Verstappen F1 Abu Dhabi GP Final “Achieving 1000 laps lead lap was included in the strategy”[F1-Gate.com]

Max Verstappen says Red Bull Racing included a goal of achieving 1,000 lead laps for the season in his strategy for winning the F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Verstappen had already led a record 951 laps heading into the 58-lap finale at the Yas Marina circuit.

Verstappen briefly surrendered the lead to Hiroki Tsunoda, who had to make one stop due to an offset, but quickly returned to the front and by the end of the race had passed the 1,000-lap milestone in the lead. Verstappen went on to lead 1,003 laps, comfortably capping his dominant campaign with his 19th win. “Well, I knew this card was going to be there before the race even started,” Verstappen said. “And from the engineering side of strategy, of course, we wanted to plan so we didn’t pit too early, so we waited for other people to pit. “Of course, the strategy to achieve that isn’t necessarily the fastest. Maybe not, but I wanted to stay in the lead for the laps.” Verstappen went on to praise the team spirit of Red Bull Racing, which lost only once this year. “I think it’s just the team spirit,” Verstappen said of what he remembers most about 2023. “I think it’s not so much about winning or anything like pole position or lap lead, but about having fun as a team.” “Winning is great, of course, but I think it’s very important that the team has a good atmosphere and having fun.” “ There’s a lot of smart people on the team, and I don’t think you can top that in anything you do in motor racing, so to see everyone trying to do their best every day and give everything for themselves. I’m really happy.”