Sebastian Vettel, speaking at the track parade and asked how he can overtake the Mercedes: "I have got 55 laps to come up with a plan. I will try to have a good start and see. They (Mercedes) have been quick all weekend.

"To finish the season somewhere special, this is a special place with special memories for me - I want to do well."

Image source, Rex Features

Well, they like it in Las Vegas.

Boxing's 'Master of Ceremonies', the silver-tongued Michael Buffer himself, introduced Lewis Hamilton as he entered the grid in his inimitable style at the US Grand Prix.

It didn't exactly get a great reception from the F1 drivers, with Fernando Alonso later saying "it was a bad copy" of Nascar Racing.

This is how things stand in the constructors' championship. It is a big weekend for Toro Rosso, Renault and Haas as they look for the larger slice of the financial pie by finishing sixth.

Image source, .

Andrew Benson
BBC Sport’s chief F1 writer at Yas Marina

Image source, Getty Images

There is not much at stake this weekend, but one thing that is is sixth place in the constructors’ championship, with Renault attempting to overturn their four-point deficit to Toro Rosso and gain the $6.5m extra in prize money that comes with the extra place.

Nico Hulkenberg, who has not been out-qualified by a team-mate all year, is in a great position to seal it for the French team in seventh on the grid - with Toro Rosso drivers Pierre Gasly and Brendan Hartley 17th and last. While team-mate Carlos Sainz, who qualified 12th, described finishing sixth as “very important”, Hulkenberg - as is his way - was more deadpan about it.

“It is what it is,” he said. “I don’t think about it too much. I want to get the best possible result and finish the season with a nice race and a nice result. If we get the best out of it, I am sure we can get the other job too.”

The qualifying record at Renault might have been different had Sainz been in the team all season, given how close he has been to Hulkenberg despite joining only for Malaysia last month, but Hulkenberg could not resist patting himself on the back. “Generally I am very happy with my record in qualifying,” he said.

“I feel this year with these cars I like it a lot more. You can push. You have grip somehow. There is more you can work with as a driver, so it is really in favour for me. I feel more confident and happy compared to some previous years. And for me in my world, when I count, it is 20-love... so well done.”

Loekieprivat: Wouldn't it be a nice farewell gesture if everybody would line up before the finish line on the final lap to give #Massa that victory back that Schumi once stole from him

It wasn't just Fernando Alonso getting stroppy with his mechanics.

"Shut up, please!" was Toro Rosso's Carlos Sainz plea after unwanted interruptions from his team during Singapore GP.

Well, he did say please.

Andrew Benson
BBC Sport’s chief F1 writer at Yas Marina

There was an amusing moment in McLaren’s post-qualifying news conference when Fernando Alonso was asked whether he would be interested in doing most of the World Endurance Championship next season in addition to Le Mans.

Regular readers will know that BBC Sport revealed exclusively two weeks ago that he has agreed to do Le Mans with Toyota and is weighing up doing more races - neither of which have been officially admitted yet but are accepted as fact within McLaren.

So how would he answer the question? “I didn’t think about that,” he said, smiling. Team-mate Stoffel Vandoorne said: “For sure he did.” Racing director Eric Boullier said: “Really?” One journalist then cleverly asked, now you have thought about it, can you give us an answer.

Alonso replied: “Erm. I need to digest that. To see the calendar properly. Could be nice, probably. I would love it.” Alonso starts 11th here today - with Vandoorne 13th - and is hoping to score some points in the final race of the ill-fated McLaren-Honda relationship.

Image source, Getty Images

Fernando Alonso is a Formula 1 legend. And being a legend, and a two-time world champion at that, you can get a bit more freedom to be a bit looser with the tongue than younger drivers may be.

It has been a miserable season for him and his McLaren team and he had finally had enough of the struggles during the Belgian Grand Prix.

After told to protect his tyres, the fed-up Spaniard told his mechanics "no more radio for the rest of the race!"

The silence did not do him too much good as he failed to finish.

Andrew Benson
BBC Sport’s chief F1 writer at Yas Marina

Felipe Massa has had a strong two final races to his Formula 1 career - following his fighting seventh place in Brazil with a 10th place in qualifying here in Abu Dhabi. But his farewell weekend has been somewhat overshadowed by what’s happening after it - Robert Kubica’s test for the team on Tuesday and Wednesday, at which they will assess his capability to return to F1 despite the injuries to his right arm sustained in his horrific rally accident nearly seven years ago.

Williams technical chief Paddy Lowe said: “Robert is an impressive guy. We all saw how he operated in Formula 1 in the past - he's a great driver, very professional, very committed, enthusiastic, very intelligent. He's an exciting prospect. That’s why we're looking at him.

"We're in a process with Robert, which is a matter of evaluating whether his injuries will have an impact on his ability to drive in Formula 1, it's as simple as that. So far it's been fine, is all I’d say - we ran (him in) the 2014 car (in Hungary last month) and there were no issues, so I think we just see how it goes next week. Then we make our assessment. He will do a normal programme and in the process we can answer those questions.”

Image source, Getty Images

David Nicholson-Hirst: Will we all be saying goodbye to Massa next year?

We are expecting today to be the final race in Felipe Massa's career, although we said exactly the same thing at this race last year.

Formula 1 have put this emotional farewell to the Brazilian together.

BBC Sport app users may need to click on the link to see the video.

Andrew Benson
BBC Sport’s chief F1 writer at Yas Marina

Sebastian Vettel knows that Ferrari have let their best chance to win the title for years slip through their fingers this year. But his mood has changed this weekend.

Down in the dumps after Mexico and through the Brazil weekend after Lewis Hamilton clinched the title, Vettel is a lot more buoyant this weekend, almost certainly because of his win at Interlagos.

“The year is more or less over, we have one more race and we want to finish with dignity,” he said. “We want to show that we’re here to fight and we want to get Ferrari on the podium and ideally win the race.

"In general I think the last race is important. Obviously if you’re not in the fight for the championship, it still is important to set things up for the winter, just give a boost to the whole factory. So let’s see what we do. I don’t believe that the result tomorrow determines next year – but for sure a good result always helps you, gives everyone a boost over the winter, so we try our best.”

Image source, Getty Images

We all have that work colleague who, basically, is just really annoying.

Sadly for Esteban Ocon that seems to be his Force India team-mate Sergio Perez, with the pair's clashes providing some entertaining moments for anyone who is not a Force India fan.

Ocon finally snapped after a coming together in Spa. "What is he doing?" was one of the bits we could actually broadcast in its entirety.

Our 5 live commentary team suggested the Force India bosses "would go nuts". And they did. They ordered Ocon and Perez to stay away from each other, on the track at least, to avoid any more incidents of drama.

Last year's F1 champion Nico Rosberg tells BBC Sport what it took to get the better of his great rival.

Rosberg was talking to the BBC as part of the documentary Nico Rosberg: My Life After F1, which will be available on the BBC News Channel at 13:30 & 20:30 GMT on Saturday 2 December and on the BBC iPlayer.

2016 world champion Nico Rosberg, speaking to Sky Sports, said: "My doughnuts from last year are still here!

"It is nice to be here. Last year I was in total tunnel vision and now am taking it in from a different perspective.

Asked if he congratulated former team-mate Lewis Hamilton after his title win: "I wrote him a message. And sent him a message on YouTube.

"I am not in competition with him anymore at all. We were really good friends in the past so I am hoping to get on good terms again but it will take time.

On Valterri Bottas' debut season at Mercedes: "It has been difficult for Valtteri to come in against Lewis at the top if his game.

"We didn't see the best Lewis this weekend. Valtteri can come back strong next year."

Image source, Formula 1

Bottas' pole position was the fourth of the season and also his fourth of his career.

Image source, .

Mercedes Valtteri Bottas, who starts on pole, speaking at the track parade, said: "It was a really good lap and came at the right time. We got everything working well and got the most out of the tyres.

"I had a pretty bad start two weeks ago and we have been looking at things and made modifications. Hopefully I will have a rocketing start here."

Andrew Benson
BBC Sport’s chief F1 writer at Yas Marina

Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas took a bit of stick after losing the Brazilian Grand Prix two weeks ago despite starting from pole, largely thanks to a tepid defence of his position at the first corner from Sebastian Vettel’s Ferrari.

The Finn is out to make amends and finish a season his team boss Toto Wolff has described as “mixed” on a high. “I was so gutted in Brazil, in the last race, being on pole and missing the win, so I have a clear target," said Bottas.

"When you start from the pole, the only target you have anyway. Well, if you start from the front row or second row, you still have a realistic chance to fight for the win but pole is the best place to start and a win is obviously the only target.”

Image source, Getty Images

Paul Bollywood: Worst driver farewell? Surely Mansell parking the car from 20th place halfway through the Spanish GP in '95

Shellie Palmer: Worst farewell (or shortest I should say) was when Felipe Massa said he was retiring last season.....

After winning the world title for a fourth time at Mexico, Lewis Hamilton celebrated in the traditional fashion of performing 'doughnuts', basically spinning around and driving as quick as you can in a circle.

Fine for a Formula 1 world champion to do it on a race track, but you'd be annoyed as hell if some 19-year-old in a souped-up Ford Escort did that outside your house at 2.30 in the morning.

What was a bit less usual was a radio message from Neymar, the world's most expensive footballer, congratulating Hamilton and telling him that he was "happy for you, bro".