Abu Dhabi: Persistence leads to points in McLaren sign-off
Daniel overcomes a grid penalty to use a long stint and a fight with an old teammate to nail ninth in the 2022 season finale.
Race data
Abu Dhabi (Round 22 of 22), 20 November 2022
Yas Marina Circuit, 58 laps, 5.281km
Qualified: 10th (started 13th because of three-place grid penalty for collision with Magnussen/Haas in Sao Paulo GP)
Finished: 9th
Laps per position: 4 laps (8th), 12 laps (9th), 9 laps (10th), 4 laps (11th), 7 laps (12th), 13 laps (13th), 2 laps (14th), 1 lap (15th), 1 lap (16th), 2 laps (17th), 3 laps (18th)
Pit stops/tyres: Lap 19 (medium/hard)
Fastest lap: 1:30.785 (18th, lap 45)
Points this event: 2
Points this season: 37 (11th in world championship)
Daniel's download
"That was actually a pretty fun race, for the most part. I look back to a week ago in Brazil and if that had been the finale, it would have left a sour taste in my mouth! I had some battles, attacking or defending, so at least it wasn't lonely. Once the pit stop sequence started, it was pretty fun. I felt that when I crossed the line that I'd put in a solid effort, so that makes me feel more fulfilled.
"I had (Aston Martin's Sebastian) Vettel coming in the last 10 laps, he was in my DRS most laps, so I knew I had to keep it mistake-free if I wanted any chance of staying in front. As much as he's a friend, I was happy to hold him off in his last race! It was cool to share one last experience with him on track.
"There were certainly some races where I felt more comfortable towards the end of the season, and I think that was the struggle – I'd have some races where I was encouraged, and then a week later we were back where we were. That inconsistency and the unknown was what made it so tricky. But I'm happy to have had a few nice ones since the summer break.
"It's a nice way to end a pretty challenging time at McLaren. There's some emotion, but also some relief. It's been a challenging two years on track. So it's a relief to finish the on-track stuff for a bit and get away for a little while. It's weird because you go to a schedule, pretty much half my life has been on a pretty relentless schedule, so I'm looking forward to not planning too much for a few months and seeing what happens."
How Daniel's race unfolded
* Started 13th, ended first lap in 14th after being overtaken by Stroll/Aston Martin.
* Passed Schumacher/Haas on Lap 2 to reclaim 13th.
* Advanced to 12th on Lap 13 when Stroll pitted.
* Moved up to eighth on Lap 19 after stops for Ocon/Alpine, Tsunoda/AlphaTauri, Hamilton/Mercedes and Norris/McLaren.
* Pitted on Lap 19 and re-joined in 18th place on hard tyres.
* Passed Schumacher on Lap 23 for 17th.
* Overtook Magnussen/Haas on Lap 25 for 16th.
* Advanced to 15th on Lap 26 after Vettel/Aston Martin pitted.
* Moved up to 11th after overtaking Albon/Williams on Lap 35.
* Progressed inside the top 10 after Tsunoda pitted on Lap 39.
* Passed by Stroll on Lap 50, dropped to 10th.
* Promoted to ninth when Hamilton retired on Lap 55.
* Finished ninth after 58 laps, six seconds behind Stroll in eighth and six-tenths of a second ahead of Vettel in 10th.
