Stoffel Vandoorne said he "fought like hell" in his final race for McLaren in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Having started on the red-marked Supersoft tyre for his opening stint of the race, the Belgian ran long into the race as other rivals stopped much earlier.
Once many of them had pitted, he was running inside the top 10. Once those faster cars came back at the McLaren driver, he battled with them in spectacular fashion – even if he was on older tyres.
In his final race for the Woking-based team, Vandoorne put on a stunning display of driving, especially on lap 31 as Haas' Romain Grosjean tried to overtake Vandoorne into Turn 8.
Vandoorne got the switchback out of Turn 9 and tucked into the slipstream of the Haas, he was also being tailed by the Force India of Esteban Ocon. Vandoorne and Ocon then swept either side of Grosjean with Vandoorne continuing to lead the way.
"No points to finish the year, but nevertheless it was a pretty good race," said Vandoorne.
"I had fun out there – we knew it was going to be a tough one for us, especially without there being many incidents.
"We fought very hard and closed in on a couple of cars, and that was a really enjoyable part of the race. I fought like hell to keep cars behind!
"I’m happy with what we did this year with what we had. It’s great to finish the season – we gave everything and now I’m happy to see the chequered flag.
"Unfortunately, we weren’t quick enough for points, but that was always going to be the case. I’m happy with how the race went, I gave it everything."
Vandoorne has departed Formula 1 for Formula E where he will be team-mates with two-time DTM champion Gary Paffett at the Mercedes-backed HWA team.
