Having qualified on pole, Bottas needed to triumph at the Yas Maria Circuit and have Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel finish ninth or lower for him to complete a season one-two for Mercedes alongside title winner Lewis Hamilton.
After preserving his lead despite a strong start from Hamilton, who qualified second, and maintaining his advantage in the round of pit stops, Bottas did his part in a race of little incident.
Unfortunately for the Finn, though, Vettel completed the podium to take third, with his Ferrari team-mate Kimi Raikkonen fourth after Daniel Ricciardo was forced to retire.
Further down the field, Felipe Massa - who said goodbye to the sport at the same circuit last year only to return to Williams as a replacement for Bottas - bid farewell for a second time as he marked his final race with a points finish.
Massa had to settle for 10th after losing out in a battle with Fernando Alonso, who will look to be fighting further up the field with Renault power as McLaren’s much-troubled relationship with Honda comes to an end.
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