The final 2019 drivers’ standings:

Here is the Abu Dhabi GP race report from Giles Richards:

So, that was all she wrote, as far as the 2019 Formula One season goes.

Congratulations to Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes - on achieving such a dominant victory today and across the whole season, too. Hamilton is nominated for the Sports Personality of the Year award, of course, although cricketer Ben Stokes may provide some stiff competition for him there.

Thank you for reading today’s coverage, and see you soon. Bye for now.

Results from the FIA:

Don’t forget, Ferrari’s Leclerc still has to go and talk to the stewards about his fuel load ...

Bottas, who started last on the grid for Mercedes and came fourth, speaks to Sky Sports: “It was a pretty tough race, I was giving everything I could, but I have to say it was pretty good fun, coming from the back. It wasn’t the easiest, without any DRS in the first 20 laps ... but I feel I couldn’t have done anything more, I gave it everything and that’s what matters.”

Sky Sports ask Vettel: “How do you feel about the season?”

“I feel like I want to go and get changed now, but instead I have to stand here and answer your questions. I’m only being honest.”

Oops. That was awkward.

Peter Gibbs emails: “Instead of ballast or thin cars, all cars should have 8ft springs on each corner and they are only allowed to uncompress them when overtaking ... or ... basically anything lifted from Wacky Races.”

I think the FIA should look at every option. That was a magnificent effort by Hamilton and Mercedes but it was a procession and there wasn’t a huge amount of excitement.

If you want to keep up with today’s football, Ben Fisher is live-blogging Norwich City v Arsenal as we speak:

“There is a lot of slow-speed stuff on this circuit and that is where the Mercedes had the advantage,” says one of the Sky Sports pundits.

And now the champagne flows on the podium. An amazing achievement by Hamilton and his Mercedes team. Can the Briton win another one next year, and draw level with Michael Schumacher on seven drivers titles?

“Thank you to everybody here and back home.”

Six consecutive drivers’ and constructors’ championships now for Mercedes, which is unprecedented, and quite some achievement.

The drama of the Formula One season is over for another season - although of course, it’s not quite over until we know the result of that inquiry regarding Leclerc’s fuel load.

Now, it’s time for ‘God Save the Queen’ ...

Lando Norris of McLaren in floods of tears on the radio after sealing a brilliant ‘rookie year’ in Formula One.

The untouchable Lewis Hamilton stops for a photo with his pit crew and the rest of the team by the car.

The celebrations for Mercedes and Hamilton can now begin in earnest:

Verstappen and Hamilton celebrate with a few doughnuts on the finishing straight. Hamiton gets out of the Mercedes car, and raises his arms aloft in front of cheering fans.

Brundle: “The last time we had a December date in Formula One was 1963.”

By the way - Sainz managed to hang on to his sixth place in the championship by moving 10th on the day ...

Lap 55/55: Hamilton finishes first, Verstappen second, Leclerc third, Bottas a brilliant fourth having started last on the grid.

Someone on the radio from the Mercedes pit lane: “Get in there Lewis, what a drive ... you didn’t even break into a sweat with that one.”

Hamilton: “I can assure you I am sweating. What a race, what a weekend. I just want to say a huge thank you to everyone here, and back home. I gotta say ... this one’s for the fans.”

Lap 55/55: Hamilton on course for an 11th race win of the season, now on the final lap ...

Lap 54/55: Hamilton sets a fastest lap of the race, and a lap record. What a way to seal a drivers’ championship, the sixth of his amazing career.

Lap 54/55: Will Carlos Sainz lose sixth place in the drivers’ championship? That’s the question on everyone’s lips ... He needs to overtake Hulkenberg. Vettel is up to fifth meanwhile!

Lap 53/55: Still more than 16 seconds for Hamilton inside the last couple of laps. It’s a comprehensive performance from him and his team - barring any astonishing occurrences in the next few minutes.

Lap 52/55: Slowly but surely - or rather, very quickly and surely - Hamilton is closing in on a 50th win from pole position in Formula One, and is about to mark his sixth F1 title in the most impressive fashion.

Nigel Robinson emails: “Following on from Chris’s email, I’m surprised they have not considered adding ballast to the winning cars for the following race, as per British Touring cars.

Or give them a 4 place ‘penalty’ for the following race.”

Lap 51/55: Bottas of Mercedes is on a charge, and desperately trying to get on to the podium having started from the back of the grid ... he is about five seconds down on Leclerc in third.

Stroll retires:

Lap 49/55: Hamilton leads by nearly 17 seconds, Verstappen second, Leclerc third, 22 seconds back. Bottas is fourth and Albon fifth.

“Give it everything,” Norris is instructed by his team over the radio.

Lap 47/55: McLaren’s Lando Norris is seventh at the moment. McLaren CEO Zak Brown, speaking to the commentators on radio, thanks all the fans and Sky F1 viewers for following the season. To be honest, there isn’t that much else going on, so there is time for pleasantries.

Lap 46/55: Perez takes Hulkenberg with a nice over-taking move and is up to eighth. Hamilton’s lead is over 17 seconds now. Inside the final 10 laps and it looks like British F1 fans can start cracking open the champagne.

Thanks to Chris Brock for the email about how F1 could be spiced up:

“Best change they could make would be to make the cars significantly narrower. That would make overtaking at corners much more likely, and stop places like Monaco and Canada being processions.”

If you have any flashes of inspiration for how the FIA should change the sport’s rules, do let me know.

A photo courtesy of McLaren’s Twitter, from the pit lane:

Lap 41/55: Hamilton’s lead is just under 15 seconds up at the front. Verstappen is second with Leclerc, his rival for third place in the drivers’ championship, third.

The commentators point out that had Hamilton not had an issue at the Austrian GP in 2018, and retired from the race, this would be a 67th consecutive finish in the points at Grand Prixs for the Briton. That’s amazing ...

Lap 39/55: Leclerc pits, again soon followed by his team-mate. Leclerc comes out on softer tyres for the last 16 laps, currently in third. Vettel is now sixth, with Bottas and Albon ahead of him.

Lap 37/55: This is a stunning performance from Hamilton so far. Back in the days of Nigel Mansell and Damon Hill, I remember British drivers winning world titles being much more fraught. Hamilton’s dominating this race, very much in keeping with his season, and it’s incredibly impressive - even if the ‘neutrals’ would like to see a little more excitement.

Lap 35/55: Vettel laps Kubica. Meanwhile, up front, Hamilton continues to tear up the circuit for Mercedes on his hard tyres ... He is over 14 sec up on Verstappen. Leclerc third, Vettel fourth, Albon fifth.

Gerald of Canada has emailed in about DRS: “I was just wondering ...with all the controversy in regards to DRS why has there not been any changes to the effect in all these years eg; make it open half as much so its more of a struggle to pass instead of flying by at +20 klm.....have a set time limit of usage.....have it shut off not by braking but when car reaches other car either alongside or nose to gearbox. You always anticipate a great pass as front runners get close together only to have a car fly by on the straight. YAWNNNNN.”

What do you all think? Does DRS need looking at? Get in touch!

Lap 32/55: Excitement! At last! Verstappen does indeed grab back second place from Leclerc, but it was a real wheel-to-wheel tussle for a few seconds there. They nearly came together through one chicane. But Verstappen takes it, and his crew back in the pit lane smile and applaud.

Remember - Leclerc is facing a steward’s investigation over his fuel load right after the race, so all these efforts might be for nothing.

Lap 31/55: Verstappen is trying to grab back second place from Leclerc. Meanwhile, Hamilton’s lead at the head of the race is back out to over 13 seconds and he remains in total control, especially considering he has very recently pitted.

Lap 30/55: As night falls over Abu Dhabi, Bottas comes in for his first pit stop and it’s a phenomenally smooth one. There are approving nods from team bosses standing nearby. Bottas is in sixth - can he make the podium from the back of the grid? It would be a marvellous drive.

Lap 30/55: When I cycled around this circuit a couple of years ago, I overtook Slovenian pro rider Janez Brajkovic. This made me feel great, until I realised he was slowing down and stopping for a ‘natural break’ at the time. Still, it ranks as one of my greatest-ever sporting achievements.

Lap 28/55: Max Verstappen of Red Bull has a problem with his engine after his pit stop. He sounds a bit rattled. His team ask him to calm down and refocus.

Meanwhile, that earlier incident between Kubica and Giovinazzi will lead to no further action from the stewards.

Lap 25/55: Let’s face it - at this stage with 30 laps to go, it appears this race was settled into the first corner. Hamilton got a great start, kept ahead from pole position, and his lead is up to 12 seconds now. Will we see some drama as the Briton tries to close out the season with victory?

Lap 24/55: Contact between Giovinazzi and Kubica towards the back. Is there debris on the track? Will we see a safety car?

Lap 23/55: DRS IS BACK! Confirmation. The commentators are saying they preferred the old-school, non-DRS racing:

Hamilton speaks on the radio: “The only concern I have is if the safety car comes out and I have to pit for a hard tyre, and I can’t get any temp into it, we’re in trouble.”

“We’re not concerned, it will be the same for everyone,” replies his team.

As Brundle says on commentary, Hamilton is so comfortable right now, he is thinking about permutations. He has over 13 seconds on Verstappen in second.

Lap 20/55: Hamilton and Verstappen are yet to pit. Bottas too hasn’t stopped - and having started at the back of the grid, he has now fought his way up to fourth.

If Hamilton stays ahead for 55 laps and wins, he will equal Ayrton Senna’s record of 19 Grand Prix victories leading from start to finish. Great stat from the guys at Sky.

Meanwhile ... DRS is enabled!

Lap 16/55: Hamilton’s relentless march at the head of the race continues. He is more than 10 seconds up, soon to be 11. Third-placed Leclerc meanwhile is now one place ahead of Nico Hulkenberg (Renault) who has moved up to fourth thanks to a plethora of pit stops ahead of him.

That double stop for Ferrari, from F1’s Twitter:

Lap 14/55: Now Albon (Red Bull Racing) pits and he is suddenly down to seventh. Leclerc up to third.

Lap 14/55: Both Ferraris pit in quick succession and Vettel loses a couple of seconds. He is down to eighth place now now. Hamilton, Verstappen and Albon is our current top three and Hamilton’s lead is out to nine seconds.

Lap 12/55: Ricciardo (Renault) pits and switches to hard compound tyres.

By the way, due to a technical problem, DRS isn’t working.

Lap 11/55: Nearly six seconds for Hamilton now at the head of the race.

McLaren’s Lando Norris pitted a few minutes ago because he had a flat spot on a tyre, and is now running hard tyres.

Lap 10/55: Fun fact: 1.82 seconds is the fastest-ever pit stop recorded in F1. “It was considerably longer in my day,” remarks Brundle on commentary.

Lap 9/55: Brundle speculates that Vettel’s decision to run softer tyres on his Ferrari will prove crucial to how this race plays out. He says a pit stop for Vettel will mean others taking action ...

Lap 7/55: We were hoping for a battle royale between Leclerc and Verstappen for third place overall in the drivers’ championship today but it seems Leclerc may well be disqualified after the race for a discrepancy in his fuel load.

If the case is as cut-and-dried as suggested by Christian Horner before the race, it seems very odd to let Leclerc race at all, does it not?

Hamilton is nearly five seconds ahead now.

Lap 6/55: Hamilton, Leclerc, Verstappen, Vettel and Alex Albon are the top five as it stands. Hamilton is nearly four seconds up now and his Mercedes is clearly purring for him in the early stages.

Lap 5/55: Bottas had a great start from the back of the grid and made up a couple of places into the first corner. Meanwhile on-board cameras are relaying that incident involving Gasly, Stroll and Perez but the race stewards have already said it will not be investigated. Bottas is up to 13th already.

Meanwhile Hamilton laps Gasly, whose day has got off to a horrible start. Hamilton has forged a three-second lead over Leclerc.

Lap 3/55: Pierre Gasly (Scuderia Toro Rosso) and Lance Stroll (Racing Point) had a coming together on the first corner. Gasly then lost his front wing by clipping Sergio Perez (Racing Point). Gasly is now stuck in the pits as the team try to sort his car.

Up front, 2019 world champion Hamilton is in control having led into the first corner after a superb start.

Here is a story from F1.com on the FIA statement on Leclerc’s fuel discrepancy:

Charles Leclerc and Ferrari are facing a post-race investigation in Abu Dhabi, after the FIA’s Formula One Technical Delegate Jo Bauer referred them to the stewards for a potential breach of the technical rules.

“The fuel declaration of car number 16 was checked before the car left the pit-lane,” read a statement by Bauer. “There was a significant difference between the declaration of the team and the amount of fuel inside the car. As this is non in compliance with TD/12-19 I am referring this matter to the stewards for their consideration.”

Leclerc is set to start Sunday’s season finale from third on the grid, behind polesitter Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.

The roar of engines strikes up and the formation lap is under way.

Thanks to Ewan for tweeting in: “Hoping for good race today, if it’s anything like Brazil we’re in for a treat. Could be a good afternoon for McLaren I think!”

Hamilton’s on pole, with Verstappen second, then it’s Leclerc and Vettel in third and fourth. It will be fascinating to see if Verstappen can make it through the first corner in first place.

It’s a balmy 33C in Abu Dhabi:

We have 55 laps of the circuit scheduled for today. The circuit is 5.554 km and the total race length is 305.355 km. Less than five minutes until lights out ...

Jean Todt assesses the season: “We’ve had some sad moments ... but if you think about the sporting challenge, it’s been great. Again Lewis Hamilton has been the best, but Ferrari has been challenging ... and obviously Red Bull Honda and Max Verstappen have been outstanding.”

Lando Norris of McLaren: “I’m confident, I think we have a good plan. But it’s a lot of laps.”

Nico Rosberg: “We haven’t heard the last of this. Behind the scenes, there is intense discussion going on among the bosses.” (About fuel loads, that is.)

Ted Kravitz of Sky Sports is trying to speak to the Ferrari team in the pits. They are not interested in speaking. The Sky Sports team can’t make sense of it ... but the feeling is that Leclerc is facing disqualification before the race has even begun.

We just had a spectacular fly-past in formation by some jets billowing coloured smoke and what looked like a couple of commercial planes for good measure, too. Just to maximise the carbon footprint for this weekend’s Grand Prix.

Red Bull’s Christian Horner on that fuel discrepancy for Leclerc: “The statement says there is a ‘significant’ difference ... the technical regulations are black and white ... usually in a case like that, it’s either legal or isn’t.”

So he thinks Leclerc will be disqualified. Interesting scenes ...

Jos Verstappen on his son Max’s chances today: “I think he has a chance until the first corner, after that it will be difficult ... the Mercedes is very quick. He will have to go for it into the first corner.”

Red Bull are trying to do an end-of-season photo, or video, and Brundle is trying to barge in. He mentions there is a lot of rubber debris out on the track from F2 cars ...

Martin Brundle is out on the grid now and is trying to grab people for interviews in his well-established style.

“It’s been a busy year,” says Fernando Alonso.

Of a possible return to Formula 1, the Spaniard says: “Let’s see next year, maybe there’s an opportunity with the new rules.”

Will this be Robert Kubica’s last outing in an F1 car? He seems to think so:

The fact he ever got back into F1 at all following that dreadful rally crash in 2011 is amazing in itself.

Of all the F1 circuits in the world, I actually know this one quite well. In fact I have even ridden a bicycle around it, believe it or not, while working on the Abu Dhabi Tour a couple of years ago. It’s certainly a spectacular setting for a race of any kind, although there’s more time to take it all in on a bicycle vs. an F1 car.

There seems to be a little controversy about Charles Leclerc’s fuel load and a discrepancy between what the Ferrari team declared and what he has on board. In fact, he’s been referred to the stewards before the race has even begun - but the matter will be investigated after the race. Sky are digging for more info on that as we speak, so if they can shed any more light, I’ll let you know ...

Ted Kravitz on Sky Sports asks: “Can Bottas get on to the podium from the back of the grid?” That would be some achievement. Further up the grid, of course, we have that battle between Verstappen and Leclerc, who will be duking it out for third place.

We are less than 40 minutes away from the start of the race. Don’t forget, you can send your thoughts to me on email or on Twitter, so please do get in touch.

Sky Sports are now chatting to 2016 champion Nico Rosberg, who sealed the drivers’ title in Abu Dhabi back in 2016. Rosberg suggests a change in protocol whereby there is a championship podium as well as a race podium - he was on the second step back in 2016 when he sealed his title, and would obviously have liked a chance to celebrate from atop the podium ...

And what of prospects for today’s race? “It’s Lewis’s race to lose today, isn’t it?” says Martin Brundle.

“The start is [Max] Verstappen’s chance, and I think he’s going to go for it,” says Rosberg.

Sky Sports just ran a feature with Red Bull Racing chief technical officer Adrian Newey, that took us all the way back to the Mansell/Senna/Prost era. “He’s a genius, there is no doubt about that,” says presenter Simon Lazenby.

Asked about that terrible 1994 Imola weekend that Ayrton Senna passed away, Newey says: “It had never occurred to me that I designed a car someone might die in.”

Here’s some pre-race reading for you from Giles Richards after Hamilton took pole:

Plus a comment piece on Lewis Hamilton - champion once again this year: