Sainz wants to bow out at Renault on a high note

Carlos Sainz Jr (ESP) Renault Sport F1 Team RS18. 11.11.2018.

Next weekend's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will be the final outing for Carlos Sainz in the yellow and black colours of the Renault team.

The 24-year-old joined the team just over a year ago in time for the 2017 United States Grand Prix, on loan from Toro Rosso as part of a complex multi-party engine supply agreement between Red Bull, McLaren and Honda.

Next season he will move to McLaren full-time, replacing two-time world champion Fernando Alonso. And while he's looking forward to the next chapter, he's also sad to be saying farewell to his interim squad.

Hulkenberg still has 'a job to do' in Abu Dhabi

"I’ve really enjoyed my time with Renault over the past 14 months," he said. "They say Enstone has a family feel and I felt at ease and very welcome from day one.

"To drive for a manufacturer team is a dream come true and I’m very proud to be part of the history of such an important brand in Formula 1.

"On track, the results have been good on a whole, very consistent and that’s something I can be proud about.

"As a driver, I take with me very valuable experiences and I’m looking forward to staying part of the Renault family with McLaren next season.

"We still have this final race to focus on and that’s all I’m thinking about at the moment," he added.

Last year's race at the Yas Marina Circuit ended prematurely for the Spaniard when a wheel issue forced him to retire. He's hoping for better this year to mark his departure from the team.

"I’m definitely looking forward to Abu Dhabi as it will be an interesting finale" he said. "I quite enjoy these races under the lights.

"It’s cool to start the race in daylight and finish it under the night sky, I really like that.

"In terms of a lap, there’s a lot going on. There are long straights, which bring overtaking opportunities, fast sweeping corners and also some tight turns.

"We’ll be doing our homework to ensure we’re best prepared and can hit the ground running right from Friday practice," he added.

"We would like a bit more performance from the car for the last race and I know the team is working hard to get back into the points there.

"Hopefully it will be a good last race for the team and I can end this spell on a really bright note.

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.