Valtteri Bottas finished the season strong with a victory from pole position. The race itself was pretty orderly, with few incidents throughout the duration. Lewis Hamilton finished in second place, with not many chances to overtake his teammate. There was not much action from Ferrari, who finished a comfortable P3 and P4.
The first lap of the race was orderly. Valtteri Bottas had a spectacular start from pole position, creating a sizable gap to Lewis Hamilton behind. The biggest issue on the opening lap was with Kevin Magnussen, who struggled with lack of grip and ran wide in the first corner before spinning in the second corner. He was able to continue the race.
Nico Hulkenberg was handed a five second time penalty for cutting the corner when overtaking Sergio Perez, which he served during his pit stop.
Daniel Ricciardo had to make a pit stop for a puncture after grazing the barriers at the exit of the corner. The pit stop had some issues with the left rear tyre change and took a bit longer than anticipated. It was all for nothing though, as the team retired the car just a few laps later with a hydraulics issue.
Bottas was the first of the Mercedes drivers to pit for fresh tyres, giving Hamilton a chance to dial the engine up to full power and set the quickest lap times possible. However, Hamilton wasn’t able to keep the race lead following his pit stop, as Bottas retook the lead by more than a second.
Carlos Sainz became the second retirement of the race following his pit stop because the left front gunman forgot to tighten the tyre during the pit stop. Sainz was fortunate not to put it into the barriers in the tunnel at the pit exit, instead limping the car to the run off area out of the tunnel.
A late push from Hamilton allowed him to get close to his teammate, but no overtaking chances materialized and Bottas ended the season on a high note with a victory. Hamilton and Vettel concluded the podium.
Above results table does not include any post-race penalties
