Abu Dhabi GP: Massa ends his career with points finish
By Williams Martini Racing
November 28 2016
The final race of the 2016 Formula One season, the 2016 Abu Dhabi GP, would see Williams Martini driver Felipe Massa end his time in Formula One with a points scoring finish with a 9th place. For team-mate Valtteri Bottas his race would end in disappointment with a retirement with a suspension issue. The Williams Martini team would finish 5th in the Constructors Championship.
Williams Martini
Abu Dhabi GP Race Review
Race Notes
• Felipe Massa finished the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix ninth while
Valtteri Bottas retired due to a suspension issue
• Both cars had a clean start on the ultrasoft tyre, moving up to ninth
and 10th after a spin from Max Verstappen
• After battling teammate Felipe for ninth, Valtteri came into the pit
with a rear suspension issue, which could not be resolved and resulted
in retirement
• Felipe’s race got off to a strong start and he pitted from P10 for a
new set of soft tyres, coming out P13. He made good progress from there,
overtaking Romain Grosjean and ran as high as seventh before making his
second pitstop for another set of new soft's on lap 31
• He soon made it up to ninth, and was gaining on Sergio Perez in the
closing stages of the race, taking the chequered flag in ninth
• The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix marked Valtteri’s 77th and Felipe’s 250th and
final grand prix
• WILLIAMS MARTINI RACING has finished fifth in the 2016 Formula One
Constructors’ Championship.
Felipe Massa:
"Well, I’m really proud to have been fighting up to the last lap of
the race in the same way I fought in the first lap of my career! I want
to say thank you to everyone – everyone who has been with me all the
way, racing together. Thank you to the fans and to Williams, who I will
keep supporting in the future! Thank you to everyone who has been part
of everything I have been through. I have finished my career with my
head up, the same way I started my career. I also took a little extra
care with the car seeing as it will now be my car – thank you again to
Williams for that gift!"
Valtteri Bottas:
"It is disappointing to finish the race after only a few laps. When
I was running P9, I felt something suddenly break in the rear of the car
with the suspension and the car was pretty undriveable after that. We
tried to fix it in the garage, but it was not possible so we had to
retire. It is a shame to end the season like this, but it does mean that
I’m now very much looking forward to next year."
Rob Smedley, Head of Vehicle
Performance:
"It was a tough race, as we expected it to be. Unfortunately,
Valtteri went out with a rear suspension failure so we will look into
that. Felipe drove a really good race in the car that he had and it was
a fitting end to his career. Fernando Alonso gambled on a different tyre
strategy but Felipe was able to hold him off until the end and finished
ninth. It’s not where we really want to be but it was a good job by all
the guys.
Thank you to all of the race team for the brilliant job they’ve all
done. We know the car pace isn’t quick enough but they’ve never given
up, always strived to get more performance and, between them all,
they’ve done a really good job.
And of course, thanks to the two drivers.
It’s unfortunate what’s happened today but Valtteri has had a really
strong season. We’ve got to deliver him a better car and he will keep
pushing himself because there’s a lot more there that we can do
together. I’ve known Felipe since he was a child; he’s one of my best
mates. He’s not only a great driver with an outstanding career, but a
really good human being as well. Then there’s his family, who have
supported him throughout his career – I don’t think he ever does a race
without one member of his family – and they deserve some credit for
that. I wish him all the best for his life in the future."
Track Yas Marina Circuit, Abu
Dhabi
Lap Length 5.554 km / 3.45 miles
Thank goodness he has gone! How come he is getting a car for free for goodness sake!!! Like we are flush with cash!
I would rather have a young hot shot making mistakes every race but providing a talking point and getting air time than Massa trundling round half asleep!
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