Verstappen stayed ahead of his teammate Sergio Perez at the start and was never seriously challenged after that on his way to victory.
Leclerc finished three points ahead of Perez in the standings. That meant Verstappen’s refusal to yield sixth place to his teammate at the last race in Brazil was not decisive at the end of the season.
“I knew the only possibility to beat Checo today was with a different strategy and playing with the tire management, which we did really well today,” Leclerc said. “I really hope next year we can do a step forward to fight for the championship.” Leclerc and Ferrari seemed able to challenge Verstappen for the title at the start of the season, but Red Bull improved its car performance advantage through the season. Errors on track from Leclerc and in Ferrari's race strategy held them back too.
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