Lotus finally ended their run of non points-scoring finishes in Abu Dhabi but Sergio Perez’s eighth place wasn’t enough to displace Sauber at the top of Band B.

Needing to outscore the Hinwil outfit by three points to finish the season ahead of them, hopes were high with Perez (6th) and Roberto Mehri (8th) starting behind Lewis Hamilton in 4th but well ahead of Nicolas Prost.

And when Hamilton dropped behind Kimi Raikkonen at the start, things were beginning to look up for us, only for things to slowly slip away.

Merhi dropped back as the race went on, eventually finishing in 11th place as faster cars that qualified behind him worked their way through the field.

As Nico Hulkenberg and Championship challenger Fernando Alonso also surged forwards, Perez lost out and with Raikkonen briefly leading the race, even second place in Band B was potentially under threat.

Retirements ahead kept both cars in the points until a disastrous pit stop saw Perez overshoot his box, costing him vital seconds and he would go on to finish in eighth place.

Immediately after the race, team principal OneAnimeBatman summed up the end to the season: “Just annoying, I don’t understand how we managed to tail off after the podium.

“Nevertheless, it was a good season,” he said.

Up ahead, Sebastian Vettel won the race and all at Lotus congratulate him on his title victory and well done to Sauber for a great fight over the season.

Already we start to think about next year, and although we don’t necessarily know what the team might be called, we know that we’ll be back, and fighting hard as ever to move up the grid.

“Well done, Sauber, we’ll get you next season,” OneAnimeBatman added, with a wink.

Head of Aerodynmaics InfinityGCX commented: “Let’s not think about what could’ve been and instead focus on what to improve on for next year.

“Now that I’ve assumed my role as Head of Aerodynamics within the team, I’ll try to design us one hell of a car for next season.

“In any case, congratulations to Sauber and Sebastian Vettel, you earned it fair and square.

“Furthermore, let’s thank /u/wwesmudge for all the great fun, we’re all looking forward to next year!”

And as a celebration of the end of a fantastic first season, we are giving out free jägershots to everybody so head to the Lotus motorhome now!

Final Standings

McLaren 393, Ferrari 366, Williams 355, Mercedes 288, Red Bull 186, Sauber 107, Lotus 99, Toro Rosso 92, J-Sport BRM 48, Manor 5