Twice-champion Hamilton ousts Alonso as one of F1’s top five winners

2014 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix stats and facts

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Perhaps in an ideal world every F1 season would end with a driver claiming the would championship by winning the last race of the season. But it doesn’t happen that often.

But yesterday Lewis Hamilton did just that, and sealed his second drivers’ championship with victory in the season finale. It was the 11th time this has happened in F1’s 65 seasons.

The first two championships were decided this way, but it didn’t happen again for over a decade. Curiously the unique father-and-son title winners Graham Hill and Damon Hill won all three of their titles with victories in the final races of the season.

Hamilton’s triumph yesterday ensured their feat remains unmatched, by stopping Nico Rosberg from emulating father Keke’s 1982 title win. Here are the eleven occasions when a victory in the final race decided the championship:

YearChampion
1950Giuseppe Farina
1951Juan Manuel Fangio
1962Graham Hill
1968Graham Hill
1986Alain Prost
1996Damon Hill
1998Mika Hakkinen
1999Mika Hakkinen
2007Kimi Raikkonen
2010Sebastian Vettel
2014Lewis Hamilton

Hamilton joins the multiple champions

Hamilton was already one of the 32 world champions, but he is now part of the even more select group of those who won more than one title. He is the 16th driver to do so, meaning exactly half of F1’s champions have won more than one title.

For the second year running a single driver won more than ten races. Hamilton notched up 11, whereas last year Vettel equalled Michael Schumacher’s record of 13.

Along with Hamilton, only three drivers won races this year – Rosberg took five and Daniel Ricciardo three. That meant 2014 equalled the record for the lowest number of different race winners during a season:

YearWinnersRaces
1950Juan Manuel Fangio, Giuseppe Farina, Johnnie Parsons7
1952Alberto Ascari, Piero Taruffi, Troy Ruttman8
1963Jim Clark, Graham Hill, John Surtees10
1988Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost, Gerhard Berger16
2014Lewis Hamilton, Nico Rosberg, Daniel Ricciardo19

Hamilton triumph completed a British clean sweep of F1 and its feeder series: Jolyon Palmer won the GP2 crown in Russia and Alex Lynn secured the GP3 title when rival Dean Stoneman failed to take the points available for pole position in Friday’s GP3 qualifying session.

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Mercedes break wins record

Hamilton’s 33rd career win moves him ahead of Fernando Alonso as the fifth most successful driver of all time in terms of race victories. Six more will put him level with Vettel, the most successful driver on the grid at the moment.

However Rosberg once again frustrated Hamilton’s efforts to take pole position and took the 15th of his career, 11 of which have come this year. Rosberg out-qualified Hamilton 11-7 over the season. That’s something none of Hamilton’s team mates have managed since his first year alongside Alonso in 2007, which was when drivers qualified with the starting fuel loads.

Hamilton led more laps than Rosberg – 495 to 483 – but Rosberg spent more laps in front of Hamilton on the track – 496 to 480. More significantly, Hamilton led a greater proportion of the laps he was on track (47.2%) than Rosberg (45.5%).

Both drivers continued to pile up success for Mercedes. The team took its 16th win of the season, beating the record of 15 set by McLaren in 1988 and Ferrari in 2002 and 2004, although those were all in shorter seasons. They also equalled Red Bull’s record of taking 18 pole positions in a 19-race season, which they achieved in 2011.

Mercedes engines completed a clean sweep of pole positions in 2014, something which last happened in 1969 when every pole sitter had a Cosworth engine.

The stranglehold on success Mercedes had this year meant no wins for both Ferrari and McLaren – the last F1 season where none of the race were won by either of those teams was in 1980. Vettel also completed his first full season without a win or a pole position.

Hamilton’s win yesterday brings Vettel’s reign as champion to an end (informally) four years after it started at the same circuit. Vettel had been champion for 1,470 consecutive days, the third-longest reign in F1 history:

ChampionBecame championLost titleLength of reign
Michael SchumacherJapan 2000Brazil 20051,812 days
Juan Manuel FangioSwitzerland 1954Morocco 19581,518 days
Sebastian VettelAbu Dhabi 2010Abu Dhabi 20141,470 days
Alain ProstEurope 1985Japan 1987*754 days
Alberto AscariGermany 1952Switzerland 1954749 days

*Title decided on Friday practice when an injury forced Nigel Mansell to withdraw from the race weekend.

Why Button’s fifth place wasn’t decisive

Although his 11 wins included victory in F1’s first ever double points finale, Hamilton’s haul of 384 points fell short of the record of 397 set by Vettel last year.

Happily the fears double points would swing the outcome of the drivers’ championship title were not realised, though it did affect some of the other placings. Sergio Perez was the biggest winner, finishing two places higher than he would have if conventional points had been used.

Perez’s gain was Kimi Raikkonen and Kevin Magnussen’s loss. Ironically, Perez was one of few drivers who spoke up in favour of double points when the rule was announced.

With double points on offer, Force India chose a good time to record their best result since the Bahrain Grand Prix. It wasn’t enough to wrest fifth in the constructors’ championship, but without Jenson Button in fifth place they would have been close.

Given the doubt over Button’s future at McLaren some significance has already been attached to this result. However it is not the case that, had Button not taken fifth yesterday, McLaren would have lost fifth in the championship to Force India.

Had Button broken down on the last lap and everyone moved up a place, fifth and sixth for the Force Indias and tenth for Kevin Magnussen would have seen the two teams end the year on 163 points, and McLaren would have stayed ahead thanks to Magnussen’s second place in Australia.

Third place for Valtteri Bottas meant he jumped up from sixth to fourth in the championship at the last race. Williams were big winners from double points, taking a haul of 66 from the final race, one less than they managed in the previous four races combined.

Williams also had two drivers on the podium for the first time since Nick Heidfeld and Mark Webber finished second and third at the 2005 Monaco Grand Prix.

Hamilton backed off at the end which allowed Daniel Ricciardo to claim the first fastest lap of his career, becoming the 127th driver to do so.

For the first time since Sauber entered F1 in 1993, it failed to score a point during the entire season. Both Adrian Sutil and Esteban Gutierrez have lost their drives. They ended the season tied in terms of qualifying results (9-9) and race finishes (5-5).

The McLaren drivers completed the most racing laps of anyone this year. Button covered 1,120 – 14 laps shy of the full season distance – and Magnussen managed 1,111. At the opposite end of the scale was Andre Lotterer, who managed a single lap at Spa for Caterham.

Finally, for the third time in his four-year F1 career, Pastor Maldonado ended the season with the most penalties of any driver (including those given for component changes.)

Review the year so far in statistics here:

Spotted any other interesting stats and facts from the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix? Share them in the comments.

2014 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

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Author information

Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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172 comments on “Twice-champion Hamilton ousts Alonso as one of F1’s top five winners”

  1. is rosberg finish in the lowest classified positon as a pole sitter in f1 history?????

    1. Niki Lauda was classified 16º at 1974 South African GP
      Nigel Mansell was classified 18º at 1990 French GP

      1. Oeiiiiiiiiiiii! (another davidnotcoulthard account) (@)
        25th November 2014, 4:32

        @erivaldonin Doesn’t mean they finished, though.

    2. thats an interesting one…

  2. Is this the first time in F1 history that one of the championship contenders lapped the other on track in the final, championship-deciding race?

    1. ooh cant wait for a response to this one!

    2. Kimi lapped Hamilton brazil 2007.

  3. Regarding the ‘fewest winners per season’ – if you take out the Indy 500, 1954 and 1955 would count, and 1950 and 1952 only had 2 drivers!

    Similarly, it’s not that common for only two teams to have race wins – it happened a few times this century (I think 2000, 2006, 2007), in 1961, and several times in the 50’s. Again, if we don’t look at the Indy 500, 1950 and 1951 saw only a single manufacturer win races (Alfa Romeo and Ferrari respectively)…

    1. Oeiiiiiiiiiiii! (another davidnotcoulthard account) (@)
      24th November 2014, 14:50

      Drivers – as in RIC, HAM, ROS rather than Brackley, Milton Keynes.

    2. 2006 Honda also had a win but you are correct with 2000 and 2007.
      1988 was only a couple of laps short for a single constructor sweeping the season.

    3. You mean 1950 & 1952, I presume

  4. How long before we can consider Lewis a legend of the sport?

    1. I’m a Lewis fan, but I (personally) think he has a way to go yet. He is certainly one of the best current drivers. Even if you argue that he is the best of the current crop, he needs to do something special to become a legend. A sustained period over several seasons on top, or near the top, consistently beating his team mate with top equipment would be a good start at least. Or consistently outperforming the expectations of a lesser car (this actually puts Alonso closer in my books).

      1. So why is Alonso regarded as a legend, when Lewis has far better stats in terms of wins, poles and the fact that he has won 2 championships with different teams.

        1. Alonso has been outstanding for over a decade, and has had by and large worse cars than Hamilton. He is climbing my personal top 10 greatest drivers of all list, he really does deserve at least one more title.

        2. Alonso isn’t really regarded as a legend, a lot put him as the most complete driver on the grid and regularly pit him against Hamilton as the best driver on the grid with Hamilton often regards by most as the fastest driver on the grid. (opinions differ one both of them) But a legend of the sport? Not yet.

          For a driver to be a real legend they would need to talked about without prompt 10+ years after they have left the sport, Senna, Mansell, Prost, Lauder, Moss etc… So we will only really know in 10+ years time if either Hamilton or Alonso are really legends.

          Stats aren’t the measure of a legend either, would you not class Moss as a legend just because he didn’t win a championship? It’s about much more than the history stats will show. Such as impact on the sport etc.

          At the moment, they are both extremely talented people, World champions. But legends? Well that up to the future to decide.

          1. @woodyd91

            For a driver to be a real legend they would need to talked about without prompt 10+ years after they have left the sport, Senna, Mansell, Prost, Lauder, Moss etc… So we will only really know in 10+ years time if either Hamilton or Alonso are really legends.

            Mansell a legend of the sport? If Mansell can be considered a legend, then both Lewis and Fernando are also legends, easily. Both are far more complete drivers than Nigel ever was.

          2. I’m sure both will be future legends of the sport, but like I said before, thats for the future to decide, When they have both left the sport.

        3. Just to be clear, I didn’t say Alonso is a legend. I said that, by that one measure, I believe he is closer.

          However, I would suggest that @woodyd91 is right, we won’t really know until several years have past.

      2. I don’t really see how you can argue Hamilton hasn’t had “a sustained period over several seasons on or near the top, consistently beating his team mate”.

        He has won a race in every season he’s competed, taken on and beaten world champions in 3/4 seasons paired with them, beat every other teammate he’s been up against, won races in sub par machinery, been dominant in dominant machinery etc etc etc.

        1. What sub par machinery has Hamilton driven in ? I don’t remember him driving for Minardi , Marrussia, Torro Rosso, they’re sub par machinery not an off season Mclaren that was still faster than the teams i’ve mentioned

          1. I think your definition of sub par is a little off.

          2. When the McLaren and Mercedes cars Hamilton drove have been off form he has still done particularly well – 2009 is a good example

          3. @sonia54

            You have never gave Hamilton credit. Im sorry please go and watch his rookie year. He as had a great carear. In 2007 and 2008 it is not like his car was way out front he was a baby and was taking it to best.

          4. Oeiiiiiiiiiiii! (another davidnotcoulthard account) (@)
            25th November 2014, 4:35

            @sonia54 What sub-par machinery has Fangio driven in F1 (and what sub-par machinery has Clark won with)?

            I think @woodyd91 is right, we’ll see a few years after they retire.

          5. the 2009 McLaren was a POS.

      3. What do you classify as a legend? If by legend you mean in the top 5 drivers in the history of the sport, no I don’t think he is quite there yet. 5-10 years time maybe. But certainly he is one of the best drivers of the last 20 years and I would consider him among the top 10-15 F1 drivers ever. Behind Alonso, but ahead of Vettel at the moment.

      4. There is one reason ALONE Lewis is a legend. He beat the greatest driver on the grid at the time in the same car in his ROOKIE year!! What more does he have to do!!

    2. I would say about the time he missed out on winning the championship his rookie year by 1 point, won the championship in his second year by 1 point, or if that’s not enough in terms of legendariness, about the time he passed Nigel Mansell for most number of wins for a British driver.

      As Will Buxton pointed out, there’s exactly one driver who’s won at least one race every year of his F1 career… What Will didn’t point out is that Lewis Hamilton hasn’t had a winless year in motorsport since 2001 (age 16).

      Even Jim Clark couldn’t claim that, and he won 25 of 72 starts, which statistically speaking, is bonkers.

      1. I am a Lewis fan and that first F1 season was outstanding.And I know you are just comparing statistics but Jim Clark are you sure.

      2. “As Will Buxton pointed out, there’s exactly one driver who’s won at least one race every year of his F1 career”

        Many stats are silly, but that’s an exceptionally silly one. All it shows is that Hamilton has had exceptional good fortune in terms of the cars he’s driven. Half the drivers in the field could have won at least one race every year of their F1 career .. if they’d been driving the cars Ham has driven when he’s driven them.

        1. If it is that easy what about Vettel this year because Riccardo won 3 on the same winning car.

          1. He didn’t really have a shot at a win in 2007. The BMW was okay if memory serves but not race winning and neither was the Torro Rosso. So it’s sort of a moot point unless you classify it as full seasons

          2. Oeiiiiiiiiiiii! (another davidnotcoulthard account) (@)
            25th November 2014, 4:36

            Well, RIC got the better strategy at Canada………

      3. The only year Hamilton won races in a car that his teammate was unable to was 2009 (i.e. Hamilton has driven good, sometimes great cars throughout his career). I am a big fan of the guy but that is a pretty meaningless stat, as Hamilton is one of the few drivers who had the good fortune to start his career in one of the best cars. Its no surprise that this is the case, traditionally drivers started with a weaker team and moved their way up the field which would obviously rule them out of contention for this statistic (Alonso, Vettel, Button, Senna, Prost, Mansell, Lauda are just some that come to mind).

        As for winning races in consecutive seasons, prior to his comeback Michael Schumacher won a race in every full season he competed in, at least one a year for 15 seasons. Hamilton is currently on 8 years consecutively, which is still impressive but he still has a fair way to go to match Michael.

        1. Yes (@come-on-kubica)
          24th November 2014, 17:40

          Kovalainen won a race in 2009.

          1. @come-on-kubica No Kovalainen won a race in 2008. When Felipe’ engine blew up in Hungary with about 2 laps left.

    3. When he retires

    4. I personally think both are. Alonso I rate really highly, but Hamilton has won 2 titles and been involved in another 3, (07, 10, 12).

      Alonso beating Hamilton in the standings in inferior cars in 2011, 12, 13, and higher in relatively even cars in 2010, is why many continue to rate Alonso higher.

      1. “Alonso beating Hamilton in the standings in inferior cars in 2011, 12, 13” Thats just opinion, the inferior part that is.

        1. Based on performance, number of poles, race victories and WCC it seemed pretty clear which was better.

          1. @brum55 In 2012, Ferrari finished ahead of McLaren.

          2. @craig-o I didn’t realise that was the case. Just checked and that was because Hamilton and Button were 88 and 90 points behind Alonso. Both were closer to Massa in the standings than Alonso, which was remarkable given how well Lewis drove. He was unlucky that year.

          3. @brum55 That is down to a combination of woeful reliability, dreadful pit stops, and the odd Maldonado and Grosjean here and there. Many people forget how many points Massa picked up in the second half of the season as well.

            The Ferrari that year was nowhere near as bad as some will claim it was. It was the most reliable machine out there and it was the third quickest over the course of the season. McLaren was the quickest but terrible in terms of reliability, whereas Red Bull had a solid package in a lot of areas.

          4. @craig-o
            Ferrari was about on par with Lotus in 2012, in both speed and reliability. Red Bull and McLaren were clearly the two quickest cars. Between Red Bull and McLaren, Red Bull had better reliability and better team operations.

            Still though, no other driver of the grid would have been able to get the F2012 to within 3 points of the championship. Alonso’s 2012 season is unmatched, and I doubt any driver is going to be able to replicate a season of such quality anytime in the near future.

      2. Alonso had a consistent car in 2012, which is more than could be said of Hamilton. And 2013 is questionable- the Merc was a qualifying specialist (at least in the first half), but much less strong over a race distance. The Ferrari was a solid car.

      3. You mean the same Alonso who was beaten on equal machinery?

      4. He beat Alonso in the SAME car in his rookie year! I just dont understand the Alonso argument!

    5. “How long before we can consider Lewis a legend of the sport?”

      You don’t consider Vettel a legend of the sport, and he’s won his larger number of titles in cars significantly less dominant than Hamiltons.

      The phrase “legend of the sport” seems to boil down to “driver I really like”.

      1. I think the consensus is that Hamilton had a stronger teammate in Rosberg than Vettel, who had access to the same machinery. And Vettel has been outshone by Ricciardo this year under the new regs. Prior to this year Seb had been very good/outstanding for many years going back to 2008, so I’m prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt at the moment. After all Lewis had a poor season in 2011. If his form continues though it may just be that his driving style was exceptionally suited to the type of cars produced from 2009-2013, and fair enough he made full use of it. But surely adaptability is an important part of being a legend of the sport?

        1. Vettel is a play station era of driver, not much feel for the throttle. That’s why in the first part of 2010 Webber was in contention with him every race due to the fact the throttle control was all about the driver. Post silverstone Christian Horner said they had introduced a piece of software which negated this input, meaning webber lost the advantage. Also Vettel drove the blown diffuser cars very well indeed.
          Now the emphasis is back on driver input due to the torque of the new engines he’s struggling

      2. Sujeeth Chittur Thelekkat
        25th November 2014, 18:49

        The phrase “legend of the sport” seems to boil down to “driver I really like”.

        Only one person comes in that category pastor Maldonado …..

        On a serious note only person I can think of is aryton senna. LEGEND.

      3. That’s just not true. If you dont understand why Hamilton is considered a legend above Vettel you’ve probably not been following F1 closely enough.

    6. I think HAM is already a legend of F1… even just for being the 1st black driver from F1!

      1. This is remarkable! For that alone he will be talked about forever.

    7. The word “Legend” stems from a certain form of a narrative. People don´t become Legends through statistics or titles, but when their story is one people tell each other for ages and where there´s voluntary listeners to that story. Yuji Ide is a legend, Hamilton is not.

    8. “How long before we can consider Lewis a legend of the sport?” <—

      lol… When he retires. Although he is doing really well, he still has a bit to go to get there.

    9. @kingshark
      He’s already a legend given his humble beginnings and what he’s achieved.

  5. – At 6 years and 21 days, Hamilton has the biggest gap between first and second world championships. Graham Hill’s was also six seasons, but the championship was shorter then. Niki Lauda waited 7 seasons between his second and third world championships.

    – Hamilton becomes the first Brit since Jackie Stewart in 1969 to win in a foreign car (and the first Englishman since Mike Hawthorn ten years earlier).

    – Britain has now won a WDC in 6 of the 7 decades that F1 has been running (all except the 80’s). No other country has more than 3.

  6. This was the first ever season of a world championship without the cars numbers 2, 5 and 12.
    first time since the 2009 Abu Dhabi GP has the top 3 cars with 2-digit numbers
    First season since 1991 the car number 9 fails to score any points and the same for the car number 4 since 1993 and for the car number 10 since 1995 .
    First time since 1970 Italian GP the car number 46 participate in a round of the Formula 1 world championship.

    First season since 1957 the top four winning teams (Ferrari, McLaren, Williams, Lotus) have not won a single race.
    First time since the 1958 Argentine GP which all points Awarded are even numbers

    First time since G Hill (1962/1968) a driver claims his second world championship title six years after he won his first one.
    First time since Emerson Fittipaldi in 1974 a driver claims his first two titles for two different teams.
    First time since Ayrton Senna in 1990 a driver claim his first two titles in non-consecutive years

    First time since the 1989 Australian GP that a driver makes his maiden fastest lap in the last round of the championship
    First time since the 1994 Australian GP that a driver makes his debut in November

    First season since 1998 the current champion have not won a single race .
    and a driver with no victory in career (Bottas) finishes the championship in 4th place

    first time since the 2010 Malaysian GP Massa gets two podiums in a row
    For the eighth year in a row Alonso fails to win the 3th World Championship,

    1. That last fact makes me want to cry…

    2. @erivaldonin that even points stat is fantastic! gone are the days of a point for the fastest lap

    3. Very interesting point about Bottas.

  7. It’s been interesting that Nico has outqualified Lewis yet lost every wheel-to-wheel race and at times appeared like a snail in many races including Brazil. The new regs have changed things a lot more than people expected. I’m surprised why noone has written an article on this.

    I read a fantastic article on today’s hypercars and their technologies in Fortune magazine (of all places) and it was talking about how the electric motors have this different immediate power that normal engines lack which is why the Porsche 918 shocks many drivers with its torque. I think this immediate power somehow has helped some drivers while hurting others.

    1. “It’s been interesting that Nico has outqualified Lewis yet lost every wheel-to-wheel race and at times appeared like a snail in many races including Brazil.”

      One of the most black/white assessments of proceedings between the Mercedes driver this year I have seen in a while on this website.

      1. Ha, well said @gdewilde.

        That comment about how hybrid supercars (and likely F1 cars even more so) drive differently is interesting @freelittlebirds and its possible that is part of an explanation of these two guys relative qualifying pace vs. race pace, but its taken down a notch by the first part of the comment

    2. @gdewilde and @bascb I’m not trying to put Nico down. I’m just suggesting that it makes no sense that Nico won the qualifying battle with Lewis when Schumacher in his 40s beat Nico in qualifying in their last season together. Lewis was commandingly faster than Nico when he was in front and he was catching up at incredulous rates even by his standards when he was behind. As much as I like Lewis, is he able to cut down a 5 second lead in 5-10 laps with the same tyre? At Bahrain, Lewis on soft was able to beat Nico on super-softs and that might be the last time we witness something like that.

      We saw the collapse of Kimi and it took him a full year to get close to Alonso.

      We saw that with Ricciardo where he did great at the end of races and scored 3 victories. Obviously the car suited him more than Vettel this year.

      There were significant pace discrepancies in sectors between drivers and at different stages of the race. I wonder what effect the electric motors, the electronics and the new brake-by-wire are playing nowadays.

      1. Schumacher was in his 30s when he raced against Nico.
        And I don’t think his driving skills had deteriorated. Hopefully one of the current drivers wins a WDC at 40 to dispell this myth.

  8. One thing I have never seen until now: more than a year’s gap between titles. At six years from 2008 to 2014, this must be one of longest gaps between titles?

    1. THE question I was wondering…

    2. And for two different constructors, as well.

    3. It’s the joint second longest. Niki Lauda had a seven year gap between his ’77 (Ferrari) and ’84 (McLaren) titles. Graham Hill had six years between his ’62 (BRM) and his ’68 (Lotus) titles. It should be noted though that Lauda wasn’t in F1 for a number of years between his second and third titles though.

    4. Not if Alonso has anything to do with it…

    5. @deej92 Interesting stat. Also, if Alonso will ever win a championship again, he’ll beat every record of time between titles. If he already wins next year, it would be the record between consecutive titles (9 years), and also the record between first and last title (10 years, together with Michael Schumacher 1994-2004).

  9. Hamilton equals the second longest gap between title wins, 6 years, shared with Graham Hill (62 and 68). Niki Lauda has the biggest gap of 7 seasons (77 and 84).

      1. Thanks @safeeuropeanhome!

    1. Niki Lauda not participated in the seasons 1981/2

      1. It could be argued that Hamilton wasn’t there for 2011. :)

        1. Michael (@freelittlebirds)
          25th November 2014, 1:16

          @grat or it could be argued that Massa was there in 2011:-)

          1. Massa wasn’t the only driver Hamilton collided with during that season. Hamilton’s behaviour was terrible back then.

  10. – Lewis Hamilton is the first driver since Michael Schumacher in 2002 to end on the podium at every GP he finished this season.

    – Williams have scored more podiums this year (9) than in the last 9 year combined (8).

    – With 66 points, Williams scored the greatest amount of points ever scored in a F1 GP

    – With Will Stevens driving for Caterham in Abu Dhabi, this was the first time since Super Aguri in 2006 that 3 drivers made their F1 debut with the same team in the same year (Ide, Montagny, Yamamoto)

    – In Abu Dhabi Jenson Button drove his 266th and maybe last F1 race. If he quits, then he’ll be third on the all time number of Grand Prix list, behind Barrichello (323) and Schumacher (307)

    – If Caterham has driven it’s last GP in Abu Dhabi the’ll be tied with HRT on number of GP’s without scoring points

    – It’s likely Adrian Sutil drove his last GP in Abu Dhabi. He firmly holds the record for most Grand Prix without scoring a podiums (128). Nico Hulkenberg is 10th in the list with 76 Grand Prix without a podium.

    – It’s also likely Jean Eric Vergne drove his last race for Toro Rosso. Out of the 9 drivers who raced in the history of Toro Rosso, he has driven the most GP’s (58), and scored the most points (51) for Toro Rosso.

    1. That one about Caterham vs. HRT cannot be right since they both entered F1 at the same time, but Caterham has survived until now, while HRT went bust almost 2 years ago now @jlracing

      Or do you mean “caterham under this team name” and the spanish team while named HRT? – that one might be true, haven’t looked at it.

      1. Well I know you guys are right. But the statistics only count Caterham as a team from 2012 untill 2014. In 2010 and 2011 they were called Lotus and then rebranded to Caterham. The team itself is the same, but the FIA lists them as a different team. Although the change from Lotus to Caterham was only a change of name, it is still listed as a different team just like
        Toleman > Benetton > Renault > Lotus
        or BAR > Honda > Brawn > Mercedes
        or Stewart > Jaguar > Red Bull
        or Jordan > Midland > Spyker > Force India
        Even though these teams changed a lot more than only their name, it is statisticly the same as Lotus > Caterham or Virgin > Marussia

        1. Tyrell > BAR > Honda > Brawn > Mercedes

          You forgot Tyrell.

    2. If Caterham has driven it’s last GP in Abu Dhabi the’ll be tied with HRT on number of GP’s without scoring points

      @jlracing I don’t get this. The two teams started racing in F1 at the same time and Caterham lasted longer. Is this excluding the period when Caterham was called Lotus?

      1. Beaten to it by @bascb

  11. Not to put Rosberg down, but would I be right in thinking he didn’t make a successful pass on Hamilton in 2014?

    1. Depends on how you define Spa. ;)

    2. And made it stick? Nope. Bahrain was his closest attempt but it only lasted 1 corner.

  12. “Hamilton’s 33rd career win moves him ahead of Fernando Alonso as the fifth most successful driver of all time in terms of race victories.”

    Music to my ears. Up next is Vettel.

  13. Oeiiiiiiiiiiii! (another davidnotcoulthard account) (@)
    24th November 2014, 14:44

    @keithcollantine The original Matra International entry (or was the Tyrrell entry a different one, which I think it wasn’t?) remains one with all-British champions (Stewart-Button-Hamilton).

    It’s the one with the most titles from driver of a country (in this case the UK), tied with Ferrari, I think, with 5.

    1. The team that gave Stewart his titles is the one to end the Stewart team’s run of championships :-)

      1. Oeiiiiiiiiiiii! (another davidnotcoulthard account) (@)
        24th November 2014, 16:23

        …..Ironically enough. And look where both were in 1998!

  14. first time this season a mercedes has finished a race outside the top four, and without points also.

  15. A little bit off the topic, but how long did driver have to wait for a first title, and who is he???

    1. @deongunner completely off the top of my head i would say mansell (debut 1980, champ 1992) but i may have overlooked someone.

  16. @deongunner Nigel Mansell spent 13 seasons in F1 before becoming Champion. Next up is Jenson Button who won in his tenth season.

    1. 13 seasons, thats a long journey, I’m sorry for my lack of knowledge. But i think Mansell win it in 1992 and i know williams was pretty fast at that year

      1. The FW14B? If you thought the Mercedes domination was bad this year, check out 1992. They incredibly dominant, often qualifying 2 seconds+ faster than the rest of the field!

        1. This was a different era though and the active suspension and iirc ground effects were used on this car, both of with made the car essentially impossible to beat in the corners because the car did half of the driving, so much better lap times and much smaller margin of error than any of the cars today even. Based on this I would still argue that the Mercedes W05 is a much more dominant “driver’s car” than the FW14B

  17. The first time I believe that a driver from Hong Kong participated in an official session.

    Due to the stupid double points rule, Lewis Hamilton outscored Nico Rosberg by 67 points, the same number that Michael Schumacher outscored Rubens Barrichello by in 2002.

    Ferrari ironically finished 9th and 10th at the last twilight race – the Bahrain Grand Prix.

    It is quite fitting that the driver to contribute the highest percentage of points to their team this year is Jules Bianchi.

    Lewis Hamilton clinched his second World Championship by winning the race, just as the late, great Jack Brabham did, and just as the legendary Michael Schumacher did.

  18. The season was only the second time as each winner won at least three races. This happened earlier in 2007. If Indy 500 is discounted, 1950 can be added to the list. Each winner has had at least two wins in 1987 and 2010.

  19. Rosberg scored 317 points. This is more than what the world champion of 2010 and 2012 managed.
    317 points also means about 125 points in the 2003-2009 system which means this is the highest number of points a driver has scored without winning the championship!

  20. I believe I’m right with this one…
    It’s been pointed out that this was the first time since 1998 that the reigning Champion failed to win a race (Vettel this year, Villeneuve in 1998).
    However, Vettel is the first EVER reigning Champion to fail to win a race despite driving all season in a race winning car (Ricciardo won 3 races).

    1. Very nice stat. Niki Lauda was close in 85, Prost won 5 races and Niki only managed to finish 3 times, one of those however was victory at Zandvoort.

      1. Thanks. I assumed it just hadn’t happened for a long time but when I checked the records it was a first! :-)

  21. Such a shame for Button that Lewis came along, he overshadowed what would’ve been seen as a successful career for Jenson. Now despite wining 15 races, 50 podiums and a WDC he’s not really given the props he deserves.

    Well done to Lewis though. Too good to only win one, and I still think he’s got a few more to go before he delivers on all that promise and talent.

  22. Liam McShane (@)
    24th November 2014, 16:36

    “Here are the eleven occasions when a victory in the final race decided the championship”

    Should be 12, you missed Hamilton in 2008.

    1. Hamilton didn’t win the final race in 2008, Massa did. Lewis finished 5th which was still enough for the Championship.

      1. Massa won the race which decided the championship for 30 seconds ;)

  23. I’ve tried to place the Mercedes W05 in its proper position among the all time greatest F1 cars. Here’s what I found.

    2014 Mercedes
    Won 16 of 19 races (84%), 11 1-2 finishes (58%), average winning margin (over first non-Mercedes) of 23.3 secs, 11 wins over 20 secs.

    1988 McLaren
    Won 15 of 16 races (94%), ten 1-2 finishes (62.5%), 13 of the 15 wins were by more than 20 secs. (Avg winning margin is difficult to calculate as some races were won by more than a lap)

    So as great as it is, I think the W05 is still second best to the MP4/4 on the list of most dominant F1 cars.

    Some other years for comparison …

    2013 Red Bull
    Won 13 of 19 races (68%), 4 1-2’s (21%), average winning margin of 14.9 secs per race, three wins over 20 secs

    2012 Red Bull
    Won 7 of 20 races (35%), one 1-2 finish (5%), average winning margin 8.5 secs, one win over 20 secs

    2011 Red Bull
    Won 11 of 19 races (57.9%), three 1-2 finishes (16%), average winning margin of 8.8 secs, one win over 20 secs

    2010 Red Bull
    Won 9 of 19 races (47%), 4 1-2 finishes (21%), average winning margin of 9.2 seconds, one win over 20 secs.

    2007 Ferrari
    Won 9 of 17 races (52.9%), 4 1-2’s (24%), average winning margin of 17.1 secs, three wins of over 20 secs

    2006 Renault
    Won 8 of 18 races (44%), one 1-2 finish (5.6%), average winning margin 9.75 secs, none over 20 secs

    2005 Renault
    Won 8 of 19 races (42%), no 1-2 finishes, average winning margin 12.3 secs, two wins over 20 secs

    2004 Ferrari
    Won 15 of 18 races (83%), eight 1-2 finishes (44%), average winning margin 19 secs, eight wins over 20 secs

    The W05 beats the very highly rated F2004. It completely trounces the 2010-13 RB’s, whose reputation as “dominant cars” seems absurdly overblown. In fact the RB8 was weaker than the 2007 Ferrari or 2006 Renault, neither of which are typically described as “dominant”.

    1. Interesting breakdown. I agree that the four Red Bull years often get thought of by a lot of people as a single block of 4 years of dominance but that just wasn’t the case. 2010 and 2012 were both close seasons. It’s just that 2011 and particularly 2013 were dominant so people put it all together.
      It’s part of the same line of thought by some that Vettel is an average F1 driver and was handed those titles on a plate.

    2. The 2012 Red Bull was slower than the McLaren; it’s just that a) McLaren had two drivers taking points off each other and b) McLaren repeatedly shot themselves in the foot with a variety of stupid mistakes and terrible reliability.

      The 1993 Williams won 10 out of 16 races (62.5%) but with only 1 1-2 finish, average winning margin 30.5 secs, five wins over 20 secs (also notable: that year’s four race winners were the two Williams drivers, Senna and Schumacher).

      1992 Williams won 10 out of 16 races (62.5%), 6 1-2 finishes (37.5%), average winning margin 38.5 secs, eight wins over 20 secs.

      1. Mclaren’s 2012 was embarrassing. So many times I shouted at the tv because of their mistakes.

      2. The 1990’s are tricky to analyze because the cars were so unreliable. One of the freakish things about the MP4/4 was its astonishing performance combined with exceptional reliability at a time when cars were prone to failure. The superior performance of the 92 and 93 Williams shows up in the 30 second+ winning margins, which suggests that with better reliability they’d have managed to win around 90% of their races.

        Of course reliability is one of the many factors which goes into making the greatest cars The Greatest. The FW14B had 9 retirements in 16 races (a retirement rate of 28%, based on 2 cars times 16 races) while the W05 had a retirement rate of 13% – very impressive considering the brand new and immensely complicated power systems.

    3. @rm – Very cool. I took your stats for the W05 and MP4/4 and added some. I was going to add the stats for the F2002, but it gets a little squishy because it didn’t race all of 2002 and did race a few races into 2003.

      I do think, however, that with these added stats it becomes much closer between the two cars. And which one leans towards might be down to what one prioritizes. Podiums? Margin of victory? I think it’s a close call no matter what.

      1988 MP4/4
      Won 15 of 16 races (94%)
      10 1-2 finishes (63%)
      13 wins over 20 secs.
      (Avg winning margin is difficult to calculate as some races were won by more than a lap)

      15 of 16 poles (94%)
      25 of 32 podiums (78%)
      25 of 28 possible podiums (89%)
      97% laps led
      63% fastest laps

      2014 W05
      Won 16 of 19 races (84%)
      11 1-2 finishes (58%)
      11 wins over 20 secs.
      avg winning margin 23.3 secs over first non-teammate

      18 of 19 poles (95%)
      31 of 38 podiums (82%)
      31 of 33 possible podiums (94%)*
      86% laps led
      63% fastest laps

      * – Any other race and I think Merc would have called ROS in for the ERS failure in Abu Dhabi. Which would be 31 of 32 possible podiums (97%) with the only non-podium being ROS 4th in Hungary.

      1. I should note, “possible podiums” excludes DNSs, DNFs, and DSQs. That is, if the driver was classified at the finish and not disqualified, it is included.

  24. For me it feels kind of wrong that Lewis has more wins than Fernando. I think Lewis is one the fastest drivers ever, but Fernando, he’s a great.

    1. @jmc200 I think by the time Lewis is 33 he will be a great too.

      IMO like so many greats Nando has a flaw, which is also part of his greatness, and that is his extreme drive to win. In 2007 it took him too far and damaged his career, and of course like Lewis he was also unlucky to encounter Red Bull and Newey/Vettel.

      Still they’d all be 3x wdc together if Mclaren in 2007 and Ferrari in 2010 hadn’t massively screwed their race strategies.

      I really hope the McLaren-Honda works well.

    2. Alonso should be given a dominant car aswell for a season so we can see what he can do with it. That would mean the three great since 2010 would all have one of those seasons. Vettel in ’11 and ’13, Hamilton in ’14, and who knows Alonso in ’16.

      It is a rather strange feeling Hamilton was 12 wins down on Alonso and just cleared that gap in one season…

      1. It is a rather strange feeling Hamilton was 12 wins down on Alonso and just cleared that gap in one season…

        That doesn’t quite add up as Hamilton only won 11 races this year. But still, I see your point

    3. Lewis is my favorite driver, but I’d like both him and Alonso to win at least 3 titles.

  25. For the 17:th year in a row, since Jaques Villeneuve in 1997, the champion comes from a European country. And from one of only four countries – Great Britain, Germany, Finland and Spain. Europe is still a dominate force in F1

    1. Wow, that is really something. Who has a chance of being the first to break that streak? Ricciardo, perhaps? Kvyat?

      1. Kvyat was actually born in the European part of Russia so he doesn’t count. I bet Ricciardo will be the one.

    2. What’s the percentage of drivers since 1997 from Europe?

      1. I don’t know a figure but I’d imagine at least 75%. By my count there are only 9 countries outside of Europe to have had a representative in F1 since 1997 — Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela, Mexico, USA, Canada, Australia, India and Japan.

        1. what about Colombia ?

  26. Legend or not, Lewis is one of the best in history. But I include in that history current drivers Alonso and Vettel as well. Championships do matter, and multiple winners I think matter more. Say what you want about Vettel’s superior machinery, but remember that Hamilton had that this year as well. Alonso powerful Renaults were not exactly slouches either.

    On a side note, I wish I could put JB in there, a man who seems like a really good guy and an exceptional driver, but not legendary. The sport is better with him in it. But all good things come to an end. I never like Mark Webber, but I also think the sport was better with him in it too.

  27. 2014 was the first season in the history of the championship that neither a British or an Italian team won a race.

    1. I find that hard to take. Every team is British, just as I think both Rosberg and Hamilton should drive for Monaco if they live there.

      1. is Ferrari really a British team? Mamma mia…

      2. Oeiiiiiiiiiiii! (another davidnotcoulthard account) (@)
        25th November 2014, 4:46

        @xtwl British or Italian, actually (or maybve Sauber is Swiss?)

        1. @davidnotcoulthard2 You know what I mean. Except for STR and Ferrari who are actually located in Italy and Sauber in Switzerland they are all British.

  28. As Prince Harry put it…ABSOLUTE lEGEND

  29. Surely Hamilton brought ‘Vettel’s reign as champion to an end (informally)’ in Japan, not Abu Dhabi, as Vettel could no longer win the championship after that.

    Mercedes had both WCC and WDC sewn up after Austin, although we did not know which driver would win it until the last race.

    1. But Hamilton wasn’t yet champion in Japan and therefore Vettel remains the reigning champion as no one had by then taken the title.

  30. A question for F1 Fanatics, something I have been wondering about for a few years.

    Hamilton has now won championships during both refuelling and non-refuelling eras, it is something I have been waiting to see which driver would achieve this since 2010 when the regulations changed but because Vettel has won the title for the last 4 years it hasn’t happened until now.

    I know that when the last change happened in 1994 to allow refuelling, no drivers in that period won a title under both sets of rules, but I don’t know which other seasons before that refuelling was allowed, so don’t know if any other driver has won titles during refuelling and non-refuelling seasons.

    1. I think Nelson Piquet did it, with refueling in 1983 and without it in 1987.

      1. Thank you, as a follow up question could someone list the periods with refuelling and those without refuelling or provide a link to a site with this information.

        what I currently know is
        ? – 1993 = no refuelling
        1994 – 2009 = refuelling
        2010 – present = no refuelling

        1. Refuelling was banned in 1984. Prior to that it was officially legal but very rarely done on-purpose except in 1983 (and by Brabham in 1982).

    2. Nelson Piquet is probably the only one – 1983 with refuelling, 1987 without.

  31. “Both Sutil and Gutierrez lost their drivers”

    @keithcollantine perhaps that’s why they weren’t very fast :^)

  32. It was the first time since 1998 as championship leader won the final race when the championship was still open. It also happened in 1996. In all of those years, challenger failed to score.

  33. An interesting stat about Hamilton and Schumacher: At the close of their 29th age both scored the same number of F1 wins; 33. Though to Schumacher’s credit, he did it in one less season; 7 to Hamilton’s 8.

    1. Kimberley Barrass
      24th November 2014, 22:44

      I find that very interesting.

      1. Schumacher drove a lot less races though, 16 – 17 per season while Hamilton has had seasons of 19 – 20 races. Schumacher drove 120 races, Hamilton has driven 147

        Schumacher also managed 31 wins in 4 seasons as in 1992 – 1993 he had almost no chance against the Williamscars, with only him and Senna managing to steal away a few victory’s. Hamilton has had race-winning cars every year of his career. Schumacher also lost victories in 94.

  34. Was this the first time a driver would finish on the podium in every race he completed in a season. The lowest Lewis ever finished in this season was 3rd.

    1. As has been previously mentioned, Schumacher finished in the top 3 of every race he finished in the 2002 season – which was every race of the season!

    2. No, it’s rare but not the first time. Schumacher did it in 2002, Prost in 1988, Mansell in 1992 and Senna in 1990, although he was classified 20th in Mexican GP. There could be some others as well.

  35. I’d be curious to see the full standings without taking account of the double points!

    1. @georgeod well you can! hover over ‘info’ at the top and click points calculator. then scroll down and click 2010-2013 to get the results

    2. Oeiiiiiiiiiiii! (another davidnotcoulthard account) (@)
      25th November 2014, 4:50

      @georgeod I think Vettel would be 4th.

      1. @davidnotcoulthard2 Nope. The only change in either championship was Perez gaining two places.

  36. First Williams double podium since Mark Webber and Nick Heidfeld at the Monaco GP in 2005.

  37. Kimi like Alo and like Hamilton they deserved more WC than what they got. Kimi really is a embarassing driver a WC that should barely get the Ctaerham seat he is that awful. Kimi was faster in 05 and 03 than when he won his WC imo. He looked good in Lotus but Perez looked a legend in the makiing aswell same with Gro. Lotus were so strong on Pirelli tyres. Kimi should pack it in it is such a shame he as that seat. Massa beat him in 08 was winning 09 and lets be honest Massa who is worst after his accident is far closer to Alo than Kimi was.

  38. Has it ever happend a driver drove for a front running team, changed to a lower classiefied team and scored the same amount of podiums in that season. Massa scored three podiums in his three last years with Ferrari and did so aswell this year with Williams.

  39. Kimberley Barrass
    24th November 2014, 22:43

    @keithcollantine No one seems to have mentioned it, but HAM is obviously the only current driver to have WDCs within two different engine formula.

    Given ROS, BOT and RIC and even KYV all seem quick enough to win in the right circumstances, could BUT, RAI, ALO and VET fail to get this distinction..

    1. No he isn’t. Alonso won his first championship with a V10 (2005) and he won his second with 2.4 V8 in 2006.

  40. What is the record for wins starting 2nd? Hamilton must be up their. Hamilton really dominated sunday’s this year, i was shocked because Hamilton’s stats show he is more of a pole man than race pace. Hamilton could have won 7 on the spin really but for his messup in Brazil and Rosberg is not slow.

  41. 2xWC with 2 different teams what a great great driver he is. I am so glad he came into f1 i never was a fan i started watching the same year Hamilton was in f1 and have been hooked since. I do not care what happens now, i honestly thought he was going to be left with 1 WC which would have been horrible for his talent.

  42. Hamilton has had 2 poles and 2 wins in Abu Dhabi but never in the same year (same as Silverstone).

    Bottas has finished both his Abu Dhabi GPs in the same position that he started.

    First win-less season for Raikkonen since 2006, and first podium-less season since 2001 (excluding the years in which he didn’t compete).

    Each of the last 3 seasons has seen Grosjean compete in 19 races.

    No non-mechanical DNFs for Maldonado this season (who would have thought that 2 years ago?).

    Second race in a row that Sutil has started 13th and finished 16th.

    First season without a Ferrari win, and first season without a front-row start, since 1993.

    First season without a Red Bull pole since 2008.

    3rd consecutive Abu Dhabi GP in which a World Champion has been excluded from qualifying.

    If the 10-8-6-5-4-3-2 system was used, all Drivers’ Championship positions would be the same.

    Under the 10-6-4-3-2-1 system, Magnussen would be ahead of Perez.

    Perez is the only beneficiary of double-points, moving him ahead of Magnussen and Raikkonen.

    And some from magnetimarelli.com:

    11 poles for Rosberg in 2014 but no title – second to Senna’s 13 poles in 1989.

    8 consecutive front-row lockouts for Mercedes – equals McLaren in 1989 and Williams in 1993.

    First Abu Dhabi GP with no Red Bull on the front row.

    Perez has started 11th (his favourite position!) in 3 of his 4 Abu Dhabi GPs.

    First time since 1999 that a driver who failed to score in the first race won the title. Both seasons’ first races were won by the Championship runner-up.

  43. Hard to believe, but did Mercedes have one of the worst reliability records this season compared to the other teams?
    obvs caterham and marussia are down there but they dont count as they are stragglers anyway and a DNF is probably a good thing for them as it saves them engine mileage!

    1. @sato113 From this site:

      Retirements or DNS due to technical problems:

      Red Bull: 5
      Mercedes: 5
      Ferrari: 2
      Lotus: 12
      McLaren: 2
      Force India: 2
      Sauber: 6
      Toro Rosso: 10
      Williams: 1
      Marussia: 2
      Caterham: 11

      Mercedes had the fifth worst reliability.

      1. should not just be confined to DNFs though. Add +1 for rosberg ERS issue in Canada, +1 for Rosberg ERS failure in Abu Dhabi. @craig-o

  44. Maybe this has been mentioned already (too many comments!), but was 2014 the first time Kimi Raikkonen finished outside the top 10 in points in his entire career?

  45. What was the last time that a team missed 2 races and then re-appeared? Only instance I remember is Zakspeed in 1985 **I think** missed the non-European races at the end of the season (South Africa / Australia) and then reappeared.

  46. On top of that, since 2005 we have only had 5 different world champions. That’s 9 years, where does it leave the youngsters now that the old folks stay so long…

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