Fernando Alonso ended his Formula 1 career with an eleventh place finish at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
The two-time world champion said goodbye, for now, to Formula 1 with a battle throughout the race with the two Haas F1 Team cars, in particular Kevin Magnussen, who he fought to the end trying to get the final point at the Yas Marina Circuit.
Alonso received 15 seconds worth of time penalties due to gaining an advantage by cutting the chicane of Turns 8 & 9 three times. One penalty was awarded during the race while the other two were handed out post-race. Despite this, Alonso still managed to keep eleventh place as Brendon Hartley finished further behind.
“We gave it all on the track, we were fighting the two Haas cars until the last couple of corners,” Alonso said.
Alonso was voted Driver of the Day by the Formula 1 fans, in honour of his final race in the sport.
On the in-lap, he collaborated with his ex-McLaren F1 Team colleague Lewis Hamilton and former rival Sebastian Vettel to complete some celebratory doughnuts on the pit straight. The Scuderia Ferrari and Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport drivers also paid tribute to Alonso in their post-race interviews.
“The in-lap was really emotional,” the Spaniard explained. “I found Lewis and Sebastian doing some doughnuts in some corners and they they tried to be with me until the start-finish line.”
The 37-year-old said it was a “nice weekend in general” to part ways with McLaren until he competes in the Indianapolis 500 with them in May, in search of motorsport’s Triple Crown.
“It was a very touching weekend, from Formula 1, from my team, from the fans, I had a lot of support.”
Alonso managed to finish 11th in the championship, as he was squeezed out of the top 10, after Carlos Sainz took P6 in the race.
