Lewis Hamilton completed his first winless season in Formula One on Sunday and then said “I’m glad it’s done.”
It was a year of fluctuating fortunes for Mercedes team which struggled to adapt to the new ground effect rules.
Although their results improved over the season, the team only won one race. George Russell took first last week in the Brazilian Grand Prix with the title already decided.
Last season, Hamilton won eight races as he lost his title to Max Verstappen. It was his lowest total since 2013. Before this year he had at least one victory in each of his 15 seasons.
On Sunday, the seven-time champion retired three laps from the end of the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix with hydraulics problems as two-time champion Max Verstappen drove to a flawless record-extending 15th win of the year.
Russell finished fifth.