Valtteri Bottas ended his first season at Mercedes-AMG in style, leading home world champion team-mate Lewis Hamilton to take victory in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
The Finn edged Hamilton in qualifying at the Yas Marina circuit to claim pole position, and quickly established a clear lead at the start of the race. Hamilton was able to reduce the gap after making a later pit-stop but, despite closing right in on Bottas on a handful of occasions, was unable to get past and had to settle for second. It was Bottas’ third victory of the season.
Opinion: is Lewis Hamilton Britain's greatest F1 racer?
Sebastian Vettel finished a distant third, securing the runner-up spot behind Hamilton in the final points standings. His Ferrari team-mate Kimi Räikkönen was fourth, helped when Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo retired with a suspected hydraulics failure. Max Verstappen finished fifth in his Red Bull.
Picture special: the defining races of Lewis Hamilton's career
After the post-race podium ceremony, Formula 1 bosses unveiled a new logo, which they said is the first step in a ‘complete brand redesign’. According to the accompanying release, the logo is designed to reflect an F1 car: “flat, low to the ground and with a suggestion of speed”.
Join the debate
Add your comment
I don't usually agree with
I don't usually agree with little Eddy Jordan, but he was spot on with his CH4 rant after the race, Bottas hasn't been near Hamilton all season then suddenly after the world title is in the bag he gets pole and 'beats' Lewis.. nah. As Eddy said it was stage managed all the way for a team result. Funny watching the other presenters squirm uncomfortably though as they all took the sponsors line.
Wake up FIA
I wonder when the FIA will finally take a leaf out of, for example, IndyCar's and GP2's single seater rulebook to make racing closer and more exciting. For the past 15 years or so F1 has just been dull and often a procession and yet the FIA just don't seem to undertsand. One answer, especially for smaller teams to play catch-up, would be to allow customer chassis rather than dicate that every team must construct their own cars. This approach is what contributes towards close racing in IndyCar, GP2 and LMP2. Buying a chassis would also be more cost efficient for the smaller teams rather than going to the huge expense of developing their own car.
But if customer chassis isn't the answer then how can the likes of the LMP1H class in the WEC, whose cars are at least as equally as advanced as F1 cars and are at the pinnacle of racing technology, R&D and engineering, offer much closer racingdespite having more disparate regulations?
Animated advertising hoarding are making F1 unwatchable
I have largely stopped watching football because of the animated advertising hoardings. They are annoying and having more movement off the pitch than on it makes the action duller. The same problem has invaded Formula 1 this year with the same effect. They made a dull race look even duller. Of course this isn't the only issue, over-reliance on aerodynamics, and the DRS fudge because of that, but which removes skill based passing is another big one. I am increasingly unconcerned that F1 will not be on terrestial TV in one year, and I have watched it since the seventies.