Fernando Alonso was keen to reflect on what he described as “the most amazing seven years of my career”, rather than Renault’s dismal Abu Dhabi form, after he completed his final race for the team on Sunday.
After being eliminated in Q1 for the first time ever in qualifying, the Spaniard had been expecting a tough 55-lap race and, even with his R29 brimmed to the top with fuel, the Spaniard couldn’t finish higher than 14th.
And while the result equalled the worst ever race finish of his entire Renault career, the Ferrari-bound star said he would never forget what he and the team had achieved in their largely successful 105-race relationship.
"The result today is disappointing as we were not able to produce the performance we wanted,” said the 2005-2006 world champion
“I would have liked to finish the season on a high, especially as this was my last race with Renault.
“I would like to thank the entire team for everything that we have achieved together over the years.
“We had some great victories and won championships together. It has been the most amazing seven years of my career and something I will never forget."
The second car of Romain Grosjean had managed to get past his illustrations team-mate at the start of the race, but was soon passed by Alonso and eventually finished last of the classified runners in 18th.
The rookie Frenchman says his performance was hampered by brake problems, even though he admits that with the R29’s competitiveness around Yas Marina he couldn’t have done much more.
"The race today was disappointing. I made a good start but I was blocked several times,” he said.
“I also suffered with some brake problems during the race. Towards the end I unfortunately lost a place to Fisichella, which was a shame, but the performance of the car didn't really allow me to show what I was capable of today.
Grosjean, who replaced Nelson Piquet Jr for the season’s final seven races, is now set to lose his drive for 2010 the Frenchman says he has learnt a lot from Alonso.
“It's now the end of the season and I can say that I have learnt an enormous amount this year, especially being team-mate to Fernando," he added.
Although Renault had been hoping for a strong finish to its disappointing, and in recent months tumultuous, season, acting team principal Bob Bell is confident the former champion outfit will bounce back strongly in 2010.
“In terms of performance it was a disappointing race for us,” he said.
“Going into the weekend, we had slightly higher expectations, but in the end we just didn't have the pace.
“As a team we are obviously disappointed as we had hoped to end the season on a high, but we are upbeat for next year. We will move on from here and will be back fighting next year."