Abu Dhabi marked by farewell: 'It was an emotional week'

The traditional group photo of all 20 drivers at the end of a season kicked off the final day of a long year of Grands Prix on Sunday. In the heat of Abu Dhabi, the drivers then boarded a large truck to make a lap around the grandstands.

The championship has long since been decided in Max Verstappen's favour. In Abu Dhabi, what is at stake is whether Sergio Perez will finish second in the championship or will the vice-championship go to Charles Leclerc? Meanwhile, Verstappen is angling for his fifteenth win of the season. "I feel good," Verstappen said. "So far we have had a good week. We are going to try to win the race and to make Checo second in the championship. If it (the car) feels like it did on Friday, it should be alright."

Farewell

Besides the battle for the final prizes, the weekend is all about saying goodbye. Most prominent is the farewell to Sebastian Vettel, who leaves Formula 1 with four world titles. " I feel excited to go racing today," Vettel said. "It has been such an incredible weekend so far, with so much love and compassion. Everything I've given over the past few years is coming back to me now. It's an emotional weekend."

Daniel Ricciardo is also saying goodbye to Formula 1, albeit of necessity. The Australian has failed to secure a new seat. During the parade, he took pictures, as it might be his last Grand Prix ever. "It's nice to capture some scenes from behind the scenes. I'm excited, on a different level than Seb is. I'm going to try to enjoy it. We definitely have a car to finish in the top ten with."

Green guy

Fernando Alonso is driving his last race for Alpine, before taking over Vettel's seat at Aston Martin. His goal for Sunday? "To follow the 'green man' (Vettel) and hopefully we will see the chequered flag together," laughed the Spaniard. Lewis Hamilton also says 'goodbye', but to his Mercedes. The Briton is happy to no longer have to drive the 2022 car. At least, after Tuesday. After all, that is when he will still be taking part in the test. "Honestly, I don't know why I got committed to that," Hamilton now says.