Abu Dhabi - Lewis Hamilton is King of the Track again. Under the dark sky of Abu Dhabi, fireworks greeted the 29-year-old Stevenage boy turned global superstar as only the fourth Briton to win multiple Formula One world titles.
The fourth in line to another throne, Prince Harry, went to the pit wall to tell Hamilton over the radio: “Lewis, thank you very, very much for not making the British public sweat. You are an absolute legend. Well done, mate.”
The team then came on to tell Hamilton he was Mercedes-Benz’s first champion since a chap called Juan Manuel Fangio, in 1955. Fangio was the greatest of them all, but Hamilton is hardly a slouch.
The build-up to the race was tense. Would Hamilton hold on to his lead of 17 points, or would Nico Rosberg spoil his day? But it was, as HRH observed, all in control long before the 55th and concluding lap. So much so that Rosberg, suffering battery problems, was lapped by Hamilton on the penultimate circuit. Hamilton took the victory, with Rosberg 14th, and the title by 67 points.
Double scoring, the great pre-race fear, was immaterial.
ROSBERG’S GRACIOUS GESTURE
And when it was over, Rosberg sought Hamilton out and held him, congratulating a friend who has turned into a bitter rival in the course of a captivating nine months. It was a typically gracious gesture from the vanquished man.
As for Hamilton, his name can be added to those of Graham Hill, Jim Clark and Sir Jackie Stewart in the pantheon of British double title winners. Six years separate Hamilton’s first and second championships, but now the greatness he promised as a rookie of prodigious gifts has been rewarded as richly as his talent warrants.
The race had been set up perfectly by Rosberg searing to pole position by 0.386sec. Saturday has been the German’s day for most of the year.
SNATCHING THE LEAD
But it is Sunday that counts and Hamilton took little more than a blink of an eye to roar into the lead.
Rosberg trundled off the grid. Hamilton powered ahead, swept to his right in front of his colleague and flew through the first left-hand corner. By the time Rosberg came round it, Hamilton was virtually in Dubai. Or another planet. All weekend Hamilton had exhibited tell-tale jitters, given exasperated answers in press conferences and issued false protestations about being cooler than a cucumber in a tumbler of Hendrick’s. All those worries were dispatched to the file marked ‘i’ for irrelevance in one faultless move.
From that moment, the outcome seemed inevitable. And that is rare with Hamilton, a man who has produced more drama over the years than ITV. Still, how must it have felt for Hamilton’s family, who were late, surprise arrivals in Abu Dhabi.
His father Anthony paced up and down, as is his wont. His pop-star girlfriend Nicole Scherzinger, step-mother Linda and brother Nic, in a Mercedes top, were all in the garage, their eyes fixed on the timing screens.
But before the sun had set, in the twilight of this dusk-night race, Hamilton had established a comfortable lead. By his first stop, 10 laps in, his advantage was 2.7sec. Rosberg stayed out a lap longer but it did him no good on rubber that was only getting worse.
Rosberg’s engineer Tony Ross came over the radio to explain their remedial strategy: “Keep the gap to him (Hamilton) manageable and we’ll go long.”
But within minutes, the German veered off track. That was nothing compared to the problems he was about to suffer with his energy recovery system (ERS). “It’s failed,” he said over the radio. That was costing him 119kW and three seconds a lap. He started to slither down the field.
Hamilton came in for new tyres as his own time was briefly dipping - Scherzinger’s bottom lip quivered - but he only needed to be re-shod. He came out and zoomed straight past Rosberg, who had yet to pit again. Both men were totally fair and clean. Hamilton was away.
ROSBERG’S RACE COMES APART
Now Rosberg had just one chance: namely, to score heavily enough to take the title if Hamilton were to stop. “Just get me into the top five or six as safely as possible,” he said. Actually, he would have needed fifth to have had a hope in hell.
“How am I looking?” he inquired, while lying seventh and fading.
“Not good at the moment,” he was told.
“What the hell does that mean? What do I need to do?”
“Just drive flat-out.”
It was truly the most pathetic exchange of the season. But it was not the last of its sort.
“Hey guys, what’s going on?” he asked. “The car switched off and now the throttle is all over the place. Get my brake pedal back now please.” Rosberg was told to retire, but vowed to drive on regardless. Felipe Massa tried hard to catch Hamilton but he had to settle for second, a place ahead of his Williams team-mate Valtteri Bottas.
A DESERVED WINNER
So the glory went to Hamilton, and who can say he did not deserve it? He is an extraordinary British sportsman at something like the peak of his powers. His 11 wins to Rosberg’s five is a fair reflection of his superiority.
He can be moody. His jewellery is not to everyone’s taste. But there is no denying sheer ability when you are privileged enough to see it. He has also worked hard, carving through the field after the bugler had sounded the Last Post at the end of several qualifying sessions.
A mark of Hamilton’s achievement is that he beat Rosberg, who, through dedication and willpower, made his talent go even further than nature intended.
But, as in their karting days, it ended up with Lewis Hamilton P1, Nico Rosberg P2.
Daily Mail
RACE RESULTS
1. Lewis Hamilton (Britain) Mercedes 1:39:02.619
2. Felipe Massa (Brazil) Williams-Mercedes +00:02.576
3. Valtteri Bottas (Finland) Williams-Mercedes 00:28.880
4. Daniel Ricciardo (Australia) RedBull - Renault 00:37.237
5. Jenson Button (Britain) McLaren 01:00.334
6. Nico Huelkenberg (Germany) Force India - Mercedes 01:02.148
7. Sergio Perez (Mexico) Force India - Mercedes 01:11.060
8. Sebastian Vettel (Germany) RedBull - Renault 01:12.045
9. Fernando Alonso (Spain) Ferrari 01:25.813
10. Kimi Raikkonen (Finland) Ferrari 01:27.820
11. Kevin Magnussen (Denmark) McLaren 01:30.376
12. Jean-Eric Vergne (France) Toro Rosso - Renault 01:31.947
13. Romain Grosjean (France) Lotus - Renault 1 lap
14. Nico Rosberg (Germany) Mercedes 1 lap
15. Esteban Gutierrez (Mexico) Sauber - Ferrari 1 lap
16. Adrian Sutil (Germany) Sauber - Ferrari 1 lap
17. Will Stevens (Britain) Caterham - Renault 1 lap
r. Kamui Kobayashi (Japan) Caterham - Renault 13 laps
r. Pastor Maldonado (Venezuela) Lotus - Renault 29 laps
r. Daniil Kvyat (Russia) Toro Rosso - Renault 41 laps
(rank: r = retired, nc = not classified)
Fastest Lap: Daniel Ricciardo,1:44.496, lap 50.
DRIVER STANDINGS
1. Lewis Hamilton - 384
2. Nico Rosberg - 317
3. Daniel Ricciardo - 238
4. Valtteri Bottas 186
5. Sebastian Vettel - 167
6. Fernando Alonso - 161
7. Felipe Massa - 134
8. Jenson Button - 126
9. Nico Hulkenberg - 96
10. Sergio Perez - 59
11. Kevin Magnussen - 55
12. Kimi Raikkonen - 55
13. Jean-Eric Vergne - 22
14. Romain Grosjean - 8
15. Daniil Kvyat - 8
16. Pastor Maldonado - 2
17. Jules Bianchi - 2
18. Adrian Sutil - 0
19. Marcus Ericsson - 0
20. Esteban Gutierrez - 0
21. Max Chilton - 0
22. Kamui Kobayashi - 0
23. Will Stevens - 0
CONSTRUCTOR STANDINGS
1. Mercedes - 701
2. Red Bull/Renault - 405
3. Williams/Mercedes - 320
4. Ferrari - 216
5. McLaren/Mercedes - 181
6. Force India/Mercedes - 155
7. Toro Rosso/Renault - 30
8. Lotus/Renault - 10
9. Marussia/Ferrari - 2
10. Sauber/Ferrari - 0
11. Caterham/Renault - 0