Simply because I’ve been distracted by other projects… bits and bobs. And also because the shock retirement of Nico Rosberg soon after clinching his title came as a huge surprise. It threw the driver’s market into disarray. There still hasn’t been an announcement about Lewis Hamilton’s teammate for next year, but the strong rumours surrounding Valtteri Bottas’ move and Felipe Massa’s U-turn from retirement don’t seem to be going away any time soon.
Hamilton won 10 races to Rosberg’s nine, and secured 12 pole positions to his teammate’s eight. But in a championship fight, only one stat matters: points.
Here’s how the season ended:
And some stats about the season:
2016 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
Rosberg finished his season with a second place at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – but race winner Hamilton didn’t make it easy for him, ignoring team orders to quicken his pace having tried to slow the pack down and make it more difficult for Rosberg to finish on the podium. All good gamesmanship, if not sportsmanship, and understandable when something as important as a title is on the line. Mercedes might have had stern words and a hard time organising the pair next year – had Rosberg not walked away from the sport. As it is, it seems to send out a message to any incoming driver that they aren’t going to have an easy time.
Rosberg became the second driver to follow in his father’s footsteps – father Keke, the 1982 world championship winner – after Graham and Damon Hill did the same.
This was the only real interest in the race. Jenson Button, who now looks to be retiring from Formula One rather than taking a sabbatical, missed out on finishing the race after a suspension failure. Sebastian Vettel came third, with the Red Bull pair of Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo rounding off the top five.
Other points scorers were Kimi Raikkonen in sixth, Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez in seventh and eighth with Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso completing the top ten.