Five things we learned from the 2023 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

The 2023 season is over after 22 races around the world in a long year of racing.

Abu Dhabi hosted us for the curtain-closing event, and the post-race fireworks that the Yas Marina Circuit puts on each year were the ideal backdrop for us to celebrate our P7 finish in the Constructors' Championship.

We now have the post-season test to tackle before heading back to Grove for the final time, but before we head back, here are five things we learned from the 2023 Abu Dhabi GP.

Sunday's race wasn't our best, but the work we've put in throughout the 2023 season is why we finished in P7 by the season's end.

We scored 28 points over the year, and that's the most we've amassed since 2017 to show how much our 2023 team has achieved.

After sitting at the bottom of the pile for much of the opening rounds, Alex's Canadian defending was the launchpad for regular top-10 finishes.

We reached P7 in the standings on that rainy day in Zandvoort and kept adding to our season tally to build a buffer over our rivals that lasted until Sunday's chequered flag, even with AlphaTauri's late-season fightback.

With our duo running P17 and P20 after the opening tour, it might've seemed like we had no way to battle our nearest championship challenger.

While it's true that Yuki Tsunoda had plenty of pace, we still took the fight to AlphaTauri to give ourselves the very best chance of taking P7 by being a thorn in the side of their second car.

Our duo ran altered tyre strategies in the race to compromise Daniel Ricciardo, and Logan, in particular, used his second stint to fend off the Australian for multiple laps.

Ricciardo eventually crossed the line just six-tenths away from the points, showing how critical Sarge's defence was, and with the close championship margin to AlphaTauri, every point counted.

We cannot overstate how much Alex has impressed us over the 2023 season, with our No23 stepping up from Bahrain as the experienced driver in the team.

Seven top-10 classifications throughout the year from Alex, plus P7 in Qatar's Sprint, are significant factors for why we're proudly shouting about our P7 constructors' finish after an incredible year.

Albono's 27 points and regular Q3 appearances will be the launchpad for our 2024 efforts as he prepares for his third championship from Grove.

Alex recognises 2023 as his best F1 season, too, saying, "I'm also very proud of my performance, so I'll give myself credit for what has been my strongest year in Formula 1."

We've spent lots of time discussing Sunday, but Friday was the biggest day of Zak O'Sullivan's career when our 18-year-old Driver Academy star joined an official F1 session for the first time.

Fresh from a two-month break following his four wins en route to becoming the F3 vice-champion, Zak replaced Alex in Friday's FP1 to take on the Yas Marina Circuit.

He clocked up the most laps of any driver, with 28 tours of the 5.2 km track, and was only 1.3s away from the fastest time of the hour to impress everyone in the garage.

He and fellow Williams Racing Driver Academy member Franco Colapinto will jump in the car on Tuesday in the post-season test to continue gaining valuable F1 experience as they prepare for the 2024 season in Formula 2.

It's not the first time we've seen a different helmet in car #23, and we doubt it'll be the last.

Alex had another fresh look for Abu Dhabi, with a hand-drawn effect on his lid to round out the 2023 season with a different look.

The colours and design might've looked familiar from a distance, but Alex the artist had his helmet looking a little more personal to wave goodbye to 2023.

With different helmet designs for Miami, Silverstone, and Vegas earlier in the year, we still can't decide which head-turning look is our favourite.