Kimi Raikkonen retired from his last Formula One race with Ferrari on Sunday, his car losing power and coasting to a halt on the main straight after just seven laps of the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix but, despite the disappointment, he thanked the Reds for the good memories.
“What’s happening? I don’t have power,” exclaimed the 2007 world champion, who is moving to Sauber next season, before parking up.
The 39-year-old Finn, who had started in fourth place and alongside teammate Sebastian Vettel, stepped out of the car and walked back to the paddock with his helmet on as the virtual safety car was deployed.
By the time the dust had settled, Raikkonen did enough to finish third in the championship, two pointd of Max Verstappen in second and four points ahead of Mercedes driver and fellow Finn Valtteri Bottas in fifth.
Afterwards, Raikkonen said in his race review, “Obviously I’m a bit disappointed. It’s not the way we wanted this last race together to finish. We wanted to do well and I think we would have had a pretty good car for the job.”
“Unfortunately, we had an electrical issue; in the back straight, I felt I was lacking power and then everything shut down. It’s a pity but that’s how racing goes sometimes. It’s been a pretty decent season, but the four retirements were not in our plans and obviously did not help; we wanted more for sure.”
“I want to thank all the Ferrari fans who always gave me a lot of support. We went through good and bad times together, and this makes it all the more interesting.”
“Of course we wanted a better finish, but that’s part of the sport. We will always have the memories of winning the Drivers’ Championship and two Constructors Championship together,” added Raikkonen who next year moves to Sauber on a two-year deal.