Simply Abu Dhabi XXIV

5 6 S I M P LY A B U DH A B I Round 1 Australia: Off the start, Fernando Alonso’s McLaren hit the back of new boy Gutierrez’s Haas at turn 3 resulting in a huge crash and rollover that stopped the race and halted Sebastian Vettel’s great start in his Ferrari. Rosberg’s harder tyres after the re-start meant one less stop to Vettel and he took the lead on lap 34. Hamilton pounced after an average start but it was Rosberg’s win from Hamilton which gave Mercedes a 1-2. Driver: Rosberg 25, Hamilton 18, Vettel 15 Constructor: Mercedes 43, Ferrari 15, Williams-Mercedes 14 Round 2 Bahrain: Alonso was forced to miss the race on doctor’s orders after Australia, giving Stoffel Vandorne his F1 debut for McLaren and finishing in the points. Again, Rosberg stole the show, winning by 10 seconds from Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen. Williams’ Valteri Bottas and Hamilton came together on lap 1, spinning Hamilton which dropped him down and he finished third behind Kimi. Driver: Rosberg 50, Hamilton 33, Ricciardo 24 Constructor: Mercedes 83, Ferrari 30, Red Bull 30 Round 3 China: Technical woes continued for Hamilton in qualifying and he started rear of the grid. The inevitable first lap tangle involved Sauber’s Felipe Nasr while Hamilton stopped for a new front wing and eventually finished seventh. Vettel recovered from a first corner clash with Raikkonen to take second ahead of Red Bull’s Daniil Kvyat whose aggressive start had earlier angered the German. But it was another convincing win to Rosberg, more than 30 seconds clear of his teammate and leading by 36 points. Driver: Rosberg 75, Hamilton 39, Ricciardo 36 Constructor: Mercedes 114, Ferrari 61, Red Bull 57