How things stand ahead of Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2020 - DRIVERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP: 1. L. Hamilton, Mercedes, 332; 2. V. Bottas, Mercedes, 205; 3. M. Verstappen, Red Bull, 189; 4. S. Perez, Racing Point, 125; 5. D. Ricciardo, Renault, 112; 6. C. Leclerc, Ferrari, 98; 7. C. Sainz, McLaren, 97; 8. A. Albon, Red Bull, 93; 9. L. Norris, McLaren, 87; 10. L. Stroll, Racing Point, 74. CONSTRUCTORS’ CHAMPIONSHIP: 1. Mercedes 540; 2. Red Bull 282; 3. Racing Point 194; 4. McLaren 184; 5. Renault 172; 6. Ferrari 131; 7. Alphatauri 103; 8. Alfa Romeo 8; 9. Haas 3; 10. Williams 0
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Top 10 drivers in 2020 - Lewis Hamilton (GBR), Mercedes. Age: 35. The British driver has equalled Michael Schumacher’s record seven Drivers’ Championships this season and is regarded as one of the greatest drivers of all time. The 35-year-old also holds the records for most race wins (95) pole positions (98), podium finishes (164), points finishes (228), career points (3,763) and points in a season (413). He missed last week’s Sakhir Grand Prix after testing positive for COVID-19.
Image Credit: Agencies
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Valtteri Bottas (FIN), Mercedes. Age: 31. The Finn has suffered a frustrating time since joining Mercedes in 2017, having to live in the shadow of the great Lewis Hamilton. However, this season he still managed two race wins, taking him up to nine in total, He shot to prominence while driving for Williams alongside Pastor Maldonado in 2013, and then Felipe Massa 2014-16). He struggled last weekend at the Sakhir GP, with Hamilton’s replacement — rookie George Russell — consistently outpacing him both in practice and the race, raising questions over Bottas’ future.
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Max Verstappen (NED), Red Bull. Age: 23. Regarded as one of the best drivers on the grid, the Dutch-Belgian Verstappen became the youngest ever F1 driver — aged 17 years, 166 days — at the 2015 Australian Grand Prix for Torro Rosso, before he even had a driver’s licence. The following year he was promoted to the senior Red Bull team at the expense of Daniil Kvyat. At the age of 18, he won the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix on his Red Bull debut for Red Bull Racing, setting another landmark as the youngest winner of an F1 race. The son of former F1 star driver Jos Verstappen, Max now has nine wins and 41 podiums, all by the age of 23
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Sergio Perez (MEX), Racing Point. Age: 30. The Mexican journeyman has had a roller-coaster F1 career that saw him replaced at the end of his debut season with McLaren in 2013, following a promising debut for two seasons with Sauber. ‘Checo’ was tipped for the top after some stunning performances for Sauber but only found a drive for 2014 when Force India signed him up just before the start of the season. More struggles followed as the team went into administration in 2018. They were reformed the following season as the much-improved Racing Point team, and Perez earned finally earned his first F1 win only last week at the Sakhir GP after a massive 190 starts, beating the record for most races before his maiden win by 60.
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Daniel Ricciardo (AUS), Renault. Age: 31. The ever-smiling Ricciardo has been on the F1 circuit since 2011 when he made his bow for HRT, when Torro Rosso allowed their young test driver to fill in for the team. The Australian was promoted to the Torro Rosso first team the following year and his rise continued when he secured a ride for senior side Red Bull in 2014 to replace the retiring fellow Aussie Mark Webber and race alongside world champion Sebastian Vettel. Ricciardo signed with Renault in 2019 and has seven career wins. He is due to join McLaren next season.
Image Credit: AP
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Charles Leclerc (MON), Ferrari. Age: 23. Like Ricciardo, Leclerc is another one who had a rapid rise while still a youngster. The Monaco native made his F1 bow only in 2018, but is already regarded as one of the best current drivers and seen as a potential future world champion. He began his career with the struggling Sauber team, and impressed so much that Ferrari moved quickly to sign up the youngster. He repaid their faith with his first race win at the 2019 Italian Grand Prix and has gone on to claim two race victories and 12 podiums in his fledgling career.
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Carlos Sainz (ESP), McLaren. Age: 26. Spanish driver Sainz has racing in his blood as he is the son of double World Rally Champion Carlos and nephew of rally driver Antonio. However, he has yet to taste victory in F1 since joining Torro Rosso in 2014. He moved on to McLaren last season, replacing Fernando Alonso, and he claimed his first podium at the Brazilian GP that same year. He will get his chance with Ferrari next year as he steps in for Sebastian Vettel.
Image Credit: AFP
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Alex Albon (THA), Red Bull. Age: 24. Now in his second season in F1, the young British Thai driver has shown glimpses of promise for Torro Rosso and then and Red Bull, having got the promotion to replace Pierre Gasly midway through 2019, with the struggling Frenchman demoted to Torro Rosso. Albon continued to thrive and took his first podium earlier this year at the 2020 Tuscan Grand Prix.
Image Credit: Alex Albon Twitter
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Lando Norris (GBR), McLaren. Age: 21. Also making his bow alongside Alex Albon at the 2019 Australian Grand Prix — last season’s opening race — was young Briton Norris. The 21-year-old came through the McLaren Young Driver Programme and secured a seat with the team last year. He has had a few mixed results but a much-improved car meant he claimed a podium spot at the opening 2020 Austrian GP. In doing so, he became the third youngest driver to make the top three. He finished the race fourth but was promoted to third after setting the fastest lap to finish 4.802 seconds behind Hamilton — who had been given a five-second penalty
Image Credit: AFP
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Lance Stroll (GBR), Racing Point. Age: 22. The young Belgian-Canadian has thrived at the vastly improved Racing Point this season. He began with Williams in 2017, claiming a shock podium at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, becoming the youngest to achieve the feat during his rookie season. Stroll also claimed his first pole position for Racing Point at this year’s Turkish Grand Prix and has also claimed a further two podium finishes.
Image Credit: AFP
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