Simply Abu Dhabi XX

6 9 S I M P LY A B U DH A B I Retirements were rare withHamilton failing to finish in Singapore only, while Rosberg retired in Italy and Russia with Vettel failing to finish in Belgium and Mexico. Seb’s teammate Kimi Raikkonen showed flashes of brilliance with a best finish of second in Bahrain and a strong third in Abu Dhabi. But five retirements cost him dearly and he only snuck back into fourth in the championship following a tough race in Abu Dhabi for Bottas, who finished in 13th while Kimi claimed the final spot on the podiumwhich was enough to allow him to leapfrog his countryman in the Driver’s Championship. “That’s how it goes sometimes, we made some mistakes early this year and there were some car issues but the speed came back towards the end and it was good enough to claim fourth in the title,” he said. But no one can deny Lewis Hamilton’s place in the record books claiming his third title in Abu Dhabi that coincidentally fell on the eve of the UAE’s 44th birthday while his car has been carrying the number #44 all season. “It’s amazing to have been in AbuDhabi when it was celebrating its 44th UAE National Day which has been my number on all my racing cars since I was a boy in go-karts. And in recognition of that I was proud to carry the UAE colours on my gloves and a special helmet emblazoned with the UAE National Day logo,” he said. With confidence going into the off-season, it’s going to take a concerted effort from his rivals to attempt a fightback against Hamilton and Mercedes in 2016.