Lewis Hamilton has won his second Formula 1 world title after coming out on top in this afternoon's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
The 29-year-old, who came into the race knowing that he simply had to finish ahead of Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg to clinch the title, took control early on to build up a 3.1 second lead after lap four.
© Getty Images
It was during this lap in which Fernando Alonso passed Kimi Raikkonen with a smart move around the outside to edge into fifth place, with Daniil Kvyat moving into sixth before later retiring.
The Mercedes duo were well in the lead at this stage, a full two seconds ahead of the chasing pack, and Hamilton still held a fairly comfortable lead over Rosberg.
As the race progressed, Nico Hulkenberg was penalised for an incident in the opening lap when he clashed with Kevin Magnussen, while Williams driver Felipe Massa took the lead.
Lap 13 saw Red Bull associates Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne tussle it out, with the latter retaining hold of sixth place, but further up the pecking order Hamilton still boasted a hefty advantage.
Things soon got even worse for Rosberg when his car locked up during the 23rd lap, reporting that his engine was losing power, which opened up a full seven-second gap.
Pastor Maldonado saw his car go up in flames as his season came to an early end, and, at the same stage Massa looked in a strong position to win the race having stormed ahead, with Rosberg dropping down to eighth.
Having rejoined the race from his pit break, Massa soon found himself well behind Hamilton despite recording the fastest lap of the day, but Rosberg's hopes were all-but over having fallen well off the pace.
A strong finish from Massa saw Hamilton pushed all the way for his 11th triumph of the season, but the Englishman showed the nerve needed to see out the race to become just the fourth British driver to win more than one Formula 1 championship.
© Getty Images
Massa took second for his best-placed finish since the 2012 Japanese Grand Prix, meaning that Bottas completed the Yas Marina Circuit in third to complete a Williams podium double.
McLaren's Jenson Button was left celebrating a fifth-place finish in what may be his last race at this level, one position below Ricciardo on the day, but 126 points ahead of teammate Magnussen - who finished 11th - in the final standings.
British driver Will Stevens, who was taking part in his first ever F1 race this afternoon, finished in 17th place.
Abu Dhabi standings in full:
1. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
2. Felipe Massa (Williams)
3. Valtteri Bottas (Williams)
4. Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull)
5. Jenson Button (McLaren)
6. Niko Hulkenberg (Force India)
7. Sergio Perez (Force India)
8. Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull)
9. Fernando Alonso (Ferrari)
10. Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari)
11. Kevin Magnussen (McLaren)
12. Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso)
13. Romain Grosjean (Lotus)
14. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes)
15. Esteban Gutiierrez (Sauber)
16. Adrian Sutil (Sauber)
17. Will Stevens (Caterham)
DNF Kamui Kobayashi (Caterham)
DNF Pastor Maldonado (Lotus)
DNF Daniil Kvyat (Torro Rosso)
