Lewis Hamilton wins Abu Dhabi GP as Formula 1 season comes to an end
Lewis Hamilton celebrated his championship-winning season in style with a commanding victory in the last race of the Formula 1 season in Abu Dhabi.
The Briton had already claimed his sixth career title but demonstrated one last time how dominant both he and Mercedes have been this year.
Hamilton led from the start and was comfortable throughout the race with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen coming a distant second, 17 seconds behind.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc crossed the line in third but is under investigation by stewards due to fuel irregularities identified ahead of the race and may yet lose his podium place.
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Despite the glitz and glamor of the Abu Dhabi circuit, it was a largely uneventful race with Hamilton so far ahead of the field.
He was free to record the fastest lap of the race whilst his Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas produced the other standout performance, battling from the back of the grid to finish fourth behind Leclerc.
Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel failed to challenge the top order but held onto fifth place, with Red Bull’s Alexander Albon finishing in sixth.
An illuminating firework display greeted Hamilton as he met the chequered flag with the Briton dedicating his 11th win of the season to his team and fans.
“I’m proud but just super-grateful for this incredible team and all at Mercedes who have continued to push this year,” he told Sky Sports after the race.
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He added: “Even though we had the championship won we wanted to keep our head down and see if we could extract more from this beautiful car.”
Hamilton now moves onto 84 career wins and is just seven behind Michael Schumacher’s record of 91. He is also just one title away from matching Schumacher’s haul of seven world titles.
The 2020 Formula 1 season begins again on March 13-15 at the Australian GP.
