The school leaving certificate from Abu Dhabi

LEWIS HAMILTON: A world champion is a world champion is a world champion. Lewis Hamilton has once again made his mark this season and the finale couldn't have summed up his position in Formula 1 better. Even at 34 years old, he is an exception, no one is like him: fast, strong nerves, error-free - the challengers Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc have not yet been able to achieve this with this level of consistency. And Sebastian Vettel hasn't been at this consistently high level for a while now. To beat Hamilton in 2020, the opponents will need very, very fast cars.

SEBASTIAN VETTEL: If you will, Sebastian Vettel is the antithesis of Hamilton. Since 2014, their careers have been going in completely different directions: Hamilton became the series world champion back then, who can even equal Michael Schumacher's title record next year. Vettel, on the other hand, became an ex-champion who simply doesn't want to succeed anymore. And while Hamilton is getting better with age and can already be sure of his legendary status, Vettel is currently in danger of permanently damaging his balance sheet. An exceptional pilot, which he should be as a four-time world champion, doesn't actually make that many mistakes.

FERRARI : Abu Dhabi also summed up the season once again aptly for Ferrari. The SF90H wasn't an all-rounder like the Mercedes, the Ferrari was very fast on some tracks but not competitive on others. In Abu Dhabi, for example, he was absolutely on par in the first two sections of the track, but in the winding last sector, red lost the race. And even when it wasn't about sheer speed, Ferrari showed well-known weaknesses: When Vettel changed the tires, the screws on the left front and left rear got stuck, and the German stood for what felt like an eternity. Ferrari must improve in all areas to be a title contender again.

MAX STAGES: What the Dutchman achieves at Red Bull becomes clear again and again when looking at his teammates. Only he can get top results out of a fundamentally good car. In Abu Dhabi, his lead over Alex Albon was around 50 seconds in the end; Red Bull's recipe for success is currently Max Verstappen. The 22-year-old finished third in the World Championship and left both Ferraris behind him. And if his team gives him a more powerful car in the winter, then he can hope for even more in the 2020 rankings.

NICO HÜLKENBERG: At least the Rhinelander hasn't lost his sense of humor. After what was probably his last race in Formula 1, his Renault racing engineer radioed flowery words into Hülkenberg's helmet: "It's been three great years with you." The German's answer: "I wish I could say the same to you." His place at He's now rid of Renault, he hasn't gotten another one, and at 32 years old, a return seems unlikely. The bravely fighting “Hülk” in Abu Dhabi would have been granted at least a few World Cup points as a farewell. But in the final stages his tires collapsed and he also lost tenth place.

SAYING OF THE WEEKEND: “Congratulations to Seb. For me, it's still a long way away mentally. I have enough trouble keeping my dogs alive.” (Lewis Hamilton on father of three Sebastian Vettel - and his own ambitions.)

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The school leaving certificate from Abu Dhabi

In our section we take a closer look at the protagonists of the last Formula 1 weekend of the season.

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