Simply Abu Dhabi XXIV

6 9 S I M P LY A B U DH A B I Round 20 Brazil: The championship might be about Rosberg and Hamilton but the race was all Verstappen who made up 11 places in the final 12 laps to snare an improbable podium in treacherous conditions. Two red flags brought about by crashes and torrential rain threw strategies out the window but Hamilton kept his composure to win while second for Rosberg kept his title hopes alive for Abu Dhabi. With wet conditions, the race was started behind the safety car and stopped twice following a crash for Raikkonen and because of heavier rain, but Hamilton stayed out front as his rivals squabbled behind. Rosberg struggled to keep pace and spent more time battling with Verstappen until Max pitted on lap 48 due to being on wrong tyres when it began to rain again. This gave Rosberg his best chance to chase down Hamilton. Verstappen emerged in 14th place but carved his way through to be back on Rosberg’s tail as the chequered flag came out. The result ensured that Rosberg only needed to finish on the podium at Yas Marina to win the title. Driver: Rosberg 367, Hamilton 355, Ricciardo 246 Constructor: Mercedes 722, Red Bull 446, Ferrari 375 Round 21 Abu Dhabi: Rosberg went one better than a top three finish to win the championship with a run to second place in what was possibly his gutsiest performance all year. Hamilton led the race from start to finish, but despite attempting to back Rosberg up into Ferrari’s Vettel in the closing stages, hoping to get Vettel past and drop Nico off the top three, it wasn’t good enough. Settling into second behind Hamilton, Rosberg led Raikkonen from Ricciardo, while Verstappen spun and dropped to last. After the first stop, Rosberg came out behind Verstappen and needed to make a brave pass in order to reclaim a top three slot he needed to secure the title. Rosberg launched amighty effort to get past Verstappen on lap 20, going wheel-to-wheel through turn 7, nearly colliding. It wasn’t until turn 11 that Nico made the pass stick. With fresher tyres but down in sixth, Vettel was on a charge, passing Raikkonen and Ricciardo before chasing down Verstappen in third. At the same time Hamilton slowed enough to not allow Rosberg a run on him but still put his rival in danger of those behind, which forcedMercedes to order him to speed up again. Hamilton ignored the direct team orders. Vettel attempted to pass Nico on the penultimate lap but Rosberg held on to clinch second and confirm his championship win. Just 1.6 seconds covered the top four of Hamilton, Rosberg, Vettel and Verstappen in what was the most tense race of the season. Final Points: Driver: Rosberg 385, Hamilton 380, Ricciardo 256 Constructor: Mercedes 765, Red Bull 468, Ferrari 398