Hamilton wraps up victorious 6th year on high note in Abu Dhabi

Winner British Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton (C) of Mercedes, second placed Dutch driver Max Verstappen (L) of Red Bull and third placed Monaco's Charles Leclerc of Ferrari celebrate with champagne. (EFE Photo)

Abu Dhabi, December 1 (EFE): British Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) on Sunday clinched the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix held at the Yas Marina circuit to wrap up his successful sixth year in style.

“I am proud and super grateful to this team, thank you to everybody here and back home. This car is a work of art," Hamilton, who had already secured his sixth F1 title last month, told the F1 media afterward.

Hamilton prevailed over Dutchman Max Verstappen (Red Bull) and Charles Leclerc of Monaco (Ferrari), who had to settle for the second and third positions.

Having come second in Sunday’s race, Verstappen concluded the season in the third spot in the drivers’ standings, just behind Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas of Finland, who had secured himself the second spot in the general classification.

"I had a few little issues today, but it wouldn't have made a difference to the end result. Lewis and Mercedes were just a bit too quick. P3 in the championship is a good result and I'm pretty happy with that," the Dutchman said.

Bottas has staged the comeback of the race, as he came fourth having kicked off from the last spot.

In the final stretch of the race, Spaniard Carlos Sainz (McLaren) got into the top 10 in the timesheets, surpassing Germany’s Nico Hülkenberg (Renault), which enabled him to secure the sixth spot in the general classification, culminating his best-ever Formula One season.