ABU DHABI: Germany's Sebastian Vettel led Red Bull to a one-two finish at Abu Dhabi's stunning new circuit on Sunday to bring down the chequered flag on a Formula One season like no other.

The 22-year-old German beat Australian team mate Mark Webber by 17.8 seconds under the Yas Marina floodlights to become the first winner in the oil-rich emirate and cement second place in the championship.

"The priority was to secure second place and we succeeded," said Vettel, still sweating with exertion after the sport's first day-to-night race. "To do it with a win is the best."

While Vettel chalked up his fourth victory of the season, Red Bull completed a hat-trick -- having won the previous two races in Japan and Brazil -- and their fourth one-two after starting the year without ever having stood on top of the podium.

Britain's Jenson Button, who clinched the title in the previous Brazilian Grand Prix for his championship-winning Brawn GP team, rounded off his season with third place after hunting down Webber and chasing him nose-to-tail in the closing laps.

A mere 0.6 of a second separated the two cars at the chequered flag.

"It was a great race, I really enjoyed it," said Button. "This race was a bonus for me. I came here to enjoy myself, which is exactly what I did."

HAMILTON RETIRES

It was Button's first appearance on the podium since Italy last month after a season that started with him winning six of the first seven races for a team that emerged at the 11th hour from the remains of departing Honda.

The Briton ended the season with 95 points to Vettel's 84, an unthinkable outcome at the end of last year when he ended the campaign with just three points after McLaren and Ferrari battled for supremacy.

McLaren's outgoing world champion Lewis Hamilton had led from pole position but the Briton's hopes of becoming the first winner in Abu Dhabi vanished after 20 laps when he retired with a brake problem.

"There was a problem with the brakes, I couldn't stop the car," Hamilton told the BBC. "I was locking and locking and locking and it was harder than ever to drive the car.