Hamilton is looking forward to the end of his partnership with troubled Mercedes

Lewis Hamilton has no intention of ever getting into Mercedes' W13 car after the end of this season, after the seven-time world champion finished fifth in qualifying for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The Briton was almost seven-tenths of a second slower than Max Verstappen's best starting position, which was quite a shock for the Mercedes team after their double victory in Brazil.

"I certainly didn't expect such a big gap, but on the flats we're losing six-tenths of a second," Hamilton said after qualifying. "It's reminiscent of pre-Austin racing, but the bouncing of the car is back, which makes it even more difficult."

But after finishing the race at the Yas Marina racetrack, Hamilton still has a few more laps behind the wheel of the troubled W13 racing car, as he will still be testing it after the end of the season. "We have quite a bit of vacuum, we just need a more efficient racing car. Everyone in the team knows what our problems are and where we broke it, and we're pretty sure that the next race car we build won't have any of those characteristics. I can't wait for the end of Tuesday to drive this thing for the last time, which I don't intend to drive ever again. It will not be one of the cars that I will ask for at the end of the contract," added Hamilton.