Max Verstappen has cruised to victory for Red Bull in Formula One's season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, as champions Mercedes endured an uncharacteristic off day.
Starting from pole, the Dutchman led every lap of what turned out to be a processional race to cross the line 15.9s ahead of Valtteri Bottas.
World champion Lewis Hamilton, who struggled with the balance of his car throughout the race, was third on his return from a coronavirus-enforced absence.
Mercedes, who wrapped up a record seventh straight title double, had no answer to the pace set by VerstappenΓ's Honda-powered Red Bull.
As a result, the Brackley-based team, who were running their cars with their engines turned down due to reliability concerns, were denied the satisfaction of capping a dominant season on a high, instead finishing with 13 wins from 17 races.
"That was a really hard race for me physically," says Hamilton, who wrapped up a record-equalling seventh title last month.
"I'm just glad it's over."
Verstappen's victory under the floodlights at the Yas Marina track was the 10th of his career and second this season, denying Hamilton a 12th win of the year, which would have made 2020 his most successful campaign.
"It was really enjoyable out there today," says Verstappen. "We did basically everything alright."
Red Bull won for the first time at Abu Dhabi, since Sebastian Vettel took victory for the Milton Keynes-based team in 2013 and ended Mercedes' streak of seven straight wins in the Gulf Emirate.
The 23-year-old closer to Bottas in the overall standings, but ultimately had to settle for third, behind the Finn.
Reuters
