Nico Rosberg has become a Formula One world champion – and he did it in the sport’s longest-ever season.
Nico Rosberg’s Route to F1Rosberg opened the gruelling, 21-race campaign with four wins on the trot. That gave him a healthy lead over Lewis Hamilton but it was clear his team mate still represented a formidable championship threat. Once Hamilton got into his stride a spell of poorer results for Rosberg saw the championship lead change hands.
But a trio of wins in Belgium, Italy and Singapore after the summer break returned Rosberg to the top of the standings. Setbacks for Hamilton in Malaysia and Japan put the title within Rosberg’s grasp with four races remaining.
Hamilton put up a strong fight over the final rounds, winning all four of them, but a string of second places for Rosberg secured the title.
Here’s how Rosberg clinched the crown.
Rosberg’s points lead
Rosberg and Hamilton’s seasons
| Race | Rosberg notes | Rosberg result | Rosberg’s lead | Hamilton result | Hamilton notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | Won after passing Hamilton at the start | 1st | 7 | 2nd | Fell from pole to sixth on lap one |
| Bahrain | Won after passing Hamilton at the start | 1st | 17 | 3rd | Fell from pole to seventh on lap one after being passed by Rosberg and hit by Bottas |
| China | Won from pole | 1st | 36 | 7th | Power unit problem in qualifying left him last on the grid |
| Russia | Won from pole | 1st | 43 | 2nd | Power unit problem in qualifying left him tenth on the grid |
| Spain | Both drivers collided on lap one | DNF | 43 | DNF | Both drivers collided on lap one |
| Monaco | Let Hamilton past while struggling in the rain | 7th | 24 | 1st | Power unit problem in qualifying limited his runs in Q3. A slow pit stop for Riccairdo handed him the lead. |
| Canada | Fell from second to tenth at turn one fighting Hamilton | 5th | 9 | 1st | Won from pole |
| Europe | Needed to make same setting change as Hamilton but did so more quickly. | 1st | 24 | 5th | Crashed in Q3, spent part of race in wrong engine mode as team were not allowed to tell him how to change it. |
| Austria | Started sixth after gearbox penalty. A brake problem late in the race allowed Hamilton to attack and Rosberg was penalised for their collision. | 4th | 11 | 1st | A slow pit stop cost him the lead to Rosberg but a last-lap pass regained the win |
| Great Britain | Passed by Verstappen in wet conditions. Retook the position but was penalised for receiving assistance on the radio. | 3rd | 1 | 1st | Won from pole |
| Hungary | Took a controversial pole but was passed by Hamilton at the start. | 2nd | -6 | 1st | Won after passing Rosberg at the start |
| Germany | Was passed by the Red Bulls at the start and penalised for his move when re-passing Verstappen | 4th | -19 | 1st | Won after passing Rosberg at the start |
| Belgium | Won from pole | 1st | -9 | 3rd | Started last after taking a grid penalty for power unit component changes |
| Italy | Won after passing Hamilton at the start | 1st | -2 | 2nd | Fell from pole to sixth on lap one |
| Singapore | Won from pole | 1st | 8 | 3rd | Qualified and finished behind Rosberg anf Ricciardo |
| Malaysia | Fell to 17th on lap one after being hit by Vettel | 3rd | 23 | DNF | Suffered engine failure while leading from pole |
| Japan | Won from pole | 1st | 33 | 3rd | Fell from pole to eighth on lap one |
| United States | Passed by Ricciardo at the start but retook the place thanks to a Virtual Safety Car period | 2nd | 26 | 1st | Won from pole |
| Mexico | His second place briefly came under attack from Verstappen | 2nd | 19 | 1st | Won from pole |
| Brazil | Lost second to Verstappen in the rain but the Red Bull driver’s strategy cost him the place | 2nd | 12 | 1st | Won from pole |
| Abu Dhabi | Withstood pressure while being held up by Hamilton | 2nd | 5 | 1st | Won from pole |
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Adam Blocker (@blockwall2)
27th November 2016, 14:47
How Rosberg won: Hamilton’s engine in Malaysia.
Jabosha (@jabosha)
27th November 2016, 14:52
@ Adam Blocker
Get your flame suit out.
dex022 (@dex022)
27th November 2016, 15:13
How about bad starts from Ham? And STILL he got gifted win in Monaco!
Adam Blocker (@blockwall2)
27th November 2016, 15:32
The bad starts were Hamilton’s fault, but he still only lost by 5 points despite those bad starts.
When you consider that he lost 25 points in Malaysia alone, he deserved the title more than Rosberg did. Hamilton had more poles, more wins, better racecraft (see Austria for Rosberg’s racecraft), and excelled in the wet while Nico struggled. He was hit by Bottas in Bahrain, he had to start last in China due to a car problem, he had to start 10th in Russia due to car problems, and he had to start last in Belgium due to previous unreliability. Nico had nothing like these sort of problems and it would be naïve for anyone to ignore these things.
Those reasons explain why he beat Nico in the points standings in 2013, 2014 (despite horrible reliability), and 2015.
chris (@)
27th November 2016, 16:40
Context makes a huge difference,
but as Brundle & Lewis said, no one will remember the context, they will just remember who won WDC.
I wish Jacki Stewart would just retire and stop spouting nonsense like his comment that previous generations of racers wouldn’t have backed Nico up and that winning 2 WDC’s and winning the race was enough for Lewis.
Lewis’s drive was a master class, risky & the only thing he could do to be in contention for the WDC this year.
brendon
27th November 2016, 18:03
get your calculator out. Hamilton had 3 bad starts from pole and finished 2nd, 3rd, and 2nd. If he won those races then he has 25 extra points, not to mention Nico has less. There is Lewis’ 4th championship right there
brendon
27th November 2016, 18:04
*24 points, I need a calculator also
Damon85
27th November 2016, 20:07
Yes he did. He came third in Silverstone due to a little gremlin…..
Rick (@)
28th November 2016, 7:32
That’s not true at all. Just look at the facts that are stated above. Since you can say that if it weren’t for technical issues or bad starts, most of the times the pole sitter would’ve won the race (in case of Mercedes). The first two races alone, Hamilton fell from pole to 2nd and 3rd respectively, which cost him 7+10 points.
Putting the descriptions above into stats:
Won from pole: ROS 5, HAM 6
Won after passing teammate at start: ROS 3, HAM 2
Bad start: ROS 0, HAM 4
Technical issue in qualifying: ROS 1, HAM 3
Technical issue in race: ROS 1, HAM 1
Crash (DNF): ROS 1, HAM 1
Was helped by his teammate: ROS 0, HAM 1
So yeah, Hamilton had more technical issues, but he also made a bad start 4 times this year, which is all driver error. Add to that the fact that Hamilton was able to win because Rosberg let him past in Monaco, helped him gain significant points.
As Allan McNish has pointed out as well: F1 is a technical sport, failures happen. Further more, Rosberg didn’t make any real mistakes except maybe the turn 1 incident in Canada. So if we turn your words around: Rosberg makes almost no mistakes, has been the most consistent throughout and didn’t need the help from his teammate to secure a victory and also withstood the pressure of others and fighting back on multiple occasions. See? It’s just a matter of how you look at it. Rosberg has won the WDC, he deserved it. If Hamilton would’ve won, he would’ve deserved it as well. Both are fantastic drivers, lets not spoil Rosberg’s WDC year.
MaroonJack (@maroonjack)
28th November 2016, 9:49
@addvariety The argument that Rosberg deserved the championship because he won the championship doesn’t really resonate with me, unless you add that there was another driver who also deserved it, and maybe deserved it more. You don’t want to spoil Rosberg’s championship year. Fair enough, but you want to attribute Hamilton’s defeat to his poor starts and say that it’s “all driver error”, which isn’t entirely true. After Italy the team admitted there was a problem with inconsistent clutch, which means that some of his poor starts were also technically related.
Hamilton’s poor starts:
Australia (7)
Bahrain (10)
Italy (7)
Japan (10)
That’s 34 potential points total.
Power unit related problems:
China (19)
Russia (7)
Belgium (10) penalty
Malaysia (25)
Total of 61 points.
When the points difference between two drivers is as low as it is in this case, it’s easy to say “5 points? His bad start here or there was worth more”. Yet when we look at the big picture, we look for the main reason and I think we can safely say that technical issues did cost Hamilton the championship. Nico got lucky and good for him. And don’t get me wrong, I don’t think that the championship just fell into his lap, because as I see it luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity and in that sense he deserved the championship. His consistency was finally rewarded, but I wouldn’t say he was better in any meaningful way.
Neiana (@neiana)
27th November 2016, 15:10
@blockwall2 How Rosberg won: when a mechanical failure hit both Mercs, ROS was able to handle his car better than Lewis.
ThisNoNameID2 (@patienceandtime)
27th November 2016, 15:18
@neiana ‘when a mechanical failure hit both Mercs, ROS was able to handle his car better than Lewis.’ – LOL when
Estesark (@estesark)
27th November 2016, 15:33
Presumably in Baku.
Neiana (@neiana)
27th November 2016, 15:45
@estesark
Oh yeah, I forgot about all the times Hamilton couldn’t figure out how to get his car going. There’s that, too!
Damon85
27th November 2016, 20:08
You mean the time when the team broke their back to help Nico out whilst fobbing Lewis off sarcastically……
Rick (@)
28th November 2016, 7:34
No, at that time (Baku) the team wasn’t allowed to help any driver. Both were instructed they needed to figure it out themselves.
ThisNoNameID2 (@patienceandtime)
27th November 2016, 15:11
@blockwall2 And Rosberg only won with 5 points despite a bullet proof car unlike Hamilton. Rosberg #fakechamp
John H (@john-h)
27th November 2016, 15:51
I think it’s disappointing to see this fakechamp rubbish. It reminds me of the Massa fans in 2008.
Hamilton in my opinion also deserved the title more than Rosberg, but in F1 it’s not binary… Rosberg still did an amazing job this season to mop up when required and dominate a few races of his own. His last two races showed he was resilient enough mentally to win the championship. Well done Nico.
C
27th November 2016, 16:04
Actually Massa’s title was stolen, generally when a sporting event is fixed the results are scrapped. Results of Singapore GP werent scrapped which gifted the title to Crapmilton. So yeah Massa’s title was stolen away from him so Bernie could have a British F1 champ.
John H (@john-h)
27th November 2016, 16:56
Hehe. I actually remember that season very well, with the FIA going out of their way to help Massa and create a showdown in the end. Hamilton’s penalty at Fiji for example or the Bourdais penalty. Anyway, maybe you’re trolling, I don’t know!
Gigantor (@kbdavies)
27th November 2016, 15:12
That one line could have saved Keith all that analysis – as good as it was. It is funny to see many people claiming Nico is champion because he was more “consistent” than Lewis this season. He is champion no doubt – but ONLY because Lewis suffered more reliability woes than he did.
It is like people have been waiting for Nico to finally “beat” Lewis (i remember all the predictions when Lewis joined Mercedes); and now, they have a good reason good enough not to let go. No wait…that is exactly what happened.
ThisNoNameID2 (@patienceandtime)
27th November 2016, 15:22
@kbdavies Well said.
Craig Wilde (@wildfire15)
27th November 2016, 15:43
I agree entirely that Malaysia was the point that ultimately made Rosberg champion, but he was there whenever anyone else messed up or had a problem.
The Duke
27th November 2016, 17:30
You’re right, after being hit and ending up in 17th position, rosbergs recovery drive to 3rd was the drive that secured his championship.
Had he not been as pushy with his passes as he had been this championship might have slipped away.
Ex F1 fan
27th November 2016, 16:23
And Grosjean isn’t a champion ONLY because Haas didn’t make the best car.
The champion has ALWAYS been the driver who scored the most points, don’t recall any champs who received the points he wanted but his car broke EVER. Fastest lap only wins you pole not the race, fastest overall race time wins and consistency wins the championship. And of course the old adage applies here as well, to finish first, first you must finish. By deciding you know who won, you aren’t really a racing fan, you’re truly the FANATIC of a driver and clueless about how racing actually works. That or you are of the modern participation trophy world and just for showing up you should be rewarded. And if you want to blame Mercedes for a bad engine then you better EVERY race credit them for the best engine out there and a damn good chassis to work it. But then that wouldn’t fit your poor me, my driver didn’t win hissy fit.
Which is similar to the near constant whining about drivers not pushing and they should be all out all the time. There HAS NEVER been an all out, all the time era of F1 and it’s only recently occurred in the sportscar world. The best drivers pushed when needed and managed their car all other times. Exactly how drivers do now, learn your actual history not the rosy colored BS modern fans try to feed us.
GoKimi
27th November 2016, 17:15
Not true, ask Prost about the 1988 season ;)
James Coulee
27th November 2016, 17:31
Where were these guys in 2014 when Ros took it to the final race in spite of having more reliability problems than Ham? Did they defend Ros should have the title? I don’t remember.
What about penalties? And engine parts hoarding? Ham is the fastest but it’s not the most complete. He doesn’t race with his brain, he doesn’t work hard or do the homework as he usually boasts about it with pride. That’s why Prost stole a few from Senna.
(…and why does he keep referring to Senna as “Ayrton”: where they chums? No respect, no character, no spine, just a fast crybaby with no manners.)
johnm
27th November 2016, 19:24
Lol? Hamilton drove better in 2014. 11 wins versus 5 for Rosberg. In previous eras Hamilton would have walked that season.
10 wins vs 5 in 2015
10 wins vs 9 in 2016
Personally I think F1 is about winning not about cruising in 2nd every race in by far the fastest car on the grid. That is my issue with Rosberg, he isn’t a winner in a Senna/Schumacher sense.
ThisNoNameID2 (@patienceandtime)
27th November 2016, 19:34
@James Coulee LOL 2014. What About Hamilton’s DNF in Australia due engine problem, Germany Brake failure, Hungary Engine failure and in the race the team asked Hamilton to move over for Rosberg, what about Hamilton knocked out of Spa by Rosberg you clown. And how do you know Hamilton does not work hard while it’s Rosberg is the who’s always asking in what setting Hamilton is driving, always team couching him how to race. Explain that.
Hyoko
27th November 2016, 15:17
Much better -and fairer- than winning by ignoring T2 in Mexico.
Fantomius (@liko41)
27th November 2016, 20:47
Much better and fairier than deliberately stop the car in Monaco 2014, deliberately crashed on your teammate in Belgium or smashed him on the wall in Spain.
Sven (@crammond)
27th November 2016, 15:33
If someone is fast enough for a single DNF of his teammate to swing it to his favour, and those teammates are the only ones in the title-battle for 3 years, that someone is allways likely (and thus probably deserving) to get one title out of those 3 years.
N
27th November 2016, 15:44
It’s funny how people only mention and remember Malaysia.
Hamilton had a raft of Mechanical issues that thwarted his season. Wether it was qualifying mechanical failures, race failures, or failures in free practice that hinder car setup.
The Duke
27th November 2016, 17:35
Funny, vettel had more failures and mech issues than Webber did but he never lost the championship to his teammate.
It’s good to have change though. We have a new champion, a 2x, a 3x, and of course a single 4X WDC….
Cheers!
Jorge Lardone (@jorge-lardone)
27th November 2016, 18:02
+1
Corey (@dragon86)
27th November 2016, 19:07
No love for Kimi?
ThisNoNameID2 (@patienceandtime)
27th November 2016, 19:39
@The Duke Vettel had No1 status..
Fantomius (@liko41)
27th November 2016, 20:54
Vettel never lost to his teammate because Red Bull gave team orders TO HELP of its best driver, not to hamper him.
Which -you know- must be a clever tactic, given it was chosen by pretty much every team in the history of the sport, but Mercedes.
David Not Coulthard (@davidnotcoulthard)
27th November 2016, 15:52
@blockwall2 Although that’s only fair after Hungary 2008
Peppermint-Lemon (@)
27th November 2016, 15:54
How Hammy lost the championship : Bad starts, bad attitude.
Jabosha (@jabosha)
27th November 2016, 19:43
Don’t forget dnf in Malaysia.
Blazz
27th November 2016, 19:48
so reliability played no part?
Rick (@)
28th November 2016, 7:36
Of course it did, it’s just to put things into perspective. Apart from the last 4 races when all was too late anyway, Hamilton has had a dismal year.
PMccarthy_is_a_legend (@pmccarthy_is_a_legend)
27th November 2016, 20:55
Rosberg won the championship by accumulating more points over the course of the 21 races.
You are welcome.
Kiwi SteveP
28th November 2016, 21:21
+1
Thats a FACT
Eggry (@eggry)
27th November 2016, 14:54
He might be not among the greatests but he deserves it. Improved significantly through years and when the chance had come, he made it.
Daniel
27th November 2016, 14:57
Very few drivers can say they won a championship against a team-mate as good as Hamilton. Probably only Senna and Prost can say it abouf each other
Alex W
28th November 2016, 8:05
Lauda v Prost (reliability), Hulme v Brabham(reliability), and i think someone beat fangio(before my time)… it is very impressive nonetheless..
Ed Marques (@edmarques)
27th November 2016, 14:55
He won it in Malaysia.
Maza Raap (@maza)
27th November 2016, 14:59
Probably the worst champion in history, simply put.
Will Jones
27th November 2016, 15:09
Nope, for the simple reason he didn’t win it after smashing his rival off the road, like some of our “greats” have done. I’ll rank this years WDC drive over the Senna/Prost/Schumacher championships that were settled in that way any day of the week
Fantomius (@liko41)
27th November 2016, 20:56
Didn’t Rosberg smash Hamilton on the wall in Spain?
Oople
27th November 2016, 15:18
lmao
David Not Coulthard (@davidnotcoulthard)
27th November 2016, 15:53
@maza Unlike his dad, it took MUCH MORE to win Nico’s championship than avoiding injury (Pironi) or death (Villeneuve).
Daniel
27th November 2016, 16:33
Ignoring history perhaps we could say that…
Scheckter, Jones, K Rosberg, D Hill, J Villeneuve were all worse than Nico…
Corey (@dragon86)
27th November 2016, 19:14
With all due respect to Button, even his championship was partly due to a loophole in the rules letting him win 6 of the first 7 races. His team was able to hang on to the end despite having only 2 podiums in the final 10 races
Andy (@andybantam)
27th November 2016, 15:00
Malaysia aside, It’s still nice to see someone realise their dream. Only the second son of a champion to win the title too. So, fair play.
Congratulations, Nico.
dam00r (@dam00r)
27th November 2016, 15:04
And without thanking the team for it.
magon4 (@magon4)
27th November 2016, 17:27
not quite accurate…
Tristan (@skipgamer)
27th November 2016, 15:05
Amazing championship despite the way it was decided in the very end. Kept me on the edge of my seat anyway all year long (as opposed to the previous two). Huge congratulations to Nico Rosberg, it’s impossibly difficult to win a WDC.
Respect is implied I hope, some great performances and a very closely fought championship all year long. Hope he gets a nice rest and the confidence provides further boosts in the coming years!
dam00r (@dam00r)
27th November 2016, 15:07
Hamilton would’ve finished 13 points ahead of Rosberg.
magon4 (@magon4)
27th November 2016, 17:29
It is nearly impossible to make that prediction. Nico has been racing in such a way to keep his title hopes alive and might have done a few things differently if he were behind in the standings.
With that, I mean that every race has its own narrative, and if you change it at one point, it might have changed the whole thing, so those calculations are at least slightly misleading.
Lari (@lari)
27th November 2016, 17:49
Exactly this, I’m pretty sure he played the safe game the last 4 races as he didn’t have to win any of them. Had he been behind LH, you can’t say he’d driven similarly then. You drive as the current situation makes you, just like LH today. So few Hamilton fans seem to get this, or just deliberately forget it.
The Duke
27th November 2016, 17:37
Is that before or after you take away his free Monaco win?
Is that before or after you give Nico a win for being hit from behind on a straight by his teammate?
Humb S (@humb)
27th November 2016, 19:19
The same teammate he pushed off the track by trying to defend an indenfensible position while fiddling his dashboard buttons and being slower?
Jabosha (@jabosha)
27th November 2016, 19:51
Yeah, amazing people are blaming Ham for that altercation.
The Duke
27th November 2016, 20:29
Amazing people are ignoring Hamilton’s contribution to that event… he made a stupid move – no matter what the other guy was doing, Hamilton’s partially at fault no matter what.
Stupid move = stupid loss of points = no championship.
You don’t make stupid mistakes when you’re fighting for a championship because things out of your control are bound to happen. He’s a 3X WDC, you’re lying if you say he couldn’t have avoided that collision.
Fantomius (@liko41)
27th November 2016, 20:57
In spain it was Nico who smashed Ham on the wall. Get your facts straight.
ThisNoNameID2 (@patienceandtime)
27th November 2016, 15:09
Keith, please. You got to admit that Rosberg won it because Rosberg had no issues unlike Hamilton, why is that so hard to say for some sports journalist.
Neiana (@neiana)
27th November 2016, 15:14
@patienceandtime except there were a few races when both drivers had mechanical issues and only one driver managed it better than the other every time. That driver was Rosberg. When both cars failed, had Hamilton been able to even keep within view of Rosberg, he would have won the WDC. That’s a fact.
Adam Blocker (@blockwall2)
27th November 2016, 15:23
@neiana Name a race where that happened in 2016. Hamilton had two DNFs: Spain and Malaysia. Rosberg had one DNF: Spain.
The bad starts were Hamilton’s fault and Rosberg is a good driver that is World Champion caliber, but he was helped tremendously by Hamilton’s unreliability and people running into Hamilton early in the season.
Neiana (@neiana)
27th November 2016, 15:31
@blockwall2
Were the brake-by-wire issues not this season? I thought it happened twice. Had Lewis been able to drive as well as Nico under those conditions, Hamilton would’ve won the WDC. Fact.
Martin
27th November 2016, 16:36
me thinks you haven’t actually been watching this season David
Keith
27th November 2016, 23:52
If you’re going to work on that premise, you might as well just say that Hamilton didn’t deserve the championship the last two years because the Mercedes was so good he was pretty much guaranteed first or second.
Rosberg beat him over the course of a season, fair and square. We don’t know what caused the engine failures. It could be driver related for all we know. We don’t know how safe Rosberg was playing in the last four races (well, we know he was playing very very safe in the last race). All we know is that over the course of the season, both drivers challenged eachother. Let’s not forget there were plenty of races where Hamilton was quite simply outclassed on merit, and vice versa.
To say that Malaysia was the only reason Rosberg won is a massive case of putting on the blinkers.
Will Jones
27th November 2016, 15:15
Journalist? Surely reporter and pundit is far more accurate, never seen any journalism here – which is no insult FYI, if Keith was out discovering the stories, he wouldnt have time to collate all the news and present it as brilliantly as he does
Gigantor (@kbdavies)
27th November 2016, 15:16
Much easier to stretch the truth and put forward preposterous assertions instead. Most journos thought Rosberg would have the upper hand at the beginning of their relationhsip together.. Lewis put paid to those thoughts. Now, they can claim it all over again. this is a guy that roundly beat his teammate in ALL their 3 seasons together – despite suffering more reliability issues.
Keith
27th November 2016, 23:54
I don’t remember any journos saying that. Quite the opposite in fact…
spoutnik (@spoutnik)
27th November 2016, 15:35
@patienceandtime could you please admit that Hamilton won in 2015 because Rosberg had more failures? You are going nowhere with that. Seriously , people sometimes…
Martin
27th November 2016, 16:37
He didn’t though, if you do a count back of points lost due to mechanical issues Hamilton still wins
alanore (@alanore)
27th November 2016, 15:46
@patienceandtime can you just admit Hamilton didn’t win this year and build a bridge and get over it?
David Not Coulthard (@davidnotcoulthard)
27th November 2016, 15:54
@patienceandtime Thus making Massa the moral champion of 2008 (what after Hungary).
Errrr…OK
Sravan Krishnan (@sravan-pe)
27th November 2016, 16:04
@patienceandtime At the end of the day nobody gives a damn about your comments.
GoKimi
27th November 2016, 17:18
Do you rememeber 2014? Hamilton won thanks to carfailure from Nico in the last race.
HAM-fans always forget that …
Noddy
27th November 2016, 18:09
Without the stupid double points thing the championship would have been finished before the last race!
Humb S (@humb)
27th November 2016, 19:20
Hello!
Wasn’t Hamilton in front of Rosberg before the failure?
Noddy
27th November 2016, 20:15
Doesn’t matter Hamilton was more than 25 points ahead going into the last race so second was good enough anyway. But my point still stands without double points the championship was decided before the last race.
Dani
27th November 2016, 15:10
Absolutely pleased with the result.
He’s improved so much this year, and he completely and utterly deserves now to go and celebrate with his support system.
Tom
27th November 2016, 15:10
so will the Fia just look the other way about nicos park ferme rule break ? It would be harsh but even a 5 second penalty would cost him the Championship and there’s no doubt he’s broken that rule. Tricky one, but obviously nothing will happen. But that asks the question of why even have the rule at all ?
Traverse (@hellotraverse)
27th November 2016, 15:16
+100
Will Jones
27th November 2016, 15:17
Don’t be silly
Tom
27th November 2016, 15:30
How is it silly will ? It’s a rule, written in the rule book. Nico has clearly broken that rule. So what happens next ? Is it investigated just beacuse a rule was broken or do we simply ignore it ? The rule is there for a reason and obviously I don’t expect Rosberg/Mercedes cheated here, but in not bringing the car back he’s still broken the rules. I’m not clutching at straws as Rosberg is the Champion. I’m just genuinely interested and wonder if it would be any different had it happened mid season.
Will Jones
27th November 2016, 15:57
It’s silly because Rosberg just clinched the title in the last race of the season, the car was on camera the whole time it was out of the painted lines it was supposed to be in and no engineer had an opportunity to tamper with it, which is what the rules around parc femme exist to prevent, so in conclusion, if you want to penalise drivers for acting as humans, enforce rules that exist to prevent cheating when it is demonstratable that cheating didn’t take place, then yes, I think you are being silly
Tom
27th November 2016, 16:04
I doubt anyone touched the car, but that’s not the rule is it ? The rule is a driver MUST return to parc ferme after any celebrations. It’s not silly to question when a rule is broken… as for resulting to name calling that’s officially the sign that the other person has no points to their argument.
Will Jones
27th November 2016, 16:22
Why do you accuse me of not having any points when you’ve just sidestepped the point I already made. Let me be very clear, my point is, F1 is better when the rules are not interpreted with little to no flexibility. Answer that or I accuse you of being the one of us without a point.
Tom
27th November 2016, 16:50
Will, I haven’t side stepped anything. I said I doubt anyone touched the car, but the rule was broken. You said the camera was on it at all times but it wasn’t. How did the car get back to parc ferme before being weighed for example ? Was it pushed or picked up and put on a flatbed ? Has it even been weighed yet ? There are plenty of people required for each of those which flag up question marks. I completely agree it’s extremely unlikely that this happened, but the fact is the rule was broken and the fact is it could have happened. That’s the whole point, break any rule and there should be an investigation. Even if they just give him a reprimand for the sake of it, at least they’ve looked into it. Just glossing over it makes the rule pointless and causes more confusion if a driver does the same thing in the future.
Will Jones
27th November 2016, 17:40
You do understand that there are more cameras than the one being broadcast, right? Nicos car was put on a flatbed by the same people who would have put it on a flatbed if he had pulled over with a mechanical issue. Mashalls, and literally every angle is accessible to the FIA if they need to check that no one tampered with the car.
And no, you don’t give drivers reprimands for celebrating the WDC, sorry – the team will get a fine and a million new casual viewers won’t feel the sport is too petty to bother with next season
Neiana (@neiana)
27th November 2016, 15:25
@Tom
What about when Hamilton wasn’t properly in his starting box and they didn’t care? What about certain times when Hamilton drove a certain way and when other drivers drove the same way, they were penalized? I think breaking parc ferme is no big deal in comparison.
Tom
27th November 2016, 15:34
Well firstly @neiana this has nothing to do with Hamilton. As I’ve said, Rosberg has broken a rule. I’d say reversing around 30cm in a pitlane after being told to is no big deal too, but Hamilton was punished for it because it’s a rule…
Neiana (@neiana)
27th November 2016, 15:46
Hamilton being outside of the grid at the start of the race is deserving of a penalty, yet he did not receive it.
Tom
27th November 2016, 15:57
He wasn’t outside the grid…
GoKimi
27th November 2016, 17:22
Hamilton even blocked another driver in FP2, noone mentions that.
It it was the other way around, another driver blocking HAm, then the outcry would last till next season
Adam Blocker (@blockwall2)
27th November 2016, 15:38
Tom, just stop. It is ok to do what Rosberg did and he doesn’t deserve a penalty. Vettel has previously set this precedent in India in 2013.
Tom
27th November 2016, 15:55
@blockwall2 stop what exactly ? Stop asking a question about F1 on a public forum specifically for F1 talk? If it’s OK then why do the rules say you need to return the car to parc ferme after any celebrations ?
Patrick (@paeschli)
27th November 2016, 17:15
Vettel was fined for it in 2013, no reason to give a different penalty to Rosberg this time.
Humb S (@humb)
27th November 2016, 19:22
As Tom said, why bother writing the rules?
Let’s come up with exceptions to the rules. That would be a lot easier.
Alex W
28th November 2016, 8:13
He was given permission to do so, dispensation, this availability of this dispensation was clarified years ago when Vettel was doing it.
Nick (@theawesomefish)
27th November 2016, 15:29
I’m starting to get a bit sick of people saying “Oh, Nico only won the championship because Malaysia”. Shall we go back to Italy last year, where Nico’s engine expired then? Or Britain and Singapore in 2014, when Nico retired with mechanical failures on both occasions? Mechanical failures could have happened to either driver, and they’ve had the same amount of non-finishes because of them over the past three years. They’ve both been advantaged and disadvantaged by them in equal measure.
Plus, Nico still had to fight back through the field to finish third in Malaysia after being spun around at turn one. Belgium 2014, when Lewis had to fight back through the field after the incident on Lap 2? He just gave up halfway through the race.
Nico did exactly what he needed to do over the season, and you can put whatever spin on it you like, but Nico Rosberg is the 2016 Formula One World Champion. Get used to it.
Michael (@freelittlebirds)
27th November 2016, 15:37
@theawesomefish these championships should have been done by mid-season – that’s how great Nico actually is as a driver. That also tells you how much better Lewis is… He can practically run circles around Nico and Nico is one of the fastest drivers… It’s one of the most unfair wins in sport to see Nico win this championship.
ThisNoNameID2 (@patienceandtime)
27th November 2016, 15:40
@theawesomefish Correct if i’m wrong, Rosberg engine had already done almost 6 race distances and his DNF happened behind Hamilton so what’s your point ?. Britain and Singapore he was behind Hamilton anyway and in Spa 2014 Hamilton’s car had way more damage then Rosberg in Malaysia.
Patrick (@paeschli)
27th November 2016, 17:18
And Rosberg hit mechanical trouble in the only double points race in 2014.
You could go on and on with these pointless arguments. In the end Rosberg had two winning streaks this season and Hamilton should have stepped up sooner to stop them.
mike
27th November 2016, 20:48
Wow Patrick, I keep seeing your posts and cannot anymore take in your pov because your to bias to anyone not Hamilton. Everyone needs to get over it its obvious by the chart up to that mechanical problems in qualifying and the race cost Hamilton the championship. Rosberg still deserved the championship as he did everything he needed too. Hamilton is by far the fastest driver out there but has a very conflicting private life. Roseberg is a good driver but I just dislike his falseness and Schumacher esq cheating.
Klon (@)
27th November 2016, 15:30
Oh dear, Hamilton Internet Defense Force in action, I see.
Let’s look at this like rational human beings with no particular interest in seeing either driver win: for as inconvenient as Lewis Hamilton’s engine failures were, did they make him fail to fix the issue at Baku, which cost him 15 Points on Rosberg (which was fixable, as Nico managed to do so, no doubt having spent less time partying and more working with his staff)? Did it cause him to make awful starts at various events to the point where technical issues are no longer an excuse? Did it cause him to not sufficently block Nico Rosberg in Abu Dhabi?
In the end, if we want to tell the story about how Lewis Hamilton lost it instead of how Nico Rosberg won it, the source for that failure is the man Lewis Hamilton is seeing in the mirror each morning. It may hurt him, it may hurt his fans, so denial is the obvious reaction, but it does not change the reality.
Will Jones
27th November 2016, 16:05
Correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t Nico also fail to fix his settings just a race or two later – so you can’t really call him better than Lewis on that one, either Merc made a poor control for its systems or both drivers are equally as bad – not to mention Nicos failure to put his car in the correct mode at Catalonia. I personally don’t think Lewis himself lost the championship on track, he undoubtedly had a disadvantage once engine reliability is taken into account and I suspect the reason is simple, he got on very well with his team before they were switched around, and failed to adapt as well as Nico afterwards – no conspiracy theories, I also commend merc for doing that to stop inter team tribalism
Peppermint-Lemon (@)
27th November 2016, 16:07
COTD
ThisNoNameID2 (@patienceandtime)
27th November 2016, 16:17
@klon Nonsense. The first four races Hamilton had nothing but issues which Rosberg benefitted from and building a gap of 43 points. Rosberg only have this title due Hamilton having so many issues with his car. The team could not tell Hamilton how to solve the setting but could tell Rosberg the next race later how to solve the issue, get lost with your nonsense.
The Duke
27th November 2016, 18:57
What was his issue in Australia? If by issue you mean the toro Rosso he couldn’t get around then yes I agree.
Craig Wilde (@wildfire15)
27th November 2016, 16:17
You can’t ignore Malaysia no matter how you look at it.
Grosjean's smile (@testacorsa)
27th November 2016, 20:15
BOOM! reality bomb. “Oh dear, Hamilton Internet Defense Force in action, I see.” :D
Michael (@freelittlebirds)
27th November 2016, 15:33
Rosberg may deserve a lifetime WDC but he certainly didn’t deserve the championship this year.
Pole Champion: Lewis Hamilton
Victory Champion: Lewis Hamilton
On Track winner: Lewis Hamilton
World Champion: Nico Rosberg
This should have been wrapped in Malaysia without all the hurdles from Mercedes which are becoming a complete oddity as they almost cost Lewis the championship in 2014 as well …
As for Mercedes talking that they won’t interfere, that’s baloney! Don’t forget Keep P3, P2 is safe… Lewis, instruction please go faster so Nico can win… Lewis, this is Paddy…
ThisNoNameID2 (@patienceandtime)
27th November 2016, 15:49
@freelittlebirds It was silly to ask Hamilton to pick up the pace, that alone showed Mercedes wanted Rosberg to win it.
Aldoid
27th November 2016, 16:01
You should have heard them try to defend it while not actually offering a defense other than Paddy talking about “balance” in the garage now that Nico’s won, & Toto talking about how long he’s been with them & how much he deserved it. Johnny Herbert asked them directly why they felt the need to interfere, trying to help Nico win at the expense of Lewis losing & they couldn’t give a real answer other than the obvious one. It couldn’t be more obvious that this championship was practically scripted.
ThisNoNameID2 (@patienceandtime)
27th November 2016, 16:22
@aldoid Yeah i saw that too, it was all scripted as you say, hence Hamilton having so many issues. Rosberg did totally not deserve to win it
Jabosha (@jabosha)
27th November 2016, 20:05
An unsportive action.
stefan
27th November 2016, 16:20
WDC points winner: Nico Rosberg
HAM was points leader for only 4 races out of 21, rather poor attempt at winning the WDC
Michael (@freelittlebirds)
27th November 2016, 17:57
@Stefan – that’s a strange take on winning nothing except more points through higher reliability and less susceptibility to clutch… Lewis backed the race by 1 minute today and Nico still couldn’t overake him while begging Mercedes to give Lewis the order to allow Nico to pass him…
I was very surprised no one could overtake Nico… It was weird to watch – the F1 field might be weaker than we think.
James Coulee
27th November 2016, 17:56
Not knowing how to use the clutch champion: Ham
Not knowing how to operate engine modes champion: Ham
He didn’t loose just on reliability: did not do his job well enough quite often too. And had its has kicked by Rosberg fair and square in a few occasions too.
Not the cleanest sportsman too, which gave him an advantage on many occasions.
spoutnik (@spoutnik)
27th November 2016, 21:30
@freelittlebirds
That’s laughable and dishonest. Rules are the same for everyone, in the end one guy wins. The list of so-called ‘undeserving champions’ would be long, Lewis’ 2008 title well up in the order. Don’t be so bitter Rosberg drove well and scored when in mattered that’s it. I’m sure Lewis will come back even stronger which will make an interesting 2017 season if other teams come closer.
Dani
27th November 2016, 15:37
So Hamilton is referring to Rosberg as ‘the dude’. And quite rightly, the commentators on Channel 4 which include David Coulthard, and Mark Webber are saying he should show a bit more humility and respect towards his teammate. This is amongst the reasons why I can never back Hamilton. He’s a sore loser, and has no respect for nobody but himself and his celebrity friends.
Michael (@freelittlebirds)
27th November 2016, 16:00
I can assure you the way Lewis acted today was the most gracious a winner has ever been who has had the championship completely stolen from him. Ayrton Senna was a lot less gracious and he was a “special person”…
Nico is the WDC but he only has reliability and clutch to back that up with. I’m the champion with the more reliable car – I am!!! I am!!! Ask Toto, Paddy, and Nikki! They’ve been calling and instructing everyone to let me win!!!:-)
Aldoid
27th November 2016, 16:02
Constructor’s title long decided, but Rosberg’s on the radio begging the team to help, & the team comes on the radio telling Hamilton to basically gift Rosberg the championship. Shameful.
Peppermint-Lemon (@)
27th November 2016, 16:10
Lol good one you are so right. /s
James Coulee
27th November 2016, 17:50
Well, Ham did say that he absolutely would never back the pack up today, that that’s not how he rolls… But he did from lap one. It’s quite exemplar of his character. He has none. He’s always been psychologically weak and today he was so easily manipulated by Christian Horner one would think he’s a toddler.
Humb S (@humb)
27th November 2016, 19:29
“Absolutely”…?
Rick
27th November 2016, 19:54
Or Lewis knew that if he said he would back Nico up his engine would have strangely blown up. Best to tow the line until after the last pit stop.
Sun Siyuan (@peking901)
27th November 2016, 15:43
Really don’t want to hear some Ham’s fans whining about Malaysia anymore……. If you were looking for mysterious odd, go back to see Singapore and Abu Dhabi GP in 2014. It happens! Nico did his best to score every point and finally became WDC. Deal with it and please show some respect!
ThisNoNameID2 (@patienceandtime)
27th November 2016, 15:53
@peking901 LMAO but no mentioning of Hamilton in Australia 2014, Spa 2014, Germany 2014 and Hungary 2014 etc right. Rosberg was helped by Mercedes hence they told Hamilton to pick up the pace while Hamilton could win it aswel.
Dani
27th November 2016, 16:03
Team orders were to pick up the pace. Hamilton would appeal more to viewers, his own team, and the commentators, if he’d have raced to the end. Instead he slowed down, because his idea was to back Rosberg up into the other drivers. The other drivers knew what he was doing too. They know what a dirty tactic he played. And calling his teammate, now a champion, ‘the dude’ in an interview with the press – implies he’s pretty butthurt, disrespectful and not a class act unlike other drivers like Massa, Vettel, Jenson who have all congratulated Nico.
Sun Siyuan (@peking901)
27th November 2016, 16:32
About the races you said in 2014, exactly my point! It happens!!! (Except Spa 2014, race incident, unless you think you are better than the arbitration crews). Sometimes on Ham, sometimes on Nico. Massa will say 2008 Hungarian GP and Singapore GP, Alonso will say 2012 Belgian GP and Japanese GP. You’ve been here all night claiming Nico did not deserve this WDC. The fact is he won the title, he had better starts and better handling problems this year. I think no one would say Ham is not a great driver, but some fans like you were keen to prove it by belittling others. And the helps you said from the team, Ham didn’t obey and Nico withstand the pressure from behind. Also, though it is surely reasonable to do the blocking cars intentionally for stealing the title. He shouldn’t say he will not do that in the race yesterday. A real honest man as always isn’t he?
trublu (@trublu)
27th November 2016, 16:05
@peking901, Didn’t Hamilton have just as much or more reliability issues in 2014?
Sun Siyuan (@peking901)
27th November 2016, 16:49
Yes, that’s why I say it happens, to all of them. Nico did a great job this year absolutely. If Ham was ‘that great’ as the ‘Patience And Time’ guy said, he should win all the races and secure the title four or five races earlier this year. Instead of losing it ONLY because his engine blowed in Malaysia. Ham is a great driver, no one will deny. It’s just I couldn’t understand why someone wants to prove it by keeping insulting other drivers?
Rick
27th November 2016, 19:56
It’s not just about Malaysia, look at the beginning of the year too.
Haribo
27th November 2016, 16:01
It’s disappointing to see some pointing solely to the events of Malaysia as to why Rosberg won the title. We shouldn’t forget races such as Azerbaijan, Singapore and Japan where Hamilton simply had no answer to his teammate, had Hamilton won those races he would now be a four time champion. I don’t believe any championship runner-up can claim that they lost the title solely on bad luck, there was always something more they could have done. Hamilton put his own back against the wall, not his engine.
Hamilton may be the better all-round driver overall, but Rosberg was the slightly better driver over these last 21 races. That’s what the world championship is ultimately about.
Gigantor (@kbdavies)
27th November 2016, 16:13
Much easier to stretch the truth and put forward preposterous assertions instead. Most journos thought Rosberg would have the upper hand at the beginning of their relationhsip together.. Lewis put paid to those thoughts. Now, they can claim it all over again. this is a guy that roundly beat his teammate in ALL their 3 seasons together – despite suffering more reliability issues.
Gigantor (@kbdavies)
27th November 2016, 16:17
@Haribo – “Rosberg was the slightly better driver over these last 21 races. ”
I’ll have whatever you are having mate. This is the madness of tit all. Everyone expected Hamilton to have a perfect season to win the championship, BUT not expecting the same of Rosberg. So, they can pick up on his mistakes as the reason he lost, but ignore Rosberg’s mistakes because he won. Talk about double standards. Amazing!
lockup (@)
27th November 2016, 16:23
It’s disappointing to see some pretending the LH car problems in China, Russia and Spa didn’t happen, Haribo. Sepang was just the last straw.
YZR
27th November 2016, 16:31
Same goes for number of race victories, poles etc. rosberg played the last for races perfectly and calculated. He played the numbers game and achieved what he had to, 4 2nd places. Which in my opinion is what anyone would do in that situation. I don’t think the most victories bothered him much. He executed what was required from him perfectly.
John Beak (@johnbeak)
27th November 2016, 16:02
Rosberg broke the mold by finally defeating Hamilton who has had upper hand on him ever since they were teammates in karting. He may have been the luckier of the duo this season, but once the opportunity arose, he was there to capitalise on it. That’s something others (think Webber most recently) haven’t been able to do. And that alone is worth the achievement.
Patrick (@paeschli)
27th November 2016, 17:22
I find it amazing that people think Webber should be a WDC despite managing only 9 wins in 4 years of driving a dominant car while Rosberg, having won more than 20 GP’s, is somehow an undeserving champion.
Gabriel (@rethla)
27th November 2016, 18:00
Yeh congratz to Rosberg for the coveted “At least you are better than Webber” award.
Michael (@freelittlebirds)
27th November 2016, 16:07
Dear Santa,
I want to win the WDC someday. I want my uncle to be the team principal, my father to be a WDC, his cousin to be the executive chairman, and my wife to be the technical director. I also want superior reliability to my teammate throughout the entire season every season. I don’t want to be as fast or as good and I don’t mind losing the Pole Championship, the GP Championship and getting thrashed by my teammate on track. I even don’t mind many people calling me as Britney Spears… as long as I win the WDC.
Merry Christmas/Froehliche Weihnachten/Feliz Navidad/Joyeux Noël/Hyvää Joulua/Buon Natale,
Nico Rosberg
(future WDC champion)
jamiejay (@jamiejay995)
27th November 2016, 16:14
i dont like nico or lewis. i will say it again. go back to 2008. nico won the championship fair and square. in baku he had the same problem as hamilton but got it sorted put faster. he won the first 4 races. monaco was a gift to hamilton. are we going to go back and say kimi doesnt deserve his title. piquet doesnt deserve his first one. farina doesnt deserve his. hawthorne doesnt deserve his. no we arent. Hamilton fans need to suck it up your driver lost move on. arguing about it isnt going to magically give Hamilton the championship.
Michael (@freelittlebirds)
27th November 2016, 16:28
@jamiejay995 Monaco is an epic race, totally won by Hamilton and Mercedes almost threw it away (as in 2015) by bringing him in early… Then Red Bull made a mistake and did NOT capitalize on Mercedes’ mistake and then Lewis turned Ricciardo into his lollipop driving on the Ultra Softs forever…
So you’re incorrect and now that you know how the race unfolded (I know it’s strange that you can watch something and understand nothing but that applies to all of us), perhaps you can update your post explaining who won the WDC and who deserved it.
Michael (@freelittlebirds)
27th November 2016, 16:32
@jamiejay995 And for the record and the last time, Red Bull and Ricciardo did NOT deserve the Monaco race at all. Ricciardo was deplorable (except in quali) and Red Bull was equally deplorable as Ricciardo – so was Mercedes and so was Nico (as they were in 2015).
The only 2 drivers that were great were Lewis and Hulkenberg that day… Stellar drive and strategy call by Lewis and he deserved the WDC for that race alone.
krxx
27th November 2016, 16:38
@jamiejay995
I think I understand your saying, but why do you ‘undo’ your own point by adding this part: are we going to go back and say kimi doesnt deserve his title. piquet doesnt deserve his first one. farina doesnt deserve his. hawthorne doesnt deserve his. – I’ve seen this exact same reasoning btw elsewhere on this site.
jamiejay (@jamiejay995)
27th November 2016, 16:44
i was just trying to make a point where they were fully deserving of their titles but using the argument that people are making now about reliability would mean that those drivers wouldnt be deserving of them. For the record i fully think they all deserve their titles just how i think nico deserves his title and hamilton his 3
krxx
27th November 2016, 17:17
@jamiejay995
Oh ok, copy that.
lockup (@)
27th November 2016, 16:39
@jamiejay995
In Baku Rosberg changed to the faulty map on the lap at which the faulty mode kicked in, so he got the derating as soon as he switched. Lewis switched 3 laps before so it came out of nowhere. That was the only difference. Two of the first 4 races were decided by PU faults for LH, and in Monaco NR cost LH 14s then Lewis put in a great drive on wets missing out inters to make that up.
So it was a pretty shoddy post, really.
WilliamB (@william-brierty)
27th November 2016, 16:19
The Nico Rosberg that hobbled into the 2015 US Grand Prix third in the standings (behind the Ferrari of Vettel) was not capable of beating Hamilton over a season no matter what the circumstances. Rosberg responded to his nemesis’ second title in a row with three victories from pole.
But Hamilton no longer had the motivation of a title to chase, right? Come 2016, those “sexy laps” that generally put Hamilton half a second down the road the previous year barely got his nose ahead in Bahrain, CotA and Interlagos. Whilst in 2015 Lewis found it all too easy to maintain or extend his practice margin over his teammate, this year those seemingly one-sided weekends have all too often seen Nico within touching distance come the end of qualifying or the race. Hamilton’s 2015 monopoly on virtuoso weekends was also broken by prodigious efforts from Nico in Singapore and Japan.
The influence of these marginal performance gains on Nico’s side versus the infinite counterfactual permutations that would have handed the title to Hamilton is a topic for the eternal abyss of internet comment threads, but this is undeniable: Nico Rosberg picked himself up and dusted himself off after two consecutive title defeats and found a new performance level in himself in a way that only a great sportsman can.
krxx
27th November 2016, 16:42
@william-brierty
Correct (IMO).
kanan
27th November 2016, 19:19
Brilliant. I agree that US’15 was the turning point. And I’m not saying that because of the cap gate! Let’s not forget he is now joint second with Schumacher and Ascari behind Vettel for the most consecutive race wins.
Strangely Brown (@irukaviking)
27th November 2016, 22:57
Wonderfully said.
Night Fury (@toothless)
28th November 2016, 8:46
Well said.
jamiejay (@jamiejay995)
27th November 2016, 16:20
1967 1st Denny Hulme 2 wins. 3rd Jim Clark 4 wins. Lets argue about how Clark had double the wins but finished 3rd place because of reliability. This is how all you arguments sound
zicasso (@zicasso)
27th November 2016, 16:28
This race provided me with all I was expecting, drivers doing all they could to win the world championship. It was exciting, scary and almost as if time stopped to make those uncomfortable seconds last longer but that is exactly why I watch this sport, for moments like the last five laps of this race… and to Nico Rosberg, well done! Congratulations world champion!!!
Mercedes let racing down. They have received everything from these two drivers this year and could have just simply let them do their things and it was depressing to see they trying to interfere and the excuse is just simply ridiculous because as I have said these tow drivers gave them everything this season.
nads
27th November 2016, 16:29
When a team clearly manipulates personnel to let a number 2 driver win a world championship its time to stop watching.
James Coulee
27th November 2016, 17:38
If that were true, than the team manipulated the personnel so that the 2nd driver couldn’t have a chance on the 2 previous seasons. Is it that what you’re saying?
Oli (@dh1996)
27th November 2016, 16:31
It’s nice that you can spot the newcomers to the sport so easily. Hey, we’ve all been there. We all had a season where we think another driver should’ve won. But that’s F1 for you.
Word of advice though: if you’re excluding technical issues and build your own fantasy-season, you also have to ignore the results where the other drivers has been taken out by rivals, including his teammate.
Rick
27th November 2016, 16:46
4 power unit failures……and Lewis still managed to get to within 5 points at the end……how dare he ! Come on Merc, Lewis’s engineers seem to have found some reliability, sort this out for next year will you or we will just be subjected to another boring Hamilton wining fest and we don’t want that !
Gabriel (@rethla)
27th November 2016, 18:08
Next year Hamilton will have to watch out as it wont be possible to bring in unlimited new engines in one raceweekend.
Nuff said
27th November 2016, 16:46
He won because he handled the pressure amazingly. Especially today. He was extremely impressive…having to pass max and deal with Lewis’ tactics (which were fair enough in my view). I can’t imagine how tough that must have been in the car. Fully deserved.
Pat Ruadh (@fullcoursecaution)
27th November 2016, 18:41
I think so too, Nico’s mental approach has been very impressive all year.
Martin
27th November 2016, 16:49
I think both drivers will ultimately go into the winter happy. Rosberg finally got his WDC and Hamilton came out of the season as the better driver of the pair for the third season running.
Blazz
27th November 2016, 19:59
4th season running.
Martin
28th November 2016, 3:18
I’m not sure if 2013 is so clear cut.
Girts (@girts)
27th November 2016, 17:00
Interestingly, Hamilton has been the driver of the year in F1 Fanatic driver rankings twice, in 2007 and 2010. In his championship years, it was always someone else: Kubica (2008), Ricciardo (2014) and Vettel (2015).
That is part of the reason why we love F1. It is not fair. The best guy often loses. This sport is about taking your chances and withstanding pressure, which is exactly what Rosberg did this year and especially today. Well done.
mark jackson
27th November 2016, 17:01
Rosberg should have held up Hamilton until the end of the race in Monaco!
Josh
27th November 2016, 17:36
He could have if he wanted, it was ultimately his choice to move over. Lewis had a choice today as well. He was racing for a title. He did what he had to do. Rosberg would have done the same thing, at least I hope he would. I wouldn’t hire any driver that didn’t want to win the title. If Lewis sailed off it was over, but he fought like he should have. If Rosberg were in Lewis’s position he should have and likely would’ve backed his title competitor up.
N
27th November 2016, 18:41
Nope.
Mercedes deal is that they said they will only tell them to move if they could lose the race. In Monaco Ricciardo was pulling away out front and Rosberg was holding Hamilton up.
Today Mercedes where leading the race and they knew full-well that the race win was not in danger because they know even more than us mere spectators that Hamilton was capable of breezing into the sunset. So realizing that, you then have to question their motive for such an order. Clearly they where just trying to protect Rosberg from Vettel and Verstappen.
Night Fury (@toothless)
28th November 2016, 8:46
I think the team were worried with Vettel pace, and the risk of a tangle with either one of the drivers, I find it nothing wrong with Merc trying to protect their driver. They even mentioned to Nico, it’s ok for third more than once.
I guess you really want Merc to let Rosberg fell to 4th..
Conrad
27th November 2016, 17:12
“To finish first, you have to finish first”
As a German Formula One supporter since 21 years,
Nico Rosberg is a well-deserved champion.
How many title decider I saw, the one who clinched the title always deserved it.
For all Hamilton-supporters or Rosberg-haters,
Did Hamilton win the title in 2008 just because of crash-gate at Singapore? Just because of Massa’s engine blow up at Hungary?
Did Hamilton win the title in 2014 just because of Rosberg’s ERS-failure at Abu Dhabi?
This is a sport, a mechanical sport..you need talent, comittment and luck.
And Rosberg got all of it in 2016.
Impressive driving while winning, impressive driving while saving his chances (Austin, ,Brazil, Abu Dhabi).
A great end of 2016, let’s hope 2017 will be more competitive in terms of teams battling each other!
Josh
27th November 2016, 17:27
I’m a fan of neither so my opinion isn’t biased. To me Nico deserves this title, doesn’t matter if Hamilton has more talent, because he made far fewer mistakes. Lewis taking the fight right until the end despite his mechanical failures proves to me he is more talented. But he made more mistakes than Rosberg did throughout the year. He lost points with his own feet and hands on a few occasions. Bad starts, bad move in Spain, whatever, he came in 2nd and I’m sure will come back next year hungrier than he’s ever been. 2017 can’t come fast enough.
James Coulee
27th November 2016, 17:35
Ros proved that a nice guy, a mannered, considerate sportsman, can be a champion against a selfish agressive bully.
Poor of Ham to think the team are his employes when it’s the other way around.
Josh
27th November 2016, 17:39
You are so pathetic man.
James Coulee
27th November 2016, 18:39
Auch.
Roth Man (@rdotquestionmark)
27th November 2016, 17:41
However you butter it up Hamilton is faster and Malaysia alone was the difference. A real shame. Next year should show the real racers.
Spencer Brandsen
27th November 2016, 18:01
So many unsporty reactions. Champion is the one who has most points at the end of the season. It’s as simple as that.
n0b0dy100
27th November 2016, 18:13
Luck has always been a factor in motorsports folks. Rosberg has had the good and the bad kind in his career too. These drivers were closely matched but Nico was able to capitalize on Lewis’ misfortune.
Josh
27th November 2016, 18:17
Just a question for anyone that can answer.
Coultards last comments on the podium about 2017, bigger tires…… and then said louder cars? Are the cars going to sound louder?
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
27th November 2016, 19:53
I think whoever wrote the PR script for FOM got a bit carried away there.
Josh
27th November 2016, 20:00
I thought so, thanks Kieth.
rantingmrp (@rantingmrp)
27th November 2016, 18:21
Pretty obvious how Rosberg won – the unreliability of Hamilton’s car. Despite all the unreliability, Lewis still won more races and had more pole positions than Nico. I’ve never seen a less deserving ‘world champion’ – a man who is only champion because his rival’s car doesn’t work all the time.
#fakechampion #fakechamp
Phil Norman (@phil-f1-21)
27th November 2016, 18:37
I wish some of the Hamilton supporters would stop bleating on about how he deserved the Championship.
Look at your F1 history. The reliability of a car or otherwise has been a factor in many years. The fastest driver or the one who wins the most races does not always win. It has always been so.
The trick is that one of the next best has to be good enough to take advantage of this. You can only play the cards you are dealt.
Rick
27th November 2016, 22:35
Night Fury (@toothless)
28th November 2016, 8:51
Err.. why Rosberg should be the one giving the answer? It was the team decision, and te team has mentioned why they did it.
Leigh
27th November 2016, 18:46
Is Nico champion? Undoubtedly!!! Are there circumstances that suggest strongly that he wasn’t the best driver this season or benefited greatly from technical issues his rival encountered? Yes!!! In the end the context doesn’t matter he is the winner, and his rival may feel aggrieved by issues beyond his control that likely cost him.
Philip (@philipgb)
27th November 2016, 19:59
It’s easy to blame it on Malaysia, but realistically you have to be ready for some bad reliability in the season and capitalise when you can. I think Baku was really the point it was lost. Reliability is largely out of a driver’s hands, but Baku was something Hamilton was in control of and basically threw away a 22 point swing with an uncharacteristic mistake.
That Hamilton was in contention with the bad luck he had was impressive, and I’m not for a moment going to suggest Rosberg was the better driver over the season. But Hamilton let himself down almost as much as reliability did.
Shaken not stirred (@shakennotstirred)
27th November 2016, 20:09
So the tortoise wins, not the hare. I’m already looking forward to seeing HAM in a 2017 car with a point to prove.
Ink
27th November 2016, 21:12
It’s hard to tell if Hamilton fans are more or less salty that Hilary supporters after the loss.
Nonetheless, hope you enjoy the salty tears, won’t change the outcome.
CarWars (@maxv)
27th November 2016, 21:56
Rosberg champion, props to beating the rapper with hard work and a good work ethic.
Jabosha (@jabosha)
27th November 2016, 22:44
I’m wondering if all the fans would ignore Nicos engine blowing up and be talking about how he could have done better to win the championship. I doubt it. Baku? Really? You’re saying a dnf and all the reliability problems are just what? Of no consequence? Pushing a narrative that Lewis is dumber than Nico? Especially when Nico had to be coached to shift through 7th gear at a later race and should have been dqed for illegal coaching. Ham is not dumber than Nico, this needs to stop. They are both intelligent individuals. The fact is, todays cars can have so many issues no one driver will know what to do, ALL the time. Anyone brushing aside reliability has some sort of agenda. Nico deserves to be champion but let’s not brush aside reliability problems as the main reason Ham lost amongst many, including Baku.
Corey (@dragon86)
27th November 2016, 22:45
Malaysia is not the only reason Hamilton lost. Better starts at Australia, Bahrain and Italy would have given him enough points to win. Win anyone of those three and Hamilton wins the championship. No mistake at Baku and Hamilton starts further up the field and probably finishes further up the field gaining enough points to win the championship. Hamilton lost the championship by 5 points, and I’ve just picked out 4 races where he made mistakes which probably cost him more then that.
Martin
28th November 2016, 3:27
Hamilton lost between 40 and 80 points due to reliability issues. That is what cost him the championship. It is that simple. Yes he wasn’t perfect, but Rosberg was worse over the season. The only difference is Rosbergs mistakes weren’t punished because of Hamilton’s repeated mechanical issues.
Corey (@dragon86)
28th November 2016, 12:26
And 30-40 points can be accounted for Hamilton mistakes alone. The championship difference was only 5. There were 11 races this season that Hamilton could of scored 5 more points and didn’t. He has just as much responsibility for losing as does the reliability.
Browny (@browny)
27th November 2016, 23:14
Where I feel Rosberg won this years championship, and Hamilton lost it, was the final few races of last year. After clinching the title in Austin, Hamilton admitted his motivation went and he just wanted the season to be over. Rosberg was a broken man after Austin 2015, and certainly didn’t look likely to ever challenge Hamilton seriously again. Hamilton though back off and allowed Rosberg to refocus, improve and regain his confidence by winning the last few races. Rosberg than took form into this year which enabled him to take an early lead. In a situation where two teammates are the only two championship contenders, the inter team mind games are so important and Hamilton’s slip up has ultimately cost him a 4th world title.
Rui Oliveira (@lumberjackpt81)
27th November 2016, 23:58
After more race wins and pole positions another chart that shows Hamilton first in 2016 to Rosberg :38-28 used components.
http://formula1insider78.blogspot.pt/p/blog-page_62.html?m=1
Also , Hamilton Mercedes champion in engine used components
Redfive
28th November 2016, 3:30
I’d like to thank Lewis for helping to create a epic race and a legend. That was a legendary drive by Nico. People will be talking about that drive in decades to come. Can you imagine the pressure? Can you imagine the pressure when the team told Nico that it was “critical” to pass Max – and when he needed it most, when the pressure was at its highest, when the stakes where at their highest – he delivered the pass, millimeters apart, against the most difficult guy to pass in F1 today. And then to absorb the added pressure later in the race from Seb et al, as Lewis dictated the pace – where one lock up or one missed apex could have meant disaster- unbelievable. I think all neutral pundits – can truly appreciate that Tremendous Drive – to secure a World Championship. The mental fortitude to believe in yourself, when going against someone who “had the edge” over him since their teenage days – to never give up – wow – even the most hardcore Lewis fan would have to tip their hat off for that. Because I tell you what – you DO NOT SEE THAT in sports so often. Well done to both – but Congratulations to NICO for a legendary drive to become a truly worth World Champion.
Night Fury (@toothless)
28th November 2016, 8:56
COTD candidate…
Nikos (@exeviolthor)
28th November 2016, 4:59
Reliability sure was a factor in this championship. Hamilton loosing focus also was a factor, though. If he had been as dominant over the whole year as he was in the last four races he would not have lost. All he needed was to have performed better in Baku, Japan or Singapore.
Sure he is faster than Rosberg, but so was the Hare against the Tortoise.
Rick
28th November 2016, 6:51
Unless of course you give the Hare legs that are made out of glass until the Tortoise is so far ahead he’s guaranteed the win !
Nikos (@exeviolthor)
28th November 2016, 10:07
It wasn’t that bad this year. In previous years Hamilton managed to brush off reliability issues because he was so dominant over the entire year. This year some weekends he simply did not perform to the best of his ability. In contrast Roberg was at the maximum every single weekend. Maybe I am simplifying things, but to me it seems that whenever Rosberg made mistakes it was because he was so close to his limit whereas Hamilton made mistakes because he was losing focus.
As I said, reliability sure played a role, but if Hamilton had performed in any one of the races that I listed above the championship would be his. Note that I have not included races where he had the clutch issue as it is not clear if he contributed to it or not.
PT (@pt)
28th November 2016, 5:26
That was a pretty exhaustive analysis by Keith – good job!
regs (@regs)
28th November 2016, 9:51
Rumors says Mercedes is about to withdraw his new 30 mln contract. So he could lose his seat or could get much less with a new contract.
Nikos (@exeviolthor)
28th November 2016, 10:12
I am not a Hamilton fan, but this would be very harsh and an overreaction considering the circumstances. He was right at the limit of unsportsmanlike behaviour, but he did not do anything dangerous and if he wanted to win the championship he had no other option.
Plus he gave us a fine race and something to talk about!!
LSL1337
28th November 2016, 11:48
Seriously, this Hamiltonfest in the comments is a joke.
where were you in 08? Massa DNF in Hungary, pit stop error in Singapore?
2 win+ more points for Hamilton, and still only won by 1 lap?
so just forget it, it’s 2-1 Hamilton, let’s see what happens next year.
Steven
28th November 2016, 12:41
Hamilton lost the title because he spent the entire Suzuka weekend acting like a four year old. It started with that ridiculous press conference and ended with Rosberg beating him comprehensively at the “real racers circut”. That result was the one that took the title out of his hands and he could have won it had he focused on the race and not on feeling sorry for himself after Sepang.
Arahones
28th November 2016, 14:48
It is actually Mercedes dominance that has brought Rosberg the title. If Mercedes took a step back on development halway the season, I believe both Bulls and Ferrari’s would have been closer towards Rosberg, scooping away more points than they did now. Hamilton has shown he is the quicker of the two and obviously the better racer and would probably still won a lot of races, where Rosberg would fall back into the field.
Now, I’m no fan of both, personality wise, but as drivers, Hamilton is just so much better than Rosberg and thus deserved the title more. I can’t help the feeling that Nico is a mediocre driver, I think more than half the field would be able to snatch the title in Rosberg’s car.