With both the World Drivers’ Championship and World Constructors’ Championship titles already decided, the penultimate round of the season was a great place to see a pure battle between the Mercedes duo, without the pressures of the points system. Although it wasn’t as dramatic as some of the races that we’ve saw in the past at this circuit. The primary focus of the weekend was the Mercedes team.
Track action went underway on Friday. The first free practice session was led by Lewis Hamilton, who arrived a day late due to a car accident in Monaco and a fever. He topped his teammate, Nico Rosberg, by over half a second. Thunderstorms were in the forecast for Friday’s activities, but none made an appearance. In free practice two, Rosberg took the top of the time charts from Hamilton, meaning that the Mercedes drivers finished the day on equal terms. Local favourite, Felipe Massa, struggled in the first session, but greatly improved to the top ten in the second. Felipe Nasr ran consistently in both sessions, setting a time for 14th and 13th on the time sheets.
On Saturday, Lewis Hamilton began the day on top of the free practice three time sheets, with Rosberg trailing. Things bounced back for Rosberg, as he claimed his fifth consecutive pole position from this teammate. The story of Saturday was Hamilton’s refusal to pose for a photo with the top three qualifying finishers. This left only Nico Rosberg and Sebastian Vettel in the photo. Fernando Alonso had a difficult time in qualifying, after running only two untimed laps before parking in the garage. Some photos taking during qualifying as he spectated have allowed the Photoshop masters and amateurs to have a bit of fun. A new #PlacesAlonsoWouldRatherBe has become quite popular on the social net, showing all of the places that Alonso would rather be.
Sunday got off to a horrible start for Carlos Sainz, as his car got stuck at the pit exit before going to the grid. The team towed the car back to the garage and he managed to start the race from the pitlane, but retired shortly after the start. Rosberg was the leader of the day, leading most of the race. His teammate was faster than him during the first half of the race, but couldn’t get by. Rosberg appeared to be conserving his brakes, so Hamilton dropped out of the turbulent air. The pair chased each other through the lapped traffic, but Hamilton lost time at various points while trying to pass the traffic. Max Verstappen and Sergio Pérez had a multi-lap battle which ended with Verstappen making the overtake in turn one, just before the half way point. Pastor Maldonado received a five second time penalty for spinning Marcus Ericsson in turn one. Brazilian favourite, Felipe Massa, will have to speak with the stewards at the end of the race, as the tyre pressure checks before the race revealed that his tyres were heated above the maximum on the grid. Rosberg lead the Mercedes 1-2, with Hamilton and Vettel also on the podium.
Although it may be hard to believe, we have reached the end of the 2015 Formula One season. Our final stop at the Yas Marina Circuit for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix occurs at the end of November. The season concludes on the weekend of November 29.
