Max Verstappen signed off 2023 in style with a 19th win of the year, while Mercedes was second in the constructors’ championship.

The Dutchman dominated the Yas Marina encounter to head Charles Leclerc to the flag.

However, the Ferrari driver’s efforts weren’t enough to secure the runners-up spot for the Scuderia, falling short by three points.

George Russell was third, with Sergio Perez falling from second to fourth with a five-second post-race penalty.

Oscar Piastri was sixth and Daniel Ricciardo 11th, missing the points by half a second.

A good start from Leclerc saw the Ferrari driver challenge into the opening corner, only for the Monegasque to back out of the move and leave Verstappen in the lead.

They were at it again half a lap later, Leclerc challenging up the inside into Turn 6, but the Red Bull remained ahead.

A third effort around the outside of the sweeper off the back straight was also fended off to leave Verstappen leading from Leclerc and Piastri at the end of the opening lap.

The Red Bull driver began to ease clear at the start of Lap 2 as Leclerc came under pressure from Piastri and Norris.

By the time DRS was enabled, Verstappen was out of range, though the third-placed McLaren had also fallen off the gearbox of Leclerc.

On Lap 3, Lando Norris cruised by his team-mate on the back straight, DRS making it no contest as they braked into Turn 6.

Piastri came under the attention of Russell, who used DRS to attack on Lap 7, only for the Australian to fight back.

Elsewhere, Daniel Ricciardo was in the pits early to have a tear-off removed from a front brake duct.

Two laps after his first attempt, Russell attacked Piastri again and found a way ahead around the outside of the sweeper, only for the McLaren to take the lower line and emerge ahead once more.

A pinched brake at Turn 6 on Lap 11 opened the door, Russell easing by on corner exit to take the place well before they reached the left-hand sweeper.

McLaren soon called Piastri in, swapping him from medium tyres onto hards at the end of Lap 13.

Another lock-up from Piastri at Turn 6 allowed Fernando Alonso the opportunity to attack, though the 22-year-old held a lower line through the long left-hander to safeguard the place.

Russell and Norris stopped a lap later; a slow turnaround for the latter saw him drop behind the Mercedes.

Even with the delay, he emerged ahead of Piastri in 14th on the road.

At the end of Lap 16, Verstappen pitted from the lead, handing top spot to Leclerc with Yuki Tsunoda in second.

Ferrari hauled Leclerc in next time around, turning him around in 2.8s.

That left Tsunoda in the race lead, 5.8s clear of Lance Stroll, with Carlos Sainz in third, though Verstappen soon relieved him of that.

After 22 laps, the Scuderia AlphaTauri driver stopped, Verstappen taking over at the head of the race from Leclerc and Russell.

Following the pit sequence, Piastri ran fifth, but dropped a spot when Perez moved through at Turn 6 on Lap 29.

The race had settled into a predictable pattern, the saving grace an occasional pit stop.

Ricciardo stopped again on Lap 32, as did an unhappy Pierre Gasly a lap later.

Though pre-race predictions suggested an easy one-stop race, starting on the mediums and swapping the hards, most preferred to two-stop.

Norris was in for a 2.3s stop after 33 laps, with Russell in a lap later despite the Mercedes driver suggesting his tyres were still good.

It was Piastri’s turn after 36 laps, slotting in behind Sainz in 10th on the road.

A moment between Hamilton and Alonso saw the latter noted for driving erratically.

The Spaniard had gone unusually wide on approach to the hairpin, with the Mercedes driver claiming he’d been brake tested.

By the end of Lap 39, Piastri had climbed back to eighth, passing Ocon at Turn 6 with Sainz following the McLaren through.

Verstappen stopped for a second time at the end of Lap 43, a lap after team-mate Perez, emerging comfortably clear of Leclerc in second.

Following the final round of stops, Russell remained third from Norris with Perez fifth.

Tsunoda was the odd one out, having only stopped once to run sixth with Piastri for company.

Norris and Perez livened up the action by banging wheels at Turn 6 on Lap 47.

The Red Bull driver had closed on the McLaren and moved up the inside as they attempted to negotiate the left-right complex.

Norris took to the run-off, cutting Turn 7 and retaining the place in an incident that was noted by officials.

There was no such conflict a lap later, Perez completing the move though having to defend as Norris attempted to counterattack with DRS on the run to Turn 8.

No sooner had the Mexican gained the place did officials confirm they were investigating the clash a lap earlier – which subsequently resulted in a five-second time penalty.

Officials also confirmed they’d investigate a ‘pit stop infringement’ for Hamilton, which related to suggestions the pit crew were not wearing appropriate eyewear.

Three others were also flagged for infringements, including Verstappen, Logan Sargeant, and Zhou Guanyu.

With four laps to run, Perez moved on Russell to claim third on the road and quickly pulled more than two seconds clear. He needed to open a five-second advantage to retain the position.

Alonso passed Tsunoda for seventh on Lap 56, with Hamilton soon catching the Scuderia AlphaTauri driver.

A late stop for Sainz, who’d only used the hard tyres, dropped him out of the points to 15th.

On the final lap, Perez passed Leclerc, a seemingly orchestrated move to trap Russell in fourth and confirm Ferrari second in the title fight.

It didn’t work; Verstappen won with Leclerc classified second ahead of Russell and Perez.

Norris was fifth ahead of Piastri, with Alonso seventh over Tsunoda, Hamilton, and Lance Stroll rounding out the top 10.

Ricciardo missed out on the points by half a second, crossing the line in 11th.

The result was Verstappen’s 19th win of the year, giving Red Bull the highest wins:starts ratio in F1 history, with 21 wins from 22 starts, bettering the mark laid down by McLaren in 1988 (15 from 16).