Lewis Hamilton revels in ‘pitch-perfect’ performance after victory in Abu Dhabi

Hamilton led from start-to-finish in his Mercedes in a commanding display as he secured the 84th win of his career

Lewis Hamilton revelled in a “pitch-perfect” performance after finishing his title-winning season with yet another victory, this time in Abu Dhabi.

Hamilton led from start-to-finish in his Mercedes in a commanding display as he secured the 84th win of his career and moved to within seven of Michael Schumacher’s all-time record.

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen finished runner-up following a fine move on Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc, who took the chequered flag in third.

Verstappen’s drive to second ensured he finished the season as the best of the rest behind Mercedes duo Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas.

An 11th victory of the campaign was never truly in doubt but Hamilton maintained his focus as he aimed for perfection from first to last.

“I don’t think I was thinking of anything else except being pitch-perfect through the race,” he said. “When you’re out in front like that, it’s easy to drop the ball. I think of people who have been there before me, I think of things I have done in the past, I was just trying to be pitch-perfect, each corner, beat, rhythm, rhythm, rhythm, and not let it stop.

“I was looking for that perfect execution, and I think I got as close to it as I could today. Really, really happy. But now I can lean back a little bit and start thinking about the future.”

Hamilton was pleased with his consistency as he ended his season as he’s has done throughout, by dominating the field.

“I think today’s race was a really great race for me, just very consistent, no mistakes, and the team did a great job as well,” he added. “I would say today I was just trying to advance in a lot of areas, like tyre management, see if I can do that any better, extract any more from the car, make it go longer, and different things, and it worked.

“We’re continuing to work hard, even after we’ve won the championship. It’s inspiring for me to see the guys continue to push.”