F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix: 5 Talking Points

4 - Bottas Slumps to 5th

Valtteri Bottas was also a man who left the UAE disappointed

In my pre-race predictions, I said that Valtteri Bottas would fall to 5th overall in the driver's standings, and that's exactly what happened. Bottas struggled after his pit-stop and slumped from 2nd down to 5th in a matter of a few laps thanks to some brilliant overtaking from both Verstappen and Ricciardo.

Max was just 3 points behind Bottas going into this race, and a third-place finish from the Dutchman sealed the 3rd position in the overall standings. Thanks to Kimi Raikkonen's retirement, Verstappen managed to pass two drivers in the driver's standings in one race, showing the progress that he's made in the second half of the season. With Red Bull switching to a new power unit for next year, and Max in red hot form, there's a real possibility that he'll be able to challenge for the title in 2019.