F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix: 5 Talking Points

The rain never fell enough to cause a problem for the drivers in the desert earlier today, but there was plenty of action and enough talking points to send us going into the off-season eager to restart in Australia in March.

From Lewis Hamilton finishing his perfect 2018 campaign off in style, to stunning crashes and even some interesting and controversial battles, this race had it all. Abu Dhabi is a controversial circuit on the calendar, but this year's Grand Prix will have done the Yas Marina Circuit no harm in retaining its place as the season's finale. Keep reading to find out which 5 stood out the most!

1 - Raikkonen's Sad End to his Ferrari Career

Kimi Raikkonen has arguably been driving his best since his title-winning season in 2007 and definitely since returning to Ferrari in 2014. The Finn has had a superb season, standing on the podium 12 times and reaching the top step for the first time in over 5 years at the United States Grand Prix.

With both championships already decided going into this final round, most fans of the sport would've liked to see the Iceman spraying rose water after the chequered flag, but that sadly didn't happen. After the first Virtual Safety Car period, Kimi's Ferrari ground to a halt on the pit-straight, a mechanical issue ending his race prematurely. The Ferrari has been an extremely reliable car this season, arguably the best over all of 2018, this being his first mechanical failure since Spain and his first non-finish at all since Belgium.

This was a very disappointing result for Kimi fans, as his move to Sauber next year will likely mean that this was the final chance we had to see the 2007 world champion standing on the podium. However, with Sauber's recent performances and general upwards trend this season, we could see him back in the top 3 in 2019.

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Published 25 Nov 2018, 20:58 IST