The Scuderia Ferrari team ended the 2014 Formula 1 season with a double points finish in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, but the team were disappointed to see Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen finishing down in ninth and tenth at the Yas Marina Circuit.
Alonso ended his five-year tenure with the Scuderia with a ninth place finish, and fought all the way until the chequered flag. He felt the race was difficult to manage, especially with his emotions getting involved after his departure from the team was confirmed before the weekend.
“Today, my time with Ferrari comes to an end, as does a very tricky season, in which, even if we were unable to do much against the technical dominance of our rivals,” said an emotion Alonso. “We fought all the way to the very end; all of us did our utmost, putting our hearts into it.
“Today’s race was difficult to manage but at the same time it was very emotional for me; after five years it’s not easy to say farewell to a team with which I have grown so much over the past five years, both as a driver and as a person.
“I thank all the Ferraristi for their support. I will miss the team, the fans and Italy. Even though we are going our separate ways, I feel I have lived through a unique experience which any Formula 1 driver would have loved to have had.”
Team-mate Raikkonen could only finish tenth in Abu Dhabi despite making a good start to run fifth on the opening laps, with the Finn insisting a lack of straight-line speed down the long straights cost the team a better result.
“It was a very difficult race but we knew right from the beginning that this track would be tough for us,” said Raikkonen. “The start was good but then, at the first stop, I already lost a few places and from then on I couldn’t move up the order. The car handled well and I had no particular problem, but today we lacked the speed we needed to attack.
“All season we have faced a series of difficulties which we put a lot of effort into solving and we learned a lot from that. We know which direction we need to work in to be competitive as soon as possible and I have absolute faith in the team.”
