MOTORSPORT: Ricciardo's roller-coaster Red Bull finale

Daniel Ricciardo led a quarter of his last grand prix with Red Bull Racing but it ended 2.673 seconds short of the podium in Abu Dhabi and “a little disappointment”.

“I would have loved to drink out of my shoe and celebrate with the team one last time,” Ricciardo said.

It was a far happier finish though than that of the German he will partner next year at Renault’s factory team, Nico Hulkenberg, who barrel-rolled and ended upside down and with the rear of his car on fire after inadvertent contact with Frenchman Romain Grosjean’s Haas car launched him into the air on the opening lap.

“I’m hanging here like a cow. Get me out. There’s fire,” Hulkenberg said over the radio to his crew.

The halo over his cockpit protected Hulkenberg but prevented him getting himself out, although once marshals quickly doused the fire the Renault was gently righted and he emerged uninjured.

“Just a bit sad and frustrated,” Hulkenberg said. “I saw a little bit of sky, tarmac, sky, tarmac and ended up upside down. And there was a little barbecue at the back. You feel pretty helpless in that scenario.”

Lewis Hamilton completed the season in which he had already clinched his fifth world championship with his 11th victory from the year’s 21 GPs.

He has won 51 of the 100 races in the V6 turbo hybrid era for Mercedes, and his career tally is 73 wins – 18 short of Michael Schumacher’s record.

Hamilton’s Ferrari rival Sebastian Vettel was runner-up in Abu Dhabi, a little more than 2.5 seconds behind.

Max Verstappen was another 10 seconds back in third for Red Bull – his fifth straight podium, this time after having been outqualified by Ricciardo and his Renault power unit dropping into safety mode just after the start and again after an early restart.

Kimi Raikkonen’s last race with Ferrari ended with retirement on the pit straight on the seventh lap, while Fernando Alonso made up four places from 15th on the grid in his McLaren but penalties for cutting kerbs in pursuit of Kevin Magnussen’s Haas cost him the chance of a point in his 311th and last GP – for now at least.

The 37-year-old dual world champion’s race engineer had urged him over the radio to “go and get a point”, to which the Spaniard – arguably the greatest driver of his era but too often in the wrong team – replied: “I’ve already got 1800.”

Actually, he has 1899 so another would have made a round 1900.

Formula1.com points out that Alonso has raced the equivalent of 20 per cent of the way to the moon in F1 and that on his last lap drove the fastest second section of the Yas Marina circuit of the race.

Fans voted him driver of the day on that site and he, Hamilton and Vettel did donuts together as Alonso was farewelled a hero.

Hamilton’s Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas was a disappointing fifth after seven second places this year – the most by an F1 driver in a season without a win. The Finn will be under pressure to retain his seat if he has another year like that.

Verstappen enjoyed “some really nice overtaking, especially passing Bottas”.

But he and Ricciardo lost time when they came up on the lapped Pierre Gasly – the French youngster who will replace Ricciardo at Red Bull – as his Toro Rosso’s Honda power unit was blowing smoke and about to expire.

Ricciardo had taken the lead on lap 23 of 55 and stayed on the ultrasoft tyres on which he had started until lap 34, but that was not far enough into the race for him to use the super-quick hypersofts to the finish. Instead he had to go to supersofts – the slowest of the three compounds teams used last night.

The Aussie was fifth after his pitstop, eight seconds behind Verstappen, but they both gained a place as Bottas’ brakes locked in two corners.

“I would have loved to sign-off this chapter with a podium, so I can’t be ecstatic with fourth and there is a little disappointment,” Ricciardo said.

“I led for a while, which was fun, but staying out [on the ultrasofts] put me out of touch with the leaders.

“I don’t think we had much of a choice. Maybe we could have pitted early and kept track position, but nobody thought the supersofts would hold on like they did.

“The pace advantage after I pitted was strong, but it fell away quite quickly and I couldn’t make a big enough impact on Max or the leaders.

“I will now reflect on the last five years with the team [and spend a week saying his goodbyes].

“I would have loved a championship with them, but Red Bull brought me my first pole, victory and podium. [Indeed seven wins, 29 podiums and three poles].

“Everything I have done in F1 is down to them and I’m incredibly grateful for that. The moment before the race with everyone in the garage showing their love and appreciation was really cool. That’s certainly something I will never forget.

“I thank the team for the last five years and Red Bull for the last 10 [initially in the junior ranks].

“I would have loved to drink out of my shoe and celebrate with the team one last time, but now I close this chapter with thanks and love for everyone in the Red Bull family.”

Team principal Christian Horner, who had posed with Red Bull’s motorsport supremo Helmut Marko and Ricciardo for a photo with a sign saying ‘Cheers Dan’ and bearing his trademark number 3, said: “We’re sorry to see Daniel leave. He’s been a fantastic member of our team and we want to thank him for all that he has contributed.

“It also brings the end to our relationship with Renault – 59 victories, 160 podiums and eight world championships [four driver titles by Vettel and four manufacturer crowns in 2010-2013].

“It’s been a long and successful partnership.”

That hasn’t stopped Horner and Marko being scathing of Renault’s lack of power and reliability in the hybrid era – something Ricciardo is counting on improving as he sticks with the French company while Red Bull switches to Honda power next season.