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2019 Formula 1 Champion Lewis Hamilton has capped off a dominant year with a commanding win in the final race of the year at Abu Dhabi, while CAMS Ambassador Daniel Ricciardo ended the day in 11th.
Hamilton’s win highlighted what a strong year he and his Mercedes team has had, finishing 16 seconds ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc rounded out the podium, crossing the line 43 seconds behind Hamilton.
According to Ricciardo, the race was symbolic of his year – his first campaign with new team Renault.
“It was quite a standard race for me today. We struggled a little on the hard tyre after the first stop, which was a shame, and at the end I tried to make up the ground on the faster tyre, but we just ran out of time,” Ricciardo said post-race.
“Although, looking at the bigger picture for us, it was a positive that we managed to secure fifth in the Constructors’ Championship, which was our goal coming into the weekend.
“We’re optimistic heading into the off-season and looking ahead for next season.”
Photo: Renault Sport Media
For the Champion, Hamilton, he couldn’t have asked for a better way to finish the year.
“As a team, as a whole, we’ve been very strong this weekend and Valtteri (Bottas) did a great job today as well,” Hamilton said.
“I’m just so grateful for everyone’s continued hard work and dedication this year, we continue to raise the bar together. The support has been unbelievable, I’m completely overwhelmed, so a big, big thank you to everyone at the track but also back home who supports me.”
The teams’ attention now turns to off-season testing, before the first race of 2020 at Albert Park for the Formula 1 Rolex Australian Grand Prix.
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