The 2016 season is now over and we have a new world champion. Congratulations to Nico Rosberg! His father Keke Rosberg won the championship in 1982 which makes them the second father and son champions in F1 history. The first duo were of course Graham and Damon Hill. Damon Hill won his championship 20 years ago in 1996.
But what happened in the 2016 season's last race? Here is my review...
After the formation lap both Lewis Hamilton and his teammate and childhood friend Rosberg parked their cars in the grid in an angle pointing at the middle of the track.
When the lights went out Hamilton stayed in the lead followed by Rosberg and Ferrari's Kimi Räikkönen who overtook Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo.
Ricciardo's teammate Max Verstappen had contact with Force India's Nico Hulkenberg and spun. He dropped to the back but I knew that he would still be in the podium fight later on. No doubt about it.
Verstappen said that Hulkenberg didn't leave him enough room but he was almost outside of the track and Verstappen had the rest of the track on his left side. I would say that Hulkenberg left him enough room.
It was Felipe Massa's last race in Formula One but we didn't see anything spectacular from him. He got overtaken by his younger teammate Valtteri Bottas which made me think that maybe it was a good time for Massa to retire. He is still a good driver but he hasn't been hungry for 2 years.
This race was also probably the last of the 2009 world champion Jenson Button. It would have been nice to see him perform well but retired on lap 12. I hope he will come back in 2018. Mika Hakkinen also said that he will come back in 2003 after leaving F1 in 2001 but he never did. Räikkönen replaced him and that was the end of it.
On lap 20 my heart nearly stopped when Verstappen and Rosberg were fighting for 2nd place. Verstappen hadn't pitted yet and had made his way almost to the top. They almost had contact and could have made Hamilton champion right then and there. I am glad that it didn't happen like that.
Ferrari had been faster than Red Bull all weekend but got in front of them because of their smart pit strategy once again.
Sebastian Vettel had different tyres on than his teammate Räikkönen and was much faster. The Finn let Vettel pass him without any drama what so ever. Vettel had one of his best races this season in my opinion.
Toro Rosso's Carlos Sainz got hit from behind by Reanult's Jolyon Palmer. A stupid mistake and Sainz race was ruined. His teammate Daniil Kvyat also had bad luck and retired from the race. Kvyat's season started with him driving a Red Bull and it ended with him driving himself to the garage on a bicycle with Toro Rosso overalls.
Hamilton didn't have anything to lose so he tried to slow down so that the other drivers behind Rosberg could overtake him. Rosberg drove like the champion that he is and nobody could pass him. The only one who lost in this game was Verstappen because Vettel caught him and did a beautiful overtaking maneuver for 3rd place.
Mercedes told Hamilton to drive faster but he told them that there is no need; he is leading the race. Everybody knew what was going on and they didn't think that he was a team player. This might get ugly behind the scenes. They were really angry with Hamilton. Verstappen said that he would have done the same as Hamilton.
The race finished with the top4 drivers right behind each other. One of the closest finishes in a long while.
Now let's see my predictions and the results:
Pole position: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes - CORRECT
Race:
- Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes - CORRECT
- Nico Rosberg, Mercedes - CORRECT
- Max Verstappen, Red Bull - WRONG. He was 4th and Vettel was 3rd.
Fastest lap: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes - WRONG. Vettel was fastest.
Surprise: Kimi Räikkönen. Leave him alone he knows what he's doing! - Ferrari seemed to be better than Red Bull in Abu Dhabi. Just a pity that Räikkönen's strategy messed up his race a bit.
That was my last grand prix review this year. My next one will be in March and I can not wait for the next season to start! It will be totally different and we might get a totally new team that dominates. Mercedes wont be dominating anymore! At least I hope so.
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