The close of the thrilling 2014 season is here. The double points race has been the topic of some serious discussion all year long and is a concept that has been dropped for the 2015 season. As much as we have hoped that the double points will not be a factor in the championship, it is still possible. The Mercedes pair are in a very tight championship battle which may be won because of double points. All eyes will be on the Mercedes team.
Nico Rosberg has the pole for the race, but Lewis Hamilton starts right alongside of him, so it is vital for one of these drivers to get a good start. Hamilton may be willing to back off of Rosberg at the start to avoid collision since Rosberg cannot win if there is a 1-2 finish. I have no doubt that if the opportunity shows itself, Hamilton will overtake Rosberg, but I doubt that he will make risky decisions to make it happen and I think that he will race more conservatively than usual. I still think that he will be able to pass Rosberg in a pit stop, making it a 1-2 finish with Hamilton leading.
Felipe Massa has made a great showing in the practice and qualifying sessions and will surely have the momentum from his podium in front of his home crowd. Starting from fourth on the grid, I am confident that he will be able to out perform his teammate Valtteri Bottas and take the bottom step of the podium. I don’t think that Bottas has displayed that he is capable of holding onto fourth, based on his practice performance. I think that he can surely hold onto fifth though.
For the fourth position, I think that we will see Fernando Alonso take over. Despite having an issue in free practice two and now starting from only eighth on the grid, I think that Alonso has showed us in his performance in previous races that he has what it takes to overtake cars and get up to fourth position.
I’m excited to watch the race and see who will be the World Champion. This is the closest championship that we have saw in Formula One for quite a while. I’m disappointed that we won’t see Red Bull in their usual spots on the grid since they were disqualified by qualifying for an illegal front wing. I was looking forward to seeing a good finish from Red Bull, but I think that no one will care about anyone else’s performance. All of the attention goes to the Mercedes guys… and for good reason.
1 Lewis Hamilton
2 Nico Rosberg
3 Felipe Massa
4 Fernando Alonso
5 Valtteri Bottas
