Lewis Hamilton, with 10 wins this season, may think it is an outrage that his Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg (four wins) can win the Formula One world championship this year, but he may reflect that Nico would not be the first Rosberg to “steal” the title.
In 1982, Nico’s father, Keke, won just one race, yet he carried off the title, ahead of Niki Lauda, Alain Prost, René Arnoux and John Watson, who all won more races. It was the first time a driver had won the championship with only one victory since Mike Hawthorn’s success in 1958.
The elder Rosberg had failed to score a single point with Fittipaldi Automotive the previous year. But in 1982 his triumph was built around consistent points scoring in his Williams. That has been Nico’s strong point this season. He may have won just four races but he has finished second 10 times, often following Hamilton home like a faithful dog.
The double points issue is considered by many an absolute farce. It means that Hamilton, who leads Rosberg by 24 points, can win Sunday’s Brazilian Grand Prix, the penultimate race, and move 49 points clear if his only rival fails to score a point. Rosberg can then collect the prize with a 50-point win in Abu Dhabi. If that happens it will be a black day for a sport whose credibility has been seriously questioned this year, despite the compelling quality of the battle for the championship.
Whatever happens this has been Hamilton’s best season, and his form has been on a different level since the summer break. So what did he do with it? “I didn’t do anything special,” he shrugged. “I just enjoyed time with family and friends, and every now and then I put in some training to make sure I didn’t put on weight.
“I didn’t go out partying during the whole break, I was getting eight or nine hours sleep every night, feeling fresh and eating well, with my body clock on a constant regime. That was really it. So going into Spa I had that big hit, that energy boost from that three-week break. It helped me follow through from there.”
Hamilton looks remarkably relaxed for a man on the verge of his second championship – he won his first here in 2008. “I don’t have any fears,” he said. “Honestly, you can look in my eyes, I don’t have any fears. I feel like where I am today is not down to luck.
“I’m not where I am today by mistake. There are reasons for me being in this team and coming into this team at that time.
“There are reasons why we have the best car today and why we’ve had the results this year. That’s all the hard work that’s gone in and I feel comfortable where I am. In these next two races I’m going to do everything I can, though I don’t have a particular game plan.”
It may be that Hamilton needs to score just a modest handful of points in Abu Dhabi to make sure of the crown but it is difficult to see this driver playing the percentage game.
“I’ve never been one to want to win the championship by not winning,” he said. “I want to win when I win the world championship rather than finish fifth or wherever it may be.”
Rosberg, who last won in Germany in July, says: “Lewis has done a little bit of a better job since then.” But he did not seem to know anything about Hamilton’s assertion that he had declared “war” on his rival after the German crashed into him at Spa.
“Did he say we’re at war?” Rosberg asked, looking incredulous. “I don’t think anything has changed. It was an intense battle before and it still is an intense battle now. For me, nothing has changed.”
What will surely change, however, is Hamilton’s recent serenity of mood if Rosberg does pinch the title from under his nose in Abu Dhabi.
That would be a bad day for not only Hamilton but the whole of Formula One – with the exception of Rosberg, of course.
ALL TO RACE FOR
Can Lewis Hamilton win drivers’ title today? No. The world championship cannot be decided at Interlagos because the final race in Abu Dhabi on 22 November will be worth double points. But the result in São Paulo will determine how the title fight will be set up for the finale.
What must Hamilton do now to clinch his second world championship?
Hamilton has a 24-point lead over his Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg and would clinch the title with consecutive second-place finishes or by coming third in Brazil and a second in Abu Dhabi.
Does that look likely? Hamilton has been on a remarkable run in the final part of the season, winning five straight races to open up a big lead going into the decisive races. He started behind Rosberg in two of the last three races but was still able to overcome his team-mate and finish with the victory.
What’s happened to Rosberg? The 29 year old led the drivers’ standings early in the season but has not won since the German GP at home in July, eight races ago. He has, however, stayed within range of his team-mate by finishing second in five of the last six races.
