The F1 season is in the books with Max Verstappen winning the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, leading from start to finish in a largely uneventful race.
On the Yas Marina circuit, there was a surprising amount of overtaking but the front of the grid stayed the same with Verstappen leading Mercedes pair Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton in second and third for the final race this season.
It was almost perfect for Verstappen after claiming his first pole position of the year and leading from beginning to end.
But his shot at his first Grand Slam or Grand Chelem was denied on the final lap by former Red Bull teammate Daniel Ricciardo, who recorded the fastest lap by 0.032 of a second on his very last run around the circuit on his way to a seventh-placed finish.
A Grand Slam is when a driver takes pole, the win, leads every lap of the race and claims the fastest lap - with Ricciardo pinching the fastest lap honour from Verstappen at the death.
Verstappen could have become part of a select group of 24 drivers, with only 62 Grand Slams occurring in 70 years of F1. Only Lewis Hamilton - six times - and Sebastian Vettel - four times - are among the current drivers to have claimed the honour.
Ricciardo's sneaky fastest lap even blindsided Red Bull.
"Max, that was absolutely clinical, start to finish, fastest lap as well, you've been fantastic all year but especially today," Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said over team radio at the end of the race.
David Croft said on Sky Sports commentary: "Someone might like to tell Christian Horner that when he last looked at his screen, Max had the fastest lap, when he looks at his screen again, Daniel Ricciardo has the fastest lap."
Payback for the shower on Ricciardo's podium.
It was Ricciardo's second fastest lap of the season and finished a tough weekend for him.
He started the race in 11th on hard tyres but after Racing Point's Sergio Perez's car failed early, pit stops meant the Aussie moved to fifth.
When he pitted at the 39th lap, easily the longest first stint in the race, Ricciardo put medium tyres on, setting up his final lap with McLaren's Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz finishing ahead of him.
But the Aussie star said the gamble paid off.
"The race with hards worked, went really long and that really set it up," Ricciardo said post-race. "That was an exceptionally strong stint I felt and then we put the medium on and we were kind of in no man's land, I felt McLaren were definitely too far in front.
"At the very end, we pushed for the fastest lap so nice little send off."
The result also saw McLaren clinch third place in the constructors' championship, the first time since 2012 the team has finished in the top three.
Ricciardo finished the drivers' championship in fifth with 119 points, just six points behind Perez and 14 points ahead of Sainz, the man whose seat he will take next year.
Outside of that, fans were quick to pan the race as being boring.
Was that even a race. Or just really long parade lap? #f1
No thrills, but Max Verstappen can’t complain — and we can’t complain about him. Flawless victory. Can’t wait till this star is in the mix for the championship. #F1#AbuDhabiGP
A fitting end to this race would be all the fireworks fizzling out and one sad steward solemnly turning all the marina lights off one by one while Everybody Hurts by R.E.M plays. #AbuDabhiGP#F1#Formula1
But after a crazy season with multi-car pile ups, Romain Grosjean's fireball crash and 17 races in 23 weeks under the threat of COVID-19, a pedestrian finish feels somewhat fitting.
ABU DHABI GRAND PRIX RESULTS (TOP 10)
1st: Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
2nd: Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes)
3rd: Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
4th: Alexander Albon (Red Bull)
5th: Lando Norris (McLaren)
6th: - Carlos Sainz (McLaren)
7th: Daniel Ricciardo (Renault)
8th: Pierre Gasly (Alpha Tauri)
9th: Esteban Ocon (Renault)
10th: Lance Stroll (Racing Point)
2020 DRIVERS' STANDINGS (TOP 10)
1st: Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
2nd: Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes)
3rd: Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
4th: Sergio Perez (Racing Point)
5th: Daniel Ricciardo (Renault)
6th: Carlos Sainz (McLaren)
7th: Alexander Albon (Red Bull)
8th: Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
9th: Lando Norris (McLaren)
10th: Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri)
Updates
'Brilliant': Ricciardo gamble pays off
Daniel Ricciardo was easily the last driver to pit, but his 40 lap stint has put him in a good position to get a good bag of points.
While he's on medium tyres, he won't be able to challenge for a podium, he'll be trying to push up to the McLaren's of Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris although they hold a 14 second advantage.
Ricciardo started in 11th but after the pit had moved up to seventh on the massive stint on his first set of tyres.
Ricciardo pits after a brilliant stint on the hards, back out in P7 ahead of Gasly. Got 14s to make up on fresh mediums to Sainz ahead. Excellent send off at Renault! #F1#AbuDhabiGP
If Sainz does get a post race penalty, in lieu of a drive-through penalty he'd have 20 seconds added, and thirty seconds in the case of stop-go penalty.
Scenario 1, McLaren would still likely have P3. Scenario 2, RP could still be in the fight.
This race has been fairly pedestrian after a crazy season so far.
Max Verstappen has led from the outset, Daniel Ricciardo is up to fifth with his tyres looking good for a long first stint and there's been a bit a overtaking but nothing too crazy.
The Sky Sports commentators think this will go down to the final laps.
Heartbreaking blow for F1 reject
Sergio Perez' F1 career with Racing Point is over after he was the first driver to retire from the race.
Having finished with his first win in his 190 race career in the Sakhir Grand Prix, having come from last to first, Perez' car just appeared to give up on him as he raged over team radio about the "f***ing engine".
"The engine just completely went on him. Absolute heartbreak and sporting tragedy for Perez and the Racing Point team," David Croft said on Sky Sports.
Perez slammed his steering wheel and gestured in frustration once he got out of the car.
It also makes it all the more difficult for Racing Point to nab third on the constructors championship.
Awful way to see Checo finish his 2020 season and career at @RacingPointF1 like that. He did nothing wrong and it effectively ends their constructors hopes. #F1#AbuDhabiGP
Perez is without a drive for next year with Sebastian Vettel signed to take his seat next season.
But it was good for Daniel Ricciardo who is up to fifth having benefitted when everyone pitted on the safety car, up from 11th.
Ricciardo's parting message for Renault
Daniel Ricciardo has started his final race for Renault getting stuck in 11th.
But during the formation lap, the Aussie and his team had a moment to to chat, with a sweet moment between Ricciardo and his team.
“Whatever happens today, thank you for everything,” his engineer said over team radio. “We’ve got one more dance, final dance.” “Yep, thank you boys, 55 laps, everything we got,” Ricciardo responded.
Despite starting in 11th, Ricciardo could have a decent shot at a good finish today.
Keep an eye out for Ricciardo, who's starting on Hards in 11th. A good start and long first stint could set him up well late on
Starting tyres 👇
Soft: NOR ALB KVY STR GAS Medium: VER BOT HAM SAI OCO LEC GIO RAI RUS FIT LAT Hard: RIC VET PER MAG#F1#AbuDhabiGP
Just as Valtteri Bottas was preparing to do his final qualifying lap, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff came on to team radio, telling the Finn to give it "all you have".
Coming from the Wolff, the message could be seen as encouragement, as the men played it off as, or a pointed message to the under fire Finn.
Bottas has been heavily criticised, particularly after a bad showing at the Sakhir Grand Prix, where he only just out qualified George Russell in his first race in the main Mercedes, ultimately finishing eighth.
Speculation has been rife this week that Bottas will lose his spot to Russell as soon as next year with Wolff even pouring cold water on the situation.
Wolff and Bottas played the message off as words of encouragement.
“You know, it’s always tricky when you talk to the driver before qualifying and the race but it’s something we discussed and he said a little feedback from you is always good," Wolff said.
“It’s difficult because I’ve never talked to the drivers because I felt from my experience it’s a bit distracting, and everybody’s different.
“With him, we had a good talk, and obviously when the championship was lost it’s always difficult to cope with that and that’s why he said let’s talk a little bit more.”
But former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher said the confident performance of Russell, whose race was ruined by a pit disaster and a puncture, made him believe the season-ending race was make or break for Bottas.
“Maybe it will depend on the last race,” Motorsport-total.com quoted the German as having said. “But if he has another race weekend like last, the risk is too great. “His performance in the last races was really bad. “You can’t go into the next year with a driver like that and expect to collect points to win the Constructors’ Championship.” “I think he’s broken and I believe that after the weekend that George Russell showed, no one at Mercedes will want to take the risk again. “I think the pendulum has already swung in one direction. “I would almost be surprised if he could rehabilitate himself this weekend.”
Schumacher also said a swap might not be on the cards either.
“The question is does Williams want this Valtteri Bottas or not?," he said. “I suspect it will mean the end of his career. “I don’t think anyone is saying ‘yeah!’ at the moment. If Mercedes does replace him now, they have good reason to do so.”
