Jack Leslie F1: 2014 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in pictures

The 2014 Formula 1 season concluded in dramatic style at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, with Lewis Hamilton securing his second world title.

The Englishman won the final race of the year after a faultless drive. His team-mate and rival Nico Rosberg finished 14th after an ERS failure. Here is the race weekend in pictures.

All images in this piece are courtesy of Octane Photographic.

Friday

Hamilton's weekend got off to a strong start, with the Mercedes driver setting the pace in first practice.

Both Williams drivers suffered bodywork problems in practice one, with Valtteri Bottas losing an entire sidepod during the session.

Will Stevens made his F1 race weekend debut, but suffered a difficult Friday, with numerous problems costing him vital track time.

Hamilton remained at the top of the timesheets in practice two, which started as the sun set and finished under dark skies and floodlights.

Jenson Button had a far from ideal Friday in Abu Dhabi, with several reliability issues costing him time.

Saturday

Rosberg moved to the front of the field in the final practice session on Saturday morning.

Practice three was a busy session, with drivers completing final qualifying and race preparation.

Romain Grosjean, Esteban Gutierrez, Pastor Maldonado, Kamui Kobayashi and Stevens were all eliminated from qualifying in the first segment.

Kevin Magnussen, Jean-Eric Vergne, Sergio Perez, Nico Hulkenberg and Adrian Sutil all failed to make it through to Q3.

Rosberg snatched pole position with a fantastic lap of the Yas Marina Circuit in the top 10 shoot-out. Hamilton had to settle for second, with Bottas third for Williams.

The Red Bull duo of Daniel Ricciardo and Sebastian Vettel originally qualified fifth and sixth, behind Felipe Massa and ahead of Daniil Kvyat, Jenson Button, Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso. However, the two RB10s failed a front wing flex test and both drivers were excluded from the session.

Sunday

The 2014 F1 field - unfortunately a little smaller than it was in Australia - gathered for the usual end of season photo prior to the race.

With the tension building, the grid was packed ahead of the race, as final preparations took place.

The five lights went out for the final time in 2014, with Hamilton having a strong launch from the grid.

Rosberg had a poor start and dropped to second, just holding off Massa. Meanwhile Bottas fell back and the two Ferrari drivers got very close into turn one.

Hamilton already had a comfortable lead exiting the first corner, as the rest of the field streamed through the left-hander.

Maldonado was one of several drivers to take to the turn one run-off area on the opening lap.

Button had a strong start and spent the first stint in fourth place, before dropping behind the recovering Bottas.

The two Red Bulls started from the pit lane and slowly progressed up the order on a one-stop strategy.

The gap between Hamilton and Rosberg stayed at around two seconds during the first stint. However, mid-way through the race, Rosberg hit trouble and dropped back with an ERS failure.

Maldonado's season ended with a fiery exit from the race on lap 26, following an engine failure.

Rosberg tried his best to remain in the top five, but his ailing car was down on power and he quickly dropped down the order, with his title hopes slipping away.

Despite a late charge from Massa, Hamilton had the race under control and put in a faultless drive to score the 33rd victory of his career and his second world title. He completed donuts on the slow-down lap and collected a British flag.

Hamilton was clearly delighted and incredibly emotional after securing the 2014 title, following a long, tense and dramatic season.

Despite losing out, Rosberg handled defeat graciously and went to the post-race green room to congratulate Hamilton, before the top three took to the podium.

It was a spectacular end to what has been a dramatic, action-packed F1 season.

24 November 2014

2014 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in pictures

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