Red Bull's Dutch driver Max Verstappen crosses the line to win the Abu Dhabi Formula One Grand Prix at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi on Sunday. AFP

Gulf Today, Staff Reporter

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen emerged winner at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at the Yas Marina Circuit on Sunday.

With the win, the Belgian took his second victory of the season and 10th of his career.

Verstappen’s success under the iconic Yas Marina floodlights ended a run of six successive Abu Dhabi Grand Prix wins by Mercedes.

Champions Mercedes completed the podium places in a processional race with Valtteri Bottas second and seven times world champion Lewis Hamilton third.

Max Verstappen celebrates with his team after winning the Abu Dhabi Formula One Grand Prix on Sunday. AFP

The 23-year-old Verstappen bagged pole position on Saturday, and made a good start while Bottas comfortably held off Hamilton. The world champion looked off form and started to drift back after a few laps, and was nearly caught by Albon on the last two laps.

The race was briefly held up when the safety car came out after Sergio Perez's Racing Point pulled to the side of the track with engine failure on Lap 10. When it restarted a few laps later, Verstappen got away from Bottas cleanly and posted the fastest lap for the second time in 15 laps.

Halfway through the 55-lap race at the Yas Marina circuit, Verstappen looked comfortable as he led Bottas by about six seconds and Hamilton by nine and then increased the gap under the floodlights.

Hamilton won 11 races from the 16 he entered but missed last Sunday’s Sakhir GP in Bahrain as he recovered from the coronavirus. This denied the seven-time F1 champion the opportunity to equal Sebastian Vettel’s single-season record of 13 wins, set with Red Bull in 2013.

Mercedes team-mate Bottas said: "The Red Bull was too quick today. We could not get near them and could not keep up with them, but it was a solid race from my side."

Lando Norris came home fifth ahead of his Ferrari-bound McLaren team-mate Carlos Sainz, a solid showing by the precocious pairing that secured third place in the constructors championship on a day when they announced an American consortium is buying a major stake in the team.

Daniel Ricciardo, in his last race for Renault before replacing Sainz at McLaren, was seventh ahead of Alpha Tauri's Pierre Gasly, Esteban Ocon in the second Renault and Lance Stroll of Racing Point.

After a warm sunlit desert day, Verstappen made a clean start from his first pole of the year to draw clear of the two 'black arrows'. Bottas recovered from a sluggish departure to retain second ahead of Hamilton as the field settled without incident on the opening lap.

Vettel, in his last race for Ferrari, passed team-mate Leclerc to take 12th but it was not a happy race for either driver.

Leclerc finished 13th with Vettel one place back, a disappointing end to a disappointing season for the Italian team.
Sergio Perez's Racing Point lost power on lap 10, prompting the arrival of the Virtual Safety Car, followed by the 'full' Safety Car was deployed.