Verstappen victorious at season finale in Abu Dhabi
Max Verstappen led from start-to-finish to win Formula One' s concluding round of the year at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
On a turgid evening under the lights of the Yas Marina Circuit, pole- sitter V er st a pp en took the cheque red flag 15.9 seconds clear of Valtteri Bottas, with Lewis Hamilton completing the podium.
McLaren took third in the constructors' championship - their best result since Hamilton left the British team for Mercedes in 2013 - after Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz finished fifth and sixth.
Seven-time world champion Hamilton was back in his Mercedes after missing the Sakhir Grand Prix with coronavirus.
But following a chaotic race in Bahrain last weekend, the 17- round campaign fizzled out yesterday as Verstappen, Bottas and Hamilton finished in the same places they started.
The 21- corner, 5.3-mile Yas Marina circuit, which has been a mainstay on the calendar for 11 years, rarely throws up a thrill-a-minute spectacle.
And when the top three elected to pit for their only change of rubber, after Sergio Perez broke down in his Racing Point and the virtual safety car was deployed, a predictable finished ensued.
For Verstappen, it ended up being a straightforward cruise to just his second win of the campaign, his first since the 70 th Anniversary Grand Prix at Silver stone back in August, and the 10th of his career.
Behind the front three, Alexander A lb on improved his chances of a Red Bull stay for 2021 by taking the chequered flag in fourth - ahead of Norris.