Victoria Desai Wins in Abu Dhabi, Takes Championship Lead Ahead of Finale

Qualifying:

Pos	#	Driver	Constructor	Q1	Q2	Diff.
1	57	Dean Stoneman		1:43.255	1:43.534
2	63	George Russell		1:43.583	1:43.549	+0.294
3	37	Victoria Desai		1:46.217	1:45.888	+2.633
4	1	Artem Markelov		1:46.447	1:46.143	+2.888
5	70	Pastor Maldonado		1:46.818	1:46.388	+3.133
6	29	Roger Ibe		1:46.789	1:46.559	+3.304
7	23	Alexander Albon		1:46.656	1:46.562	+3.307
8	47	Lando Norris		1:46.604	1:46.916	+3.349
9	18	Sebastian Vettel		1:46.812	1:46.657	+3.402
10	33	Max Verstappen		1:46.803	1:46.689	+3.696
11	20	Kevin Magnussen		1:46.902	1:46.728	+3.785
12	77	Valtteri Bottas		1:47.165	1:46.856	+3.601
13	39	Sho Tsuboi		1:46.871	1:47.094	+3.616
14	4	Robin Frijns		1:47.470	1:47.298	+4.043
15	26	Robert Shwartzman		1:47.761	1:47.546	+4.291
16	55	Carlos Sainz, Jr.		1:48.393	1:47.841	+4.586
17	11	Terry Hawkin		1:49.125	1:49.079	+5.824
18	31	Esteban Ocon		1:49.545	1:49.423	+6.168
19	56	Einar Ármannsson		1:50.304	1:49.934	+6.679
20	23	Jules Bianchi		1:50.624	1:49.966	+6.711
21	95	Beitske Visser		1:50.137	1:50.310	+6.882
22	46	Alessandro Cicognani		1:50.520	1:50.528	+7.265
23	7	Charles Leclerc		1:53.218	1:52.484	+9.229
24	84	Jack Aitken		1:53.997	1:53.966	+10.711

Report:

Some wondered whether Sebastian Vettel’s poor race at Mugello shifted momentum in Victoria Desai’s favour. However, to prove this true, she would need to make an impact at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Without a good race in Abu Dhabi, it would all be lost.

A horrible start saw her drop a few places, but after that the overtake party began. Nobody could stop her except for one man: Pastor Maldonado. The Williams driver demonstrated all of his veteran experience to keep her behind.

A technical issue forced Maldonado into a pitstop, leaving the American-Indian driver to take her third win of the season and the championship lead despite Sebastian Vettel having a great race, nearly finishing third yet again.

With no retirements among the top teams, only few places were available for the bottom half of the grid despite Max Verstappen’s best efforts. Valtteri Bottas took advantage returned to the points after four retirements with a ninth place.

Race:

Pos	#	Driver	Constructor	Time/Retired	Points
1	37	Victoria Desai		61:35.310	15
2	29	Roger Ibe		+10.837	12
3	23	Alexander Albon		+23.202	10
4	18	Sebastian Vettel		+24.850	8
5	1	Artem Markelov		+36.133	6
6	70	Pastor Maldonado		+38.024	5
7	47	Lando Norris		+43.924	4
8	26	Robert Shwartzman		+44.481	3
9	77	Valtteri Bottas		+63.777	2
10	57	Dean Stoneman		+65.793	1
11	39	Sho Tsuboi		+68.270
12	63	George Russell		+77.362
13	11	Terry Hawkin		+84.733
14	33	Max Verstappen		+103.594
15	14	Esteban Ocon		+113.535
16	57	Einar Ármannsson		1 Lap
17	46	Alessandro Cicognani		1 Lap
18	27	Jules Bianchi		1 Lap
19	7	Charles Leclerc		2 Laps
20	4	Robin Frijns		2 Laps
21	85	Jack Aitken		3 Laps
22	95	Beitske Visser		Transmission
DNF	55	Carlos Sainz, Jr.		Motor
DNF	20	Kevin Magnussen		Suspension

Fastest Lap:

Pastor Maldonado – 1:48.215

Infinite Improbability Drive Of The Race:

Reliability – only two cars not classified is the best number of 2022.

Reject Of The Race:

Sauber-Judd – the C41 is the worst car ever produced by the team and this race demonstrated that perfectly.