A thrilled Lewis Hamilton picked up his 17th Formula 1 career victory in Abu Dhabi on Sunday night, his third of the season and first since the German Grand Prix of July. The 2008 Champion hopes the result marks the start of a personal comeback but admits it remains ‘early days’.
“It’s early days, but this is definitely a start,” the McLaren driver said after the race, in which he fended off a stiff challenge from 2007 title rival Fernando Alonso. “It’s very rare for us to be able to control a race from the front, but I did have the pace and was able to put in the (necessary) laps when Fernando was going quicker.”
For their second and final pit-stops, Alonso came in three laps later than Hamilton in a bid to seize the lead, but was unable to stretch out enough of an advantage beforehand.
“He would be closing the gap; it seemed like he would be starting stints slower than me before getting quicker at the end of them,” Hamilton explained before labelling the win as one of his best, following several difficult months personally.
“I am very, very happy with how it went - I think it was one of my best races…looking after the tyres, managing the gaps, so I am ecstatic; I can get on my flight tonight and smile.”
Hamilton dedicated the victory to mother Brenda, who had travelled to Abu Dhabi and was watching the race while celebrating her birthday from the McLaren garage.
Further post-race feelings from McLaren:
Button left to lament KERS problems
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| Pos. | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |  L. Hamilton | McLaren | 1:37:11.886 |
| 2. | F. Alonso | Ferrari | +8.457 |
| 3. | J. Button | McLaren | +25.881 |
| 4. | M. Webber | Red Bull | +35.784 |
| 5. | F. Massa | Ferrari | +50.578 |
| 6. | N. Rosberg | Mercedes | +52.317 |
| 7. | M. Schumacher | Mercedes | +1:15.964 |
| 8. | A. Sutil | Force India | +1:17.122 |
| 9. | P. di Resta | Force India | +1:41.087 |
| 10. | K. Kobayashi | Sauber | +1 Lap |
| Full results | |||
| Lewis Hamilton | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| More Lewis Hamilton photos | |||
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