Lewis Hamilton never portrayed his true pace throughout the race at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix as he limped home just ahead of Alex Albon.

It is quite obvious that the 2020 world champion’s recent COVID-19 misery took a toll on him, as his performance took a drastic hit in the desert.

Speaking to Formula 1, the Briton rated his race under the lights as one of the most “physically challenging” races and felt that he lacked the energy going into the weekend. He also related his race to the weekend at Malaysian Grand Prix back in 2007.

“That was for me, one of the most physically challenging race I probably had,” he said. “That was one I had in 2007, probably Malaysia, where I lost nearly 5 kilos. But this one was different. I started with a lot less energy.”

Lewis was still recovering from the after-effects of the virus as he found his way back to the paddock after missing out on Sakhir Grand Prix. Hence, he always looked a bit slower than his teammate, Valtteri Bottas, through the weekend in Abu Dhabi.

Unsurprisingly, the Briton managed only a P3 in the Qualifying and the struggles continued into the race. He never really gave Bottas any sort of pressure, unlike his previous races over this season.

Lewis Hamilton vs Alex Albon

It was a rather straight-forward race for Lewis Hamilton, as he saw the chequered flag in P3, the position he started the race from. However, it wasn’t as easy as it sounds.

During the latter part of the race, Lewis found the Red Bull of Albon in his rear-view mirror. He was rapidly closing down the gap to the Briton.

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Lucky for Lewis, he only had two laps left to complete, as the Red Bull driver finished just a second behind the 7-time World Champion.

During the post-race interview, Lewis revealed that he was relieved when he saw the chequered flag waving over his head. “I’m glad when I saw the flag. I’m grateful to have been out to deliver at least a podium for the team,” he said.

Thankfully, the season has ended, and Lewis will breathe a sigh of relief as he can now recover in peace without the burden of race weekends before setting up for the pre-season testing early next year.