Valtteri Bottas won the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Sunday, November26, as Mercedes wrapped up another triumphant Formula One season with a one-two finish and four-time world champion Lewis Hamilton having to settle for second.
Having claimed pole position in Saturday’s qualifying, the Finn did not make the same mistake as in Interlagos circuit in São Paulo a fortnight ago and defended his position well at the first corner before opening a decent gap out to his teammate, Marca reported.
In truth, Hamilton never really got the chance to jump his colleague and the pit stops failed to produce an opportunity as Bottas put in a fastest lap while the world champion made his one stop.
The victory was not enough to nudge Bottas into second place in the overall standings as Sebastian Vettel drove a quiet race to finish third, ahead of Kimi Raikkonen who benefitted from Daniel Ricciardo’s early DNF (Did Not Finish) and Max Verstappen’s relative lack of pace.
Aussie star Ricciardo was therefore unable to hold onto fourth in the championship as a result of Raikkonen’s finish, with the other question mark ahead of the GP relating to Renault’s sixth place in the constructors standings.
Even though Carlos Sainz retired with a loose wheel after his pit stop, Nico Hulkenberg claimed sixth with Haas and Toro Rosso both out the points.
On his final F1 race, Felipe Massa rolled home in tenth with Fernando Alonso ahead in ninth as the Brazilian ends his career and the Spaniard ends the tumultuous McLaren Honda partnership some way off the front.
But it was Bottas who rightly earned the spotlight in the UAE, setting out his stall for the winter on the right foot with lights out in Melbourne some 120 days away.
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