Abu Dhabi GP: Fernando Alonso farewell as Lewis Hamilton caps triumphant season with 11th win

Alonso, driving his 311th and final F1 race, finished just out of the points in the uncompetitive McLaren after driving with his usual skill and determination.

'Champ, what a career, thank you, thank you, let's go out and win the triple crown,' he was told by team boss Zak Brown, reference to Alonso's future bid to add the Indy 500 to his two F1 championships and Le Mans 24-hour race victory.



https://crafterdepot.com/crafter-depot-groups/zip-downloadmp3-lem0n-so-many-metaphors-not-enough-s-album-download/
https://crafterdepot.com/crafter-depot-groups/zip-downloadmp3-all-good-things-all-good-songs-album-download/
https://crafterdepot.com/crafter-depot-groups/zip-downloadmp3-morien-harmony-on-your-lips-ep-album-download/


Hamilton, who paired with Alonso at McLaren at the start of his career in 2007, took a comfortable win from pole position to cap his title winning campaign in style.

Sebastian Vettel, so long a challenger to Hamilton this season, finished second for Ferrari with in-form Max Verstappen completing the podium for Red Bull.

Hamilton and Vettel then joined Alonso for a triple parade of champions before spinning their cars in frenzied tire-burning donuts in front of a delighted crowd.

'It's been a pleasure racing with these champions,' said Alonso. 'Thanks to everyone and to Formula One, I will always be a fan of this sport,' added the Spaniard.

Hulkenberg escapes

The opening proceedings at the Yas Marina Circuit were marred by a frightening crash as Nico Hulkenberg flipped into the barriers on the first lap in his Renault after making contact with the Haas of Romain Grosjean.

As the car came to rest upside down, flames were seen at its rear and with the German trapped in the car there were fears for his safety.

'I'm hanging here like a cow, there's a fire, there's a fire, get me out,' he said over his team radio.

Fortunately, stewards were quickly on hand to extinguish the fire and Hulkenberg was extricated safely from the car before being taken to the medical center, shaken but with no serious injuries.

Grosjean, who was cleared of blame for the incident, expressed his relief.

'Good, I was very sorry for him, but there was nowhere to go,' said the Frenchman.

Hamilton dominates

Meanwhile, Hamilton set the pace at the front and took advantage of a sixth lap virtual safety car period as Kimi Raikkonen was forced to retire in his final race for Ferrari.

The early stop left Hamilton in a strong position when the other leading contenders pitted for fresh tires and he was easily able to hold on to his advantage over Vettel at the end of 55 floodlit laps.

Verstappen, robbed of victory in the previous round in Brazil, tangled with Esteban Ocon again in another sub-plot of an intriguing end of season finale, but stayed on track to take another podium after being hampered by an early loss of power in his car.

His Red Bull teammate Daniel Ricciardo drove a solid race for fourth in his final race for the team before departing for Renault.

'We're going to miss you,' team principal Christian Horner told him.

'I would have loved a podium so I can't be excited with fourth,' said the Australian, who scored a brilliant victory at the Monaco Grand Prix earlier this season.

Valtteri Bottas, who led after teammate Hamilton pitted, made a late mistake and slipped back to fifth place with Carlos Sainz sixth for Renault ahead of Raikkonen's replacement Charles Leclerc for Sauber.

Force India's Sergio Perez and the Haas duo of Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen completed the points scoring just ahead of Alonso, who pushed hard to the very end of his storied career in typical fashion.

Up front, Hamilton's victory confirmed the edge he has had over Vettel in the latter half of the season after the German himself had looked set for his fifth title.

'I know next season he will come back stronger, Hamilton said of his arch rival.

'He deserves to be champion, It's been a tough year and I tried to the very last lap,' said Vettel.

His Red Bull teammate Daniel Ricciardo drove a solid race for fourth in his final race for the team before departing for Renault. Up front, Hamilton's victory confirmed the edge he has had over Vettel in the latter half of the season after the German himself had looked set for his fifth title. 'He deserves to be champion, It's been a tough year and I tried to the very last lap,' said Vettel. Alonso, driving his 311th and final F1 race, finished just out of the points in the uncompetitive McLaren after driving with his usual skill and determination. Fortunately, stewards were quickly on hand to extinguish the fire and Hulkenberg was extricated safely from the car before being taken to the medical center, shaken but with no serious injuries. 'I would have loved a podium so I can't be excited with fourth,' said the Australian, who scored a brilliant victory at the Monaco Grand Prix earlier this season. Fortunately, stewards were quickly on hand to extinguish the fire and Hulkenberg was extricated safely from the car before being taken to the medical center, shaken but with no serious injuries.

#newsupdatenow