- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Will Lewis Hamilton win his second Formula One title? Or will Nico Rosberg join his father as a F1 champion?
Find out as The Roar live blogs the final race of the Formula One championship, with commentary and updates from 11:45pm AEDT.
After qualifying yesterday, Rosberg holds the advantage for the race, after securing his 11th pole position for the season.
Hamilton though qualified second and did exactly what he needed to do to win the title tonight. The equation for Hamilton is simple. If he finishes in second the title is over and he is the champion.
If Hamilton finishes in third, and Rosberg wins the race, then the German takes out the title. For that to happen, Rosberg is going to need the help of other drivers in the field.
The drivers most likely to do that are the Williams duo of Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa. They qualified third and fourth for the race and have the same engines as the Mercedes duo for the race.
If Bottas, and Massa, get a good start and get in front of Hamilton, then anything can happen. They look to be the best bet of helping Rosberg tonight.
The Red Bull Racing duo of Dan Ricciardo and Sebastian Vettel are also in the battle but must rely on strategy to overtake the Williams and the Mercedes.
They were almost a second behind the Mercedes duo and look to be struggling to match the speeds of the Mercedes engine on the back and front straights.
Red Bull will be looking at strategy, and looking after their tyres, to stand any chance of success tonight.
Ricciardo has done this plenty of times this season and yielded results that looked impossible at the start of the race.
Don’t be surprised if the Australian has one more strategy wildcard up his sleeve.
This weekend could also be the final race for a couple of drivers.
The big one is Jenson Button, who could leave McLaren at the end of the season, to make way for Fernando Alonso in 2015.
The 2009 champion will be sorely missed from the field and will be regarded as one of the greats of the sport. His longevity in the sport was instrumental in his success. His ability to negotiate tough conditions was also impressive.
Some of his best wins in the category came from tricky and treacherous conditions.
This weekend could also be the final race in F1 for Adrian Sutil, Kamui Kobayashi and Jean-Eric Vergne. Between them they have 258 race starts and one podium position.
They have been an important part of the championship for multiple series and will be missed from the field. Here’s hoping they can find a grid spot for 2015.
Vergne looks to be the best bet with Toro Rosso still looking for a second driver for 2015. Whether they pick Vergne, or another driver, will be the big question of the off-season.
Today is also the last race for Vettel at Red Bull, and Alonso at Ferrari, before there moves to other teams next year.
In six years at Red Bull, Vettel won 38 races, had 65 podiums, and won four championships with the drink supplier. This combination will be remembered in the same vein as the Schumacher Ferrari relationship.
This weekend is also the debut race for Will Stevens at Caterham.
Stevens has raced in the Formula Renault 3.5 series for the past two years and was the test driver for Caterham last year.
His aim will be to finish the race and stay out of trouble.
Tonight’s race is the 28th championship that has made it to the final round.
It is the seventh battle between teammates for a championship in the final round as well. For Hamilton, this final round battle has been familiar.
In 2007 and 2008 he lost and won the championship in Brazil in dramatic circumstances.
In 2007 he was beaten by Kimi Raikkonen to the title by just one point. Hamilton would gain revenge the next year with a one point win in the title over Felipe Massa.
For Rosberg, this is his first battle for the championship. How he handles the pressure will be interesting.
If he does win the title, Nico and his father, Keke Rosberg, will become the third father son combination to win the title.
It will also continue the incredible record of Germans in the category of Formula 1. In the last 14 years of the championship, nine titles have been won by Germans.
Looking to stop that will be Hamilton, and I think he can do it.
Mercedes have had 11 top two finishes this year. They have been dominant this year and Hamilton should finish in the top two to wrap up the championship.
Rosberg will need a mistake to win the title and I can’t see it happening.
PREDICTION: Hamilton to win the championship in a close battle with histeammate.
Join The Roar as we cover the final race of the season.
Looking for great odds on racing and sport? Get into the action with PlayUp today. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.