The Dutchman won a maiden Formula One title after a last-lap overtake on Mercedes rival Lewis Hamilton in Abu Dhabi.
Hamilton said he only realised the significance of what he had done when he came into the pitlane after taking the chequered flag.
Formula 1 expert and former racer Karun Chandhok sees four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel taking either a sabbatical next year or walk into retirement after finding himself without a drive for the 2021 season. The 2020 season is yet to start due to the COVID-19 pandemic but Vettel leaving Ferrari at the end of year has given the sport's followers plenty to talk about.
Hamilton has won half of the season's 20 races so far, propelling his team to an unprecedented sixth successive title double, but Brazil was a disappointing weekend with Valtteri Bottas retiring.
Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel, the Briton's closest rival, finished only sixth after an early collision with Red Bull's Max Verstappen left the German fighting back from 19th place.
Hamilton wrapped up his record-equalling seventh title in Turkey last month and picked up his 11th win of the season in Bahrain on Sunday. Mercedes have already won the constructors' title for an unprecedented seventh year in a row.
The race has been won from pole eight times out of 11 editions.
Lewis Hamilton took pole position for the Italian Grand Prix on Saturday with championship-leading Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg qualifying alongside him on the front row.
Lewis Hamilton won the Monaco Grand Prix for Mercedes on Sunday, nursing his car's worn tyres to the finish in a nail-biting victory worthy of the team's late great Niki Lauda.
Hamilton already had more race wins, pole positions and podium finishes than any other driver in the history of the sport.
Max Verstappen put his Red Bull on pole position for the Austrian Grand Prix
Red Bull's Dutch 20-year-old Max Verstappen took the chequered flag in second place with Kimi Raikkonen completing the podium for Ferrari and Australian Daniel Ricciardo finishing fourth for Red Bull.
Lewis Hamilton is planning to get plenty of rest over the next few days
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton will start the Chinese Formula One Grand Prix from pole position after setting the fastest time in qualifying on Saturday.
The Briton had won his own fifth championship in Mexico two weeks previously but the broader celebrations were kept in check until Interlagos.
After pipping Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel with a lap of one minute 23.599 seconds in the first practice, the Briton shaved almost a second in FP2, his quickest lap clocked at 1:22.60.
'The most important thing, I think, is really about finishing races and analysing and making sure you get as many race points as you can, of course'
Ferrari title rival Sebastian Vettel qualified only ninth.
Sebastian Vettel led a Ferrari one-two at the top of the timesheets in final practice for the Bahrain Grand Prix on Saturday, ending the stranglehold of previously dominant champions Mercedes. Vettel lapped the Sakhir Circuit in a best time of one minute 31.683 seconds, 0.040 faster than team mate Kimi Raikkonen on the supersoft tyres. It was the first time this season that any driver from outside the Mercedes pairing of Nico Rosberg and triple world champion Lewis Hamilton had ended practice on top. Hamilton was quickest in all three sessions in Australia two weeks ago while championship frontrunner Rosberg led his team mate in Bahrain practices one and two on Friday. Rosberg was third fastest in practice three, his time of 1:32.104 slower than Friday when he did 1:31.001, with Hamilton fourth.
'I really do believe this weekend we will be in a better position than we were last year'
Sergio Perez expects to have his Formula One future decided before next month's Malaysian Grand Prix and said on Thursday that he is currently weighing up two options.
Lewis Hamilton stepped out on to the Italian Grand Prix podium, high above the red tide of Ferrari.
A glaring error by Ferrari denied Charles Leclerc the chance to shine at home, with the 21-year-old failing to make it through the first phase and qualifying only 16th after going fastest in final practice.
Formula One leader Lewis Hamilton made the most of the changeable conditions to seize pole position for the Belgian Grand Prix ahead of Ferrari title rival Sebastian Vettel on Saturday.
The pole was the second of the Dutch 22-year-old's Formula One career and the first in Brazil for engine partners Honda since the late triple champion Ayrton Senna in 1991 with McLaren.
Sahara Force India consolidated its fourth position in the constructors championship by collecting seven points from the Mexican Grand Prix with Nico Hulkenberg finishing seventh and Sergio Perez 10th in Mexico City on Sunday.
Six-times world champion Lewis Hamilton and his team will take centre stage, hoping for another year of dominance after winning both titles for the past six years and ending up fastest in winter testing. Ferrari can be trusted to provide plenty of headlines with four-times champion Sebastian Vettel fighting to reassert himself at the team after being outshone by quick newcomer Leclerc, a double winner in 2019.
Nico Rosberg's hopes of a third successive Austrian Grand Prix win took a hit on Saturday when he crashed in final practice and damaged his Mercedes' gearbox, incurring a five-place grid penalty.
Lewis Hamilton won in Sunday's Azerbaijan Grand Prix ahead of Kimi Raikkonen and took championship lead.
Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel, winner of 52 races, has gone more than a year since he tasted victory at last year's Belgian race.
Lewis Hamilton's Formula One rivals should beware the backlash because the four-times world champion's dip in form will not last long, his former Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg has warned.
Lewis Hamilton won a thrilling Italian Grand Prix for Mercedes on Sunday to stretch his championship lead to 30 points over Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel, who fought back to fourth after a first lap spin.
Williams provided a first glimpse of their new Formula One car with a confident prediction that it would be good enough to move the former champions back up the grid after a dire 2013 campaign.
Fernando Alonso passed a final medical examination on Thursday and will be able to participate in the Malaysian Grand Prix this weekend after the Spaniard missed the Formula One season-opener in Australia due to concussion.
He and Sebastian Vettel get on well, with the German keen on him staying, and Kimi Raikkonen has shown his loyalty this season by accepting team orders to his detriment.
Lewis Hamilton collected his champion's trophy at a glittering gala in Paris after ending the year in touching distance of Michael Schumacher's records for wins and titles.
In a thrilling race with two safety car periods, reigning champion Hamilton went from pole position to the rear of the field before finishing second for Mercedes in a superb fightback. Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen was third.
Williams claimed a first on Wednesday by revealing their 2015 car before any of their Formula One rivals had taken the wraps off theirs.
Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton took pole position for the French Grand Prix on Saturday with Mercedes team mate Valtteri Bottas alongside him on the front row.
Hamilton has won the last three races, out of four so far in this COVID-19 affected season, and will start as favourite again.
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