Lewis took his 73rd career victory today, his eleventh of the 2018 season and fourth at the Yas Marina Circuit. Valtteri finished the last race of the 2018 Formula One season in P5. Valtteri was awarded the Fastest Lap Award for the highest number of fastest laps this season.
Lewis (408 points) ends the 2018 Formula One season in P1 with Valtteri (247 points) in P5 in the Drivers' Championship. Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport (655 points) finishes the season with a 84 point lead over Ferrari (571 points) in the Constructors' Championship.
Bradley Lord, Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Communications Director, accepted the Constructors' trophy on behalf of the team.
Toto Wolff: This has been an exceptional year for Mercedes motorsport - we've managed to clinch the title with Mick Schumacher in F3 and with George Russell in F2, we won the championships in DTM, in Esports and of course in Formula One. This year has been a highlight and I'm very happy we finished it on a high as well. It was a tough battle all season long and we had to push ourselves to the limit to win both championships. Lewis pushed to the very last race despite having won the drivers' title in Mexico. He's just so much a part of this team that the driver title alone felt incomplete to him; instead he wanted to deliver for the team, win the constructors' trophy and not take his foot of the throttle until the season was over. He drove another great race today and was in control on every single lap. Valtteri was struggling with the brakes today; we're still investigating the issue but we could see that the balance of his car was off. Valtteri had a tough season and I understand that he is disappointed - once the championship opportunity is taken away, it gets very difficult for a driver. He will take the winter to recharge his batteries and come back stronger next year.
Andrew Shovlin: A great result for the team. We came here to win, so it's fantastic to have achieved that objective. It's been our toughest year for a long time, Ferrari pushed us hard in both championships and we've been running at 100% on both the chassis and engine sides almost since the word go, so it's a relief to get to the end and immensely satisfying that we've managed to hang onto both championships for another year. It was another great race from Lewis, he's not backed off one bit since winning the championship in Mexico and has worked as hard to win this race as every other race so well done on another deserved result. Valtteri had an issue during the race when he locked up at turn 5 and then lost positions. We'll have to a look into that to understand it as his race was all going to plan until that point and he was managing everything well. I'm sure Valtteri is looking forward to 2019, this year started well for him but he's had some cruel luck since Baku. He's been such an important part of the team through this year and we'll work hard over the next few months to make sure we can deliver him a reliable and fast car next year. I'd also like to thank Tony Ross for all his hard work over the last eight years. Tony will play a big part in our Formula E programme next year. He has contributed so much to the past five constructors championship, and Nico's driver's championship, so we will all be sad to see him go but happy we've had the chance to enjoy so much success together.
Maurizio Arrivabene: Today's result, a second place for Sebastian, along with the work of the entire team, means we have been able to finish the world championship with our drivers in second and third places. Kimi deserved a better result from today's race, but the send off he was given by the guys, as he drove out of the garage was a lovely moment. As from Tuesday, we take part in the tyre test, which is the first step for next season and the entire team, both at the track and back in Maranello, will be giving their utmost once again in 2019. My heartfelt thanks goes to all of them, to our sponsors, our fans and customers, who have always supported us.
Christian Horner: "Third and fourth is a strong way to finish the season. Max recovered after his engine went into safety mode after getting very warm at the start of the race and fought his way back into position. Fortunately Hulkenberg wasn't injured in what looked like a nasty accident that brought out the safety car and thereafter both drivers had strong pace. Daniel started on the harder tyre and was able to lead the race for 14 laps and then rejoined behind Max who was then able to pass Bottas and looked like he had very similar pace to Sebastian and Lewis ahead. Daniel was initially able to use the benefit of his new tyres and was able to close up, but unfortunately couldn't capitalise to be on the podium today. This race signals the end of five years with Daniel and we're sorry to see him leave. He's been a fantastic member of our team and we want to thank him for all that he has contributed. It also brings the end to our relationship with Renault, 59 victories 160 podiums and 8 world championships - it's been a long and successful partnership. But as one chapter closes, another one opens and we're already excited about 2019. It's been a great performance by the Team all season and I'm delighted that the pit stop crew won the DHL Fastest Pit Stop Award."
Racing Point Force India confirmed its seventh place in the standings today with Sergio Perez scoring four points with eighth place in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Esteban Ocon's strong race came to an end on lap 44 with a suspected oil leak.
Otmar Szafnauer: "The main priority today was to score points and confirm seventh place in the standings, which we delivered thanks to Sergio's run to eighth place. Starting on the ultrasoft tyre was definitely the optimal strategy and a strong opening lap was crucial to the final result. Esteban starred throughout the race with some great battles, but unfortunately his car suffered a loss of oil pressure and he had to retire. They both drove well tonight, as they have done all year, and we end the season on a positive note."
Lance Stroll finished 13th and Sergey Sirotkin 15th in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Both cars started the race on the supersoft Pirelli tyre, with Sergey 19th and Lance 20th on the grid. Both drivers made clean starts, Lance running as high as 10th and Sergey in 15th during the middle stage of the race. Sergey made his first and only pitstop on Lap 35 with Lance boxing five laps later, with both drivers taking the ultrasoft tyre.
Paddy Lowe, Chief Technical Officer: That brings an end to an incredibly long season and a very difficult one for the team, possibly the most difficult in its history. We see this as a year of transformation; the team has stuck together through some very difficult periods, and this will bring us back even stronger in the future. Thank you to Lance and Sergey for staying level and professional throughout, and especially to the team in the garage. It's the same hard work whether you're winning or losing, and they've stuck together and continued to win fastest pitstop awards in amongst our general poor car performance. It's a great team spirit and that will sustain us and support us in the winter to come back fighting next year.
Renault Sport Formula One Team secured fourth position in the Constructors' Championship with an outstanding result in today's Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Carlos Sainz claimed sixth position in the 55-lap race, giving Renault its best result in the championship since its return to Formula 1 in 2016.
The result shows the strong progress of Renault Sport Formula One Team; ninth in 2016, sixth in 2017 and now fourth in the third year of its current incarnation. The team's 122 points more than doubles last year's total.
Nico Hulkenberg finishes the season with 69 points and seventh position in the Drivers' Championship, his best finish to date. Carlos' season total is 53 points and P10 in the championship.
Carlos started from P11 on the Pirelli Ultrasoft (purple) tyres and fought up to sixth behind the Mercedes, Red Bulls and remaining Ferrari. He pitted for a new set of Supersoft (red) tyres on lap 37, rejoining in sixth.
Nico started from P10 on the Ultrasoft (purple) tyres, but an incident with Romain Grosjean on the first lap pitched him into a series of barrel rolls. He came to rest upside down on the barriers, but left the car uninjured.
Cyril Abiteboul, Team Principal: "It's a great way to finish the season. P4 is where we wanted to be in the championship; it's a good result and a representation of the fantastic team effort on and off track and from both drivers. The race today is a good summary of our year. We had a disappointing qualifying and difficult first laps, but the team kept its head down and made excellent strategic choices in a race that went in our direction. We were able to take advantage of very strong race pace and managed the lead we had against the others to make sure we got to the end without any incidents. Obviously it was a shame to lose Nico early on, but he's been a huge contributing element to the season result that we secured today. I'd also like to thank Carlos for all he has done for the team since joining us. He's been a massive team player and wish him all the best as he joins our partner McLaren next year."
Franz Tost (Team Principal): "Abu Dhabi was not the best weekend for Toro Rosso. Pierre had a very good start, he moved himself into 13th position and he improved throughout the race, showing good pace which could have brought him to finish in 10th position. Unfortunately, a few laps before the end he had to retire due to an issue we need to investigate further. This was Pierre's last race with us, he showed fantastic cooperation during the year and he improved a lot, showing he deserves his place in Aston Martin Red Bull Racing. I want to thank him for his great performance and I wish him all the best. As for Brendon, he started the race on the Ultrasofts as we decided to put him on an alternate strategy to Pierre. Unfortunately, he was caught in the middle of the first lap accident in Turn 8, so we had to call him in to change his front wing much earlier than planned. Then, he started to struggle with his rear tyres because of overheating and he ended up finishing in 12th position, out of the points. Of course it wasn't easy to come here from LMP1, it's always a challenge to get familiar with everything in Formula 1 and especially tyre management is a big task to cope with. He has been unlucky sometimes, but he has improved in the course of the season. It would have been great to finish the season in the points, also to reward the Team and Honda for the good job we've done together. Thanks to everyone at the track and at the factories in Italy, Japan and in the UK. We'll work hard to come back next year in the best possible way."
Toyoharu Tanabe (Honda F1 Technical Director): "A very disappointing end to the season. Pierre had to retire, when running in the top ten, because of an oil leak, the cause of which we are currently investigating. Brendon fought hard but could not get into the points, after having to pit for a new nose following an incident on the opening lap. It has been a tough season, but we have learned a lot in our first year of working with Toro Rosso. We feel that over the course of the year, we have made a step forward in terms of both performance and reliability. However, there is still a lot of room for improvement, if we want to catch the frontrunners. We will be pushing hard over the winter, to have a good 2019 season, working with two teams. I wish to thank everyone at Honda and Toro Rosso, at the track, and back in the factories and of course the drivers for all their efforts this year. Thanks also to our fans: we hope to give them something more to cheer about next year."
Haas F1 Team closed the 2018 FIA Formula One World Championship with its fifth double-points result of the season as Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen brought home finishes of ninth and 10th, respectively, in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Sunday at Yas Marina Circuit.
Haas F1 Team ended its third season with a strong fifth-place finish in the constructors' standings, outpacing McLaren (sixth), Force India (seventh), Sauber (eighth), Toro Rosso (ninth) and Williams (10th). The 93 points Haas F1 Team earned in 2018 are nearly double the 47 points it earned during last year's sophomore campaign. Magnussen wrapped the year a career-best ninth in the championship standings with 56 points. His previous best was 11th in his rookie year of 2014, when he scored 55 points. Grosjean finished 14th with 37 points.
A split strategy was employed by Haas F1 Team for the 55-lap race around the 5.554-kilometer (3.451-mile), 21-turn Yas Marina Circuit. Grosjean started on the Pirelli P Zero Pink hypersoft tires he used to qualify seventh on Saturday, while Magnussen opted for the more durable Red supersoft compound to begin his drive from 13th in the 20-car field.
On the first lap, Grosjean was pinched by the Renault of Nico Hulkenberg through the left-right chicane at turns eight and nine. Hulkenberg was sent off the track and out of the race, which brought out the safety car. Grosjean sustained slight front-end damage to his Haas VF-18, but he was able to continue and hold his position through the early laps.
Magnussen, meanwhile, was forced wide through turn one on the opening lap and lost a position, then dropped two more spots while navigating the hectic aftermath of Grosjean's incident with Hulkenberg. Magnussen got around the Williams of Lance Stroll for 15th when the race went back to green on lap five.
Both Grosjean and Magnussen picked up a position on lap seven when Kimi Räikkönen's Ferrari lost power on the frontstraight and stopped, bringing out the virtual safety car. This sent Grosjean into the pits, along with a handful of others. Grosjean switched from Pink hypersofts to a set of Red supersofts that would take him to the end of the race. Grosjean restarted 18th on lap nine but immediately picked up a position when he got by the Toro Rosso of Brendon Hartley. Magnussen, meanwhile, held steady in 12th.
Grosjean gradually worked his way into the top-10, which he finally cracked on lap 42 after Magnussen made his scheduled pit stop for a set of Purple ultrasoft tires. Magnussen dropped to 12th after his pit stop, but thanks to the attrition of others, he was able to join Grosjean in the top-10 after Esteban Ocon was forced to retire his Force India after 44 laps and Pierre Gasly took his Toro Rosso behind the wall after 46 laps.
The Haas F1 Team duo held their positions for the final nine laps, delivering the second straight double-points result for Haas F1 Team after Grosjean finished eighth and Magnussen ninth in the penultimate Brazilian Grand Prix.
With the 2018 season officially complete, teams turn their full attention to 2019. While the season-opening Australian Grand Prix won't take place until March 17, plenty of work will happen between now and then, with preseason testing Feb. 18-21 and Feb. 26-March 1 at Circuit de Barcelona - Catalunya providing the first glimpse of where teams stand prior to the 70th Formula One season.
Guenther Steiner: "To get to the end of the season and score double points, it's good. It's ninth and 10th, but we couldn't catch anybody in the championship, anyway. It's a good result for the team to go into the short break. We can enjoy fifth place in the championship, which I think is a big achievement for a young team. We are very happy with that. We will be coming back strong next year."
An emotional weekend for the whole McLaren team as we bid farewell to Fernando and Stoffel for the final time in Formula 1.
Stoffel put in a valiant effort to keep chasing cars behind him, and crossed the line in 14th place. Fernando executed a solid one-stop strategy and battled through the pack in his customary style to finish just shy of the top 10 in 11th position.
Despite just missing out on a final points-scoring result for the season, the team has secured sixth place in the Constructors' Championship.
Gil de Ferran, Sporting Director: "I want to take this opportunity to congratulate our drivers on a fighting and exciting performance - not only today but for the whole year. There was a lot of wheel-to-wheel action and I think overall we extracted everything we could.
"As I alluded to yesterday, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was very emotional for our whole team. Thank you, Stoffel, for all your dedication and hard work, and everything you've done for McLaren. Thank you, Fernando, for being an inspiration to everyone in this team and for your relentless pursuit of greatness, and many congratulations for an incredible and legendary career.
"I also want to thank our partners, sponsors and fans all over the globe. Your messages of encouragement are always well-received and effective!
"Finally, a huge thank you to all of the people who work at McLaren and enable us to be a part of one of the most elite events in the sports world, and represent ourselves with pride, commitment and passion. See you next year!"
After a fantastic season, in which the Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team made consistent progress, the team ultimately finished the 2018 FIA Formula One Constructors' Championship in 8th place with a total of 48 points to its tally – a result that reflects the hard work put in by Charles Leclerc, Marcus Ericsson, and the team based at the track as well as at the Switzerland headquarters.
The 2018 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix result was confirmation of the great job done, with the drivers improving throughout the race weekend. Heading out on a one-stop strategy for both, Leclerc started on the compound he qualified with in Q3 on Saturday, the hypersoft, and Ericsson began on the hardest compound, the supersoft, from the 12th spot on the grid. It was an eventful race characterised by an incident shortly after the start but both drivers were doing a very good job of managing the tyres and showing good pace when the race took a different turn for each of the two Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team drivers. Charles Leclerc gave another excellent performance fighting in the upper-midfield and scoring points with a P7. Marcus Ericsson, motivated to finish his last race on a positive, headed into the race giving a good performance and improving his pace lap by lap. Unfortunately, the Swede had to retire from the race due to a mechanical issue on lap 26 while he was in the top-ten.
Charles Leclerc finished the 2018 FIA Formula One Drivers' Championship in 13th (39 points), and Marcus Ericsson in 17th (9 points) place.
The team thanks both drivers for their excellent performances and great team work this year, bidding farewell to Charles Leclerc and Marcus Ericsson with the warmest wishes for both of their futures.
Frederic Vasseur, Team Principal: "It is a great feeling to finish the championship in P8, especially if you look back at where we were last year and for the first two events. The improvements made have been huge, and this is thanks to the work done by the team at the track and in the factory. Our targets have risen, and the motivation for next year is high across all departments. A huge credit for our evolution goes to the drivers, who did a great job together and pushed each other to improve session after session and race after race. We thank Marcus and Charles for their great contribution and wish them both all the best for the future."
On the day that Pirelli's contract extension until 2023 was announced, Lewis Hamilton claimed the final win of the 2018 season from pole with the predicted one-stop ultrasoft-supersoft strategy.
Hamilton made his first stop very early, under a virtual safety car, and then ran a long 48-lap supersoft stint to the finish.
Nonetheless, both Ferrari and Red Bull were in a strong contention despite starting off the front row of the grid, finishing the race in second and third respectively with Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen. The Dutchman was the only driver from the top three teams to start the race on the hypersoft tyre, completing a 17-lap opening stint on this compound (helped by a safety car and virtual safety car).
As well as the Abu Dhabi winner's trophy Hamilton claimed another prize today: before the start of the drivers' parade, he was given the 2018 Pirelli Pole Position Award - a full-sized engraved race tyre - commemorating his 11 poles during the season.
Mario Isola: "While nearly everyone went for the expected one-stop strategy, it was an interesting race tactically, and I think everyone was surprised to see a few drops of rain halfway through the race - which came to nothing in the end. Lewis Hamilton went for a very early stop and then ran a long second stint on the supersoft, while Daniel Ricciardo in fourth, did the opposite: a long opening stint on the ultrasoft followed by a shorter second stint on the supersoft. In between, there was also Max Verstappen, who made up three places after starting on the hypersoft. Now, we immediately turn the page and concentrate on 2019 with the drivers sampling next year's definitive tyres for the first time on Tuesday and Wednesday: they will also have the 2018 tyres available to make a comparison. Finally, this is also an appropriate moment to pay tribute to Fernando Alonso after an amazing Formula 1 career: we wish him the very best for the future."
