Hamilton hails 'piece of art' car after Abu Dhabi win

Lewis Hamilton has described his 2019 Formula 1 car as a “piece of art” following the finale of the season in Abu Dhabi, where he finished first after leading every lap.

The Mercedes man took pole yesterday and didn’t look back, leading the race from the first second to last over 55 laps.

Following a campaign in which he secured his sixth drivers’ championship - putting him just one behind record-holder Michael Schumacher - he has lavished praise on the car which took him to 11 victories in 2019, as well as his team and his fans.

“I'm proud and super grateful for this incredible team, who continued to push this year. Even though we had the championship won, just really wanted to keep our head down and trying to extract more from this beautiful car - it's a piece of art,” he said after winning the Abu Dhabi GP.

Final 2019 Formula 1 standings: Drivers' and Constructors' tablesRead more

“I'm so grateful to Team LH. I've travelled around the world to 21 different countries, probably more than that, and see people who continue to inspire me and send me messages and lift me up. I want to say a big thank you to everyone who is here and everyone back home.”

Looking ahead to the future, Hamilton commented that he can’t wait to battle the new generation of drivers who impressed this season, with Max Verstappen finishing second and Charles Leclerc third in Abu Dhabi.

“These guys, there's a lot of youngsters coming through, if you look at the grid, from second to seventh or eighth was super youngsters,” he continued.

“I'm proud to be around in a time with such great youngsters and people coming through and I'm looking forward to some more close battles with them in the future.”

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