Lewis Hamilton signed off 2018 with a comfortable victory at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, his 11th of the season.

The Briton held the lead from pole into Turn 1 and benefitted from being the only front-runner to pit under a Virtual Safety Car to hold a decent advantage as the rest couldn't close up on their fresher tyres.

It was an eventful start which saw Max Verstappen slip down the field to 10th and Charles Leclerc move ahead of Daniel Ricciardo on the second back straight to Turn 11.

The biggest moment though was a scary crash for Nico Hulkenberg as wheel-on-wheel contact with Romain Grosjean punted his Renault into a barrel roll, resting upside down against the barrier.

A scary start to the final race of the season for @HulkHulkenberg ?

He walked away unscathed from his big collision with Romain Grosjean#AbuDhabiGP ?? #F1 pic.twitter.com/bAVm0LRgtQ

— Formula 1 (@F1) November 25, 2018

A Safety Car was immediately called bringing the initial battles to an end. At the restart though, Verstappen set about making up for a slow launch passing Esteban Ocon into the Turn 7 hairpin.

Struggling for power on the exit, however, both Force Indias would pull ahead before the Dutchman remade the positions within a lap, including a rather rude move on the Frenchman again at Turn 7.

The VSC would be called soon after as Kimi Raikkonen ground to a halt on the pit straight in his final race for Ferrari following an engine shutdown.

Hamilton would take advantage to stop for the Supersoft tyre, dropping down to fifth, but lost a lot less time in comparison to those ahead who all stopped later.

The race settled with Valtteri Bottas leading from Sebastian Vettel and the two Red Bulls following, as Leclerc dropped down the order having also pitted with Hamilton under the VSC.

Both leaders would pit, however, as Verstappen joined them several laps later after starting on the Hypersoft compound, but trailed Hamilton by 11 seconds.

A very unexpected rain shower passed over the circuit without causing any problem but Ricciardo would run long on his first stint to have fresher tyres for the final 20 laps.

Bottas' race would then fade with a lock-up at Turn 5 allowing Vettel to make a move into Turn 11 for second, Verstappen and Ricciardo followed through on the Finn dropping him to fifth as he then stopped for a second time to fall out of contention.

The question in the closing laps would be if the Australian could move ahead of his teammate for a final Red Bull podium but a serious challenge never materialised leaving Hamilton, Vettel and Verstappen to complete the top three.

In the midfield, Carlos Sainz made an early charge through from P11 and would finish easily 'best of the rest' in sixth with Leclerc beating Sergio Perez home in seventh, the two Haas' of Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen completed the top 10.

Fernando Alonso would try to hunt down the Dane in the closing laps but would instead pick up 15 seconds worth of penalties for cutting the track on the final laps as the Spaniard finished 11th.

Brendon Hartley would be 12th for Toro Rosso with Stoffel Vandoorne in between the two Williams' as they brought up the field.

Pierre Gasly, Ocon and Marcus Ericsson would join the early retirees, all suffering from engine issues.

Full results from the season finale can be seen below:

FIA stewards have rejected Haas' protest against Force India made at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

The American squad called into question the legality of the current incarnation of the Force India team using the cars that were designed and ran by the previous outfit which was bought by Lawrence Stroll during the summer break.

As a result, Haas felt the Silverstone-based team didn't meet the regulations of being a 'constructor' and therefore, shouldn't be eligible for prize money at the end of the year.

“What we are seeking is equality for all the teams,” said team boss Guenther Steiner.

“We came into Formula 1 under certain circumstances, we were aware of what we have to do, we did it all, and we feel that this was not done this time with Force India, so we are just seeking equality or at least an explanation of why it isn’t.

“I think everybody needs to be treated the same. We don’t want more or anything. When we came into the sport we did our apprenticeship, we would just like that everybody is treated equally.”

What the Italian is also referencing is another agreement that all entries must complete at least three seasons before being permitted to receive 'Column 1' levels of prize money from the commercial rights holder, which the current Force India entry wouldn't satisfy.

Haas had tried unsuccessfully to seek compensation from Liberty Media on that matter leading to the protest at Yas Marina which has now also failed.

“The former [Force India] team was no longer a competitor in the 2018 Formula One World Championship as it had as of August 16, forfeited all its rights and ability to field two cars at any further Grand Prix in 2018,” the ruling, given on Saturday, explained.

“The Force India Formula One Team ceased to meet the FIA definition of both a Competitor and a Constructor on 16 August 2018 when all of its assets were sold. At that point, it no longer possessed the resources to meet its obligations as either a competitor or constructor.

“The stewards, therefore, decide that the Racing Point Force India F1 Team entry satisfied, from August 23, 2018, the definition of a ‘Constructor’ under the 2018 FIA Formula One Sporting Regulations.”

Their finding also pointed to the use of outsourcing, with the governing body claiming the purchase of items from a defunct team comes under that definition, Haas also do the same with their chassis which is made by Dallara.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Steiner was asked about an appeal to the FIA and the possibility of civil action against Force India, on both the team boss wasn't committal but didn't rule anything out.

Fernando Alonso admits a points finish "would be a dream" as he prepares for possibly his final Formula 1 race on Sunday in Abu Dhabi.

The Spaniard made it 21-0 for the season versus McLaren teammate Stoffel Vandoorne in qualifying as a gutsy final lap in Q1 saw him avoid an early elimination.

Ultimately, 15th would be the best the double world champion could do but he admits expectations were not very high.

“It is the way it is,” Alonso conceded. “We have not been very competitive this weekend so we were quite pessimistic for our Q1 chances.

“We managed, somehow, to go to Q2 and we are happy for that.”

His outlook for the race isn't much better but that isn't stopping the 37-year-old from going all-out.

“Well, our first priority is to finish the race and see the chequered flag,” he said initially. “[I want to] execute the race good enough to feel proud.

“It is the last one and if we can be in the points then that would be a dream. We are five positions away so let’s see if there is some action in front of us in the first couple of corners.”

On what is likely his final Grand Prix weekend, however, Alonso is doing all he can to soak up the experience.

“I am usually quite shy so all these things going on over the weekend are quite touching,” he commented. “So far it has been, not a normal race, I have to say.

“But when I jump in the car and put the helmet on, visor down, you have some many things to think about. The engineer is talking to you, you are preparing the tyres, so you have no time to get emotional maybe.

“Outside the car, for sure there are a lot of things that are quite good.”

Lewis Hamilton set the pace heading into qualifying with the quickest time in final practice at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Completing the final preparations before the all-important session later under the lights, the Briton posted a 1m37.176s to hold almost three-tenths advantage over Kimi Raikkonen as Ferrari turned up the wick.

Sebastian Vettel was third with Max Verstappen getting ahead of Valtteri Bottas into fourth for Red Bull, a position his team would be very happy with if he can repeat later.

There was problems for teammate Daniel Ricciardo, however, as the Australian was nine-tenths off the pace in six and pulled off the track in the closing minutes with his engine appearing to lose power.

In the midfield, Romain Grosjean was half a second clear of the rest in seventh but would be involved in a strange collision with Pierre Gasly after the chequered flag, coming together with his fellow countryman entering Turn 17.

The two Renault's of Nico Hulkenberg and Carlos Sainz sat eighth and ninth with Esteban Ocon, despite losing most of the session to an engine problem, moving upto 10th with his first flying lap.

Down the order, Charles Leclerc would hit the barrier at Turn 19 damaging his rear wing early in the session, requiring a change, but was still 13th in the Sauber and seven-tenths clear of teammate  Marcus Ericsson.

Fernando Alonso was also seen looking for every ounce of performance from his McLaren as he drifted through the corners, but it would be to little avail as he sat 16th.

Full results from the final practice session of 2018 can be seen below:

Sebastian Vettel admitted Ferrari wasn't fast enough to challenge Mercedes for pole, having led a second-row lockout in Abu Dhabi qualifying.

The Scuderia made good progress based on their pace on Friday but the technical final sector proved too big of a weakness as Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas made enough time to secure a 1-2.

Vettel, however, wasn't too displeased with the result given the circumstances.

“I enjoyed the session. I improved but not enough to be a threat,” Vettel admitted. “No surprise [to see Mercedes ahead]. They looked very competitive all weekend."

The four-time world champion also conceded Ferrari probably didn't extract the maximum from their car despite having the advantage on the straights in the first and second sector.

“Qualifying was a bit up and down, we tried everything and gave it everything we have," he said. “It’s a long lap so there’s a lot of lap time to be found if everything works out.

“I was happy in our session and happy [overall].”

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Looking ahead to Sunday, the race is expected to be a close fight between the top three teams with Red Bull, as they did in Brazil, showing better long-run speed.

There's also plenty of pride up for grabs to claim one final win in 2018.

“I would have liked to get in the front row but it’s not the case,” Vettel continued. “I said to the guys tomorrow we will fight as hard as we can, anything can happen.”

Lewis Hamilton has admitted he "doesn't like" the idea of running No.1 on his car despite displaying the number in Practice 1 in Abu Dhabi on Friday.

Since the system was introduced in 2014, the world champion has had the option to continue using their personal number or use the No.1.

Only Sebastian Vettel took the option to run the champion's number before switching to the No.5 in 2015 but Hamilton has always maintained No.44 while Nico Rosberg didn't stay around to have the choice.

“I personally don’t like it. [I] don’t like it at all, but, since we have been World Champions, we have never had the No.1 on the car so I thought it would just be cool," the Briton said explaining the decision to add it on Friday afternoon.

“I remember the engineers and mechanics asking me at one time if I would ever do it.

“I thought it would be cool just to have it on the car for one session so at least they all have a picture somewhere that they can be really proud of that we were No.1.”

Hamilton has suggested though that his number is becoming as much of an omen for his side of the Mercedes team as it was for him.

“44 is my special number, and in fact, if you ask everyone in the team, or on my side of the garage in particular, they will say that they saw a bus, for instance, with the number 44,” he continued.

“Then they will see a flight number or seat number 44 so it is becoming a part of their lives which is exactly how it is with me, so that is cool.”

Lewis Hamilton admits he was "emotional" after claiming what will be the final pole he takes inside the 2018 Mercedes car in Abu Dhabi.

The Briton made it 11 successes in qualifying this season with another brilliant performance at Yas Marina, moving his career total to 83 in the process.

Given how closely he has worked with his team to optimise the performance of the W09 though, Hamilton acknowledges a little sadness that he won't get to do another full-attack flying lap again.

"I'm so grateful for all the support we've had here," he said after stepping out the cockpit. "It's so emotional for me because it's the last lap I'll do in this car. I've been so emotionally attached to this car.

"I'm so grateful for the mechanics who put this together for me. To just go all out and put a performance like that is a special feeling. I'm just happy that this car will be in the history museum at Mercedes in Germany, so I can go visit whenever I can.

"It's been a privilege to work in this team with the mechanics who have given it to me. Their diligence I'm so grateful for everyone and it's so much fun to go out there and express yourself and push your car the way you want."

His final lap, a new lap record of 1m34.794s, was also another example of Hamilton finding the near-maximum that is possible, as he made up half a second on his first attempt to beat teammate Valtteri Bottas.

"I never say there is a perfect lap the first one wasn't spectacular, there were excursions and movement at the rear end the last sector was the killer and it was where I was able to make the difference [ on the second lap], that's not easy to do," he claimed.

"Valtteri did a great job and Sebastian [Vettel] too."

Sebastian Vettel has suggested Ferrari might be struggling to match their rivals for pace after Friday practice at the Abu Dhabi GP.

The German was only a third of a second off the pace at Yas Marina but that was enough to be only sixth fastest, a tenth behind his own teammate Kimi Raikkonen in fifth.

Typically, that could be blamed on the Scuderia running lower engine modes, but Vettel conceded the day hadn't gone too smoothly.

“I think it has been okay. Obviously, we are not yet quick enough but hopefully tomorrow we will be,” he said.

“We tried everything we could, it [the engine] was not necessarily turned down today.

“I think [the race] will be decided on the tyres, and obviously Red Bull has been strong in the last couple of races when it comes to tyres.”

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Worryingly then for the 31-year-old, he complained of his Hypersoft tyres being "finished" after just 15 laps of what will be a 55-lap race on Sunday.

A potential reason for optimism though comes from Ferrari's usual ability to find pace on a Saturday.

“Yeah, as I said, not entirely happy yet but in the evening it was better,” Vettel stated.

“Let’s see, on one lap I think we still have some margin but it is going to be tough, it is going to be tight.”

Lewis Hamilton made up half a second on his first flying lap to claim his 83rd career pole at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

In the face of stiff competition from Ferrari and Red Bull, the Briton turned it up both in Q2 and Q3, posting a new lap record of 1m34.794s as Mercedes locked out the front row once again.

Valtteri Bottas was a tenth-and-a-half shy of repeating his result from 12 months ago but will still have a good platform from P2 albeit with the two Ferrari's right behind as Sebastian Vettel led teammate Kimi Raikkonen.

Daniel Ricciardo continued his run of never being out-qualified at Yas Marina in fifth ahead of Max Verstappen as Red Bull's straight-line speed again proved the Achilles heel.

The Dutchman had a late scare to make the top-10 shootout at all as he was only the only top six driver who had to use the Hypersoft tyre to ensure progression, while the rest will all start on the more durable Ultrasoft.

In the midfield, Romain Grosjean set the bar with a great first lap in Q3 and held onto seventh as Charles Leclerc came up 0.04s shy in the Sauber.

Esteban Ocon showed Force India what they'll be missing next season with an impressive ninth as Nico Hulkenberg made it four different teams in the final four places in 10th for Renault.

The German's teammate Carlos Sainz just missed out in 11th ahead of Marcus Ericsson's Sauber with Kevin Magnussen a disappointing 13th in the Haas, 1.2 seconds slower than his teammate.

Sergio Perez was 14th as Fernando Alonso produced a great effort to make Q2 but could do no better than 15th on the grid for his final race in the McLaren.

His lap dropped the two Toro Rosso's in the knockout zone with Pierre Gasly ahead of teammate Brendon Hartley.

The Spaniard also secured a 21-0 record over Stoffel Vandoorne in qualifying this season as the Belgian was only 18th.

Williams brought up the field on the back row with Sergey Sirotkin beating Lance Stroll by just 0.047s.

A full look at the times from the final qualifying of the year can be seen below:

Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen gave a thumbs up after a strong Friday practice pace at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

The pair led a one-two with the Dutchman leading in the midday session before Valtteri Bottas jumped them under the lights in the evening.

While there are probably worries that the single lap pace may not be a strong in qualifying as their rivals turn up the power, Ricciardo is hoping one factor can keep the team in play.

“It was a pretty good day yeah,” the Australian surmised. “Hopefully it remains much the same. It looks pretty close for the moment.

“I hope it stays, I mean I am pretty sure it will stay hot. I think the hotter conditions will help us out because on tyres, we look pretty good and hopefully we will keep this up.”

A slight concern was raised when the 29-year-old, in his final weekend for the team, was seen wearing Kinesio tape on both sides of his neck.

“It has been a long year but just a little tweak earlier,” Daniel explained, playing down any issue. 

The key for both drivers at the end of the lap around the hotel, where a series of slow and medium-speed turns around the hotel more resemble a street circuit layout.

“Straight away from the first run I had little complaints,” Verstappen commented. “The car, definitely in the last sector and most of the corners on the track it is just working really well so really happy about that.”

Max was one driver who had a brief scare over a new, raised kerb that has been installed at Turn 20 to deter drivers from going wide but wasn't as concerned as some.

“I went a little bit over it but yeah, it can happen," he said. “Even last year if you didn’t abuse it, you could always lean on it a little bit.

“Now, that thing is a little higher and I don’t expect it to be a big problem in the race because you don’t want to go that wide.”