Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
WORLD champion Lewis Hamilton coasted to victory from pole position at the year-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Sunday after appearing alongside Hollywood star Will Smith in a ‘hostage’ social media posting.
The tongue-in-cheek video showed the Formula One driver, who had already secured this year’s championship, duct taped to a chair whilst the actor insisted he should take the wheel for the final race of the season.
“Lewis I’m sorry… here’s the deal, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity for me man,” Smith said in the video. “You already won man, save something for other people. Listen, you’re black, I’m black, nobody gonna know the difference.”
The video closes with Hamilton shouting ‘you better win’ at Smith. However, there was no doubting who stepped out on the podium as the track king equalled his personal best for a season with his 11th win of the campaign.
Having already secured a fifth F1 title, the British Mercedes driver beat Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel at the Yas Marina circuit to secure the 73rd win of his career.
He is contracted to Mercedes for the next two years at least, giving him a realistic chance of matching Michael Schumacher’s F1 record of 91 GP wins, although many fans suggest the sport’s young guns will prevent that happening.
Champion Hamilton said: “I had a lot of fun in the car - I love driving. I loved driving every minute and I hope I have many more days to go.
“This year has been a very uplifting experience for me. I wanted to come here and make sure that I left no stone unturned. I’ve been able to be a better me all year long and I will continue to try to work on that and try to work on the energy that I’m projecting to people.”
To prove the point he stripped down to the waist on the podium and pointed to a tattoo on his back. “I wanted to show ‘Still I Rise’ on my back,” said Hamilton, referring to a poem by writer and civil rights activist Maya Angelou. It was a symbolic finish to a season where, again, Hamilton showed his superiority under pressure to beat Vettel into second place overall for the second straight year.
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen came third in the race ahead of teammate Daniel Ricciardo for a fifth straight podium finish.
Verstappen overtook Hamilton’s teammate Valtteri Bottas to finish fourth overall behind Kimi Raikkonen, who retired early into his final race for Ferrari.
Verstappen and Ricciardo made light work of overtaking Bottas, who finished fifth, raising questions again about the Finnish driver’s ability to withstand pressure in a season where he has not won.
Veteran Spanish driver Fernando Alonso placed 11th with McLaren in his last F1 race with the team. The two-time F1 champion is pursuing other racing interests. “It’s been an honour and a privilege to race in the same era as him,” Hamilton said. “The sport will miss him, we will miss him.”
The race was held up after a spectacular crash on Lap 1 involving French driver Romain Grosjean and Nico Hulkenberg, who was sent tumbling into the barriers and finally settled upside down. Hulkenberg was unharmed and eventually climbed out.
Grosjean has a reputation as one of F1′s more adventurous drivers. He caused the crash by clipping the right rear tyre of Hulkenberg’s Renault, sending it tipping upward, barrelling over and sliding on its back. As some smoke billowed from the car, a fearful-sounding Hulkenberg urged his team to get him out fast. “I’m hanging here like a cow,” he said. “There’s fire. There’s fire.”
A concerned Grosjean asked about Hulkenberg’s condition on his radio. Stewards took no action against Grosjean, deeming it a racing incident. “I was very sorry for him, but there was nowhere I could go,” Grosjean said.
After a few moments, Hulkenberg’s Renault was tipped over the right way and the German driver climbed out unassisted. His car was crane-lifted off the track. The incident held up the race for a few laps, with drivers forced to slow down behind a safety car, until the race resumed on Lap 5.
Raikkonen’s race ended on Lap 6 when his car had a power cut. The Finnish driver, who is joining Sauber next year, trudged back to the team garage.
It was also farewell from Ricciardo to Red Bull after a difficult season where he has won two races, including the Monaco GP, but retired from eight largely because of engine problems. He is leaving to join Renault next year.
