Nico Rosberg may have won the Formula One world title in Abu Dhabi, but Lewis Hamilton made him go through hell and high water to get it.
The Briton did all that he could at Yas Marina to retain his championship but Mercedes’ nearest rivals were unable to come to his aid.
Needing Rosberg to finish at least fourth, ahead of the race Mercedes had warned both drivers to play it clean, however, having more or less done so for the first 30 laps, following the final stops, Hamilton made a concerted effort to back Rosberg into the Ferrari’s and Red Bulls.
Clearly unimpressed, Mercedes repeatedly told the now former world champion to up his pace but Lewis continually refused.
As the laps ticked down, with Max Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel closing in, Rosberg became the target of a very clear plan by Hamilton and on the pit wall, there was nothing Paddy Lowe and Toto Wolff could do about it.
Understandably his tactics have once again drawn the battle lines between the two sets of Mercedes fans, with words like ‘unsportsmanlike’ and ‘dirty’ used to describe Hamilton.
However, in a time when F1 now has a master strategist rather than a flat-out racer as champion, I think Hamilton showed the fight of a true champion in Abu Dhabi.
It is often said that nice guys always finish second and that is exactly what Hamilton was trying to avoid in the season finale.
Left to Mercedes’ tactics, the two Silver Arrows would have won by 15 seconds or more and that would have been no use at all to the Briton.
Of course, you would expect a company the size of the German carmaker to put its interests first and they also have a brand to protect, but the lack of respect they show the drivers’ title in F1 has always upset me.
Whether it be the rules of engagement following incidents between their drivers or the lack of flexibility in terms of race strategy, they seem to forget that the men behind the wheel have their own glory to achieve.
It’s not a case of them favouring one driver over the other, at least in this regard, because Hamilton has benefitted just as much from it the past two years as Rosberg has this.
But it is very rare for the driver who goes through the first corner ahead, to not finish ahead when both cars have a trouble-free race.
This is where my issue with Rosberg has been the last few years, that he played too much of the team game and it cost him, but because Hamilton is one of a few who will literally do anything to succeed, of course, he will defy orders that don’t benefit him.
Therefore, reflecting on Abu Dhabi, were his actions against the rules? Absolutely not. Were they entirely sportsmanlike? Well everyone plays to win so, while they pushed the boundary, of course they were.
Who says respecting your opponent means you’re always nice to them? It is part of the game and it is often the ability to do that which separates the good drivers from the great ones.
Where Rosberg comes in on this is he is the one that went into that battle knowing it wasn’t going to be easy. Yet he is the one who survived, came out the other side and, while he may have lost the scrap in Abu Dhabi, he did win the war.
He thoroughly deserves his world title based on the final race alone and we should reflect on an epic finale that saw two men prove how much success in F1 means to them.
The king that ruled the castle didn’t want to give up his throne but, in the end, he was forced to give it up to the prince left standing tall.
Thank you Lewis for producing the excitement, and congratulations Nico on your maiden F1 championship
