Polesitter Max Verstappen comfortably won the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, with the two Mercedes finishing behind the Red Bull driver in the remaining podium positions.
However, surprising, Valtteri Bottas finished ahead of Lewis Hamilton on merit.
READ: Abu Dhabi GP Could Be Valtteri Bottas’ Last Race In F1, Ralf Schumacher Warns
Speaking just after the race, Hamilton said he is “generally happy” with how the weekend has gone:
“You can’t win them all, so I think considering the past couple of weeks I’m really generally happy with the weekend,” Lewis Hamilton told Sky Sports F1 after finishing third in the Abu Dhabi GP.
“At obviously not 100 percent it doesn’t feel as good as perhaps you would like, but congratulations to Max.
“That was a really hard race for me, physically all year I’ve been fine, but today I definitely wasn’t, I’m just glad it’s over.
“Big thank you to the team for their continued support, it’s still a fantastic result to get two podium finishes,” the seven-time World Champion added.
When asked if he believes his recent COVID-19 infection hampered his performance today, Hamilton revealed that the race was very physically demanding for him.
“In terms of physically, yeah massively. I don’t think I’ve ever been so blown, my body’s not feeling great.
“But on the bright side, I made it through and I didn’t think anytime last week that I’d be here, so I’m just really truly grateful for my health and to be alive.
“I’m looking forward to recovering over the next period of time we have and getting back into training, getting my body back into where I know it should be,” he said.
Continuing, Hamilton said the Red Bulls had a pace advantage over Mercedes this weekend, though only Max Verstappen finished ahead of them, with Alex Albon crossing the finish line in fourth.
READ: Max Verstappen Wins Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Ahead Of Bottas & Hamilton