F1 Takeaways: Verstappen's record-extending 19th win fitting end to season

The Formula One season has drawn to a close with Max Verstappen appropriately taking the checkered flag Sunday at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Verstappen already clinched a third consecutive world championship back in October and earned his record-extending 19th victory on the season in a fitting conclusion to the 2023 campaign.

The season almost ended the same way it began with a Red Bull 1-2 finish as Sergio Perez crossed the line second, however, Verstappen's teammate would have to settle for fourth place following a five-second penalty. Instead, Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and George Russell of Mercedes stood beside Verstappen on the podium.

Before we sign off for the year and impatiently await 2024, here's what you need to know from the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and the season as a whole.

We've exhausted all the adjectives this season to simply say Verstappen couldn't be beaten when it came to the championship and Sunday's race exemplified that.

Verstappen claimed pole position at the Yas Marina track for the fourth consecutive year and converted yet again to victory, this time with an insurmountable 18-second advantage.

Although Leclerc put up a fight at the start, he couldn't maintain the pace and even once DRS was finally enabled on lap three, Verstappen had already opened up a 1.3-second gap as he continued to pull out of range.

Verstappen, who reached the 1,000 laps-led plateau during the race, also scored the fastest lap bonus and finished his dominant season with a whopping 575 points. By comparison, Perez was a distant second with 285 points. Yes, there was a greater gap separating those two (290 points) than Perez and last place. That's some Gretzky-like stat.

The victory also moved Verstappen into sole possession of third place on the all-time wins list with 54. Verstappen entered the season sixth and along the way surpassed legends Ayrton Senna (41), Alain Prost (51) and now Sebastian Vettel (53). He still has a long way to go though before catching Michael Schumacher (91) and Lewis Hamilton (103).

Add Perez's pair of victories and Red Bull won 21 of 22 races — Ferrari's Carlos Sainz was the outlier in Singapore. That'll be tough to top and hopefully, it'll stand for a while as what's good for the record books isn't necessarily good for entertainment. The onus will be on McLaren, Ferrari, Mercedes, Aston Martin or someone, anyone, to find ways to close the gap to the Red Bull juggernaut.

As unsurprising as Verstappen's win was, so too was Perez's mishandling of an opportunity for Red Bull to finish the race 1-2.

Perez started ninth on the grid after another underwhelming qualifying effort (although he made it to the final knockout session this time at least) that had him fighting through the field.

And fighting he did as Perez banged wheels with Lando Norris when he tried to lunge on the inside on lap 47 and sent the McLaren off the track. Could Perez have turned in more and given Norris space? The officials must have believed so as they handed him a five-second penalty. The fact Perez was able to pass Norris cleanly a little later only added to the frustration knowing he could have just waited and picked a better opportunity.

Perez's impatience also cost him earlier at his home race in Mexico when he crashed into Leclerc on the opening lap in an attempt to pass the polesitter.

Sure, Perez finished second in the championship but always left you wanting more whether it was in qualifying or on race day. What happened to the Perez that won two of the first four races of the season? His job may be safe heading into 2024 but it'll definitely be a hot seat.

Ferrari may have scored a win and more podiums over the season, but it was steady (and somewhat unspectacular) Mercedes who finished second in the constructors' championship.

Mercedes held a slim four-point lead over Ferrari entering the finale and the provisional standings continued to flip-flop through the duration of the Abu Dhabi GP.

Leclerc did all he could and even slowed down to concede second place to try and help Perez finish more than five seconds ahead of Russell and would have put Ferrari ahead of Mercedes. That 4D chess move didn't work out as Russell remained close enough that Perez dropped down to fourth once the dust settled.

Mercedes also added some insurance with Hamilton crossing the line ninth but it was Russell who saved the day. After starting fourth, Russell outmanoeuvred McLaren's Oscar Piastri in the early stages and benefitted from a flubbed pitstop to get by Norris and into podium position.

A valiant effort by Leclerc to lift Ferrari but it was a tough task regardless as Sainz failed to advance out of the first qualifying session and had to start 16th on the grid. Sainz was unable to score any points finishing in lowly 18th.

Leclerc also had quite an unlucky season with three retirements, a disqualification in the U.S. Grand Prix due to excessive wear on his rear skid block and a dreaded DNS when a hydraulics problem caused him to crash during the formation lap for the Sao Paulo Grand Prix. Considering the damage his car also sustained in Mexico tangling with Perez, it's amazing that didn't result in another DNF and instead led to a third-place finish.

Worst of all? Leclerc was denied doughnuts.

The two teams that surprised the most this season were Aston Martin and McLaren.

Aston Martin jumped out of the gate with Fernando Alonso taking a liking to his new team earning podium finishes in six of the first eight races. The two-time world champion's renaissance took a hit with just two more podiums from there on out, but Alonso ended the year fourth in the championship for his best season in a decade. Even teammate Lance Stroll finished a career-best 10th overall. It was a huge improvement for the team from seventh place in the constructors' standings and 55 points last season to fifth place and 280 points this year.

Alonso bemoaned on the radio Sunday they had the slowest car on the straights by far. Yet there was also Alonso passing Hamilton with ease and also appeared to "brake test" his longtime rival. Talk about turning back the clock, who would have thought Alonso and Hamilton would be at the centre of drama in 2023?

Meanwhile, McLaren got out to a dreadful start to the year scoring just 17 points through the first eight races before flipping the script — almost coinciding with Aston Martin's dropoff — and suddenly pulling in consistent podium finishes. Norris finished runner-up six times while rookie Piastri was also victorious during the sprint in Qatar. McLaren finished fourth in the constructors' standings thanks to its stunning turnaround.

If only either team could have put together a complete season and that'll be something to watch for in 2024.

The 2024 grid may end up looking identical to the one that wrapped up 2023 with only the future of Williams rookie Logan Sargeant to be determined.

Sargeant scored just one point — on home pavement at the U.S. Grand Prix — and actually finished 21st in a 20-car field. Liam Lawson scored two points during his five-race stint subbing for Daniel Ricciardo when the AlphaTauri driver was injured.

It'll be a tough case for Sargeant to prove he belongs in F1 although Williams could cut him some slack for being a rookie. Sargeant also fared better than fellow rookie Nyck de Vries, who was given the boot at AlphaTauri after only 10 races.

Now next year when almost the entire grid is up for grabs, that'll be a true silly season. Is it 2024 yet?