MAXED OUT… Verstappen takes light from Lewis
THERE was no show- stopping encore to Lewis Hamilton’s record- breaking season as he limped home in third spot in Abu Dhabi yesterday.
The 35- year- old Briton was back in his championship- winning Mercedes after missing last week’s Sakhir Grand Prix with coronavirus.
But he had to endure a frustrating and lonely evening under the lights of the Yas Marina Circuit.
It was an uncharacteristic off- day for his usually- dominant Mercedes team, too, as Red Bull’s Max Verstappen ended the 2020 campaign with a stunning victory.
The Dutchman, starting from pole, led every lap to finish 15.9 seconds ahead of Valtteri Bottas in the sister Silver Arrows. Behind the top two, Hamilton clearly lacked the energy and desire that has guided him to a record- equalling seven world championships along with Michael Schumacher, and enabled him to eclipse the German legend’s 91 Grand Prix wins.
After missing a race for the first time since bursting on the Formula One scene 13 years ago, Hamilton was happy just to be behind the wheel again.
But he could not manage to overtake on a track that offers few opportunities to do so and, ultimately, crossed the line in third – where he started. Hamilton said: “You can’t win them all. Considering the past couple of weeks I have had, I am genuinely happy with the weekend.
“It was a really hard race for me. All year physically I have been fine but today I definitely wasn’t.
“I am just glad it is over. Physically, massively – I don’t think I have ever been so blown. But, look on the bright side, I made it through and I didn’t think last week I would be here.
“I’m just truly grateful for my health and to be alive, and looking forward to recovering over the next period of time we have, and being back into training and getting my body back to where I know it should be.”
While it was a largely underwhelming race, McLaren will have few complaints as the British team clinched third in the constructors’ championship.
Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz finished fifth and sixth to secure the Woking team’s best result since Hamilton left for Mercedes in 2013.