The 2018 motor racing season has entered the home straight. In the grand finale to the Formula 1 campaign in Abu Dhabi, the records once again tumbled.

• This is what happened: Results and facts
• News from the Mercedes-AMG Motorsport teams
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This is what happened: Results and facts

• Formula 1: Lewis Hamilton wins the last race of the season at the Yas Marina Circuit

News snippets

Stat-Attack – Abu Dhabi: The Formula One season ended fittingly with yet another win for the 2018 drivers’ and constructors’ champions. For Lewis, it was the eleventh success this season, his fourth at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi and the 73rd of his Formula One career. The team has won all five of the Abu Dhabi Grands Prix since the beginning of the ‘Hybrid Era’ in 2014 (Lewis three times, Nico Rosberg and Valtteri Bottas once each). On Saturday, the five-time World Champion booked his 83rd pole position in the premier class – his eleventh of the season and his fourth in Abu Dhabi. For the seventh time this season, Lewis started alongside his team-mate Valtteri, making it five successive front row lock-outs in Abu Dhabi. Valtteri finished the campaign with more fastest race laps (seven) than any other driver. When Lewis’s three fastest laps are added, the team scored ten in this classification. The team also had 25 podium finishes – 17 for Lewis and eight for Valtteri.

New records: With his eleventh win of the season in Abu Dhabi, Lewis equalled his 2014 tally of victories – the first hybrid season. What’s more, the 408 points he scored in 2018 constitute a new record for a Formula One season. This was previously held by Sebastian Vettel for his 397 points in 2013. It was also the year in which Vettel matched Michael Schumacher’s 2004 tally of 13 victories. A further record that Lewis set at the Yas Marina Circuit was that for most wins by an engine manufacturer. Lewis has spent his entire Formula One career driving Mercedes-powered cars, first at McLaren (2007 ‑ 2012) and then for the works team (since 2013). With his 73rd Mercedes victory on Sunday, he surpassed the 72 mark registered by Schumacher in Ferrari-powered cars (1996 - 2006). Lewis is now looking to close the 18-win deficit on Schumacher’s record of 91 Grand Prix victories.

Top Ten finish and title win in New Zealand: In the grand finale to the 2018 New Zealand Endurance Championship, Dwayne Carter and Shane Hodgson driving the number 19 SLS AMG GT3 entered by Carters Motorsport finished seventh. The event at Highlands Motorsport Park was a combined end to the season for the South Island and the North Island Endurance Championships. Christina Orr-West and Brendon Leitch of ITM MIKE Racing in an SLS AMG GT3 secured the title in the GT-A category of the North Island league.

Mercedes-AMG Motorsport at the FIA GT Nations Cup: Next weekend, two Affalterbach-built cars will be competing in Bahrain for the opening win of the new FIA GT Nations Cup. Salih Yoluc (Bronze category) and Ayhancan Guven (Silver category) will be representing Turkey in the number 34 Mercedes-AMG GT3 prepared by Team Ram Racing. AKKA ASP will be standard bearers for France with their driver duo of Jean-Luc Beaubelique (Bronze category) and Jim Pla (Silver category) in the number 89 Mercedes-AMG GT3. In the line-up for this debut race will be 36 drivers of Bronze or Silver status representing 18 different countries. The 5.4km Bahrain International Circuit will host two qualifying sessions, two 60-minute qualifying races and a one-hour main race.

Social Media News

#HelmetSwap: A mark of mutual respect, as Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel exchange their Formula 1 helmets...

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