Alonso on track & Vettel's goodbye: what you missed from the Abu Dhabi GP

It was a lovely end to his stint with the team despite missing out on that drivers’ title that he had targeted since his move from Red Bull. Images of him handing out beers to the mechanics in the paddock will be the last sight of Vettel in Ferrari colours.

The team presented him with a sizeable trophy to mark his successes with them, which he lifted alongside his team-mate, Charles Leclerc.

Although the Monégasque driver made his final seasons much tougher at Ferrari, Vettel presented Leclerc with his own gift, a signed crash helmet with a personalised message. Leclerc handed over his own tribute; his race helmet that was dedicated to the Aston Martin-bound Seb.

Return of the R25

Fernando Alonso wasn’t the only returning Renault icon in the Abu Dhabi paddock over the weekend. The French team wheeled out the 2005 championship-winning R25 for ‘demonstration’ runs throughout the three days, not that you’d know it from the two-time champion’s showing.

In a word? AWESOME 🤩

Onboard with @alo_oficial as he powers his title-winning @RenaultF1Team R25 around Yas Marina on Friday 🚀#AbuDhabiGP 🇦🇪 #F1 pic.twitter.com/M2DLUvt08i

— Formula 1 (@F1) December 11, 2020

Fitted with slick Pirelli rubber rather than the grooved Michelin tyres of old, Alonso hardly held back during his hot laps in his car, attacking each corner minus the trademark handfuls of steering lock that worked the car so well back in ’05.

It attracted the attention of almost everybody in the paddock, downing tools on whatever the task at hand was to go and see the action out on the track.

There was a point in the weekend in which world champion Lewis Hamilton paused an interview in the paddock to take in the noise as Alonso thrashed his championship Renault around the Yas Marina Circuit, V10 screams bouncing off of the hotel walls.

Watching the laps both onboard and trackside made for one of the highlights of the weekend, if not the highlight after a dreary Sunday night.

With Honda pulling out and questions still flying around over what F1 should do with its engine regulations, has the answer been put on a plate right under its nose?

Probably not but it was a great sight all the same.

Team leader to the end

Sergio Perez’s final outing with Racing Point did not go according to plan as the Mexican’s race ended after just 10 laps as his Mercedes engine expired.

¡Qué año! Nunca nos dimos por vencidos pese a la adversidad.
¡Nos perdimos 2 GPs por el Covid, problemas de fiabilidad y aún así lo dimos siempre todo! No sé qué siga, pero sí sé que lo que venga estaré dando siempre lo mejor de mí. ¡Gracias por su apoyo! pic.twitter.com/WkC9broTbH

— Sergio Pérez (@SChecoPerez) December 13, 2020

It was a cruel ending to a great Formula 1 career as things stand, with Perez still without a seat for next year; his only hope remains getting the nod to partner Max Verstappen at Red Bull in 2021.

Following his maiden victory in Bahrain the weekend before, it was a bitter pill to swallow, especially with the team’s hopes of securing third in the constructors’ standings fading as a result of the retirement.

Back in the paddock, his mechanics took it just as hard as Perez. After arriving back in the pits, Perez consoled his team of mechanics despite the disappointing ending.

Having been with the team since 2014 under its Force India guise, Perez signs off from F1 as the second most successful Mexican driver of all time and the nation’s only grand prix winner alongside Pedro Rodriguez.