liam Lawson
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Yuki Tsunoda
Races
- Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2023
- Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2023
- Grand Prix of Australia 2023
- Grand Prix of China 2023
- Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2023
- Miami Grand Prix 2023
- Qatar Airways Gran Premio Del Made In Italy E Dell'emilia Romagna 2023
- Grand Prix of Monaco 2023
- AWS Gran Premio de España 2023
- Grand Prix du Canada 2023
- Grand Prix of Austria 2023
- Aramco Grand Prix of Great Britain 2023
- Grand Prix of Hungary 2023
- Grand Prix of Belgium 2023
- Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2023
- Grand Prix of Italy 2023
- Grand Prix of Singapore 2023
- Grand Prix of Japan 2023
- Qatar Grand Prix 2023
- Grand Prix of the United States 2023
- Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2023
- Rolex Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2023
- Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2023
- Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2023
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