What the Abu Dhabi lacked, in terms of physical racing, was replaced by a thrilling tactical battle between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg. Rosberg lost the battle, but won the war. However, there could be a whole different kind of war brewing behind closed doors at Mercedes, as Hamilton directly ignores team orders.
During the race, it was clear that Hamilton was not driving the car to its full potential. The reason was clearly to back Rosberg into the cars behind, in a hope that he will fall off of the podium position and give Hamilton his fourth World Drivers’ Championship. The team knew that this was the situation and repeatedly told Hamilton to speed up so that Rosberg was not overtaken by the rapidly approaching Sebastian Vettel.
Fortunately for Rosberg, he was able to maintain second position, allowing him to take home his first ever World Drivers’ Championship title in Formula One. But while Rosberg is away celebrating his victory over the winter, Hamilton will likely be in for an earful from the team. But were Hamilton’s tactics justified?
Any time a racing driver sits in a car, they are there to win. Formula One is more than just a pure test of speed; it’s also a strategy game. Although it would have been very disappointing to see Rosberg lose the championship due to Hamilton’s tactics, it is a perfectly legitimate way to win the race or the championship. If roles were reversed, I would expect Rosberg to use the exact same strategy because as much as you are racing for a team, you are also racing for your own career.
Mercedes really should have expected that Hamilton wouldn’t listen to their instructions anyway. No driver wants to throw away their chance at the championship title and no fans want to see team orders like this. The truth is that most fans hate to see race battles sorted out by the teams in the pit lane and they would rather see them decided on the track by the drivers. It makes for more thrilling races.
At the end of the day, there isn’t really any reason for Mercedes to be mad because Rosberg still won the championship and both cars had a 1-2 finish. Although it may have been a very stressful moment in the Mercedes garage, it was really entertaining to watch. If it had not been for the championship battle, the race would have been pretty much a dud. It turned an average race day into a real nail-biter and that is exactly the type of drama that the sport needs.
Weekend Summary: 2016 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
Hamilton: “I can’t and won’t give up”
Rosberg: “I have to treat this like any other race”
The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any other agency, organization, employer or company. Assumptions made in any analysis contained within this article are not reflective of the position of any entity other than the author.
