Lotus F1 Team
Romain Grosjean hailed an "emotional journey" after he ended his Lotus career with points at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Grosjean finished the race in ninth place to bring down the curtain on a decade-long association with the Enstone operation prior to his switch to the new Haas F1 Team.
"It’s been an emotional journey for me and I’m so happy to be able to reward everyone at Enstone with points in my final race for the team," he said, having moved forwards from 18th on the grid.
"I had to push all the way and it wasn’t always plain sailing as there was a lot to manage on the car. The calls from the pit wall were great and my pit stops were fantastic.
"I owe a lot to this team and it really feels like a family to me. I hope to be back one day in the future. This has been the best season of my career."
Team-mate Pastor Maldonado was eliminated at the first corner after being hit by Fernando Alonso.
"It’s sad to end the race in the first corner because we were looking good for the race," he said.
"Today we had a good strategy to go with our better race pace, but anyway this is racing and it can happen. I didn’t see the contact I just felt it in the back of the car from Fernando. I tried to restart but then I saw the suspension damage."
