Over the next three weeks, Read Motorsport will be reflecting on 16 stories that shaped the 2016 Formula One season. For the first one, there is no better place to start than with the biggest of the year, how Nico Rosberg finally conquered the world.
At the start of the year, there was uncertainty as to just how much of a challenge the German could put up to his teammate Lewis Hamilton. The Briton had stormed to his third world title in 2015 in dominant fashion but Rosberg had reeled off three straight wins to complete the year.
Some saw those victories as a result of Hamilton’s form dropping after he claimed the championship and surely with a fresh campaign ahead of him, he would return to the level that saw his teammate have no response the year before.
Indeed, it seemed that way when Hamilton claimed a commanding pole position in Melbourne with Rosberg struggling to fend off the Ferraris.
The race, however, would be a different story and as Hamilton had issues, following a poor start, it was Rosberg leading the charge and when Ferrari made a strategy mistake after the red flag, the German was there to capitalise and claim the first victory of the season.
That first race in Australia would arguably set the pattern for the season that would follow. A consistent Rosberg able to stay out of trouble and build his points, overcoming a perhaps quicker but more trouble-prone Hamilton.
Of course, you could point at the mechanical issues his teammate had early on but the pace of the Mercedes meant in almost every circumstance Lewis still stood on almost every podium.
Instead, it was the first corner collisions, as in Australia and Bahrain, along with the poor starts, as in Monza and Suzuka, that damaged Hamilton’s chances of victory while also boosting Rosberg’s. In both circumstances too, the Mercedes team cannot take responsibility.
The German is also the thinking man’s champion and it was his ability to adapt and solve issues that helped him become world champion.
His victory in Baku was the best example and, while it was then against the rules, taking the risk by asking for help for a gearbox problem at Silverstone resulted in a third place finish rather than a retirement.
That’s not to say his year was completely perfect, while he mastered the demands of an F1 that requires strategy and guile over outright speed when he did try racing Rosberg was less than flattering.
His inability to make the tyres work in Monaco saw him drop back into the pack and his incidents with Hamilton in Austria and Max Verstappen in Germany highlighted why some still doubt Nico.
It has been his biggest criticism over the past three years that, when going wheel-to-wheel with Hamilton, he always comes off second best.
So when he tried to do a Hamilton on his teammate at the Red Bull Ring it only ended with a broken front wing and a fourth place finish. The same thing at Hockenheim cost him a penalty in what was another less than flattering race.
But when the ball was in his court and he could measure himself, there was no-one better and, after Malaysia, nothing was going to deny him his first world title.
The four consecutive second places he achieved to round out the year were not easy, particularly in Brazil and Abu Dhabi, and when some would have succumbed to the pressure he didn’t and that is the mark of a champion.
He focused on himself and making himself better, bouncing back from last year’s disappointment and using the momentum he gathered as a springboard for 2016 success.
It took his teammate out of his comfort zone and left him with no response. That’s why regardless of what the other side might say, Rosberg was worthy of becoming world champion and by doing what he does best, that is how he finally conquered Hamilton and finally made his way to the top of the F1 mountain.
