Abu Dhabi GP: Driver Ratings - Worrying times for Bottas and more

The 2018 Formula One season is done and dusted after 21 races which saw Lewis Hamilton retain the world championship.

2018 will be remembered for the battle of Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel where the German failed yet again to bring it home for Ferrari. The championship will also be remembered for the countless driver transfers and departures from the sport with Daniel Ricciardo being the highlight of leaving Red Bull for Renault.

Sunday was the final race at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in which the organisers celebrated their 10th year in F1 after the first race took centre stage in 2009.

Hamilton wrapped up a successful year with his 11th win of the season with Vettel trailing behind the Mercedes once more in second place and Max Verstappen completing the podium in third.

The curtain closer was not the most entertaining race of all time but it will be remembered for its mixed emotions for the fans and goodbyes to an F1 legend.

Throughout the season, Sportskeeda has provided you with driver ratings for all races and we hope you've enjoyed our rankings.

So for the final time in 2018, here are your driver ratings for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix:

#10 Williams

Sergey Sirotkin - 15th

Sunday might well and truly be Sergey Sirotkin's race in F1 for now.

The Russian found out last week that he had lost his Williams seat to Robert Kubica after the team announced the Polish racer would team up with George Russell.

Sadly for Sirotkin, he failed to put in a good race as he finished in last place before the five retired drivers.

What next for Sirotkin?

Driver's rating: 2/10

Lance Stroll - 13th

The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was Lance Stroll's final race for Williams after being with the British team for two seasons.

Stroll will be testing with Force India this week in Abu Dhabi which will see the Canadian join the team for 2019.

He will be working alongside his father, Lawrence Stroll after he brought the team in the summer.

Stroll had one or two epic moments in Sunday's race when he climbed up to 14th position in the opening laps after starting at the back of the grid.

Driver's rating: 4/10

#9 Toro Rosso

Pierre Gasly - DNF

It was a final Grand Prix weekend at Toro Rosso for Pierre Gasly before he moves to their sister team, Red Bull, for 2019.

2018 was certainly a successful year for the Frenchman, not only for his job offer at Red Bull but for his impressive race finishes.

One of his highlights was finishing in 4th place at the Bahrain Grand Prix, the second race of the 2018 calendar. And for that, Gasly certainly has a lot of promise for the future.

But he will want to forget Sunday's race in a hurry after retiring before the finish line with an engine problem.

Driver's rating: 1/10

Brendon Hartley - 12th

An odd weekend for Brendon Hartley as Abu Dhabi might just be the New Zealander's final race of his very short F1 career.

The former Red Bull driver, Daniil Kvyat, will rejoin the team for 2019 but it is still unclear who his teammate will be.

So Hartley isn't exactly out of the F1 woods just yet.

Driver's rating: 3/10

#8 Sauber

Charles Leclerc - 7th

The man from Monaco had a typical weekend in Abu Dhabi by scoring points yet again for Sauber. Oh, how the Swiss team will miss him when he leaves for Ferrari.

Leclerc's mission was to help Sauber outscore Force India in the constructors' championship but with the retirement of Marcus Ericsson, it was always going to be a difficult task.

But overall what a debut season the 21-year-old has had.

Driver's rating: 5/10

Marcus Ericsson - DNF

Another name that would experience his final Grand Prix in F1 before moving on to other things.

But the Swede will be annoyed to have not finished his final F1 race in style.

Ericsson suffered from a power loss on lap 24 which wrapped up his five-year spell with the Swiss team. The 28-year-old will now join the IndyCar series next year in the United States of America

Driver's rating: 1/10

#7 Force India

Ocon and Verstappen luckily did not collide yet again

Esteban Ocon - DNF

It has been a strange season for Esteban Ocon in his second year with Force India.

The Frenchman, overall performance wise, had a good season but his future is hanging on a thread.

Ocon will be joining Mercedes as a reserve driver for the 2019 season but will have his eyes set on Valtteri Bottas' seat if the Fin does not improve his performance.

Driver's rating: 1/10

Sergio Perez - 8th

Sergio Perez's finish in 8th place in Abu Dhabi secured Force India's 7th place in the constructors championship.

The team and he have gone through quite a rollercoaster after the group went into administration in the summer before being bought out by Lawrence Stroll.

But for the team to finish in 7th place after losing all their points midway through the season shows what a good middle team they are.

Driver's rating: 5/10

#6 McLaren

Abu Dhabi 2018 will be remembered as Alonso's final race

Fernando Alonso - 11th

It was an emotional farewell for Fernando Alonso after Sunday's race.

311 races since starting out with Minardi in 2001 along with picking up two world championships in 2005 and 2006 - the Spaniard has had one hell of a career.

Alonso just missed out on a point to add to his career total of 1800 points.

But one of the moments of the year was Alonso being joined by Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton when all three multiple champs performed donuts at the finish line.

What a career!

Driver's rating: 5/10

Stoffel Vandoorne - 14th

It was also a farewell for Stoffel Vandoorne before he leaves F1 for Formula E.

After two full seasons at McLaren alongside Alonso, the Belgian could not convince the team bosses to keep him on for 2019.

It is very unclear if Vandoorne will ever return to the racing series but who knows at this moment in time.

Driver's rating: 4/10

#5 Haas

Kevin Magnussen - 10th

Kevin Magnussen will probably be delighted to finish before Fernando Alonso in Sunday's race to get the last point on offer in 10th place.

Magnussen and Alonso have had their differences on the track.

The Dane will remain in F1 for the 2019 season as he will stay teammates with Romain Grosjean. Magnussen did start the race in 13th position and was able to hang on for 10th place.

Driver's rating: 4/10

Romain Grosjean - 9th

Romain Grosjean was able to add to Magnussen's single point for the team by finishing ahead of the Dane in 9th place.

But the Frenchman will finish six places behind Magnussen in the driver's championship in 14th.

Haas have proved to be a strong team this year despite their early mistakes at the beginning of the season - including their pitstop failures in Melbourne.

Grosjean may want to improve his championship finish for next year.

Driver's rating: 3/10

#4 Renault

That's one way of finishing your 2018 campaign

Nico Hulkenberg - DNF

It was a strong season for Nico Hulkenberg and the Renault team by finishing 4th in the constructors championship.

Renault will be known as 'best of the rest' by finishing behind Mercedes, Ferrari, and Red Bull.

The efforts of Hulkenberg and teammate Carlos Sainz Jnr has shown some promise from the French team.

Hulkenberg will have wished his season-ending race didn't include a DNF after crashing out on the opening lap.

The German made contact with Romain Grosjean which resulted in Hulkenberg flipping off the track.

Luckily the Renault man got out of the car with no injuries.

Driver's rating: 1/10

Carlos Sainz Jnr - 6th

It was a fine performance from Carlos Sainz Jnr to wrap up his 2018 campaign.

The Spaniard had a rather decent final race for Renault before his adventure moves to McLaren ahead of next season.

Sainz began the race in 11th position before crossing the finish line in 6th behind Valtteri Bottas.

Not a bad way to display your driving abilities ahead of the welcome in Woking.

Driver's rating: 6/10

#3 Red Bull

Final photos before the end of the Red Bull journey for Ricciardo

Max Verstappen - 3rd

It's been a season of two halves for Red Bull's Max Verstappen.

Verstappen began the season all over the place including a collision with Daniel Ricciardo at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

But after the midway point of the calendar, Verstappen changed for the greater good and started fighting for wins and podium places.

One of his biggest highlights was Verstappen winning Red Bull's home race, the Austrian Grand Prix. Since the summer break, Verstappen consistently finished either at the top or near the top.

And with Ricciardo moving elsewhere, the Dutchman looks to be the team's number one driver for 2019.

A future world champion?

Driver's rating: 7/10

Daniel Ricciardo - 4th

Just like many drivers on the grid, Daniel Ricciardo experienced the end of a journey with Red Bull after four years working with the team.

When Sebastian Vettel left Red Bull for Ferrari at the start of 2015, Ricciardo was placed as the team's number one priority.

In those four years, Ricciardo had picked up 7 race wins but no championships as Red Bull still have no world title success since Vettel in 2013.

Driver's rating: 6/10

#2 Ferrari

Raikkonen discussing future plans with Peter Sauber

Sebastian Vettel - 2nd

Sebastian Vettel's second place finish in Abu Dhabi sums up his season very well.

Runner-up to Lewis Hamilton for the second year in a row and will at the same time be glad to see the 2018 campaign at a close.

Vettel didn't have many moments in Sunday's race apart from attempting to chase down Hamilton. After the race, the German said that he just couldn't track Hamilton down and that the Briton was too fast for him.

Will it be the same scenario in 2019?

Driver's rating: 6/10

Kimi Raikkonen - DNF

Last weekend saw Kimi Raikkonen see the end of a second spell with Ferrari after rejoining the team in 2014.

The last four years have proved to be good times for Raikkonen in terms of competing at the top.

The Iceman has recorded a high number of podium finishes with the Italian team but only picked up one race win since Melbourne 2013 which was at this year's United States Grand Prix.

Raikkonen sadly ended his Ferrari career with a DNF after a power loss on lap 6. Not the way he wanted to go out but now a new adventure awaits in Switzerland when Raikkonen rejoins Sauber.

Driver's rating: 1/10

#1 Mercedes

Lewis Hamilton - 1st

Was there any doubt that Lewis Hamilton would wrap up the season with a race victory?

Of course, there wasn't as the Briton finishes the year winning 11 out of the 21 races that took place this year.

Hamilton achieved pole position in Saturday's qualifying and led out the pack in Sunday's race with no real problems. There were one or two little moments when Sebastian Vettel was nearby but no real threat towards Hamilton's race lead.

So Hamilton will end the year with 5 world championships to his name and now has two more seasons left on his Mercedes contract.

Two consecutive championships to match Michael Schumacher's 7?

Driver's rating: 7/10

Valtteri Bottas - 5th

When you compare Valtteri Bottas' first season at Mercedes to 2018 campaign, there has been no improvement from the Fin.

Bottas ended the 2018 season with no wins to his name. His previous win in F1 was at the 2017 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

2017 saw Bottas win three races in order to lead Mercedes to a 4th consecutive constructors championship.

With no wins in 2018, some reckon there is pressure on Bottas' shoulders ahead of next season especially the news of Esteban Ocon joining the silver arrows as a reserve driver.

Could Ocon be Bottas' successor in 2019?

Driver's rating: 4/10

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