Nico Rosberg Clinches Nerve Cracking Championship

Lewis Hamilton won the Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix but missed out on the Formula One drivers’ title as Mercedes-GP teammate Nico Rosberg finished second. The result gave Rosberg his first world championship by five points. Rosberg ended on 385 points to Hamilton’s 380.

There was no dream end to Jenson Button’s F1 career, however, as a front-right suspension failure stopped his McLaren on Lap 13. 

The Red Bull Racing cars of Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo were fourth and fifth. Kimi Raikkonen was sixth for Ferrari ahead of the Force India’s Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez. Felipe Massa was ninth in the final race of his career.

Nico Rosberg: The Champion

The German driver is now a champion in his own right after clinching his first title on Sunday to match his father’s achievement from 1982. Nico Rosberg will no longer be known simply as the son of Formula One champion Keke Rosberg.

Graham Hill (1962, 1968) and Damon Hill (1996) are the only other father and son duo, to have won the title.

Rosberg’s second place at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was enough to wrestle the title away from Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton and also prevented his arch-rival from clinching his third straight and fourth overall. Rosberg had to withstand late pressure from the Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel to hold onto second with the first three covered by 0.8 seconds. Just like his father, Rosberg drives in the No. 6 car.

Abu Dhabi: the final race

Rosberg’s title went down to the wire in a nerve-shredding finale.

With Hamilton purposefully slowing him down, two other drivers hard on his tail and the title on the line, Rosberg did not crack. Hamilton won the race from pole position for his 53rd GP win. But Rosberg was 12 points ahead of him before the race and only needed to finish no lower than third if Hamilton won.

Hamilton made it hard for Rosberg by disobeying team orders to speed up near the end, in a bid to back Rosberg toward Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen in third and fourth places, respectively.

Vettel could not quite pass Rosberg, finishing third ahead of Verstappen and fourth overall in the championship behind Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo.

As Hamilton deliberately slowed in the later stages of the race, his team told him over race radio to up the tempo. Hamilton ignored them and then even ignored a direct order from Mercedes’ executive director Paddy Lowe four laps from the end.

Rosberg has won nine of the 21 races in 2016, beating Lewis Hamilton by five points.Then he jumped out of his car and danced around the track before being hugged by his mechanics and was tossed into the air by his Mercedes crew.

Rosberg survived earlier drama when he was close to colliding with Verstappen on lap 21 as they jostled for second place.

The Mercedes rivalry

For the Mercedes pair, the title deciding race had started serenely.

With the sun setting on the Yas Marina track, Hamilton was on pole for the 12th time this season and got away cleanly, as did Rosberg.

Meanwhile, Verstappen’s car went into a spin following contact shortly after the start, dropping him down from sixth to last, but the daring Dutchman soon caught up.

Hamilton came in for his first tire change on the eighth lap and Rosberg came in for his on the next lap. But the German driver was held up for a couple of seconds by Vettel, who was just coming in for his stop, and when he came out, he was behind Verstappen and Hamilton.

Rosberg needed to overtake Verstappen, the youngest driver to win an F1 race, who has earned a reputation for his risky overtaking.

Hamilton controlled the race from the front but was under instruction from Mercedes management not to try any strategic games to delay Rosberg. The German complained on the radio to the team to “consider doing something” and the tense title battle will do nothing to improve the cool relationship between the two drivers. They twice almost came into contact, but Rosberg showed great courage to then pass him.

Lewis Hamilton fought valiantly till the end but it just wasn’t enough as Nico Rosberg takes in the footsteps of his father and becomes an F1 World Champion. Rosberg held on to beat Hamilton by just five points. After the drama of the race, Hamilton congratulated Rosberg on his world championship and the two men embraced and shook hands on the podium.

A cracking F1 season

Rosberg started the 2016 F1 season on a bright note, winning the first four races of the season, which gave him a head start. He did not make many errors in the season, which helped him win nine races this season. Nico Rosberg finished runner-up five times this season, and it is such consistent podium form, which played an important role in helping him become a world champion.

Max Verstappen replaced Daniil Kvyat at Red Bull before the fifth race of the season, and the talented driver was amazing ever since. He is one of the exciting drivers in the circuit as he does not have that fear factor. Verstappen’s driving skill is exceptional as he showed by winning the Spanish Grand Prix, becoming the youngest winner in F1 history. The commentators were in special awe throughout the season with his quality performances. His drive in the Brazilian GP, where he finished third in wet conditions, was lauded by all and sundry. Verstappen has all the ingredients of a potential future world champion.

Hamilton started the F1 2016 season as an overall favourite, after winning the world championship in 2014 and 2015. Call it unlucky or whatever, Hamilton did not start the campaign well, and also lost some important points due to engine failures in China, Russia, Europe, Singapore and Malaysia. Had engine problems not arose for Hamilton, the F1 drivers’ title could have been his.

Button and Massa have been regular in the Formula One for the last decade or so, but we will not see these experienced drivers racing in the circuit next season as they have announced their retirement. Button and Massa might not have lit the 2016 F1 season, collecting 21 and 53 points respectively for McLaren and Williams, but fans will thank the two for their contribution to Formula One.

With drivers like Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton, with a powerful car, there could not have been any perfect marriage. The duo dominated the F1 season, and helped Mercedes collect maximum points in most of the races. Mercedes finished first with 765 points in the constructors’ championship while second placed Red Bull scored 468. Next season, other teams have to do something, whatever it takes, to challenge Mercedes.

It’s been an incredible season and what a fitting way to end it.

For complete driver standings, click here.

For complete constructor standing, click here.

Picture Courtesy: BBC, DailyMail