After 21 gruelling rounds of Formula One Nico Rosberg has been crowned world champion, but this is no ending – this is a new beginning.
The 2016 season provided a spectacular conclusion few thought possible given the mathematics required Rosberg to finish anywhere on the podium to seal the deal, regardless where teammate Lewis Hamilton finished.
Both Mercedes got away easily from the grid, but on a weekend Red Bull Racing and Ferrari demonstrated threatening long-run pace, Hamilton tactically underperformed for almost the entire grand prix to ensure Rosberg remained within striking distance of the cars behind, knowing two cars between the silver arrows would be enough to crown him a four-time champion.
It almost worked, too. Sebastian Vettel fully utilised an unusually clever Ferrari strategy to close in on the leading duo during a final 18-lap blitz on a softer set of tyres, while Max Verstappen maximised his one-stop strategy to put himself in podium contention.
The dramatic pincer attack on Rosberg’s car was almost too tense to watch, but the German masterfully managed his two frontiers to cross the line in second with a five-point championship lead.
“I wasn’t expecting it,” Rosberg said of his teammate’s tactics after the race. “Maybe that was a bit naïve, but I didn’t expect it.”
Even Sebastian Vettel, who stood the most to gain from Hamilton’s approach, thought little of it.
“It was a difficult situation in the end with Lewis playing some dirty tricks,” he radioed his team at the end of the race.
Obviously Hamilton’s driving was not illegal. It would be a stretch to say it was immoral, too. At worst it was unsporting – especially given Rosberg’s willingness to play the team game to Hamilton’s advantage at various points in their partnership, including at Monaco this year, which Hamilton went on to win – but in a white-hot title fight such a definition becomes blurry at best.
What it did reveal, however, is Hamilton’s capacity to be Formula One’s villain.
In Abu Dhabi we saw the triple world champion at his most conniving. After psychologically abusing his teammate for the fortnight and professing himself to be the rightful world champion regardless of the points, Hamilton tried to force Rosberg into racing his rivals at a compromised speed and subsequently blatantly ignored orders from the pit wall to speed up to protect the team’s one-two finish.
It made for a thrilling race and compelling narrative – but then, after jumping out of the car, Hamilton returned to playing the underdog, the victim, and refused to claim his mean streak.
“It’s been a real privilege being part of this team and achieving the success we’ve had this year,” Hamilton said on the podium after metaphorically flipping off his bosses from the car.
There’s no doubt Lewis Hamilton is a divisive character, but a legacy of deliberate ruthlessness in and out of the car would be far longer lasting than his attempts to win sympathy votes with his attempts at image management that don’t correlate with his in-car behaviour.
Not only is it disingenuous, but it takes the press and public – including his fans – for mugs.
What will it take for Hamilton to accept Formula One needs him to embrace the role of resident villain? Will it require potential action by Mercedes management for his perpetual intransigence, or will it take something more?
Perhaps it depends on how Nico Rosberg grows into his newfound status in 2017.
Rosberg, the truer underdog of this story, has done what few before him have managed in Formula One: win a world championship from the number-two-driver position.
It made doubly sweet the story of the new winner – the lifeblood of any competition – and his overwhelmed and emotional post-race reaction only endeared him further to the sport.
With the question of whether he is capable of beating his teammate vanquished, Rosberg has an opportunity to own the upswing in form that comes with the confidence of a world championship.
How will that function in a team alongside Lewis Hamilton? Will a breezy Rosberg, still high on his first title, prove a renewed thorn in the side of the brooding Hamilton as he attempts to scheme his way back to the championship he believes is rightfully his?
The result in Abu Dhabi was the right outcome not because one driver was more deserving than the other and nor because Hamilton’s driving was out of bounds; rather, the 2016 season has put Formula One and the dominant Mercedes team into unknown territory.
In 2017 Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg are off-script. How it ends is anyone’s guess.
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steve
Guest
Whats next for Nico Rosberg? Retirement it seems. Didn't see that coming.
anon
Guest
For all the talk about poor reliability for Hamilton, he only had two DNFs all season with one of those being attributed to driver error and the other mechanical failure. To have one non-points finish out of 21 races and still complain about reliability and things being out of your control is a bit rich. Hamilton's had 4 non-points finishes because of mechanical failure since 2013. Rosberg has had 8. Rosberg also needs to toughen up. Even with a championship he's letting Hamilton tarnish his achievements. Rosberg needs to start reminding the public that Hamilton had many awful starts, threw his toys out the pram in China, crashed in Baku qualifying, crashed into him in Spain, barged him off the track in Canada and escaped sanction. I think Rosberg needs to stand up for himself a little. Hamilton's a bully. He's succeeded in convincing the world that Rosberg lucked into this title and that the cars were unequal. All you have to do is stand up to a bully like he did last year by throwing the cap back at him. Put him in his place and watch him self destruct.
Mark Young
Roar Guru
Interesting thoughts Michael My gut feeling is that the Championship will be the highest point in Rosberg's career and he will not turn up next year with a angry fury to do it all again. However, I think Lewis is done. Next year it is unlikely his Mercedes will have the same advantage as he has had the past two years and he will be forced to compete with cars just as fast as his. He has sadly shown a real immaturity in his responses to adversity this year and a real lack of mental toughness. Much as he is sooking and whining about Malaysia, he lost the title at Japan and Singapore, two races he should have been glorious at, by being mentally as soft as a pillow. He wins or even comes second in those races and he is World Champion, instead he is tooling about in 5th. His achievements in the past two years - he won races in the fastest car and beat Nico Rosberg. I can think of maybe 10 other drivers on the grid who could do that. And then to make matters worse, he has now been beaten in full seasons of racing by Nico Rosberg and Jenson Button.
Michael Lamonato
Expert
I tend to agree that Spa 2014 was an overreaction, but I think Mercedes deserves some credit for trying its best to be extremely principled from early on. It would have been easy to let the first few times slide, but by making a point of it early it could well have saved them from more significant flare-ups in these last two years. Instead 2015 and 2016 have been pretty smooth sailing, comparatively.
Michael Lamonato
Expert
Not so sure about that. I think, talking in general terms, if the discourse on this website has anything against Hamilton, it's his attitude this season. I don't begrudge him any of his successes — I think he' very good for the sport, actually — only that he has spent the last six weeks perpetually attempting to undermine the value of Rosberg's title, which I think is pretty unsporting. As Jackie Stewart said — a Briton, as I'm sure you know — you can be ruthless in the car, but you should act with at least a bit of grace outside it. I was disappointed Lewis seemed to eschew grace in defeat almost completely this month.
anon
Guest
Not really. He's had good cars since he came into F1. The 2014-16 Mercedes is the most dominant car in the history of the sport. He should have won at least 50 races in the past 3 seasons, yet he only managed 31 or 32. Well below par compared to what Schumacher and Vettel did with far less dominant cars. Hamilton is a sore loser, a smug winner, his legacy has taken a big hit in 2016. He's always seen himself as the next Senna, but he's no better than Jenson Button at the end of the day.
Da Spoon
Guest
The usual bash the Brit attitude on here. I wonder if we'll see the same attitude from us if riciardo wins the becomes champion one day? I think we'll take it in a much more mature manner. You guys just can't stand a Brit being successful. Just for the record I think Hamilton will become the most successful British driver of all time and it will be well deserved.
steve
Guest
I am not even certain that the Spa incident was worthy of in team disciplinary action. I certainly don't think it was a deliberate action from Nico. Maybe you're right, maybe a fine will be enacted upon Lewis, though I think the status quo of Lewis being the man at Mercedes will go on. He is certainly " the man " as far as Sky's commentary team are concerned. There isn't really much impartiality there from the Sky team. Sure they praised Nico for winning the title, but it wasn't with the same gusto that they served up last year when Lewis won it.
Michael Lamonato
Expert
Maybe a fine. It's an interesting philosophical discussion as to what his actions warrant, if anything, given the situation. But Rosberg was hung out to dry for puncturing Hamilton's tyre at Spa in 2014, so there is precedent for intra-team disciplinary action.
Michael Lamonato
Expert
I'm fairly sure Mercedes has come close to suspending Hamilton in the past, so tensions are definitely high — but you're right, it's hard to imagine a scenario in which they sack him. So long as the championships keep rolling in, they'll deal with the pain for now. There isn't even a guarantee Mercedes will be around post-2020 — or even post-2019 — so disrupting the status quo to take one of the generation's best drivers out of the line-up seems unlikely.
Michael Lamonato
Expert
The 'Reverse Red Bull' will go down as an incredible managerial move to avoid paying out contracts.
Michael Lamonato
Expert
Agreed. There are only two outcomes to a mistake in Monaco, and they are crash or take to the run-off, which means a yellow flag is guaranteed. It's very hard to say it was anything more than a mistake on Rosberg's part. That doesn't discount the chance he did, but it just seems less likely.
Michael Lamonato
Expert
Yeah, exactly. It would seem more like a Hamilton thing to do to deliberately crash when push comes to shove. Let's not forget at that very Monaco weekend Hamilton threatened to sort out the rivalry 'like Senna', alluding to causing a crash. Rosberg, on the other hand, seems very much more team-oriented. I thought this was an added layer to his championship story — the fact that he joined in Mercedes's formative and difficult years and therefore played an important part in building them into a world championship-winning team.
steve
Guest
Nothing will happen. They wont even fine him. .
anon
Guest
Mercedes are stuck with Hamilton until 2018 at $50 million per year, and in 2017 will likely be competing for race wins against another team. They wouldn't put Wehrlein in Hamilton's seat to lead a championship charge, but maybe someone like Alonso. They could maybe terminate Hamilton for breaching his contract. Mercedes could buy out Alonso from McLaren. There's only one more year remaining I think. Otherwise they'll just give Hamilton a fine. They're not going to put the drivers and constructors championship at risk in 2017 to punish a guy they're paying $50 million per year.
anon
Guest
I don't believe Rosberg intended to bring out a yellow flag at Monaco. But let's say he did. To go off the circuit is not against the rules -- much like driving slowly is not against the rules. Maybe Rosberg could make the corner when he locked up, but then thought there's a little bit of a risk that I'll crash. Why not go to the run off area instead, it will bring out the yellow and I'll be on pole. It's all within the rules, much like driving slowly is. Hamilton was commended by the British media for doing everything in his power to help him win the championship. He was applauded for his ruthlessness. Surely they should be applauding Rosberg for going to similar lengths to win the championship at Monaco 2014.
Cento
Guest
I would gladly pay big time to see that happen.
Jamie
Guest
I would love nothing more than (just for my amusement) for the following conversation to happen: Toto: Lewis, we have come to a decision that we will not be sacking you. Lewis: Thank you for understanding. Toto: Instead, to punish you, we will be demoting you to Manor racing team. Pascal Wehrlein will race your car in 2017. In 2018, you can come back to Mercedes. Lewis: Hang on, what? It would be the biggest twist ever to happen in the sport! It would be like a reverse Red Bull situation with Kvyat and Verstappen!
Rodney Gordon
Expert
It's ironic that I heard some guff from the BBC pre-race suggesting it was in Rosberg's character to crash into Hamilton and ensure the championship given his mishap in qualifying Monaco 2014 (yes, confirmation that they still haven't gotten over it). You rightly point out that Rosberg is actually the good guy of the two who helps his teammate when it is reasonable to and can accept when he is beaten, which is really the ugliest factor of Hamilton's decision for mind.