On Track

Driver Debrief by Aramco: Abu Dhabi GP

Lance raced up the order to pick up four points in the final Grand Prix of 2022, while Sebastian was unlucky not to pick up a better result in his farewell race from Formula One.

The team opted for differing strategies between the two drivers in the race, with Sebastian on a one-stop strategy with Lance on a two-stopper.

Lance's pace in the middle of the race was strong and this allowed him to pick off several cars towards the end of the Grand Prix.

Sebastian valiantly fought hard with his former team-mate Daniel Ricciardo right to the flag in an eventful final race but ultimately came up just short at the chequered flag.

Lance

Starting from 14th on the grid and on the Medium tyres, Lance put in yet another great start to pick off a couple of places on the opening lap by getting past Ricciardo and Mick Schumacher.

From there, he hovered around Yuki Tsunoda before making his first stop on lap 13 for fresh Hard tyres. With his stop, he was crucially able to undercut the AlphaTauri driver.

Afterwards, he started to close in on Esteban Ocon in front as the pair battled their way through those who started on the Hard tyre.

He then dropped back slightly from Ocon but kept a decent pace in the middle of the race. He also gained a position when Fernando Alonso had to retire.

Race report by Aramco

Double points finish to end the 2022 season

Lance fought hard throughout the race to pick up an eighth-place finish, while Sebastian battled with some of the fiercest rivals throughout his legendary career to secure a championship point in his final Grand Prix.

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Tsunoda later pitted for Softs but he was unable to undercut Lance who opted for another set of Mediums on lap 40.

After that, Lance caught and passed Zhou Guanyu after a good battle with the Alfa Romeo driver, before passing Sebastian and then Ricciardo again.

Lance then capitalised on a mechanical issue for Lewis Hamilton, which elevated him into eighth position.

At the end of the race, Lance finished in eighth position for four World Championship points to round out his strong second half of the season.

We were able to fight for points on a much more regular basis recently and that progress is a good preparation for next year.

Lance Stroll

"We had a competitive race with a good strategy today to round out the year. I am happy with the performance and the result: it was a great team effort.

"It was a shame not to pass Alfa Romeo in the Constructors' World Championship at the end. We gave it everything we could as the races ticked by and we were so close to jumping them today.

"The team here at the track and back at Silverstone did a really good job throughout the year to help us get much more out of the car in the second half of the season.

"We were able to fight for points on a much more regular basis recently and that progress is a good preparation for next year."

Sebastian

Sebastian started on Medium tyres, but was set to go long on his first stint.

He held position in a battle with Ocon in the early stages and continued to sit in ninth position early on.

He pressured the Alpine driver as the race progressed in its early stages while also holding Alonso at bay.

Ocon pitted early, followed soon after by Alonso. Sebastian meanwhile went long on his stint before pitting at the end of lap 25 for Hard tyres.

He came out towards the rear of the field but then started to work his way back up the order in the following laps.

Sebastian was able to pass Kevin Magnussen and Pierre Gasly and eventually worked his way past Zhou.

In the closing stages, he lost position to Lance who was on younger tyres but was able to chase Ricciardo in front who was on slightly older tyres. At the same time, Tsunoda was closing in on Soft tyres.

Tsunoda dropped off towards the end and Sebastian tried to get by Ricciardo. This was a battle for the final point, but became a battle over ninth when Hamilton retired.

He just came up short of passing Ricciardo by just 0.630 of a second at the chequered flag.

Sebastian came home in 10th position to round out his incredible F1 career with one final championship point on the board.

It was nice to fight the last couple of laps with Daniel and to have us both finishing in the points, but we just missed out on moving up a place in the Constructors' World Championship.

Sebastian Vettel

"I enjoyed the race this evening, but it was a shame that we could not quite get past Daniel at the end.

"The lead-up to the race was a bit different with so many tributes and activities on the grid, but once the lights went out it was full-on race mode.

"It was not an easy race because it was a close call between a one-stop and two-stop strategy. On my car, we tried to make the one-stop work, but as the tyres were getting older it was quite challenging to hold on.

"It was nice to fight the last couple of laps with Daniel and to have us both finishing in the points, but we just missed out on moving up a place in the Constructors' World Championship.

"Overall, it has been a big and emotional weekend, so thank you to everybody for all the support. Seeing so many flags and so many smiling faces has been very, very special.

"I am sure I am going to miss it more than I understand right now. The past two years have been great for me personally so thank you for all the support – all the messages, the letters and all the love in general.

"I will miss that but it has been an absolute joy throughout my career so thank you all again."