Abu Dhabi GP: Race - RE-CAP & RESULTS

ABU DHABI GP - RACE - RE-CAP & RESULTS

    Five time champion Lewis Hamilton rounded out the 2018 Formula 1 season with his 11th victory of the year in Abu Dhabi.

    The Mercedes driver ran a mammoth second stint after completing his only pit stop of the season on lap seven of 55.

    Hamilton was the first man to pit, taking advantage of an early Virtual Safety Car, brought out when Kimi Raikkonen’s Ferrari came to a stop on the pit straight.

    He emerged in P5, behind Max Verstappen, who had dropped backwards after his car went into anti-stall as he left the grid.

    The pair swapped places as they battled for P4, with Verstappen taking the upper hand until he came into the pits on lap 33.

    With Valtteri Bottas pitting the lap before Verstappen, Hamilton was promoted to the net race lead but Daniel Ricciardo – running an extra long stint in the Red Bull – was still in the overall lead.

    Ricciardo led for more than 15 laps before coming into the pits, releasing Hamilton into the lead.

    Vettel spent most of the race running behind Bottas, but a lock up for the Finn allowed the Ferrari to snatch second.

    Vettel was more than six seconds behind Hamilton when he claimed P2, but put in a series of fast laps to cut the gap down to 2.581s before the chequered flag.

     Verstappen claimed third after another lock-up for Bottas, who then dropped back to fifth with a late pit stop.

    “B-series” champion Nico Hulkenberg was wiped out in a dramatic crash on the opening lap. He collided with Romain Grosjean and barrel rolled through the gravel. He came to a stop upside down, with the Renault briefly catching fire.

    Hulkenberg was extracted without any significant injuries but the safety car was called to clear the stranded Renault.

    Team-mate Carlos Sainz picked up best of the rest in P5, ahead of Charles Leclerc, who struggled to recover after an early pit stop.

    Sergio Perez took P8, with the Haas duo rounding out the top 10, Romain Grosjean beating team-mate Kevin Magnussen.

    Fernando Alonso narrowly missed out on points in P11, finishing ahead of Brendon Hartley, Lance Stroll, Stoffel Vandoorne, and Sergey Sirotkin.

    Pirerre Gasly and Esteban Ocon retired without leaks late in the race, after Marcus Ericsson came to a stop with mechanical problem on lap 24.

RESULTS:

1. Lewis Hamilton / Mercedes-Mercedes / Great Britain / + 25 Points
2. Sebastian Vettel / Ferrari-Ferrari / Germany / + 18 Points
3. Max Verstappen / Red Bull Racing-TAG-Heuer / Netherlands / + 15 Points
4. Daniel Ricciardo / Red Bull Racing-TAG-Heuer / Australia / + 12 Points
5. Valtteri Bottas / Mercedes-Mercedes / Finland / + 10 Points
6. Carlos Sainz / Renault-Renault / Spain / + 8 Points
7. Charles Leclerc / Sauber-Ferrari / Monaco / + 6 Points
8. Sergio Perez / Racing Point Force India-Mercedes / Mexico / + 4 Points
9. Romain Grosjean / Haas-Ferrari / France / + 2 Points
10. Kevin Magnussen / Haas-Ferrari / Denmark / + 1 Point
11. Fernando Alonso / McLaren-Renault / Spain
12. Brendon Hartley / Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda / New Zealand
13. Lance Stroll / Williams-Mercedes / Canada
14. Stoffel Vandoorne / McLaren-Renault / Belgium
15. Sergey Sirotkin / Williams-Mercedes / Russia

RETIRED - Pierre Gasly / Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda / France / Engine
RETIRED - Esteban Ocon / Racing Point Force India-Mercedes / France / Engine
RETIRED - Marcus Ericsson / Sauber-Ferrari / Sweden / Power Loss
RETIRED - Kimi Raikkonen / Ferrari-Ferrari / Finland / Power Loss
RETIRED - Nico Hulkenberg / Renault-Renault / Germany / Collision

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Article Written By: Bethonie Waring
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