For the third time in succession, Lewis Hamilton was left with the role of runner-up to team mate Nico Rosberg, with the German clinching his sixth and final win of the season.
The 2015 World Champion bowed once again to his rival's pace and flawless race management, although both Mercedes drivers were in a class of their own for the final time this season.
Rosberg enjoyed an edge from the outset when the lights went green, forcing Hamilton to follow his tracks in the hope that tyre strategy could swing the race back his way at a later stage.
Mercedes tried to extend the British driver's second sting, hoping to shorten his supersoft-shod last run. In the process Hamilton closed the gap substantially to Rosberg before the latter headed to the pits for his second stop.
Hamilton then debated at length with his race engineer the possibility of attempting a run to the end but was quickly rebuffed by the Mercedes pit wall which deemed the strategy pointless. In the end, he simply followed the call.
"I left the team to make the call because I didn't know what was the right one," Hamilton said.
"I tried as hard as I could in the first stint, keeping a decent gap to Nico, looking after the tyres. The second stint I was quicker, getting close and I could have made the tyres last longer. But it was down to the team which tyre we went to for the final stint.
"I'm not sure if I could have taken my tyres to the end - some part of me wishes I had just given it a go. I don't know the big picture and ultimately you have to rely on the engineers to give you the optimum strategy at that point."
Clearly, given his increased cadence and the comfort he felt with the car, Hamilton was disappointed to exit from his second stop with a hefty deficit over Rosberg.
"At the end of the day the gap was way too big, we left it too big, especially on the same tyres. There's no way you can catch that gap up, although I did everything I could. It's a shame, because I was quicker in the middle stint.
"To have that pace, and then come out 11s behind, er that's not such a great feeling."
Still, as he reflected upon a triumphant season, Hamilton focused on the year's overall accomplishments, his own and those of the dominant Mercedes team.
"It's been an amazing year," he concluded.
"The team has done a remarkable job and I'm grateful for all the experiences.
"It's very easy to forget the amount of wins we did have, nine or 10 wins, something like that, so we had a very good season, while the last three weren't very spectacular, but overall it was amazing."
REPORT: Rosberg takes third win in a row to end season
AS IT HAPPENED: Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
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