The 2016 Formula One season came to a close this weekend with the World Drivers’ Championship title decider in the desert at the Yas Marina Circuit in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. This was the race that decided which Mercedes driver would be the World Champion this season. Aside from that, it was also the final race for Felipe Massa and Jenson Button, who will be retiring.
Nico Rosberg started the weekend strong, setting the initial pace for the first free practice session, although he didn’t maintain that, allowing Lewis Hamilton to take the lead of the session. Red Bull were close behind the Mercedes teammates, while both Ferrari drivers were more than a second behind the leading Mercedes. Hamilton took the lead of the second free practice session too, but it was not a smooth ride, as the defending World Champion battled with flat spots and later feared that he had a transmission issue. Rosberg was not far off of Hamilton’s pace, as he finished less than a tenth of a second behind his teammate. Sebastian Vettel improved his pace to come third, with the Red Bull drivers and Kimi Räikkönen behind him.
The results shuffled during the first session on Saturday, as Vettel topped the session. Max Verstappen and Kimi Räikkönen were less than a quarter of a second behind the leading Ferrari. The Mercedes drivers were far down the field in P4 and P5. Hamilton was able to lead his teammate, despite the Brit complaining of brake issues. Hamilton was able to take the pole position, while his teammate fell in behind his teammate. Vettel started on fifth, which was lower than he could have been if he hadn’t made a mistake on his final run. Daniel Ricciardo starts third, with Kimi Räikkönen in fourth, ahead of his teammate. Felipe Massa started in the top ten for the final race of his career.
The two Mercedes drivers got away from the grid cleanly and made it through turn one without any issues. Neither Red Bull had a great start, with Verstappen getting the worst of it after contact with Nico Hülkenberg in the first corner, causing him to spin his car. Kevin Magnussen was the first driver to retire from the race, as the team called him into the pits. Hamilton had a slow first pit stop, as the Ferrari of Kimi Räikkönen blocked him from making an exit on time. The same thing happened to Rosberg, although his pit stop was longer. Hamilton came out in front of Max Verstappen, while Rosberg came out behind the Dutchman and ahead of Räikkönen. It became vital for Rosberg to overtake Verstappen, as the Mercedes team warned their driver that Red Bull was making Verstappen slow to aid Ricciardo. Jenson Button’s final race did not go to plan, as a suspension failure threw him out of the race. Things got tense for Rosberg, as he was forced to overtake Verstappen and nearly made contact in the process. Vettel took over the leading position, having made less pit stops than either of the Mercedes drivers. Jolyon Palmer was placed under investigation for colliding with Carlos Sainz. In the closing laps of the race, with the Mercedes cars 1-2 once again, Rosberg was under threat from Vettel, as a slow driving Hamilton attempted to back Rosberg into the other cars. Despite multiple instructions from the team to speed up, Hamilton refused to drive any faster. Despite a few overtaking attempts late in the race, Hamilton cruised across the finish line, while his teammate took the second step of the podium and his first World Drivers’ Championship title.
It’s been a spectacular season and we can look forward to another great season of racing in spring, with some new faces on the grid. Be sure to stay tuned to Racing Clothesline for all of the 2016 post-season content, off-season content and 2017 pre-season content.
Hamilton: “I can’t and won’t give up”
Rosberg: “I have to treat this like any other race”
2016 World Drivers’ Championship Outcomes
