2014 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

Driver Quotes - Sunday 23 November

Sebastian Vettel: "I felt there was more, but once I got stuck behind Kevin at the beginning it was quite tough, so I can't be completely happy with today; when you race you want to finish as high up as you can and today I think we had the pace to finish higher. I think the last six years have been an incredible journey, obviously we didn't expect that when we started working together - you can never expect four Driver titles and four Constructors' Championships in a row. You get to know some people in a very good way and build friendships that will last a long time. You go through happy days and sad days, you go through them together and I think I learned a lot. I'd like to thank Red Bull and the Team for everything they did and I will miss them. I feel ready for the next step."

Daniel Ricciardo: "Yeah really happy, I think it was pretty much a faultless race from all sides, from the strategy, to myself and the pit stops, everything was good so we did everything we needed to. I had fun passing, it wasn't boring out there, so it was pretty much what I asked for. One spot better would have been nice, but fourth is really cool from the pit lane. It's been pretty much a perfect season, as perfect as it can be without holding a world title, so no real regrets, no complaints. It's nice to not only start the season well, but to finish it well also and I think all the way through it was good - we had a strong summer as well, so the start, middle and end were pretty good!"

Lewis Hamilton:

Nico Rosberg:

Fernando Alonso: "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, 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."

Kimi Raikkonen: "It was a very difficult race but we knew right from the beginning that this track would be tough for us. 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."

Romain Grosjean: "We did the best we could today. My race wasn't that eventful and unfortunately it came to an early end for Pastor, so I think that we are all glad that the season is now over. We thought about doing a three stop strategy early in the race but then we swapped back to two stops. I'm already looking forward to being in the simulator to test the E23. We have a new Power Unit and aerodynamically next year's car is looking like a great step forward. Now it's time to take a break, recharge our batteries and look forward to 2015."

Pastor Maldonado: "That was a surprising race for me. Our race pace was actually pretty good and I was able to fight with the Ferraris as well as enjoy the feel from the car. I was able to push and the car worked well on both tyre compounds. Unfortunately, my race had to end early. The flames showed the engine wasn't working too well which also mean it was getting quite hot in the car! It's a shame to finish a season like we did, but I know we have a lot of potential for 2015, so I am really looking forward to surprising some people when we return."

Jenson Button: "That was tough! I think we made the best of what we had this evening: in terms of strategy, we did the right thing, but we never really had enough pace to attack the cars in front.

"So, fifth was as good as it was going to be. Getting the maximum from the car is all that can be asked of a racing driver, and I think I've proved this year that I'm still at the top of my game.

"Since it's the last race of the season, I'd like to say a huge 'thanks' to Tom [Stallard] and Bernie [Collins], my two race engineers, who've done a fantastic job this year, as have all my mechanics. The whole team has been so supportive, which is lovely.

"It's been a good day for me, but a much better day for my old team buddy Lewis [Hamilton]. Winning two world titles is an absolutely amazing achievement. Congratulations to him - he deserves it. I'm sure tonight will be fun - I'll celebrate a good end to the year with my family."

Kevin Magnussen: "That was a difficult race. I had quite a bit of contact with Adrian [Sutil] on the first lap - and, after that, the front of the car never felt quite right, but it wasn't too bad, so I could carry on.

"My opening stint on the Prime went well - the tyre was holding on well and I felt like I could manage the degradation. But once I'd pitted and changed to the Option, the race slipped away from us. The softer tyre ought to have helped us gain some positions over the drivers running the Prime, but we just stayed where we were, and that ruined the race for us.

"Congratulations to Lewis - he's driven brilliantly all season, and completely deserves the title this year. He's had a stunning season.

"Finally, I want to pass on my thanks to the whole McLaren team. This season has been an incredible experience for me - I've learned so much this year. It's been fantastic - so thanks, guys!"

Nico Hulkenberg: "I'm very happy with this result. After struggling with the car on Friday and in qualifying, I think we can be proud of today's race and our performance is a good sign for next year as well. The car performed at its best; I had a good balance and I had the confidence to really push. There were just a few laps after the pit stops when I was managing the tyres, but other than that it was flat out all the way. The long final stint on the supersoft tyres was brave, but it turned out to be a great strategy by the team and it really worked out well."

Sergio Perez: "The points today helped me to finish in the top ten of the championship, which is an important achievement after a great year. I think we could have been even higher up today, but we probably stopped too late for the final pit stop. If we had been on the supersofts a bit earlier then maybe we could have been closer to Button at the end of the race. Looking back at the season overall I think everyone in the team has done a tremendous job and we should feel very happy about what we have achieved. I've enjoyed this season and now that I know the team I'm looking forward to coming back stronger in 2015."

Adrian Sutil: "It was a normal race. I had quite a good start. Afterwards Kevin (Magnussen) drove into my car, and I dropped back many positons. I still cannot say if my car was damaged or not. After this incident I tried my best to get back into the race. However, we had to switch to another strategy with three pit stops, which was not ideal. In general the pace was not good enough, so a better result would have been difficult to achieve. Finally, I want to thank the engineers and mechanics who have all worked very hard throughout the season."

Esteban Gutierrez: "A race during which I fought from the beginning to the end. We managed to keep our planned two-stop-strategy, which was quite an aggressive one. On my last stint I had to drive as many laps as possible on this set of tyres, which worked out for us. I was pushing every lap, but at the same time I had to manage the tyres. I want to thank every team member; it was a pleasure to have worked with the Sauber F1 Team. I wish everyone all the best for the future."

Jean-Eric Vergne: "Today I have absolutely given my maximum to catch the ones in front of me but the pace was just not good enough. It's a shame as our starting position made us think we could have finished in the top ten. We really wanted to score some good points for the final race of the season and we could not achieve our goal. On the positive side, we are still 7th in the Constructors Championship and this is very important for the team. I want to thank everybody, for yet another season together."

Daniil Kvyat: "This is one of those races, in which we were just not able to show our full potential. We were expecting a much better final race but an engine related problem forced me to retire in the early stages. This was unfortunate, because speed and pace were quite good until then. We were fighting with Ferraris and Button and I think we could have finished somewhere around him. Anyway, I have to thank my team for everything they have done for me this year, helping me to grow as a driver and be ready for next year. This has been massively important for me. Looking back to this season, it's a shame that in many occasions we could not show our real potential. I think we would have deserved much better results, but very often we have just been unlucky. Now I am looking forward to this new challenge with Infiniti Red Bull Racing."

Felipe Massa: It was a close race, I didn't think the victory was there, but it was so close at the end. It was good to be racing and pushing the Mercedes. I hope this is a strong building block to go on for next year. The team progressed so much throughout the year, which is why we were able to get podiums in the second half of the season; we will continue this forward movement into next year.

Valtteri Bottas: We were very competitive today. I got a bad start and the race was compromised after I was stuck behind a few cars, so to walk away with a podium is incredible. It was a good race; I could really push and fight. The team has grown and developed throughout the season, from our first race in Melbourne to our best result here. It's a great start to build on for next year and to continue the team's great history.

Kamui Kobayashi: "It's a real shame to finish the season with a retirement, but unfortunately this is what happened: I started to feel some strange vibration on the car and a couple of laps later it started to be un driveable, so the team decided to retire the car for precaution. Up until then, it had been a solid race, we had found a good pace and I was enjoying myself. Overall, it's been a very positive weekend and I've been impressed with the whole team's effort - it wasn't an easy task but, thanks to the fans continuous support, we got here and they gave us that extra boost to carry on fighting. I also want to congratulate the team and thank everyone for their work and commitment throughout the season."

Will Stevens: "We completed the objective of the day, and that was to finish the race, which is good not only for me but also for the team - we can be pleased. I struggled quite a bit during my first stint on the Option tyre, trying to keep it up to temperature at the start during the formation lap, so I had a lot of graining on the front. But the middle stint wasn't too bad and I was able to get into more of a rhythm. Towards the end I was feeling good in the car and it feels really good to have completed my first Formula 1 race! I want to thank all the fans once again for giving this team another chance to race, this is where we belong."