Hulkenberg keen to turn 'emotional' race into 'celebration'

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While admitting the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will be emotional, Nico Hulkenberg wants to turn his final race for Force India into a celebration.

Hulkenberg will move to Renault in 2017 after four years racing for Force India across two spells. His current team can secure fourth place in the constructors' championship for the first time in its history in Abu Dhabi as it currently holds a 27-point advantage over Williams, and Hulkenberg wants to end his time with Force India on a positive note.

“The final race of the season is always special, but this year even more so," Hulkenberg said. "It will be my final race with the team, so it will be emotional to work with the crew and the other team members for one last time. People move around teams a lot in Formula One, so I know it’s a goodbye and not a farewell.

"I want to enjoy this last race together and make sure it turns into a celebration: I want us to confirm fourth place in the championship, then we will see a lot of big smiles on everyone’s faces and be proud of what we achieved together."

And Hulkenberg is confident the Yas Marina Circuit will allow Force India to be competitive in his final race for the team.

“Looking at the track characteristics, Abu Dhabi should suit us really well. We had a few strong results in the last few years and I am confident we can get a good one this time around too. I would love nothing more than to sign off from the team in style.”

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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.