This season has seen one of the greatest battles between team mates ever in Formula One’s long history. We must credit Mercedes for allowing this to be a completely fair fight between two drivers at the very top of their game – Germany’s Nico Rosberg and Great Britain’s Lewis Hamilton. This war between team mates will come down to the wire at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix this weekend, where seventeen points separate the two. This is a recap of how the two drivers exchanged the lead for the championship between each other, and how Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo kept in the hunt despite being in inferior machinery. Hamilton v Rosberg, who will win?
Australia
Lewis Hamilton’s challenge got on the wrong engine note straight away as he lost a cylinder almost immediately from pole position. Nico Rosberg took the win convincingly, and Daniel Ricciardo was stripped of second place after using too much fuel, but Red Bull appealed the decision. Kevin Magnussen took a second place on his Formula One debut ahead of team mate Jenson Button.
Malaysia
Hamilton absolutely annihilated the competition at Malaysia, taking a Grand Chelem. Rosberg took second ahead of Sebastian Vettel.
Bahrain
One of the greatest duels in Formula One took place at Bahrain as Hamilton and Rosberg fought hard under the floodlights of Bahrain. Hamilton somehow held on despite being on the slower tyre at the end. Sergio Perez took a mightily impressive third place for Force India, whilst Ricciardo took fourth. This is where the first controversial moment of the season occurred, as Rosberg used an engine mode which he should not have used to chase down Hamilton.
China
Hamilton dominated in a similar style to Malaysia at the Chinese Grand Prix, whilst Rosberg recovered to take a second place following a qualifying spin and a loss of telemetry during the race. Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso took third whilst Ricciardo took another fourth.
Spain
Hamilton won again ahead of Rosberg at Spain, but this time it was Hamilton under fire for using an engine map which he was not permitted to use, this time to hold off Rosberg right to finish line. Ricciardo finally achieved his first podium at this event ahead of a fast-charging Vettel. With this result, Hamilton took the lead in the championship for the first time.
Monaco
Rosberg won this one ahead of Hamilton and Ricciardo in controversial circumstances. In qualifying, Rosberg went wide, bringing out the yellow flags, meaning that Hamilton could not improve his time. Rosberg took the pole. Many, including Hamilton accused Rosberg of cheating although no evidence of this was found. Some debris in Hamilton’s eye saw him only just hold off the Red Bull. Rosberg retook the lead in the championship after this.
Canada
This is really where we saw the first chinks in Mercedes’ armour. Rosberg led from pole in the early stages, but a slow pit stop allowed Hamilton through, despite controversially cutting the chicane and gaining an advantage. Both cars then suffered the same brake and ERS problem at the same time, bringing Hamilton to a halt and forcing Rosberg to drive one of the best damage-limitation races of his life to somehow take second. Ricciardo took the win on a track where Red Bull should have been nowhere, whilst Vettel took third.
Austria
This was arguably the one race where the Mercedes was not the quickest machine over a single lap. Felipe Massa took pole position for Williams – the only non-Mercedes driver to do so this year, with Rosberg only third and Hamilton a lowly ninth after two qualifying errors. The two Mercedes charged through the field but a combination of a slow pit stop for Hamilton and some impressive defensive driving from Rosberg saw the German win in Austria. Hamilton was second ahead of Valtteri Bottas in the other Williams. Ricciardo was only eighth.
Britain
For the second race in a row, Hamilton made a catastrophic error in qualifying. Rosberg took pole whilst Hamilton was only sixth after abandoning his final lap. Rosberg was leading with Hamilton chasing him down when the German suffered a gearbox problem, bringing him to a halt. Bottas and Ricciardo rounded out the podium whilst Hamilton cruised to an easy win.
Germany
A brake failure caused Hamilton to start only 20th at the German Grand Prix, whilst Rosberg was on pole. The German cruised to an emphatic victory whilst the British driver fought back up to third, when realistically he should have finished second. Bottas was the meat in the Mercedes sandwich that day.
Hungary
This was the one day where a Mercedes driver was beaten on merit. A fire for Hamilton saw him have to start from the pit lane, whilst Rosberg took pole yet again. Rosberg led at the start but a safety car coming out at the wrong time hurt him as well as Alonso. This also brought Ricciardo and Hamilton into play. Alonso brilliantly passed Rosberg whilst Ricciardo was chasing everybody down, and Hamilton was making his way through the field. Eventually Hamilton was ahead of Rosberg when he was ordered to let his team mate through. He refused and Rosberg could not find his way past. Some questioned whether the call should have been made at all and some questioned Hamilton’s actions. Meanwhile, Ricciardo drove fantastically to catch and pass Alonso for the win. Hamilton took third ahead of Rosberg.
Belgium
Rosberg took pole again but Hamilton was on the front row for the first time since Canada. Hamilton took the lead on the first lap but the two Mercedes came into contact in what could only be described as a racing incident, although many feel that it was a malicious manoeuvre from Rosberg. Hamilton was eventually eliminated whilst Rosberg’s damage eventually gifted the win to Ricciardo who at this point still had an outside chance at taking the title away. Bottas was also on the podium, just behind Rosberg. At this point, it was becoming mathematically impossible for a handful of drivers to win the championship.
Italy
Hamilton took his first pole since Spain alongside Rosberg but had a problem at the start. Hamilton then chased down his team mate and forced him into an error, meaning that Hamilton took the win. Rosberg finished second ahead of Massa.
Singapore
Hamilton took pole by less than one hundredth of a second ahead of Rosberg, but a problem with the electronics saw Rosberg eliminated effectively before the race even started. Hamilton had to catch and pass Sebastian Vettel late on for the race win ahead of the German and then Ricciardo. Rosberg’s failure to score saw Hamilton move ahead in the championship. He hasn’t looked back since.
Japan
With a typhoon looming, Rosberg took pole ahead of Hamilton. Race day was soaking and Rosberg led away but Hamilton caught and passed his team mate. The race was ended early due to Jules Bianchi’s accident which many still think about more than six weeks on. Everybody wishes the best for Jules. Vettel was third, but conceded his reign of terror over.
Russia
Hamilton led from pole whilst Rosberg fluffed the first braking zone, meaning he had to do all bar one lap on a single set of tyres. Hamilton cruised to victory ahead of Rosberg and Bottas. Ricciardo was seventh.
United States
Rosberg took pole by a big margin ahead of Hamilton, but the British driver caught and passed his team mate on the track. Ricciardo took a hugely impressive third but he too was out of the running, leaving it only between the two Mercedes drivers.
Brazil
Rosberg simply dominated the weekend, being P1 in FP1, FP2, FP3, Q1, Q2, Q3 and in the race. Hamilton may well have had more of a chance of winning the race had he not spun off just before a pit stop. Massa took a very popular podium at home.
Abu Dhabi
With double points on offer, Rosberg’s chances of winning the championship increase, but the chances are that Mercedes will achieve a remarkable twelfth 1-2 of the season. If that happens, Hamilton will be champion. Who knows what will happen at Abu Dhabi?
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