Mercedes found playful way to wave off Bottas after Abu Dhabi

Valtteri Bottas is saying goodbye to the Mercedes AMG F1 team after five seasons. The Finn leaves the team with another constructors' title in his pocket. The team thanked him warmly for this and said goodbye in the cockpit immediately after the finish in Abu Dhabi.

For Bottas, it was a good Sunday; he won the constructors' championship. On the other side of his garage, part of his team was in disappointed. Lewis Hamilton lost the title to Max Verstappen. Mercedes took the time to thank Bottas and wave him off. The team did so playfully.

Engineer programs farewell Bottas in the steering wheel

In the video above, you can see Bottas being thanked for his contribution to the championship on behalf of the entire team. As usual, his engineer escorts the Finn back to the pit lane and gives instructions on the engine setting: "So 'Strat 1' and 'Chassis Default 77'. " The attentive listener already knows something is about to happen, as Bottas' starting number is 77.

In the video, you can see Bottas calmly navigating to number 77 on his dashboard, where suddenly upon coming up on the first long straight the Finnish words, "Kiitos Valtteri" appear on his steering wheel. Bottas receives the goodbye, but concludes, "I'm sorry it ended this way, but thank you."