Summary
Records are tumbling. Mercedes have a total points tally of 703 and this is the 12th Mercedes one-two of the season. It might not have been the most exciting end to the season, but you can’t help but marvel at Mercedes’ supremacy. Hamilton ends the season on top with 384 points, 67 points ahead of Rosberg.
But that is three wins on the trot for Rosberg, if he can start next year in the same way that he has finished, he’ll have Hamilton on toast!
Cue the fireworks! It's a 3rd straight win for @nico_rosberg to finish 2015 on a high #AbuDhabiGP #F1Finale pic.twitter.com/p9ByenUL5M
— Formula 1 (@F1) November 29, 2015
Thanks for reading. See you in 2016! Bye!
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Rosberg looks ruddy delighted as he clambers out of the car.
“Awesome guys, thanks for that season - it was really great.”
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NICO ROSBERG WINS THE ABU DHABI GRAND PRIX!
Hamilton finishes in second, Raikkonen third, Vettel fourth, Perez fifth, Ricciardo sixth, he wasn’t about to get around the Force India man in the end. Hulkenberg crosses the line in seventh, Massa in eighth, Grosjean in ninth and Kvyat in tenth.
Fireworks go up as Rosberg passes the chequered flag, and Rosberg celebrates his win with a few donuts. Spinning the car round that is, not a baked treat.
And sure enough... BURNOUTS!!!! #F1 #AbuDhabiGP #F1Finale @nico_rosberg pic.twitter.com/xf2w5BVybk
— MERCEDES AMG F1 (@MercedesAMGF1) November 29, 2015
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Lap 54: And Grosjean comes through to take ninth place off Kyvat! Great finish to the race for the 29-year-old!
Lap 53: Grosjean passes Sainz to grab a points position in his final race. Up the inside at turn eight, where so much overtaking action has taken place today.
Encore une fois
— Lotus F1 Team (@Lotus_F1Team) November 29, 2015
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Lap 52: This is as comfortable a victory for Rosberg as he could have hoped for.
Lap 51: “I’m having some vibrations on the front,” Perez reports over the radio. Hamilton, meanwhile, is being told to stop messing around with his settings, he’s turned his engine up. “Go to Strat 10, Lewis. That is an instruction” warns Mercedes.
Lap 50: Hahaha.
Oh hi, Rubens. #AbuDhabiGP #F1Finale pic.twitter.com/jtFFq3xOge
— Formula 1 (@F1) November 29, 2015
Lap 49: Looks like Ferrari have third and fourth sewn up: Raikkonen just ahead of Vettel. Behind them, Perez is coming under increasing pressure from Ricciardo, who is currently in sixth.
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Lap 48: Verstappen has been given a five-second penalty for that move on Button, but he is six seconds ahead of the Brit, so should be able to hang onto 12th.
Lap 47: Hamilton is still about eight seconds shy of Rosberg. The Brit is slowed down by hitting a bit of traffic, but emerges into the clean air. “OK Lewis, we’re flat out from here” Mercedes tell the world champion over the radio.
Lap 46: Verstappen attacks Button. Wow, there really is no fear from the teenager, they were running side by side for three corners, but Verstappen just comes out on top, despite running wide on turn 12.
“He pushed me off the track,” Verstappen says. “He overtook me off the track,” Button responds. I’d be inclined to agree with Button. The stewards are investigating.
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Lap 45: I wouldn’t expect Hamilton to make up this time. Hamilton won’t have this pace once he wears out the tyres a little bit more.
.@LewisHamilton closing in at around 0.8s per lap right now... this could be a grandstand finish incoming... #F1 #AbuDhabiGP #F1Finale
— MERCEDES AMG F1 (@MercedesAMGF1) November 29, 2015
Lap 44: Verstappen has had an inconsistent weekend, but again shows a glimpse of his immense talent but nipping inside Nasr to take 13th. He makes his Toro Rosso look so nimble sometimes.
Lap 43: So Hamilton is about 12 seconds behind with 12 laps remaining. Doesn’t look like it’s going to happen for him. Rosberg on his way to another win, what an end to the season he has had.
Lap 42: Hamilton asks his team about strategy. He wants to know how possible it is to stay out there for the rest of the race, rather than coming into pit. He wants to win this race, no doubt.
“The reason I’m asking is because these tyres still feel good,” Hamilton says. But he’s told it would be “impossible” and “a real gamble that wouldn’t pay off.” Hamilton comes into pit, he comes back out in second.
Lap 41: Vettel responds to Perez and comes in for that change. Perez and Ricciardo swing through with Vettel coming back out in sixth. Vettel is all over Ricciardo. Meanwhile, the other Ferrari is going great guns.
#Kimi7 fastest lap 1:45.222! #AbuDhabiGP #redseason
— Scuderia Ferrari (@ScuderiaFerrari) November 29, 2015
Lap 40: Perez is told that he is four/tenths of a second quicker than Vettel per lap. Vettel is on 15-lap old soft tyres. Vettel has still got to pit and put some supersofts on.
Lap 39: The moment of this race so far is definitely Button and Bottas colliding in the pit lane, effectively ending Bottas’s hopes of finishing fourth in the drivers’ championship. Here’s a video of how it happened.
VIDEO: Bottas collides with Button in the pitlane >> https://t.co/RWj84OqFuK #AbuDhabiGP pic.twitter.com/4J47bqBd8W
— Formula 1 (@F1) November 29, 2015
Lap 38: Grosjean, Hulkenberg and Kvyat are bunched together nicely in seventh, eighth and ninth respectively. Less than a second between the three of them. Grosjean will hope to end his time with Lotus on a high.
Lap 37: “What’s the other car on, at the moment?” Hamilton asks his team. Interesting that he doesn’t even refer to Rosberg by name. Mercedes inform Hamilton that Rosberg is on the prime tyres. Hamilton will probably have to wait another five/six laps before he comes in to pit.
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Lap 36: Hamilton still leads, although as we mentioned, he’s yet to make his final stop. “Pick the pace up a little bit Nico. We need to close the gap to Lewis,” Mercedes tell Rosberg over the radio.
Lap 35: Bottas is still in 16th. Raikkonen is well on course to finish in fourth in the drivers’ championship.
@michaelbutler18 Re Bottas: The U.S. broadcast showed a replay in which he got a green light to exit the pits. They don't know how he got it
— Beau Dure (@duresport) November 29, 2015
Lap 34: Alonso is still out there, albeit still in 17th, and he is able to tuck in behind the emerging Raikkonen to get a bit more pace in the Finn’s slipstream.
Lap 33: So Hamilton leads, but he will have to come in to the pit lane for one final time. The winner of this race is by no means decided yet. Raikkonen’s pit stop was a shocker! Ferrari’s front right tyre team could get the new ones on! He’s lost at least four seconds and comes back out in fourth behind his team-mate Vettel!
Little delay on front right tire on #Kimi7 Pit stop, on softs #AbuDhabiGP #redseason
— Scuderia Ferrari (@ScuderiaFerrari) November 29, 2015
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Lap 32: Rosberg pits! Wow, that’s quite early to make a second stop, but it’s a clean one from the Mercedes boys and Rosberg comes back out in third. Raikkonen, who is still in second, responds, himself coming into the pits.
Lap 31: Hamilton is just one second from being able to use DRS. Things are getting tasty at the top!
Lap 30: Looks like Willians are figuring out a new strategy. “Ok Valtteri, we’ll box this next lap. Remember you have a five-second penalty to serve.” That was given for the Button incident. He simply didn’t check his mirrors as Button was parking in the pits.
Lap 29: “What’s the plan? I just can’t get through with this traction.” Bottas is in 14th, after that awful incident with Button earlier, where Bottas lost his front wing in the pit lane.
LAP 29/55: Hamilton absolutely flying - Rosberg's lead decimated from 6.2s to 1.7s in less than 10 laps #AbuDhabiGP pic.twitter.com/jdrpEqRiSr
— Formula 1 (@F1) November 29, 2015
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Lap 28: It looks like Perez is going to try and get through this race on just two stops, he comes in for another set of soft tyres. Perez emerges in sixth, ahead of Ricciardo. His tyre management is fantastic, so he is still in the hunt for that third place.
Lap 27: Rosberg appears to be struggling with degradation. Hamilton is on the charge! On this lap alone, the Brit has gained six tenths of a second!
THREE fastest laps IN A ROW now for @LewisHamilton - he's on a mission! #F1 #AbuDhabiGP #F1Finale
— MERCEDES AMG F1 (@MercedesAMGF1) November 29, 2015
2.6 seconds... that's all there is in it... the ol' heart rate's rising now... #F1 #AbuDhabiGP #F1Finale
— MERCEDES AMG F1 (@MercedesAMGF1) November 29, 2015
Lap 26: “If we don’t get a safety car, I will retire the car” says Alonso, who is still in 17th. He is thoroughly fed up at the back of the grid. The story of his season. Will we see him next year?
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Lap 25: The projected life of the prime tyres is about 30 laps, so most drivers should be able to get away with a two-stop. Verstappen nips inside Ericsson on a hairpin to take 14th. Clever move.
PROVISIONAL CLASSIFICATION (after 25 of 55 laps) #AbuDhabiGP #F1Finale pic.twitter.com/6FyXTPYcm8
— Formula 1 (@F1) November 29, 2015
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Lap 24: Vettel comes in and makes a inch-perfect stop to emerge back out in sixth ahead of Hulkenberg. He will have to make another stop at the end of the race, so a two-stop race. Hamilton is catching Rosberg, the gap is now less than four seconds!
Lap 23: Hamilton is slowly starting to eat into Rosberg’s lead, down to just over five seconds. The Brit has just set a new fastest lap. Will Stevens, running in 17th, is in between the two Mercedes. Will that halt Hamilton’s progress?
FASTEST LAPS Hammer time? Hamilton pops up top with a 1:46.744 #AbuDhabiGP #F1Finale pic.twitter.com/qqC24bwc2g
— Formula 1 (@F1) November 29, 2015
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Lap 22: The sun is down, the lights are out on the track as Yas Marina.
#Kimi7 P3 behind Mercedes #AbuDhabiGP #redseason pic.twitter.com/qLyzPwlRdP
— Scuderia Ferrari (@ScuderiaFerrari) November 29, 2015
Lap 21: Verstappen locks up his front left tyre and creates a huge flat spot on those tyres. He has no grip now. “I have to box, I have to box” he cries over the radio. And yep, Verstappen comes into the pit lane. He emerges back on the track in 15th place.
Lap 20: Maldonado, who was taken out on the first lap by Alonso, has been speaking to the cameras.
This is racing. Imagine if it was the other way around. Big news. I think we have all the tools in the team to become stronger than this year.
Lap 19: Sainz lets Verstappen through into 11th! Weird strategy from the Toro Rossos. I have no idea why they would do that. Alonso comes in for yet another stop – that’s his third of the race – he’s firmly at the back of the pack in 19th.
LAP 19/55: ROS has a healthy lead of six seconds over HAM - and that's RAI stalking the world champion #AbuDhabiGP pic.twitter.com/WrlEBW58qy
— Formula 1 (@F1) November 29, 2015
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Lap 18: Rosberg has opened up a 6.7 second lead over Hamilton, who himself has about a three-second lead from Raikkonen.
It seems someone's got the HAMmer down... @LewisHamilton gouges half a second out of @nico_rosberg's lead on that lap. Getting tasty... #F1
— MERCEDES AMG F1 (@MercedesAMGF1) November 29, 2015
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Lap 17: “It was the plan to let him by, yes?” asks Vettel over the radio. Bit of a strange thing to ask, after the pass. But Ferrari confirm that was indeed the plan, and inform Vettel that he is gaining on the other Mercedes drivers in front of them.
Lap 16: Vettel lets Raikkonen pass him into third. The two Ferraris are on different strategies today – Vettel is on a one-stop, Raikkonen on a two-stop – which means that Raikkonen will have to try and get a lead of around 21 seconds or so if he wants to take third place. Don’t count Perez out just yet though, he could well upset the Ferraris.
Lap 15: Sainz passes Ericsson to take 11th, one point off the points. Verstappen, meanwhile is tucked just behind the pair in 13th. He’s yet to really get going here. It was a disappointing qualifying for the young Dutchman and he doesn’t appear to be at the races today.
Lap 14: Mistake from Vettel! He locks up horribly around turn four and loses perhaps two/three tenths of a second in pace. Suddenly Hamilton is all over him like a rash, and enables DRS to pass the German on turn eight and retake second place.
Lap 13: Raikkonen has set a fastest lap, and Massa overtakes Ericsson to take ninth. It’s going pretty well for those that started on the harder tyre: Grosjean is up to sixth.
Lap 12: Nice work from the Mercedes team.
WOW!!! 2.2secs in the box for @LewisHamilton!! That's a MEGA effort from the crew!! Unbelievable skills!! #F1 #AbuDhabiGP #F1Finale
— MERCEDES AMG F1 (@MercedesAMGF1) November 29, 2015
But … it’s still not quick enough to get Hamilton back out in front of Vettel, who is yet to stop. Hamilton now in third.
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Lap 11: Hamilton is told to box, he’ll be into the next lap. Rosberg already has made the move onto the primes. He’s remains out in front.
Lap 10: Bottas comes in to get a new front wing, but this extra stop will surely prevent him from making an meaningful impression in the points. Surely? Kimi Raikkonen comes in to pit. I wonder if he knows what has happened between Bottas and Button.
Lap 9: Bottas and Button collide in the pit lane! Button cuts straight across the Finn as he comes in and clips his front wing! Oh no! Bottas emerges back out onto the track without his front wing and he’ll have to come in again next lap for another stop. That’s essentially decided fourth place in the drivers’ championship.
LAP 9/55: Drama in the pitlane as Bottas releases without seeing Button behind him #AbuDhabiGP #F1Finale pic.twitter.com/QkS4VlSLRw
— Formula 1 (@F1) November 29, 2015
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Lap 8: Rosberg’s lead is up to 2.6 seconds! Alonso has been handed a drive-through penalty for causing a collision: he Maldonadoed Maldonado on the first lap remember.
Lap 7: More stops: Sainz and Hulkenberg come in, but Sainz has a shocker in the pits: 6.2 seconds. There appeared to be some problem with the rear jack. Hulkenberg emerges just in front of Massa: oooo that was close!
Lap 6: Massa, Ricciardo and Perez all make similar moves into the pits. These are early stops but not particularly surprising. Still expect for these lot to complete a two-stop race. Vettel meanwhile has passed Button to take 11th.
Lap 5: Kvyat has come in to the pit to change to the soft. 2.6 second stop and he’s back out on the track in no time. He should be able to gain some advantage over the rest of the pack, who mostly remain on the supersoft. Nasr has made a similar move.
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Lap 4: Rosberg is 1.7 seconds ahead of Hamilton, who himself holds around a two second lead of Raikkonen in third. Ricciardo is all over Hulkenberg for fifth.
SPEED TRAP (after 4 of 55 laps) Six different cars in a top six led by Massa #AbuDhabiGP #F1Finale pic.twitter.com/GKZcr1kgE1
— Formula 1 (@F1) November 29, 2015
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Lap 3: DRS has been enabled. Bottas has slipped to tenth: he and Kyvat are having a ding-dong battle for ninth.
Lap 2: Remarkably, Vettel is up to 12th! Wow, that’s some going from the German. He loves it here. There was also a collision on the first corner between Maldonado and Alonso, and the Venezuelan has been forced to retire. Alonso comes into the pit lane to get a new front wing.
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LIGHTS OUT
Lap 1: Hamilton is slow off the mark, and is forced to defend Raikkonen haring up the outside. Ooooo was there contact? Rosberg gets away cleanly. Sainz magnificently passes Kvyat to take ninth. Hulkenberg, meanwhile, is up to fifth!
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Hamilton is complaining about vibrations in his brakes on the formation lap. The cars are lined up … here we go …
The cars are out on their formation lap. The sun is setting. It’s the final race of the F1 season. Let’s do this!
We’re just two minutes away here. Most drivers will opt for a two-stop strategy, starting on supersoft, and then moving to the soft. I think I’m right in saying that Vettel was the only driver in qualifying not to use the supersofts … and he starts in 16th.
The only other drivers to use the harder tyre in the race today are Grosjean, Ericsson, Stevens and Merhi.
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Air show! ✈️ #AbuDhabiGP #redseason pic.twitter.com/Z1sYx2geih
— Scuderia Ferrari (@ScuderiaFerrari) November 29, 2015
The sun is out in Abu Dhabi, although it will be long gone by the time the race is over. It’s always a bit more fun under the lights, for my money. Turn 8 and Turn 11 are the two points on the track where we’d expect to see the most overtaking action. Get your circuit guide here:
The battle for fourth in the drivers’ championship is still very much up for grabs: Valterri Bottas is shading his Finnish compatriot Kimi Raikkonen by just one point, although Kimi starts today in third, ahead of Bottas in sixth.
Celeb watch, guess who’s living it up in Abu Dhabi …
With the guvnor @BBCSport #F1 pic.twitter.com/ljjohr1GTC
— Craig David (@CraigDavid) November 29, 2015
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This will be the last race for Grosjean at Lotus before the Frenchman moves to new US-based team Haas, who are entering F1 in 2016. He starts in 19th (with Roberto Merhi starting from the pitlane after Manor made suspension changes in qualifying), not the way he’s want to go out.
There’s been a bit of controversy around Haas, who have bought parts from Ferrari that has been tested in their wind tunnel, possibly giving Haas an unfair advantage. Mercedes sent a six-page document to officials this week, asking them to clarify the rules on this.
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Today marks the 40th anniversary of Graham Hill’s death. The two-time Formula One champion died in a plane accident but remains the only person to have won the Triple Crown of the Indianapolis 500, the Le Mans 24 hours and the F1 World Championship.
Today’s grid
Rosberg starts on pole, this is the sixth race in succession where the German has qualified ahead of Hamilton – he was over three tenths faster in the end. The importance of pole is perhaps less here than for other races: 2010 is the only time than the driver on pole has gone on to win here.
Perez had a fantastic day yesterday, the Force India man was just pipped to third by Raikkonen. Vettel starts in 16th and it should be fun watching him come through the field. Despite misjudging the pace over the weekend, it’s a track that suits him and has won here three times – 2009, 2010 and 2013.
1) Rosberg
2) Hamilton
3) Raikkonen
4) Perez
5) Ricciardo
6) Bottas
7) Hulkenberg
8) Massa
9) Kvyat
10) Sainz
11) Verstappen
12) Button
13) Maldonado
14) Nasr
15) Vettel
16) Alonso
17) Ericsson
18) Stevens
19) Grosjean
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Preamble
There’s no getting round it: this is a dead-as-a-dodo rubber. Lewis Hamilton has already won the drivers’ championship and both Nico Rosberg and Sebastian Vettel both have insurmountable leads in second and third respectively. Mercedes have had the constructors’ sewn up for weeks.
So, with nothing too important left to play for on the track, let’s concentrate on events off it. All eyes will be on Fernando Alonso to see if he takes a sabbatical next year – people have done that to varying degrees of success in the past (Prost, Schumacher) but with his contract ending at McLaren in 2017, the 35-year-old might struggle to get back on the horse. His team-mate Jenson Button has reservations: “Even if I had the option I’d want to build a car around me for the following year. If you take a year out, the other driver will design a car around him.”
McLaren will be glad to see the back of this season. They lie in ninth of the ten teams competing this year, only Marussia are below them. Alonso will surely wait to see what shape his car is in for testing over the winter, before making a decision. But if McLaren aren’t able to deliver a competitive car, I can easily see him taking a break.
Alonso’s luck is definitely out at the moment, he suffered a puncture in qualifying and will start today in 17th. Ouch.
Lights out: 1pm GMT.
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