Lewis Hamilton arrived in the UAE this week ahead of the Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Sunday with his primary piece of business for the year already achieved.
He became only the third driver, after Juan Manuel Fangio and Michael Schumacher, to win five world titles when he sealed the 2018 championship in Mexico in October.
This weekend will be a celebration for the Briton as he not only reflects on not just ending the year as champion again, but arguably doing so with his best season of driving yet.
That is not to deride his previous four championship-winning years, but 2018 is likely to be looked at as the year Hamilton established as a great, not just statistically, but on the track.
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Canada (fifth place) Arguably his weakest performance of the season. Beaten on pace by teammate Valtteri Bottas and only fifth at a race he had won six times in the past. 3/10. Getty Images -
China (fourth place) Never really on the pace all weekend. Finishes a distant fourth and spends most of the race moaning at his team about missed chances on strategy. 4/10. Getty Images -
Bahrain (third place) Gearbox change leaves him ninth on grid. Despite slow start and contact with Verstappen recovers to finish on the podium. 5/10. Getty Images -
Austria (retired) Looked set for victory until strategy error by team drops him to fourth. Then struggles with tyre wear issues before a rare mechanical failure sidelines him. 5/10. Sutton Images -
Mexico (fourth place) Mercedes are not on the pace in Mexico but Hamilton is emphatically faster then Bottas and makes the best of what the situation is. Struggles with tyres but drives maturely to be fourth, a result that seals the world title. 5/10. Getty Images -
Russia (winner) Rare moment in second half of season where he is behind Bottas on pace. Shows his knack for passing with a good overtake on Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel, but needs team orders, which is clearly conflicted about, to finish ahead of Bottas. 5/10 Getty Images -
Monaco (third place) Solid effort at a track that does not suit Mercedes. Good damage limitation from the Briton as he finishes on the podium behind Red Bull Racing's Daniel Ricciardo and Vettel. 6/10. Getty Images -
Australia (second place) Dominates qualifying in the season opener and then the opening stages of race. But ill-timed safety car loses him the lead to Vettel and he is forced to settle for second place. 6/10. AFP -
Belgium (second place) Takes pole in the wet but is passed at the start by Vettel. Has no answer to the Ferrari driver but plays the long time and brings it home for 18 points and the runner-up spot. 6/10. AFP -
Azerbaijan (winner) Fortuitous win as mistake mid-race when he runs wide leaves him out of position strategy wise. On target for second until Bottas has a puncture that gifts him first place. 6/10. Getty Images -
United States (third place) On paper third, having started on pole, was a disappointment. But he made a risky strategy call by Mercedes almost work and drove a spirited race in the final laps. 7/10. Getty Images -
Britain (second place) Recovers from being spun around at the start by Kimi Raikkonen to get back up to second. Helped by a safety car period but uses good tyre management to be competitive. 7/10. Getty Images -
Brazil (winner) Fortuitous to win as Red Bull's Max Verstappen has him beaten before he collides with Esteban Ocon's Force India. Manages an ailing engine and fragile tyres well though, and keeps his pace up to be able to exploit his rival's misfortune. 7/10. AP Photo -
France (winner) Controlled the race from the front and never looked in trouble as he triumphed on French soil for the first time. 8/10. AP Photo -
Spain (winner) Dominant display as he takes pole and then controls the race from the front, making an one-stop strategy look easy. 8/10. Getty Images -
Japan (winner) Mercedes are the car to have at Suzuka and Hamilton takes full advantage of it as he leads throughout to lead home a one-two ahead of Bottas. 8/10. Getty Images -
Hungary (winner) Capitalises on rain in qualifying to take pole at a track where, given the layout, the Mercedes had toiled on in the dry. Then drives a beautifully measured race, looking after his tyres, to prevail. 8/10. Getty Images -
Germany (winner) Car failure leaves him in the midfield in qualifying. On target for fifth until rain arrives. Uses great pace on dry tyres on a damp track to charge up and put pressure on his rivals and takes a great win. 9/10. Getty Images -
Singapore (winner) Superlative qualifying lap, at a venue he and Mercedes had struggled at in the past, puts him on pole. Then controls the race to pick up a comfortable victory. 10/10. Getty Images -
Italy (winner) Stunning drive as he wins at a venue where Ferrari had a pace advantage. Starts third and bravely goes around outside of Vettel on first lap, with the German spinning as result of light contact. Then hunts down and passes the second Ferrari of Raikkonen to triumph. 10/10. Getty Images
Belief
Hamilton is the first driver since Schumacher in 2003 to not win any of the first three races and still be champion.
It has not always gone Hamilton’s way in 2018. The team have often not been the quickest at races, with Ferrari and Red Bull Racing proving to be formidable rivals.
But, Hamilton has rarely shown any negativity outside the car. Sure, there is still the occasional outburst and desperate comment on the pit radio, such as in Austria in June when a tactical blunder wrecked his race hopes, but he has matured and become a more seasoned driver.
He did not panic in the early days of the season when Sebastian Vettel won three of the first seven races.
He did not over celebrate when he was successful and he is arguably the most complete driver on the grid now.
If Vettel had Hamilton’s level of maturity then the 2018 title fight could have been very different.
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A rapid speed
At the heart of things is the fact Hamilton remains arguably, on raw pace, the fastest driver in F1.
His qualifying pace remains greatly impressive and there were a number of races, including Britain, Belgium, Singapore and the United States where he took pole positions when he was the clear difference maker.
Mercedes-GP have rarely had it their own way in 2018 with Ferrari often quicker then them, while Red Bull Racing have had their most consistent season of form since the move to the V6 turbo engines in 2014.
But Hamilton still has scored the most poles of anyone this season, with 10 to his name, and starting at the front has allowed him to control a number of key races.
His pole in Singapore, which was almost 0.7 seconds faster then the lap of teammate Valtteri Bottas to highlight the difference he brought to things, was one of the great pole laps in F1.
Taking his chances
There were weekends when Ferrari had a pace advantage, yet it was Hamilton who came away with the successes.
Some of that was fortunate. It is questionable if he would have won in Germany without the rain arriving in the closing laps and then the wet stuff again hitting the track in qualifying in Hungary.
Likewise, if Ferrari’s drivers had not botched their tactics at the start of the Italian Grand Prix they would not have left him space to attack them.
But, in every case Hamilton exploited the opening given to him and made full use of it.
It is all well and good saying the weather played into his favour in Germany and Hungary but he still had to be effectively perfect in challenging conditions, which he was.
He easily could have spun in Italy as he tussled with Vettel after the Ferrari left him space around the outside. But it was the German who lost control, not him, and he went on to win.
It is those little moments that can define a season and Hamilton took every chance that came his way and that is why he deserves to be champion.
Being consistent
Hamilton was not always at his best, or had the car hooked up to his liking.
But even if things were not always clicking, like in China, Azerbaijan and Canada, he kept himself out of trouble and scored the points he could.
No over driving or taking silly risks that could gain maybe an extra couple of points, but easily end up losing everything on a particular day.
His worst finish, excluding Austria where he retired with mechanical failure, was fifth.
Consistency wins championships. He has won 10 times, but scored good points in nine other races and he has made fewer errors then Vettel so that is why he is the champion and the German is not.
Team player
Hamilton’s bond with Mercedes is clear. His, largely, affectionate chats with his race engineer Pete Bonnington on the pit radio highlight a level of trust that has developed over the years.
It was clear that Hamilton knows the role Mercedes have played in his success.
After winning in Brazil earlier this month he knelt down and almost embraced his car as the German marque celebrated becoming only the second team to ever win five constructors’ titles in a row.
Schumacher, the only driver now more successful then Hamilton statistically in terms of championships with seven to his name, was renown for building up an environment at Ferrari where the team bond helped them through some tight spots during his era of success with them between 1996 and 2006.
This has been the same at Mercedes and Hamilton has to be credited for playing a part in that.
So, what is next for the man with 72 race wins and 81 poles to his name?
He and Mercedes cannot afford to rest on their laurels.
Ferrari, given the raw pace of their car, underachieved this season and they should be a force again next year.
Plus Hamilton should face two consistent threats from the Italian team, rather then one, with Charles Leclerc an upgrade on Kimi Raikkonen as Vettel’s partner.
But, Hamilton’s experience means that if the Mercedes is quick, as it should be, 2019 will be another season of success.
But, first will come the target of winning in Abu Dhabi for a record fourth time and signing off his best year yet in style.
