How Hamilton won 'race zero' of 2019
If Lewis Hamilton's rivals were looking for some hope to take into the winter ahead of 2019, they didn't find much as the world champion produced a crushing display to close out his best season yet
You wouldn't have blamed Lewis Hamilton for using the final two races of the 2018 Formula 1 season to wind down, revel in the glory of victory and drop his guard. But this is a driver at his peak and, after spending much of the season grinding the opposition to dust, his Abu Dhabi Grand Prix triumph was not a valedictory one. Instead, it was the start of the next campaign.
For Sebastian Vettel, who chased him in vain, Max Verstappen, who ended the race with a faceful of oil from the Honda engine he's placing his title hopes on and Valtteri Bottas, who finished more than 45 seconds down, there was little hope to draw from what happened. This was Hamilton underlining that, far from being more vulnerable next year or resting on his plethora of laurels, he intends to be unbreakable.
Share Or Save This Story
Archive: When the French GP almost produced F1's greatest shock
Autosport 70: How Scheckter instigated Silverstone's most famous F1 incident
Autosport 70: The lost F1 team that launched Newey
Why Haas's shocking 2019 should have F1 worried
How Kubica found the answer to his own incredible F1 challenge
The real step that ended McLaren's F1 nightmare
2019's Albon, Norris and Russell are 2001's Montoya, Raikkonen and Alonso
How Toro Rosso gave Renault a major scare
Alpine fast-tracks F1 floor upgrade to China amid recovery push
How Haas delivered its F1 "game changer"
What the Chinese GP's highlights reveal about its first F1 race for five years
Acosta: 2024 MotoGP title "not the priority" as expectations mount
What the Chinese GP's highlights reveal about its first F1 race for five years
The secrets of F1 turbocharging explained
Why Alpine’s rigorous training camp yields telling insights into its juniors
Ranking Derek Warwick’s top 10 greatest races
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
