His team-mate Rosberg finished 14th after suffering an ERS failure and losing power. Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas completed the podium. Here are some post-race thoughts from the drivers.
Ricciardo pleased with fourth after pit lane start:
"Yeah really happy, I think it was pretty much a faultless race from all sides, from the strategy, to myself and the pit stops, everything was good so we did everything we needed to. I had fun passing, it wasn’t boring out there, so it was pretty much what I asked for. One spot better would have been nice, but fourth is really cool from the pit lane.
"It’s been pretty much a perfect season, as perfect as it can be without holding a world title, so no real regrets, no complaints. It’s nice to not only start the season well, but to finish it well also and I think all the way through it was good - we had a strong summer as well, so the start, middle and end were pretty good."
Hamilton - Second title means more than the first:
"I’m at a loss for words really. Big, huge thank you to all the fans. All the flags, all the caps, everything. It made such a difference this weekend. I can’t explain how much this means. It means more than the first one.
"It’s the greatest day of my life. It’s due to all the people around me. 2008 was a special time in my life, but the feeling I have now is way, way past that. It’s the greatest feeling ever. Thank you so much everyone.”
Hamilton commiserated Rosberg in defeat, and said he had been an excellent rival.
"Nico put on an incredible fight throughout the year, incredible competitor. We met each other back in 1997 and said it would be amazing to be in the same team racing for the championship. I’m sad to know the car wasn’t quick enough to fight it out, but grateful he came up to me post-race."
Ninth for Alonso in his final race for Ferrari:
"Today, my time with Ferrari comes to an end, as doe
s a very tricky season, in which, even if we were
unable to do much against the technical dominance of our rivals, we fought all the way to the very end, all of us did our
utmost, putting our hearts into it.
"Today’s race was difficult to manage but at the same time it was very emotional for me;
after five years it’s not easy to say farewell to a
team with which I have grown so much over the past five
years, both as a
driver and as a person. I thank all the Ferraristi for
their support. I will miss the team, the fans and Italy
. Even though we
are going our separate ways, I feel I have lived through a unique experience which any Formula 1 driver would have
loved to
have had."
"That was a surprising race for me. Our race pace was actually pretty good and I was able to fight with the Ferraris as well as enjoy the feel from the car. I was able to push and the car worked well on both tyre compounds.
"Unfortunately, my race had to end early. The flames showed the engine wasn’t working too well which also mean it was getting quite hot in the car! It’s a shame to finish a season like we did, but I know we have a lot of potential for 2015, so I am really looking forward to surprising some people when we return."
Button - We made the best of what we had:
"That was tough. I think we made the best of what we had this evening: in terms of strategy, we did the right thing, but we never really had enough pace to attack the cars in front. So, fifth was as good as it was going to be.
"Getting the maximum from the car is all that can be asked of a racing driver, and I think I’ve proved this year that I’m still at the top of my game. Since it’s the last race of the season, I’d like to say a huge ‘thanks’ to Tom [Stallard] and Bernie [Collins], my two race engineers, who’ve done a fantastic job this year, as have all my mechanics.
"The whole team has been so supportive, which is lovely. It’s been a good day for me, but a much better day for my old team buddy Lewis [Hamilton]. Winning two world titles is an absolutely amazing achievement. Congratulations to him – he deserves it.
“I’m sure tonight will be fun – I’ll celebrate a good end to the year with my family."
Hulkenberg happy with sixth in Abu Dhabi:
"I’m very happy with this result. After struggling with the car on Friday and in qualifying, I think we can be proud of today’s race and our performance is a good sign for next year as well. The car performed at its best; I had a good balance and I had the confidence to really push.
"There were just a few laps after the pit stops when I was managing the tyres, but other than that it was flat out all the way. The long final stint on the supersoft tyres was brave, but it turned out to be a great strategy by the team and it really worked out well."
"It was a normal race. I had quite a good start. Afterwards Kevin (Magnussen) drove into my car, and I dropped back many positions. I still cannot say if my car was damaged or not. After this incident I tried my best to get back into the race.
"However, we had to switch to another strategy with three pit stops, which was not ideal. In general the pace was not good enough, so a better result would have been difficult to achieve. Finally, I want to thank the engineers and mechanics who have all worked very hard throughout the season."
Power-unit problem caused Kvyat retirement:
"This is one of those races, in which we were just not able to show our full potential. We were expecting a much better final race but an engine related problem forced me to retire in the early stages. This was unfortunate, because speed and pace were quite good until then.
"We were fighting with Ferraris and Button and I think we could have finished somewhere around him. Anyway, I have to thank my team for everything they have done for me this year, helping me to grow as a driver and be ready for next year. This has been massively important for me.
"Looking back to this season, it’s a shame that in many occasions we could not show our real potential. I think we would have deserved much better results, but very often we have just been unlucky. Now I am looking forward to this new challenge with Infiniti Red Bull Racing."
Massa hoping momentum will continue into 2015:
"It was a close race, I didn’t think the victory was there, but it was so close at the end. It was good to be racing and pushing the Mercedes. I hope this is a strong building block to go on for next year.
"The team progressed so much throughout the year, which is why we were able to get podiums in the second half of the season; we will continue this forward movement into next year."
"We completed the objective of the day, and that was to finish the race, which is good not only for me but also for the team – we can be pleased. I struggled quite a bit during my first stint on the Option tyre, trying to keep it up to temperature at the start during the formation lap, so I had a lot of graining on the front.
"But the middle stint wasn’t too bad and I was able to get into more of a rhythm. Towards the end I was feeling good in the car and it feels really good to have completed my first Formula 1 race. I want to thank all the fans once again for giving this team another chance to race, this is where we belong."
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