Sebastian Vettel rues the strategy that cost Aston Martin 6th in F1 championship

If Aston Martin had not stuck to a one-stopper, then Sebastian Vettel feels they would have been celebrating P6 in the Constructors' Championship.

Starting his final Formula 1 race from P9 at the Yas Marina Circuit, Vettel was looking very competitive in the early stages behind the wheel of the AMR22, putting intense pressure on the Alpine of Esteban Ocon ahead.

Vettel had a couple of looks into Turn 9, but there was no way through. Vettel then was left on the defensive as drivers pitted around him while Aston Martin kept him out as they committed to the one-stop strategy, Vettel asking, "who's next" by the time Lando Norris came back past him in the McLaren.

That ultimately proved to be the wrong call, Vettel running P11 in the closing stages, which became P10 when Lewis Hamilton was forced to retire.

A final flourish for Seb! #AbuDhabiGP #DankeSeb pic.twitter.com/X4NrZBQxZF

Five-point difference

With five points the difference between Aston Martin in P7 and Alfa Romeo in P6 in the Constructors' standings, Vettel harried McLaren's Daniel Ricciardo in the closing stages, knowing that a pass would swing the position Aston Martin's way with Stroll running P8.

The overtake did not happen, meaning Aston Martin would be forced to settle for a P7 finish.

In Vettel's opinion, this could have been avoided, though, if Aston Martin had answered his calls to avoid the one-stop.

"We were going backwards," Vettel told media personnel after the race. "I was really trying; I gave it all I could.

"It would have been great for the team to get the sixth in the Constructors' Championship, but we sort of threw that away with the strategy we chose."

Both Stroll and Vettel cleared Alfa Romeo's Zhou Guanyu as they pushed back up the order, Vettel saying