The Championship title may be a thing of the past but the word from the McLaren camp is unanimous: there's still plenty to race for.
With Sebastian Vettel having secured his second World title at the Japanese GP in early October, the remaining four races of the season lost some of their edge, but for the likes of Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton, winning races remains a massive incentive.
"Red Bull and Sebastian [Vettel] may have clinched both Championships, but I'm still determined to end the season on a winning high," declared Hamilton.
"I've won two grands prix this year, and I'd love to double that by the end of the year! It would also be a great reward for everybody at Vodafone McLaren Mercedes."
The Briton, who endured another headline-grabbing race in India last time out where he once again tangled with Felipe Massa, is confident that the MP4-26 will do well at the Yas Marina Circuit.
"I think we've got every reason to be confident for Abu Dhabi. This circuit should really suit the characteristics of our car - we should be able to capitalise on the layout to maximise the benefit of DRS and KERS, both of which are very strong on our car," explained the 26-year-old.
Like Hamilton, Button is eager to add to his tally of wins and is upbeat after his second spot in India.
"It's usually been quite difficult to overtake here, especially last year, but I think that DRS will change all that. The back straight is one of the longest in Formula 1 so I expect to see a lot of action there. It would be great to see the new rules turn this circuit into a place where overtaking is more common and more exciting," said Button.
"Our car should suit this circuit so I'm very optimistic. We saw at the last grand prix that even though we didn't have the ultimate speed to catch and pass Sebastian, we made him work hard for the win. Tactically, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes ran a first-class race: I got all the right calls from the pit wall and the pit crew did a fantastic job. The Championship may not be at stake any more but we're still aiming to win races and put on a tremendous show," he added.
Team boss Martin Whitmarsh is equally forthright in his belief that nothing less than the best will suffice for his team despite the way the season has unraveled.
"At Vodafone McLaren Mercedes we approach every grand prix with one aim: to win it," he said.
"So while we can never be entirely happy with finishing second, as we did in India, we can be satisfied that we maximised the technical package we had and look at ways to go one better for the next race.
"Even though we've secured second place in the Constructors' Championship, and Jenson has a very healthy margin in second place in the Drivers' Championship, the season isn't over for us by any means. We're continuing to bring new developments to our car and we'll be fighting every bit as hard as we did at the first race in Australia back in March."
