Lewis Hamilton ended his near-perfect 2018 with a typically assured victory in Sunday's eventful season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix amid topless celebrations and farewells on an emotional evening at the Yas Marina Circuit.
The 33-year-old Briton, who reeled off the 11th win of a dominant season that brought him his fifth drivers' world championship ahead of four-time champ Sebastian Vettel, showed off his tattooed torso on the podium amid goodbyes for former foe Fernando Alonso, who retired from F1 after 17 years and 311 GPs.
"I really wanted to end the season strong," said Hamilton, who won the F1 championship last month in Mexico.
"The team did an exceptional job all year long, and I really wanted, race on, race off, to deliver for them and wanted to end the way that I plan to start next year. That was kind of the new psyche."
"It was a great fight this season with Ferrari and then Red Bull came into the mix and there were six cars able to win -- that's why the television ratings increased."