Abu Dhabi, Dec 13 Max Verstappen cruised to victory in the season ending Abu Dhabi Formula 1 Grand Prix at the YAS Marina Circuit on Sunday as the returning world champion Lewis Hamilton finished third. Hamilton's Mercedes team mate Valtteri Bottas finished second.
Bottas was more than 15 seconds behind Verstappen as the Mercedes drivers had no answer to the pace of the the Dutch's Red Bull throughout the weekend. Verstappen's team mate Alex Albon gave a late challenge to Hamilton for third place but in the end settled for fourth, thus managing a strong finish to the season and making a case for himself to retain his Red Bull seat in 2021.
McLaren duo Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz finished P5 and P6 respectively. They may have thus sealed a third place finish for McLaren in the Constructors' Championship but that result could change based on the outcome of an investigation on Sainz for driving too slowly in the pit lane. Racing Point currently stand fourth and Renault are fifth.
It was a disappointing evening for Racing Point as Sakhir GP winner Sergio Perez's car haulted on lap 10 in what his last race for the team. Sebastian Vettel, in his final race for Ferrari, finished P14, behind his team mate Charles LeClerc.
Daniel Ricciardo, who was also in his final race for Renault, finished P7 behind team mate Esteban Ocon while AlphaTauri's Pierre Gasly finished eighth.
( With inputs from IANS )
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