Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari dealt ultimate humiliation by Max Verstappen in Abu Dhabi

Lewis Hamilton endured a nightmare maiden season with Ferrari after joining the Italian team from Mercedes. And the Briton's lack of points throughout the campaign paved the way for the Scuderia to suffer the ultimate embarrassment at the season-defining Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Hamilton started Sunday's race from P16 following another miserable qualifying session but went on to finish the race in eighth. Meanwhile, his team-mate Charles Leclerc finished fourth following a solid drive. The result gave Ferrari another 16 points as the team ended their season with 398 points. But they were humiliated by Max Verstappen, who finished the campaign with more points than Ferrari managed as a team, with the Dutchman bagging an overall tally of 421 points. Drivers' Championship winner Lando Norris and his McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri also ended the year with more individual points than Ferrari managed to accumulate.

Hamilton was downbeat following his performance in Abu Dhabi qualifying and was heard telling his race engineer Riccardo Adami over the team radio: "Every time, mate, I'm so sorry."

And he nodded his head after being asked by Sky Sports reporter Rachel Brookes whether his radio message was a reference to his performances in qualifying.

Hamilton is due to spend at least one more year with the Scuderia after signing a multi-year deal with the team.

But his future has come into question this year, with the 40-year-old stating at the Hungarian Grand Prix in August: "I'm useless, absolutely useless. The team have no problem. You've seen the car's on pole. So they probably need to change driver."

Following last month's Las Vegas Grand Prix the veteran then explained: "There is nothing positive to take from today. I'm eager for it to end. I'm looking forward to it ending. I'm not looking forward to the next one."

And after being asked to clarify what he meant by "the next one" he responded: "Next season."

Ferrari are the most successful team in F1 history, having won the Constructors' Championship title on 16 occasions, six times more than their closest challengers McLaren.

But they haven't won the title in almost 20 years, with their last victory coming in 2008 when Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa were driving for the team.

The Scuderia enjoyed one of their most successful spells in F1 at the turn of the century as they won six consecutive Constructors' Championship titles between 1999 and 2004. But they were only able to finish fourth this season, with McLaren winning the championship ahead of Mercedes and Red Bull. And Ferrari boss Frederic Vasseur will be desperate to turn his team's fortunes around next season.