Valtteri Bottas produced a controlled performance to keep Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton at bay and claim his third win of the 2017 season at the Abu Dhabi finale.
Composure was the key for the Finn who, but for one small error late on, was flawless as he gave the world champion no significant opportunity to attempt a pass, leading all but a handful of the 55 laps.
A good start was enough to maintain the lead in the first corner, as the top six remained static, from there Bottas would build a margin of over three seconds in the first stint with little action among the front-runners.
The battle for seventh would be tastier as Sergio Perez claimed the place from Nico Hulkenberg at Turn 8 on the first lap only for the German to re-pass at Turn 11 but by cutting the chicane and gaining an advantage.
Refusing to give the place back to his former teammate, the Renault driver would be penalised five seconds by the stewards but it would mean very little as Hulkenberg pulled out enough of a gap to pit, serve the penalty and still emerge ahead of the Mexican in seventh.
Max Verstappen would trigger the pit-stops at the front after just 15 laps, attempting the undercut on Kimi Raikkonen ahead in fifth, but coming out behind the Force India's would prove costly as the Finn easily emerged ahead after stopping a lap later than the Red Bull.
Things would go from bad to worse for the Milton Keynes outfit as Daniel Ricciardo, running fourth, touched the wall exiting Turn 19 causing a puncture, his team scrambled into the box to receive him but his problem would be terminal as a hydraulics problem forced the Australian into retirement.
His pulling off the track caused Mercedes to pit Bottas, fearing a Safety Car, but when it never emerged that allowed Hamilton to stay out and set a number of faster times perhaps completing the overcut.
Traffic would see the Briton pit four laps later but it wasn't enough to take the lead as the Finn re-claimed the position. Lewis would start closing the gap on the SuperSoft tyres getting to within DRS range as they lapped cars, but small errors cost him time at key points allowing Bottas room to breathe.
Hamilton came closest after a small error in the chicane at Turns 5 and 6 from Valtteri allowed him to close up but again it wasn't enough to get alongside in the braking zone.
After that moment, Bottas picked up the pace pulling out over three seconds of gap between the two Mercedes' enabling him to take the chequered flag for the first time since Austria.
The flat-out race at the front also saw the Silver Arrows in a class of their own with Sebastian Vettel almost 20 seconds in third for Ferrari in what was a lonely race for the German.
Raikkonen inherited fourth both in the race and in the Drivers' Championship at the expense of Ricciardo, with Verstappen unable to challenge in fifth in the second Red Bull.
Hulkenberg would claim the top midfield spot in sixth and with it also help Renault overhaul Toro Rosso for sixth in the Constructors' Championship, as the Italian team had both cars well outside the points.
Carlos Sainz appeared a threat to the points as well, opting to go long on his first stint, but a loose wheel after putting would see the Spaniard become the second and last retiree as he was forced to pull off.
The two Force India drivers made it into the top 10 for the 16th time in the 20 races, as Perez led teammate Esteban Ocon in seventh and eighth respectively, also securing those positions in the Drivers' Championship.
After failing to pass Felipe Massa in Brazil, Fernando Alonso would finally manage it in Abu Dhabi using DRS against the Williams driver shortly after pitting to move ahead into Turn 8. That would give the McLaren driver ninth with the Brazilian securing one more point to add to his career total in 10th as he said goodbye to F1 after 12 years.
