Lewis Hamilton says his performance at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was about setting the tone for how he plans to start the 2019 season.
The Briton took a comfortable victory at Yas Marina as he benefitted from pitting under an early Virtual Safety Car to gain around 10 seconds in time compared to those behind him when they stopped later.
“I wanted to end the season strong, and on a personal level, I was able to do that and the team have done an exceptional job,” he told Sky Sports.
“I wanted to end the way that I plan to start next year. It was a strong weekend that I was really happy with.”
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After another highly successful season which saw Hamilton take 11 wins and 11 poles en route to his fifth world title, the Mercedes driver admits his focus has been solely on 2018.
“I’ve not really thought a lot about next year,” Lewis claimed.
“There are days, just being human, you can wish days by but then I don’t want to wish the time away because it goes really quick.”
In reflection too, the 33-year-old had a similar view.
“I don’t think it’s been a year particularly of one thing that’s been learned,” he said. I’ve understood myself better as I’ve gone on.
“As you make mistakes, you learn from them. I’ve been able to be a better me all year long, and I’m never going to stop trying to do that. I’ve loved every minute of driving today.
“Apart from the tyres not being that good, I’ve really enjoyed driving the car.”