Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – Sunday 27th November 2016. Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi

Sauber F1 Team

Marcus Ericsson: “It was quite a challenging race. We completed the 55 laps with a one-stop strategy, and I think we executed it quite well. Overall, I am satisfied with my performance today, but obviously the result does not show that. I managed the tyres well for a fair amount of laps, so I could push without too much tyre management. However, we just did not have the pace today. With the season finale we go into the winter break, during which we will recharge our batteries for 2017. I am excited going into this new era of Formula One. A big thanks to everyone, both here at the track as well as in Hinwil at the factory, for a challenging and tough year. We have been sticking together and worked hard – this will make us stronger in the future.”

Last race day of the year!! Let's have a good one @sauberf1team 👍🏻😎🏁 #ME9 #F12016 pic.twitter.com/nFYs1AORhR

— Marcus Ericsson (@Ericsson_Marcus) November 27, 2016

Felipe Nasr: “I had a very good start, climbing up to P14 on lap one. I did fight hard to stay there as long as I could, but we just did not have the pace to keep the competitors behind us. In the middle stint we were looking ok, just making sure to keep the Manors behind us, but unfortunately there was contact between one Manor and myself. The floor as well as the rim were damaged, and we also thought that the front wing was damaged, which forced me to come in for an earlier pit stop than originally planned. The race was compromised by then. If this incident hadn’t happened, we could have finished a bit higher up in the rankings. But most important was to guarantee our tenth position in the Constructors’ Championship. I am happy that we confirmed this position in the end. Summarising the season, I have enjoyed another year with Sauber. It was a challenging and difficult season, but I think these are the times when we learn the most. My relationship with everyone in the team was strong while facing challenging times throughout the season. The two points at the Brazilian Grand Prix made it all worthwhile – the whole team deserves it. Many thanks to everyone.”

Monisha Kaltenborn, Team Principal: “First of all, we congratulate Nico and the whole Mercedes team for the championships. We are also pleased for Force India finishing fourth in the Constructors’ Championship. In our last race of the season it was all about securing tenth position in the Constructors’ Championship. We adjusted our strategy to achieve that, and it worked out in the end. I really want to say ‘thank you’ to the whole team, at the track as well as at the factory in Hinwil. Marcus and Felipe did a good job as well as keeping focused, especially in difficult times. What we have achieved in this tough season is credited to our team work. We have stuck together, continued to work hard and fought throughout the season. We can build on that next year and we already look forward to 2017.”

Manor Racing

Esteban Ocon: “I’m really pleased. It was no secret that I was really frustrated after qualifying yesterday, so I was really fed up to be on the 10th row of the grid. Then I got a really good start and made up three places on the opening lap. I was running as high as 11th during the race and we were looking really good versus the Saubers. I had the pace to get past Nasr but we touched and actually I lost my front wing end plate. I pitted for a second time and was able to catch right up with my team-mate before I eventually got by. Nevertheless, we got both cars home in strong positions to end the season on a strong note. It wasn’t enough to make up for Brazil but I think we can say that we did the best job possible over the past two weeks, so I’m happy.

A great last 2016 race today, P13 was the best we could have done !✌🏻️👌
Thank you very Much @ManorRacing! @F1 See u in 2017;)! pic.twitter.com/9elbXvG2At

— Esteban Ocon (@OconEsteban) November 27, 2016

“I can’t thank Manor Racing enough for giving me this incredible opportunity to begin my F1 career. It has been a real pleasure and I have learned so much in every area that will be important experience for the rest of my career, so I will always be grateful for that. Although I will be racing elsewhere, I will always be rooting for Manor as the team has so much potential. Maybe one day soon we can have a friendly fight together on-track.”

Pascal Wehrlein: “Yes, it was really great to end the season with another strong race performance. I had a difficult first pit stop and I was quite far back after that, so it was pretty frustrating after a great qualifying and starting from 16th on the grid. I fought hard to come back from that and we even gained a few places along the way. I was on a different strategy so it wasn’t possible to prevent my teammate from passing me at the end because I was on really old soft tyres, but at least we finished ahead of Sauber one final time. It was a fantastic race to end the season and my thanks to the whole team for the way we have fought together right to the end.

Nice to fight back to P14 after a bad start and a 15 seconds pit stop.Congrats Nico!A big thanks to @ManorRacing&@MercedesAMGF1 for 2016 ☺️ pic.twitter.com/ZBJ5jTcy7Q

— Pascal Wehrlein (@PWehrlein) November 27, 2016

“I had a really, really great first season in Formula 1, thanks to everyone at Manor Racing. I guess it makes me sad that we held onto our point for so long but lost 10th in the Championship. It was really unlucky for us but I think we will always remember that day in Austria and celebrating together. My thanks to everyone in the team for all the hard work and pushing so hard so we can make some real progress together.”

Dave Ryan, Racing Director: “Well, it’s hard to believe that the 2016 season is finally over but I think I speak for everyone when I say a few weeks at home without the pressure of preparing for the next race will be very welcome indeed.

“First and foremost, huge congratulations to the entire team both here and back at Banbury for the effort that has gone into this season. It hasn’t been easy but when you look at just how far we’ve come in the space of 12 months, our improvement is incredible and something to be really proud of. Having said that, we know we still have big strides to make, but it’s a challenge we are all looking forward to as we strive to move Manor up the grid in 2017.

“I would also like to express our gratitude to our technical partners, Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains and Williams Advanced Engineering, and all our Team Partners, for their fantastic support during our 2016 campaign.

“Finally, special thanks to Pascal and Esteban. Another great race today and no less than we have come to expect from the two of them.”

1. Previous
2. 1
3. 2
4. 3
5. 4
6. 5