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The 2022 F1 Abu Dhabi GP marks the end of the first season of the new era of the sport. The season has been somewhat dominated by Red Bull as the team has secured the constructors' championship with a few races to spare. Having said that, there is hope that next season could see a much tighter battle between the teams as solutions from rivals start to converge.
Heading to the 2022 F1 Abu Dhabi GP, interestingly, there are still stakes at play for the teams. Even though the championship has been decided, there are still other positions in the standings for which teams are fighting tooth and nail. Every incremental position in the championship means bigger prize money for the teams, which is crucial for some on the grid.
In the final race of the season, many teams will be hoping to put together their foot forward and are desperate for a strong result. Who are these teams? Let's find out!
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#1 Haas F1
Haas was a perennial backmarker in 2021. The team finished bottom of the standings and had no hope of scoring points. This season, however, things have changed. Haas has been able to put in a decent amount of investment into the car and its early season form has been impressive to watch.
The team's form, however, has plummeted in the second half of the season, allowing rivals like Aston Martin to get ahead in the standings. Having said that, a P8 finish in the championship is still a respectable result for Haas if we consider where the team was last season.
Heading into Abu Dhabi, Haas is looking at a 2-point advantage over AlphaTauri in the championship. The team will be desperate to defend this lead and have a few extra dollars for next season.
#2 Red Bull
Christian Horner has every right to be angry after what happened in Brazil. Red Bull has sealed both titles but the one F1 race the team did not win was marred by extensive controversy. This time around, it all originated from a surprise indignance of the current F1 champion Max Verstappen towards his teammate.
Red Bull has had an amazing season. The team has broken records and has been the benchmark for others on the F1 grid. Brazil was the first race that the team had not won since the 2022 F1 Austrian GP, but it was not the team's lack of performance that made the headlines. What made the headlines was the surprising breakdown of the relationship between Verstappen and Sergio Perez.
The two teammates have been very cordial for most of their two-year partnership and what happened in Brazil was surprising for everyone. Heading into the 2022 F1 Abu Dhabi GP, Red Bull will be looking to put these demons on the back burner and show signs of solidarity. In the minds of Mercedes and even Red Bull, the battle for the 2023 F1 season has already started and the Milton Keynes-based squad will be looking to bookend the successful year with a win.
#3 McLaren
McLaren has a lot of soul-searching to do at the end of the season. The team was supposed to be the dark horse when it came to the 2022 F1 season title fight, but it was obvious that the package lacked the inherent pace to fight at the front from the get-go.
What has followed since then has been a salvaging act put together primarily by Lando Norris as the young driver drags results out of that McLaren every race weekend. With an underperforming car and an underperforming driver in the ranks, McLaren could be somewhat happy that it has managed to stay in the fight for P4 this season.
Having said that, this was certainly not what the team would have had in mind at the start of the season. The team had been on an upward trajectory in the last few years. The 2021 season featured its first pole position and a win in almost a decade. The 2022 season was supposed to be the next step toward progress. Looking at the championship standings, McLaren finds itself P5, 19 points behind Alpine, making it safe to say that the expectations have not been met.
Abu Dhabi would mean the end of a disappointing season for the team and there would certainly be desperation to at least end the season on a high note.
