Verstappen had flashbacks to Spa, Imola F1 tyre issues in Abu Dhabi GP

Max Verstappen admits his only concern from a dominant victory at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was whether his Formula 1 tyres would go the distance.

The Red Bull driver controlled proceedings in Sunday’s season finale at the Yas Marina Circuit, crossing the line to take his second win of the year over 15 seconds clear of the lead Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas to record just the third non-Mercedes powered victory of 2020.

Verstappen pulled clear out front and looked in control throughout, having aced a Safety Car restart to maintain his lead after seeing his early advantage eroded when Sergio Perez’s Racing Point ground to a halt on Lap 10 with engine trouble.

“It was really enjoyable,” said Verstappen. “Today we had a good start and from then on of course you look after the tyres, but the car was having a really good balance. We did basically everything right.”

Verstappen revealed he did have flashbacks to the Belgian Grand Prix in August - where he came “very close” to a puncture - and his tyre failure that cost him a shot of winning at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola when he encountered some late-race vibrations, having completed a long stint on his set of Hards.

Asked if he had any concerns en route to an imperious victory, the Ducthman replied: “Just a bit of vibration on the tyre, so I was thinking back to Spa and of course Imola. But luckily all good. The pace was still there, the tyres were still performing.”

Verstappen’s team boss Christian Horner was particularly impressed by his driver’s performance, calling it “the most dominant” of his 10 wins for Red Bull.

“Max all weekend has just been absolutely clinical, the way he's driven – whatever [Mercedes] had, he had a response to today,” Horner said.

“He did an unbelievable job. His qualifying lap set everything up beautifully yesterday and then he just totally controlled the race. I think it's the most dominant, or straightforward race, he's done for us.”