I have come to know – perhaps better than most – that fans of Lewis Hamilton are a special breed.
According to some of them he has done no wrong in his entire life. For them he is an exemplary role model and sportsman, and deserving winner of the Formula One drivers championship every year since his career began in 2007.
The truth is Hamilton has been spectacular on the track this year, particularly since the summer break in July. However, the championship battle is tight and was always going to go right down to the wire.
Although Hamilton has taken the majority of the victories, his teammate has been right there beside him more often than not. You only need to look at Nico Rosberg’s achievement in securing the Pole Position trophy in Brazil last week for proof of his speed and connection to his Mercedes.
Should Rosberg beat Hamilton and snatch the driver’s championship next weekend, I am prepared for the fans to riot.
No driver in the history of the sport has ever won four consecutive races and not gone on to win the title. Hamilton has, on two separate occasions, won four consecutive races this season alone.
It’s a fitting irony that in 1982 when Nico’s father, Keke Rosberg, claimed the drivers’ title he won only a single race – the Swiss Grand Prix. Simply winning races isn’t enough to secure the championship, and should not be mistaken for season dominance in a sport that rewards consistency.
Some will point to Hamilton’s run of misfortunes when it comes to the car. Rosberg’s season however has been similarly disrupted, following reliability issues in Canada and Silverstone where he was comfortably leading the race. He suffered similarly more recently in Singapore where he and his championship favouritism dissolved into molecules.
Rosberg is no saint on the track either, and instigated the only on-track contact between the two this year when his front wing clipped Hamilton’s tyre during the Belgian Grand Prix.
I don’t believe for a moment that Nico deliberately tried to take Hamilton out of the race, nor do I believe that he ‘parked’ his car in the run off area during Monaco qualifying. This brings Hamilton’s claims that he cheated on both occasions into the realm of unsporting conduct – while I don’t think Rosberg handled the post-race snafu caused in Belgium well, I see them both as sinners in the grand scheme of things.
This, certainly, is not how Hamilton’s fans view the year, which brings me to my thesis – should Rosberg win the championship by virtue of double-points, it won’t be his fault.
Rosberg is a racer who wants to win at every possible opportunity. Victory in Abu Dhabi isn’t enough by itself to secure the title – he needs Lewis to fail also. Should this happen, we will all have heated arguments in bars and in living rooms for the rest of our lives, but I hope that true fans of Formula One will recognise that double-points is not Rosberg’s brainchild nor it is a surprise development.
Passion for sport is a healthy thing and should be encouraged. I can, however, already feel the scathing resentment of Rosberg haters all too ready to hurl abuse at him at the track and in every conceivable manner on social media.
My assumption is that the Mercedes cars will take first and second position at Abu Dhabi, which will be enough to secure the championship for Hamilton and the whole farcical situation will be avoided.
But if Rosberg wins because of the double-points scenario, I will be barricading my doors just in case.
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