Abu Dhabi F1 Grand Prix 2019 Results: Lewis Hamilton Dominates in Win

Lewis Hamilton won the 2019 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Sunday, capping off another spectacular Formula 1 season for the Brit.

The six-time world champion dominated from start to finish, earning the Silver Arrows their sixth straight win at the Yas Marina circuit. Max Verstappen finished in second place, while Charles Leclerc came in third but is likely to face a penalty for a fuel issue. Valtteri Bottas weaved through the field to claim fourth place, and Sebastian Vettel came in fifth.

Hamilton and Mercedes had already locked up the drivers' and constructors' championships ahead of Sunday's race.

Here are the provisional race results:

There was drama before the race even started, as the stewards announced an investigation into an issue with Leclerc's fuel declaration, per F1 writer Chris Medland:

Ferrari made a bright start to the race, with Leclerc passing Verstappen on the straight and Vettel taking the fight to the Dutchman as well. Further back, Lance Stroll and Pierre Gasly made contact, and the Toro Rosso man came off the worse, all but ruining his chances of winning the battle for sixth place in the standings:

The two McLaren drivers also had an early scrap, making contact on the opening lap. Lando Norris got ahead of team-mate Carlos Sainz, however.

Hamilton quickly built a significant lead, lapping Gasly in the blink of an eye, while Vettel's DRS failed him during the hunt for Verstappen. In the background, Bottas―who started in last place―moved into the points after Norris dove into the pit lane.

Ferrari opted to double stack their two drivers in the pits, but that backfired when Vettel had a slow stop as the second man:

DRS was enabled just as a battle between Bottas, Vettel and Alex Albon started to unfold, but the Finn was able to increase his advantage, despite being on older tyres. 

Verstappen and Hamilton had their stops a little later, and the Dutchman immediately complained over the radio about a problem with his car. Still, Verstappen was able to gain on Leclerc before overtaking him while both went for a pass on a lapped Williams.

WTF1 is looking forward to this budding rivalry:

Once that battle was over, the race turned into a procession, with Mercedes dominating. Bottas steadily hunted down Leclerc, and the rest of the pack went through the paces with few battles on track.

Bottas reduced the deficit to Leclerc to just two seconds with one lap to go, but his comeback fell just short. Nearly any Leclerc penalty will see him promoted to the podium, however.

The final lap saw two more overtakes, with Sainz claiming a points finish ahead of Nico Hulkenberg, and Sergio Perez sneaking past Norris.

What's Next?

The Formula 1 teams will remain in Abu Dhabi for the Pirelli tyre test next week.