▶ 1. CHINA
Rosberg takes control
Lewis Hamilton arrived on the back foot in China following successive victories for Nico Rosberg in Australia and Bahrain. Misery ensued, with the Briton handed a five-place penalty following a gearbox change before an engine failure in qualifying sent him to the back of the grid. Hamilton lost his front wing in a first-corner incident and recovered to finish a poor seventh. Rosberg started from pole and, unchallenged, romped to his third consecutive win to take a commanding lead in the title race.
ROSBERG 75 HAMILTON 39
▶ 2. SPAIN
Collision after four corners
Another victory for Rosberg in Russia meant he headed to Spain with a 43-point lead over Hamilton. Rosberg, who was attempting to become the second driver in the modern era to claim eight straight wins, passed Hamilton on the run down to turn one, but he fluffed it: an engine setting, incorrectly deployed by the German, enabled Hamilton to narrow the gap to his team-mate at a greater speed. In defending his lead, Rosberg moved to block Hamilton who took to the grass, spun, and then sensationally collided with Rosberg. Both Mercedes cars were out of the race after four corners.
ROSBERG 100 HAMILTON 57
▶ 3. MONACO
Hamilton ends losing streak
Surprisingly, the fall-out from the Barcelona crash was rather amicable, with Hamilton, Rosberg and their Mercedes team prepared to consider the crash a racing incident. Monaco was up next and Hamilton ended his eight-race losing streak after he pulled off a tactical masterstroke in the rain, as well as benefiting from a disastrous pit-stop mistake by Daniel Ricciardo’s Red Bull team. Rosberg was ordered by Mercedes to move out of Hamilton’s way in the opening phase of the race and could finished seventh.
ROSBERG 106 HAMILTON 82
▶ 4. AUSTRIA
Hamilton in command
Hamilton and Rosberg traded victories in Canada and Azerbaijan before heading to Austria for round nine. Rosberg appeared on course to extend his lead in the title race but crashed into Hamilton as the Briton attempted to pass him around the outside of turn two for the lead on the final lap. Hamilton emerged unscathed to win, but Rosberg, who was dealt a 10-second retrospective penalty for his part in the shunt, limped home in fourth. Hamilton then went on a stellar run, winning at Silverstone, Hungary and Germany to take a 19-point lead into the summer break.
HAMILTON 217 ROSBERG 198
▶ 5. MALAYSIA
Engine woes for Hamilton
Wins for Rosberg followed in Belgium (Hamilton started at the back after a grid penalty for an engine change) and Italy (a poor start by Hamilton) moved the German back into the championship lead. A crushing display over Hamilton in Singapore meant the title protagonists went to Malaysia with Rosberg leading by eight points. Hamilton appeared on course to take back control of the championship as he led in Malaysia, only for his engine to blow up with 15 laps left.
ROSBERG 288 HAMILTON 265
▶ 6. JAPAN
Rosberg goes 33 points clear
After hinting at foul play from within his own Mercedes team following his engine failure in Malaysia, Hamilton struggled, both on and off the track, in Japan. He fooled around on his phone during a televised press conference, before refusing to take questions from the written media, and then slumping to eighth on the opening lap after a terrible start. While he recovered to finish third, Rosberg led from start to finish to claim his ninth victory of the season to move 33 points clear.
ROSBERG 313 HAMILTON 280
▶ 7. MEXICO
Hamilton’s hat-trick
Hamilton looked like a beaten man following his drubbing in Japan, but the Briton returned to his scintillating best at the ensuing double header in the United States and Mexico to deliver two imperious victories over Rosberg. Hamilton then turned in a wet-weather masterclass in Brazil to seal a third consecutive triumph. But Rosberg, despite finishing a distant second in all three of those races, arrived in Abu Dhabi knowing that a top-three finish will be enough to clinch the title.
ROSBERG 367 HAMILTON 355
