Abu Dhabi GP: Rosberg dominates Hamilton
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| Nico Rosberg smokes Hamilton again |
Nico Rosberg won his third F1 race in a row by dominating the Abu Dhabi GP over his Mercedes teammate by 8.2 sec. Starting from pole for the 6th straight race, Nico Rosberg dominated the race from the start, controlling the pace at the front.
Kimi Raikkonen was third for Ferrari as the top 3 drivers finished just the way they started in true F1 parade style.
The best drive of the race was by Sebastian Vettel who came from the back to finish 4th. Sergio Perez rounded out the top-5 for Force India.
It was the 14th career win for Rosberg, all coming in the unbeatable Mercedes, and the hat-trick over Hamilton gives him with a confidence boost ahead of the 2016 season where it is expected Mercedes wants the German driver to win the title to help reinstate the German GP by getting the German fans interested in F1 again.
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| A clean start |
Rosberg finished 8.2 seconds ahead of Hamilton, who opted for a different tire strategy in a bid to find a way to break up the Rosberg-Hamilton parade.
When Rosberg made his second stop on lap 31 of 55, Hamilton opted to stay out rather than pit on the following lap as he extended the life out of a set of soft Pirelli tires.
With Rosberg closing rapidly, Hamilton eventually pitted for a second time after 41 laps, but rather than taking on super-softs the switch was to softs, leaving him with a 12.5s deficit and although he closed the gap (Rosberg was in cruise mode) he had nothing for Rosberg.
"I think in hindsight once Nico had pitted I would have backed off a bit and made those tires go a lot longer," said Hamilton, reflecting on his race.
"The tires were still fine at the end so I thought I could have taken them to the end but that didn't work out.
"Going too long in the second stint of the race was probably not the right thing to do but we gave it a try and I did the best job I could with it."
Raikkonen's result also secured fourth in the championship standings, ahead of Williams pair Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa.
"We started better this season, but obviously it's not been an ideal year, but that's how it goes sometimes," Raikkonen said.
"The speed has been there but there have been mistakes and problems, stuff like that, so the result hasn't been great many times.
"But today, and this weekend, it was better; everything was working well, it went smoothly, the car was handling well – so it was good.
"It wasn't enough to beat these two Mercedes but we did our best."
Sebastian Vettel, meanwhile, talked about starting 15th and finishing fourth.
"I think it was clear that when you start from 15th position it is not that easy to come through," commented Vettel, who previously climbed from the pit lane to third back in 2012.
"I think it was the best result we could have got for the team; I'm very happy to give them fourth.
"It has been a great year and it is nice to finish the season off like that."
QUOTES
Mercedes
Nico Rosberg
This is the perfect ending to the season for me – something I hoped for so much after a tough year. To finish with six poles and three wins in a row is awesome. I am so happy that I found some performance at the end of the season. I also made my peace with this track after the toughest moment of my career here last year, which is a nice feeling. Today was really a perfect race. The start, the pit stops and the tire management were all really good and I felt like I had it all under control. Thanks so much to my team for this amazing Silver Arrow – everyone at the factories and the track has done such an incredible job all year. I would love to start the 2016 season tomorrow – but I know that´s not possible. It's strange, I'm enjoying the moment so much – but I'm thinking already very much of next year what I could change and where I can improve. We will all now have a well-deserved break with our families and I look forward to spending some more time with my wife and my little daughter.
Lewis Hamilton
That was a very difficult race. My tires were done at the end of the first stint sitting behind Nico. The second stint was very good – but I don't really know what happened strategy-wise at the end. I haven't finished the season as strongly as I started it – but what an incredible year it's been. This team has done a remarkable job, so a big thank you to everyone back at the factories. I wouldn't be standing here as World Champion without them. I'll go away now for the winter aiming to come back stronger, fitter and straight on top of our new car for 2016.
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| A happy Toto Wolff |
Toto Wolff, Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport
A really great race for the team today, after so many great races this season. It was a busy evening both on the track and on the pit wall, with a lot of talk on the radio. We had a bit of a worry on Nico's engine with the high mileage. Then, with Lewis, we wanted to leave strategy open to do something different with the offset and give him the best chance of the win. But in the end, Nico was extremely strong through the whole race and deserved the win; it was an accomplished performance. I am very pleased with the season. We've achieved some amazing records this year with the number of pole positions, front row lockouts, race wins and one-two finishes. But that's not what's most important. The most important thing is the spirit in the team, which has been fantastic. It's a pleasure to work with these guys and girls and I know they're all as determined as I am to carry this form into next year. Ferrari made a huge step forwards last winter and their development curve has been quite amazing. We need to be prepared for the same this year also and make sure we progress even further. When you start to think this is an easy ride you will lose.
Paddy Lowe, Executive Director (Technical)
A great way to end the season, with a tense battle between Nico and Lewis running two different strategies under the Yas Marina floodlights. Each driver was stronger at different points in the race, which was fascinating to watch. Ferrari also kept us honest, with Kimi showing good pace, so we also had to mindful of that threat. Overall, though, Nico proved to have stronger pace overall and controlled the race to round off the season with a thoroughly well-deserved win. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank both drivers for doing a fantastic job over the course of the season. Their ability to manage the car when required and not make mistakes has been as impressive as their phenomenal pace every weekend – and a key element in securing the success we've enjoyed this season. A big thank you also to everybody who has contributed to designing, building and running this car so flawlessly this season.
Williams
[adinserter name="GOOGLE AD"]Rob Smedley, Head of Performance Engineering: It wasn't the way we wanted to end our season, so we will go away and analyze how we could have done better at this race. We seemed to go forward in pace compared to Force India and Red Bull, but starting behind them in qualifying didn't help us. We shouldn't dwell on this race too much, we've had a really good season and finished a solid third again, which is important to the growth of the team. I'm incredibly proud of the way this team is constantly growing and improving. Our focus has been on the 2016 car for quite a long time, now we've got a long winter ahead and we have to come out the starting blocks in a full sprint next year.
Felipe Massa: It was a very tough race, but not much happened apart from trying to overtake a car with very similar pace. We didn't have the pace we wanted and we've paid the price in the last few races. This is a poor way to end the season, but it is a good motivator to come back strong in 2016. The guys are working hard so we hope to make gains over the winter.
Valtteri Bottas: Of course that was not the way we wanted to finish the season. But in the end this could be good – it was a proper wake-up call that we really need to raise our game if we want to challenge for the wins next year. We all know the facts, we need to find big gains with the car during the winter, and there are operational things we need to do better. Everyone knows it and we are fully motivated to fix these things and have a much better season next year. I need to say a big thank you to everyone in the team because we achieved third place in the Constructors' and with this team I managed to be fifth place in the Drivers' Championship. This season gave me some good things to remember, like a couple of very special podiums, but we want more so none of us are fully satisfied yet.
Sauber
Marcus Ericsson
It was a decent race after what was overall a difficult weekend. We tried a different strategy, but we were struggling to keep up with the midfield to fight for points. In terms of performance, we got the maximum out of what we had today. Of course, the result is disappointing. My first season with the Sauber F1 Team is finished – it has been a pleasure. First of all, I want to thank everyone, both at the track and also back at the factory, for their hard work. I have got to know a lot of great people. I have learned a lot during the year, and I am very happy to be staying for next season. I am confident we can keep pushing and make some steps forward next year.
Felipe Nasr
I was unlucky with my start to the race. I was in the sandwich between two cars, which caused damage to my front wing. Because of this, I had to make an early pit stop, which cost time. After that, it was all about catching up with the drivers in front of me. Finishing in this position was not the way we wanted to end the season. However, overall it's been a good season for me. I am pleased we were able to keep the eighth position in the constructors' championship, as well as holding onto my 13th in the drivers' championship. It shows that everyone in the team put a lot of effort into this season throughout the year. I want to thank everyone for the dedicated work. Now we will focus on 2016.
Monisha Kaltenborn, Team Principal:
After the season finale overall we can deliver a positive summary. Marcus and Felipe have learned a lot, showed their potential and been impressive with solid performances. It was a demanding and eventful 2015 season. Despite a difficult and challenging environment, we achieved our objective to have a significantly improved performance compared to 2014 due to the dedicated commitment by the whole team. I would like to say thanks to all the employees at the race track as well as in the factory in Hinwil. Now we will fully concentrate on the 2016 season.
Force India
Sergio Perez
It feels great to end the season with a strong performance and I'm very satisfied with how everything has gone this weekend – both in qualifying and the race. We pushed hard to try and beat Vettel today, but he had too much pace on the supersofts and it wasn't possible to hold him back. The rest of the race was straightforward for me, with no big dramas, because I was on my own looking after the tires. When I was running fourth I was pushing very hard to stay within Vettel's pit window, which took a lot from my tires and meant that Ricciardo was able to get close to me at the end of the race. Fortunately I had enough left to hold him off. I think we got the maximum that was available to us and we can be proud of our performance. Looking back on the whole season it's been my best year in Formula One and the most successful year for the team. There is a lot of potential for next season and we will be aiming even higher.
[adinserter name="GOOGLE AD"]Nico Hulkenberg
The race was a bit of a struggle at times, and I had a hard job on my hands. The start was pretty good – everyone went to the inside so I stuck to the outside. It was a brave move and I was able to make up a few places. However, I had a lot of understeer and it was difficult to get the car to turn in, especially at a track with so many tight corners, so I suffered in the first two stints. The final part of the race was a bit better and I was able to get into a rhythm, which was important to keep our position. It was a tough race so it was a really good result to come home with seventh place. It's been a good season for the team and we will be aiming to build on it over the winter months. From a personal point of view, it hasn't been one of my best years but it gives me an opportunity to learn from what happened and come back stronger. I am already looking forward to 2016 and working hard to make sure we are competitive from the first race of the season
Otmar Szafnauer, Chief Operating Officer
We end the season with a strong result and 16 world championship points – the most we've scored at any race this season. The strong result is the ideal way to conclude the most successful season in the team's history. The car has been working very well here and the team has done a fantastic job to deliver our most competitive performance of the year in terms of outright pace. Today's result shows just how much progress we have made this season and gives me confidence ahead of 2016. The second part of the season is testament to the hard work of everyone in the team and highlights the upward direction the team has followed in the last few years. We will celebrate this year's results, but we know we cannot rest on our laurels: we're already at work on our 2016 cars to pick up where we left off tonight and be competitive from the start of next year's championship.
Manor-Marussia
John Booth, Team Principal
It has been fantastic to end the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix with yet another two-car finish, incredibly our 14th of the season. That really is quite a reliability record, considering the MR03 and MR03Bs have completed a total of nearly 45,000kms during 2014 and 2015. Our race today largely characterized our season; both the team and the drivers worked their hearts out, but there was a limit to what could be achieved with the package we have had this year. Nonetheless, we have achieved so much more with what we have than should ever have been possible and I am extremely proud of every single member of the team for having done so. I would also like to extend my sincere thanks to Scuderia Ferrari. They have been a joy to work with throughout our partnership and we have shared some very special memories together that I am sure we will all treasure. This is of course my final race with the Manor Marussia F1 Team. At a time like this, there is so much to say but I think the single biggest sentiment I will take away is incredible pride at just how much we punched above our weight for such a small team. It was a greater challenge than we ever anticipated, but six years on we are still here fighting. I wish the team every success in the future and I will be following their progress with a great deal of satisfaction at what we created together.
Will Stevens
I'm really pleased to end my debut season on a positive note with yet another two-car finish. It was also the best possible reward for the team – both here in Abu Dhabi and back at the factory – at the end of a long hard season. I've been feeling really comfortable in the car all weekend and thankfully I was able to carry that confidence through to the race today. On the whole, I'm pretty satisfied with how things have gone for me in my debut season. I gave it everything I have and I definitely feel like I'm just getting started, so fingers crossed this is just the beginning. I would like to thank everyone in the team for their support, but in particular John and Graeme, who we say goodbye to here today."
Roberto Merhi
A disappointing race for me today and not the finish to the season I was hoping for. We started from the pit lane after a mechanical set-up change during parc ferme conditions, so that made everything much more difficult for us. Then on the first stint I flat-spotted my tires, but we've struggled with the brakes all weekend here. Nonetheless, I have a lot of positives from my debut F1 season to reflect on, including our best race result of the season – P12 at Silverstone. I would like to thank the whole team, not only for this opportunity but for the hard work throughout the season. We've had some difficult times, but I am very proud of us. My thanks also to John and Graeme and I wish them well for the future. I am sure we have not seen the last of them!
Lotus
Romain Grosjean
It's been an emotional journey for me and I'm so happy to be able to reward everyone at Enstone with points in my final race for the team. I had to push all the way and it wasn't always plain sailing as there was a lot to manage on the car. The calls from the pit wall were great and my pit stops were fantastic. I owe a lot to this team and it really feels like a family to me. I hope to be back one day in the future. This has been the best season of my career.
[adinserter name="GOOGLE AD"]Pastor Maldonado
It's sad to end the race in the first corner because we were looking good for the race. Today we had a good strategy to go with our better race pace, but anyway this is racing and it can happen. I didn't see the contact I just felt it in the back of the car from Fernando. I tried to restart but then I saw the suspension damage. Imagine if that incident had been the other way round, it would've been big news then!
Federico Gastaldi, Deputy Team Principal
2015 has been an incredible year for us for so many reasons and I must say a massive thank you to everyone who has supported us through what has been a character-building season. The resolve of everyone at Enstone has been tested, but we have come through. Today's race was illustrative of the fighting spirit of Enstone and Romain did us proud in his final race with us. Pastor was the victim of someone else's incident so couldn't end the season as he wanted. Our focus is now completely on 2016; watch this space, there's plenty more to come.
Alan Permane, Trackside Operations Director
Romain drove a superb race and it's a testament of all the hard work that's been put in under difficult conditions over the year from everyone in the team that he could finish in the top ten in the final race of the season. Our relative pace today was much better than in qualifying and we were able to harness a strong strategy to move up the order. Pastor was very unfortunate at the start as he had looked strong all weekend here.
Results
| Pos | Driver | Car/Engine | Behind |
| 1 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes/Mercedes | 0.000s |
| 2 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes/Mercedes | 8.271s |
| 3 | Kimi Raikkonen | Ferrari/Ferrari | 19.430s |
| 4 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari/Ferrari | 43.735s |
| 5 | Sergio Perez | Force India/Mercedes | 1m03.952s |
| 6 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull/Renault | 1m05.010s |
| 7 | Nico Hulkenberg | Force India/Mercedes | 1m33.618s |
| 8 | Felipe Massa | Williams/Mercedes | 1m37.751s |
| 9 | Romain Grosjean | Lotus/Mercedes | 1m38.201s |
| 10 | Daniil Kvyat | Red Bull/Renault | 1m42.371s |
| 11 | Carlos Sainz | Toro Rosso/Renault | 1m43.525s |
| 12 | Jenson Button | McLaren/Honda | 1 Lap |
| 13 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams/Mercedes | 1 Lap |
| 14 | Marcus Ericsson | Sauber/Ferrari | 1 Lap |
| 15 | Felipe Nasr | Sauber/Ferrari | 1 Lap |
| 16 | Max Verstappen | Toro Rosso/Renault | 1 Lap |
| 17 | Fernando Alonso | McLaren/Honda | 2 Laps |
| 18 | Will Stevens | Marussia/Ferrari | 2 Laps |
| 19 | Roberto Merhi | Marussia/Ferrari | 3 Laps |
| DNF | Pastor Maldonado | Lotus/Mercedes | Collision |
Final Drivers' Championship Standings:
| Pos | Driver | Points |
| 1 | Lewis Hamilton | 381 |
| 2 | Nico Rosberg | 322 |
| 3 | Sebastian Vettel | 278 |
| 4 | Kimi Raikkonen | 150 |
| 5 | Valtteri Bottas | 136 |
| 6 | Felipe Massa | 121 |
| 7 | Daniil Kvyat | 95 |
| 8 | Daniel Ricciardo | 92 |
| 9 | Sergio Perez | 78 |
| 10 | Nico Hulkenberg | 58 |
| 11 | Romain Grosjean | 51 |
| 12 | Max Verstappen | 49 |
| 13 | Felipe Nasr | 27 |
| 14 | Pastor Maldonado | 27 |
| 15 | Carlos Sainz | 18 |
| 16 | Jenson Button | 16 |
| 17 | Fernando Alonso | 11 |
| 18 | Marcus Ericsson | 9 |
| 19 | Roberto Merhi | 0 |
| 20 | Alexander Rossi | 0 |
| 21 | Will Stevens | 0 |
Final Constructors' Championship Standings:
| Pos | Constructor | Points |
| 1 | Mercedes/Mercedes | 703 |
| 2 | Ferrari/Ferrari | 428 |
| 3 | Williams/Mercedes | 257 |
| 4 | Red Bull/Renault | 187 |
| 5 | Force India/Mercedes | 136 |
| 6 | Lotus/Mercedes | 78 |
| 7 | Toro Rosso/Renault | 67 |
| 8 | Sauber/Ferrari | 36 |
| 9 | McLaren/Honda | 27 |
| 10 | Marussia/Ferrari | 0 |