MOTORSPORT: Seven up for Hamilton in 2020

Lewis Hamilton ended the Formula 1 season with a dominant 11th win of the year (84th of his career) in Abu Dhabi, now needing only seven more wins to equal Michael Schumacher's record 91.

Of course, a seventh world title is on the cards too for the 34-year-old British ace next year. That would equal the disabled Schumacher's seven.

And speculation is mounting of Hamilton joining Ferrari in 2021 to top it all off.

Max Verstappen was second in Abu Dhabi overnight for Red Bull-Honda. He was delighted to finish the championship ahead of both Ferrari drivers, Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel.

Ferrari has been fined 50,000 Euros (A$81,400) after Leclerc's car was found to have 4.88kg more fuel in it before the race than the Italian team had declared to the governing Federation Internationale de l'Automobile.

However, Leclerc was allowed to retain his podium and in his first year with the Prancing Horse has finished 24 points ahead of four-time world champion Vettel (264-240) in the championship.

Hamilton's Mercedes-AMG teammate Valtteri Bottas, who had started the season with a strong victory in Melbourne and was already assured of being the year's runner-up to Hamilton, came from the back of the grid (because of a new engine) last night to finish fourth, right on Leclerc's tail.

Daniel Ricciardo ended the season ninth - his lowest position since he was at Red Bull's junior team Toro Rosso in 2013.

The Aussie was 11th last night and his departing German teammate at Renault, Nico Hulkenberg,12th.

Despite the French team not scoring a point in Abu Dhabi, it clinched fifth in the constructors' championship with 91 points - 54 behind greatly-improved McLaren using the same Renault power unit.

Importantly for Renault, it finished ahead of Toro Rosso (85 points, including two from Daniil Kyvat's ninth place in Abu Dhabi) and Racing Point (73, with six of them from Sergio Perez's seventh place last night).

While Renault team principal Cyril Abiteboul called it "an exasperating race", carsales.com.au global ambassador Ricciardo said it had been "standard" for him on what became a two-stop strategy.

"We struggled a little on the hard tyre after the first stop and at the end tried to make up ground on the faster tyre, but we just ran out of time," Ricciardo said.

"It was positive that we secured fifth in the constructors. We're optimistic and looking ahead for next season," he said.

The 14-round 2020 World Rally Championship calendar has been reduced to 13, with Chile being scrubbed. But there's no chance of Australia taking its place after losing its spot to New Zealand.

The Chilean event has been cancelled because of social unrest there and concerns that elections are to be held in the country on the dates that were scheduled for the rally - April 9-12.

Two other South American rounds are scheduled: Mexico in mid-March and Argentina at the start of May.

World rally sources say there is not enough time for a viable substitute for Chile, ruling out a resurrection of Rally Australia - which would have needed to be at a new location anyway because the WRC organisers have not been happy with attendances at Coffs Harbour.

It's another blow for the WRC, already down to three top-level manufacturers (Hyundai, Toyota and Ford) next year after the withdrawal of Citroen.

Series organisers also have a tyre tender for 2021-2023 to work through, with Michelin, Pirelli, MRF and Hankook reportedly interested.

Nathan Quinn, the 2017 Australian rally champion who didn't defend his title because of the cost, won the historic Alpine Rally in Victoria's East Gippsland at the weekend.

The event was cut short because of treacherous conditions following the drought, bushfires and floods.

Quinn, from Coffs Harbour, drove a 1970 Mazda RX2 with Ray Winwood-Smith his co-driver.

Tasmanians Kade Barrett and David Guest were runners-up in a 1977 Plymouth Fire Arrow and Carl Stewart and James Matthews from NSW third in a 1971 Datsun 1600.