'Thankful'

Alonso appreciated the gesture from race winner Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes and second-place Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari when, in a special tribute, they gave him space to drive with them in a synchronized display of donut spins during the slow-down lap.

"It was a good in-lap," Alonso laughed. "It was improvised and not planned. I saw them doing donuts at turn eight and turn 11 so I caught up.

"Then, one car was on the left, one was on the right, and we kept going like this until the start-finish line. So, I'm really thankful to them for the nice gesture and it was nice to celebrate by seeing the checkered flag."

He admitted, too, that he had not had time to absorb the scale and impact of F1's many messages of praise and good luck.

"Each time I go to my room, I look at my telephone and I see hundreds and hundreds of messages," he said. "I sit down in the chair and somebody knocks on the door to tell me to go out and see a new person.

"So, literally, I've had no time. I need a little bit of time for myself to realize what a magic weekend that I've had."

Alonso leaves the sport with two titles, 32 race wins and boundless admirers for his talent and individuality spread through 17 seasons of success, bad career decisions and profound disappointment.

Once the youngest pole-sitter and youngest champion, he was Spain's first great racing driver. After his bruising season alongside a rookie Hamilton in 2007, which generated serious tensions at McLaren, Alonso moved back to Renault.

Hamilton never lost respect for his old sparring partner and frequently referred to him as the greatest of his rivals. "Fernando is a true legend. It's been a privilege to race when he is racing," the Briton said on Sunday.

Agence France - presse