FORMULA 1 legend Fernando Alonso has officially retired, having finished his final Grand Prix last night (Sunday) at the Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, coming 11th in a car specially decorated in his colours for the occasion and with his replacement, fellow Spaniard Carlos Sainz Junior, in a helmet to match.
Winner Lewis Hamilton and second-placed Sebastian Vettel joined Alonso at the end for a series of handbrake turns and spins to mark his departure, and the Asturias-born twice-world champion thanked his now-ex colleagues: “I'm very grateful; these are two great champions and those will be battles I'll miss.”
In an interview with retired Formula 1 veteran David Coulthard, Alonso made it clear that he hoped to be back one day, but on four wheels.
“Yes, I'll return, as long as it's not as a race commentator...like other ex-drivers,” Alonso said, referring to the Scotsman's own career move.
After many disappointing years in Formula 1 due to not having access to competitive cars, the champion of 2005 and 2006 now hopes to become more of an all-rounder.
His first goal is to complete the so-called motorsport 'Triple Crown' – having won the Monaco Grand Prix and the Le Mans 24-Hour, the only victory left is in the Indianapolis 500, in which he was leading on his first and most recent attempt but forced to retire due to engine failur.
The UK's Graham Hill is so far the only other driver to achieve all three.
“For me, being the best racing driver in the world, or the most complete, means I need to win in all disciplines possible, which is what I like doing: competing in cars, not strictly in Formula 1,” Alonso told Coulthard at his televised end-of-race interview.
“With the Le Mans experience this year and the Indy 500-Mile last year, I've had a lot of fun, and let's hope I can achieve both.”
Of his final day in Formula 1 for the foreseeable future, Alonso says: “I was looking forward to enjoying every minute, but it's the most action-packed day I can remember in my whole life; I haven't stopped for a second.”
Alonso pulled himself up from 14th on the grid to 11th, where he remained at the end, in a Grand Prix where Germany's Max Verstappen completed the podium and a dramatic and shocking crash left Nico Hülkenberg trapped upside-down in a burning car, grinding the race to a halt on the first lap.
The safety cars were brought in after a battle for eighth position between France's Romain Grosjean and Hülkenberg led to the former bumping the latter, who was in his blind spot, and his Rénault rolled several times before crashing into the barriers, landing on its head and causing the engine to catch fire.
The panicked German pleaded over the radio for rescuers to get him out because his car was on fire, and team technicians froze in terror in the stands.
But Hülkenberg walked away from the wreckage of his car after track workers turned it the right way up to free him.
An investigation concluded neither Grosjean nor Hülkenberg were at fault, and no penalties have been levied.
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