Alonso glad to end McLaren-Honda partnership with points finish

Fernando Alonso was glad to end McLaren-Honda's turbulent three-year Formula 1 partnership on a high after finishing ninth in Sunday's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Alonso put in a gutsy display to win a race-long battle against Williams' Felipe Massa and deliver McLaren its third straight points finish ahead of its split with Honda at the end of the year.

While the result failed to improve McLaren's constructors' championship position of ninth heading into the final race of the season, Alonso nevertheless was glad to end the team's second stint with Honda on a positive note.

"“This was an important race for us. It was the last one of this project and we wanted to finish it in a good way," Alonso said.

"It wasn’t that exciting from our position, but we had an interesting battle with Massa in front and Carlos [Sainz Jr.] behind. We chose to undercut Felipe and it worked quite well, but after that we were struggling with the pace and running alone for most of the time.

"But, we had a solid race, a good start, a good strategy and scored two points, so I’m happy."

Despite regularly venting his frustration about McLaren-Honda's struggles over the past three years, Alonso admitted to a sense of pride over the project, wishing Honda well in its future endeavours.

“It has been a tough season and a tough three years for us, but I’m still feeling very proud of this project. We didn’t succeed in terms of results and we delivered below expectations, but nevertheless everyone fought and worked very hard," Alonso said.

“Now that we are both going our separate ways, we wish the best for Honda and good luck to the McLaren Renault project also.

"Now it’s a new chapter for both of us."