Abu Dhabi Grand Prix falls under criticism after finale fails to excite

Formula 1’s season-ending fixture in Abu Dhabi has come under criticism for its lack of action and failure to deliver a spectacle.

Lewis Hamilton, who finished behind his Mercedes team-mate and race winner Valtteri Bottas in Sunday’s race, has called for chances to be made to the 3.4-mile Yas Marina track while F1 pundit Martin Brundle apologised for the “rubbish” ending to the season, describing it as a “nil-nil football score”.

Aside from Daniel Ricciardo's hydraulics failure and Carlos Sainz's dodgy tyre following a pit-stop error by his Renault team, it was yet another race to pass off without incident.

Last year's grand prix only came to life after Hamilton defied Mercedes' team orders and backed up the pack in a fruitless bid to prevent Nico Rosberg from winning the championship. Hamilton hustled Bottas on Sunday, but the Finn's lead rarely appeared in danger.

"They've got to change this track," Hamilton, 32, said. "It's just impossible to overtake. You have to have a 1.4 second advantage on the car in front. Valtteri and I have got the same car, and there's not 1.4 seconds between us in ability.

"You have the long straights where you can't even get close enough to utilise them. If there is some way to enable us to remain closer, it is a track which will go up in the rankings, but I don't know if they can change it. I know there's money to do it. I have hope for Abu Dhabi to get better."

Brundle was similarly critical of Sunday’s race and insisted that “we can do much better”.

“Apologies for the Formula One race today, it was rubbish,” he said on Twitter. “Like a nil-nil football score, not a whole lot happened.

“Overall a pretty good season though, but we can do much better. Thanks for you [sic] company and opinions in 2017.

“Onward and upwards I hope, never waste a heartbeat.”