A forgettable farewell to Formula 1’s departing quartet

while much was made Lewis HamiltonCompletion of Mercedes and carlos saenzThe last race for Ferrari, the four potentially permanent Formula 1 farewells, also took place at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – and sadly for those involved, none of them went to it specifically to plan.

Outside of their respective teams, there was little fanfare. Franco Colapinto, kevin magnussen or a pair of Saubers valtteri bottas And zhou guanyu,

Magnussen is the only one who has concrete plans going forward, but after signing with BMW, he is out of F1 – while the remaining trio will be eyeing a reserve drive for 2025.

valtteri bottas

With 10 F1 wins from his Mercedes days, the Finn held on to diminishing hopes that he would be retained by Sauber until 2025 – but ultimately lost out to up-and-coming rookie Gabriel Bortoletto.

What could have proved to be his final year in Formula 1 turned out to be his worst as he failed to score a single point for the first time in his career, with his machinery failing for most of the campaign.

The final three races of the year changed after a floor upgrade, but Bottas still struggled and faced a difficult race, finishing ninth in Abu Dhabi.

colliding with sergio perez Bottas earned two penalty points and a 10-second penalty for falling down the pack, aiding the Mexican’s early retirement from the race.

Before he could ever really recover, a late lock-up saw him crash at Magnussen – an incident that ended his Grand Prix on lap 30 and subsequently a five-place grid finish in his next race. Caused a penalty, did that ever happen.

“It’s a shame, but it’s not the first disappointment. I’m really relieved that this era of my career is over, and I was really looking forward and going to work hard and try to make the best plan to get back on the grid,” Bottas. Said after the race the aim is to return in 2026, with the Mercedes reserve seat looking like his destination in the meantime.

Franco Colapinto

Having arrived on the scene in a fog of momentum and expectation, Colapinto’s star began to rise quickly before dashing any hopes of a 2025 seat.

In place of logan sergeantThe Argentinian carried the weight of a nation on his shoulders and early comparisons to compatriot Lionel Messi were soon replaced by comments that were messy.

Making his debut at the Italian Grand Prix, the rookie looked to have an immediate advantage over the embattled Sergeant as he recovered from disappointing qualifying to finish 12th, supporting the noise around him by taking his first points since finishing eighth in Baku.

He will look to score another point at the United States Grand Prix as his promising start has piqued the interest of the Red Bull stable, especially as there is no room for Williams in 2025. Alex Albon And Sainz has already confirmed that.

However, things rapidly began to fall apart, particularly his Williams car, which he crashed in difficult conditions at the Brazilian Grand Prix and then rear-ended at Las Vegas before retiring from the final two races of the season. oscar piastri Yes in Marina.

He now looks set to return to his reserve role with Williams for next season, although he is keen to get back behind the wheel: “There are no plans at the moment and hopefully I’ll be racing in something next year. Can take,” he said. Abu Dhabi.

“This is not the end of the season I wanted, but this is the end of Formula 1. It was still my dream come true, and it was an amazing experience, but I would have wanted a lot more if we had ended like this. It started happening, but this is F1.”

kevin magnussen

It was confirmed in the week before the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix that Magnussen would join BMW to race their M Hybrid V8 LMDh car next year.

At this stage, it was clear that the Dane was bidding farewell to F1 more strongly than most of his counterparts at Yas Marina.

However, he was also the only driver of the quartet listed here with something on the line, with Haas hoping to overtake their rivals in the Alpine chase and claim sixth place in the Constructors’ Championship.

it wasn’t supposed to happen pierre gaslySeventh place proved enough to keep Alpine clear and, while team-mate Nico Hulkenberg Coming home in eighth place, things were not so straightforward for Magnussen.

Magnussen crashed out of 15th, after Hamilton ruined final qualifying for Mercedes by hitting a bollard in the path of the seven-time world champion, but things looked better when he crossed the line to finish seventh. Was visible.

It would not last as, after his second scheduled pit stop, he was eliminated after contact with Bottas, ruining his chances of a points finish.

He pitted again and took the fastest lap of the race, at least, before driving off into the sunset in the desert.

“This wasn’t how I wanted to end the season, but we tried it, I tried to do something special on that first lap and did it by finishing seven,” he said.

“Since coming back, I think we have managed to turn the team around and get it on the right track, especially in the last half of this year, and I’m proud of that.

“I was a little kid dreaming about Formula 1 25 years ago, and I’ve managed to spend 10 years in the sport I so desperately dreamed of being a part of – it’s been a privilege.”

zhou guanyu

Heading into Abu Dhabi, Zhou will be more confident than at any other time in what has been a difficult season both personally and for the ailing Sauber team.

The Chinese will be aiming to add to that tally in his final outing for Sauber, boosted by the team’s first points of the year following an eighth-place finish in Qatar a week ago.

Instead, it was a return to business as usual for the 2024 season, with Zhou qualifying 17th and then gaining some ground before a 5-second penalty for false start put a halt to any progress.

After finishing 13th, Zhou is now already looking towards 2025 where a role with Ferrari could be in store.

“It was great to at least get some points for the team and now definitely try to see what the next chapter holds for me,” he said.

“There is potential interest from different teams and we are working on it, making sure I am happy where I am. We’ll continue to work on getting back to the grid for the drive because that’s just what I want to do – you don’t want to be sitting around.

“It was great to at least get some points for the team and now, of course, try to see what the next chapter is for me.

“Thanks to the team for the last few years and also to Valtteri as my team-mate, so hopefully in the future, we can race together.”

“Whatever I do. I’m making sure I’m in a place that looks promising for the future and then hopefully, drive to ’26.”