Finland's Valtteri Bottas won the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Sunday.
Abu Dhabi - The Finnish driver comfortably secured the third win of his F1 career, all this season since joining from Williams
Published: Mon 27 Nov 2017, 5:55 PM
The Mercedes could well be called bullet-proof. Such was their dominance on Sunday that it left their competitors in their wake.
The pair of Valtteri Bottas and four-time world champion Lewis Hamilton completed a one-two for the Silver Arrows as the former clinched the Formula One Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Pole-sitter Bottas led from start to finish at the 5.554km Yas Marina Circuit for his third win this season after victories in Russia and Austria.
With the Mercedes so strong for almost the entire weekend, the 55-lap race was reduced to a two-horse battle between Bottas and Hamilton.
And battle they did, but Bottas held off his teammate for most of the race to take the chequered flag. But the Finn's victory couldn't help him overtake Sebastian Vettel to second in the Drivers' Championship, with the Ferrari driver coming third in the race to take the honours.
And Vettel's teammate Kimi Raikkonen capitalised on Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo's misfortune to finish fourth in the race and fourth in the Drivers' Championship. Ricciardo, who had suffered a tyre puncture early on, had to retire on Lap 21 because of a hydraulic issue.
Ricciardo's teammate Max Verstappen was fifth, while Renault's Nico Hulkenberg overcame a five-second penalty, to finish sixth.
Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon were seventh and eighth for Force India. Fernando Alonso marked Honda's final race with McLaren, with P9, while Brazilian Felipe Massa signed off his Formula One career with P10.
Earlier, as the five red lights went out to signal the start of the Grand Prix, it was a clean start at the front of the grid with pole-sitter Bottas getting away nicely followed by teammate Hamilton.
Vettel tried to have a look-in but couldn't find room as Hamilton didn't leave space and followed Bottas.
And as they headed into the first corner, Vettel's move almost played into Ricciardo's hands as the four-time world champion came under attack. But he held on to keep his third spot.
Meanwhile, Raikkonen made a move on Ricciardo approaching Turn 11 but the latter staved off the challenge.
At the back, Haas' Kevin Magnussen had a spin heading into Turn 3 but managed to continue.
Ahead of the field, Bottas had built a 1.2-second lead over Hamilton after the first lap. And the Finn increased that to 1.5s, with Vettel almost 2.8 seconds behind the leader, after Lap 3.
Renault's Nico Hulkenberg was investigated for leaving the track and gaining an unfair advantage and was handed a five-second penalty, which he adheres to on Lap 18.
It was the same running order after Lap 5 but the gap between the leader and Hamilton was reduced to 1.3 seconds. The Mercedes pair were pulling away with Vettel now further down to 3.5 seconds on Bottas.
Meanwhile, Ricciardo and Raikkonen continued to tussle and 2.6 seconds separated the duo. Elsewhere at the back, there was interesting battle between Massa and Alonso with the Brazilian fending off the Spaniard for P10.
Bottas unleashed a fastest lap on Lap 7 as the gap again returned to 1.5 seconds between him and Hamilton. He continued to grow in strength to go almost two seconds clear of his teammate.
Then, it was Hamilton's turn to respond and the Briton unfurled a fastest lap on Lap 11.
Verstappen was the first to head into the pits for fresh rubber on Lap 15 and is followed in by Raikkonen, who is asked to box by Ferrari.
Ricciardo is forced to box on Lap 20 after suffering a tyre puncture following a brush with the ball in the final sequence of corners.
And fourth in the Championship slipped away from him, with the Australian retiring with a hydraulic problem, on Lap 22.
Meanwhile, up at the front, Bottas and Hamilton put daylight between them and Vettel, with the German almost 13 seconds back, by Lap 32. And that gap was to increase to 20 seconds by Lap 40.
Bottas then reeled of fastest laps with 10 laps to go and then went on to take the chequered flag. The Finn did donuts to celebrate his third win and is joined in by his teammate Hamilton and Massa.
james@khaleejtimes.com
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