Lewis Hamilton achieved his second Formula 1 World Championship by winning the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, as title rival Nico Rosberg’s race was ruined by ERS issues.
Hamilton came into the season finale with a 17-point lead over Rosberg, and only needed to finish directly behind his Mercedes team-mate to take the title, regardless of the unpopular double points awarded at Yas Marina.
Rosberg secured his eleventh pole of the season in qualifying, and his title hopes rested on another car coming between himself and Hamilton if he converted that pole into victory.
As it turned out, excessive wheelspin at the start ensured Rosberg lost the lead to Hamilton before the first corner, meaning he had to chase his rival.
Rosberg stayed within a handful of seconds through most of the first half of the race, but suffered an energy recovery system (ERS) failure on lap 24 of 55, which cost him engine power and effectively ended his challenge.
Rosberg tried to manage the technical issue with help from his Mercedes team, but dropped down the order and eventually finished home in a pointless P14, refusing a suggestion by the team to retire his car in the closing stages as the engine problems worsened and insisting he ended his title bid by taking the chequered flag.
Hamilton also lost pace in the middle of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, though not to the same extent as his team-mate, but recovered enough to beat the charging Williams of Felipe Massa by just 2.5 seconds and clinch the championship with his eleventh victory of the season.
Hamilton narrowly denied Massa his first win since the 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix – scene of Hamilton’s maiden title triumph for McLaren – but second place was a solid result for Massa in his first campaign with Williams.
Team-mate Valtteri Bottas recovered from a slow start from third on the grid to record Williams Racing’s first double podium finish of the season, while Daniel Ricciardo charged from a pit lane start to fourth following Red Bull’s exclusion from qualifying for a technical infringement concerning the RB10’s front wing.
Jenson Button produced another strong drive in what could turn out to be the final Formula 1 of his career to finish fifth for McLaren, ahead of the Force Indias of Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez, and the Red Bull of Sebastian Vettel, which also started from the pits.
Fernando Alonso finished ninth in his final race for Scuderia Ferrari, a couple of seconds clear of team-mate Kimi Raikkonen, who claimed the final points on offer for tenth position.
McLaren’s Kevin Magnussen survived a collision with the Sauber of Esteban Gutierrez, and being forced off the track by Hulkenberg – who was penalised five seconds – on the first lap to finish P11, ahead of Jean-Eric Vergne’s Toro Rosso.
The Toro Rosso of Daniil Kvyat started fifth on the grid, but retired early on after its Renault engine lost power.
So a deserved world champion in the shape of Lewis Hamilton. His second Drivers’ championship after eleven race victories.
Big respect to Nico Rosberg in putting in a brave fight all season but come race day at Abu Dhabi, the Mercedes driver lost out on the start while ERS failure affected his performance.
Abu Dhabi Grand Prix race results, 55 laps:
1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1h39m02.619s
2 Felipe Massa Williams-Mercedes 2.576s
3 Valtteri Bottas Williams-Mercedes 28.880s
4 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull-Renault 37.237s
5 Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m00.334s
6 Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1m02.148s
7 Sergio Perez Force India-Mercedes 1m11.060s
8 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m12.045s
9 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m25.813s
10 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1m27.820s
11 Kevin Magnussen McLaren-Mercedes 1m30.376s
12 Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Renault 1m31.947s
13 Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1 lap
14 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1-lap
15 Esteban Gutierrez Sauber-Ferrari 1 lap
16 Adrian Sutil Sauber-Ferrari 1 lap
17 Will Stevens Caterham-Renault 1 lap
Retirements:
Kamui Kobayashi Caterham-Renault Retirement
Pastor Maldonado Lotus-Renault Engine
Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso-Renault Retirement
Final Driver’s standings:
1 Lewis Hamilton 384
2 Nico Rosberg 317
3 Daniel Ricciardo 238
4 Valtteri Bottas 186
5 Sebastian Vettel 167
6 Fernando Alonso 161
7 Felipe Massa 134
8 Jenson Button 126
9 Nico Hulkenberg 96
10 Sergio Perez 59
11 Kevin Magnussen 55
12 Kimi Raikkonen 55
13 Jean-Eric Vergne 22
14 Romain Grosjean 8
15 Daniil Kvyat 8
16 Pastor Maldonado 2
17 Jules Bianchi 2
18 Adrian Sutil 0
19 Marcus Ericsson 0
20 Esteban Gutierrez 0
21 Max Chilton 0
22 Kamui Kobayashi 0
23 Will Stevens 0
Final Constructors’ standings:
1 Mercedes 701
2 Red Bull-Renault 405
3 Williams-Mercedes 320
4 Ferrari 216
5 McLaren-Mercedes 181
6 Force India-Mercedes 155
7 Toro Rosso-Renault 30
8 Lotus-Renault 10
9 Marussia-Ferrari 2
10 Sauber-Ferrari 0
11 Caterham-Renault 0
Newly-crowned Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton says his 2014 title triumph dwarfs his first success in ’08.
The Briton clinched his second F1 championship with victory in the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix after a year-long battle with Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg.
Hamilton said it surpassed the feeling of beating Felipe Massa to the 2008 crown with McLaren in that season’s dramatic decider at Interlagos.
“This is the great day of my life,” he said. “2008 was a special time in my life; the feeling I have now is way, way past that and above and beyond. It’s the greatest feeling I’ve ever had.
“This has been an incredible year, I cannot believe how amazing it has all been – coming to this team, when people said it was the wrong choice, and the steps we took last year and this year is unbelievable.
“This is like an outside-the-body experience. I want to make sure I give my thanks.”
The 29-year-old beat Rosberg into Turn 1 and managed a late attack from Massa’s Williams to end the season with 11 victories, while Rosberg was out of the points in 14th after a number of car problems.
“Nico put on an incredible fight through the year,” Hamilton added. “We met each other in 1997 and we always said it would be amazing to racing in the same team and fighting for the world championship.
“He did an amazing job today, it’s sad to know his car was not quick enough so he could fight but he was graceful enough to come up to me now.
“He was very, very professional.”
Source: Autosport.com
Williams racer Felipe Massa thought win was on at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Autosport.com has the story.
Felipe Massa thought he and the Williams Formula 1 team were on course to end the 2014 Formula 1 season with victory in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
The Brazilian kept within range of eventual world champion Lewis Hamilton and the second Mercedes of Nico Rosberg throughout the first half of the race and took second when Rosberg began to suffer mechanical problems.
Massa switched to Pirelli’s super-soft tyres for his final stint and slashed Hamilton’s lead from around 15 seconds to just 3.2s before the rubber went off in the final two laps.
“I didn’t expect that, to have that pace,” he said. “We tried but Lewis was just a little bit too far.
“When there were 10 laps to go I said ‘if the tyres stay like that, I can win the race’. But the tyres were degrading a little bit.
“In the last four laps, I didn’t have [enough] compared to him to catch like I was catching him before.
“I wanted that victory so much, but we were close and I hope that’s just the beginning for next year.”
Second for Massa and third for Valtteri Bottas delivered the Williams team its first double podium since 2005 and also confirmed its third place in the constructors’ championship, its best result since finishing second in 2003.
“It’s fantastic to be a part of it,” Massa added. “Today was so nice to see we are there, we can win a race, we can fight for victory.
“[It has been] such a difficult time for so long and we are still there, we had opportunity to fight for the victory and that is what makes me proud, makes me happy and makes me even more motivated to carry on and push hard every day.”
Bottas’s third place propelled him to fourth in the final drivers’ standings and the Finn echoed his team-mate’s view that Williams was well placed going into 2015.
“Like Felipe said, an amazing end to the season and from last season it has been just incredible how much we have improved, as a team,” he said.
“Two cars on the podium, it really shows how much we have also been improving during the season which is the main thing as next year things are going to be very tricky.
“All I can say now is I am happy to be part of this team now as we are really on the up – from us and my side there is definitely more to come.”
Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg says Lewis Hamilton deserved the Formula 1 title. Autosport.com has the details.
Nico Rosberg hailed Lewis Hamilton as the best driver on the 2014 Formula 1 grid after losing the title to his Mercedes team-mate in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
With pre-race championship leader Hamilton in front from the outset, Rosberg was looking unlikely to claim the championship even before an engine problem that ultimately dropped him to 14th place set in.
“I’m very disappointed, a good chance was there today,” said Rosberg. “It didn’t work out, but in the end my race didn’t make a difference because Lewis won fair and square anyway.
“I won’t dwell on my issue today – he deserved to win today and he deserved to win the championship.
“He was this year that little bit better so it is fully deserved. He was the best driver on the grid this year.
“It was a great battle between us, and that’s what I race for. It was a very intense time of course, but also fantastic. Having such a strong car has been unbelievable.”
Rosberg was jeered by some fans earlier in the season following his Belgian GP collision with Hamilton, but praised the Abu Dhabi crowd for its fair behaviour.
“It’s been an incredible experience this weekend, I have never had so much support from the fans around the world before,” he said.
“Even the British – obviously most of them were here for Lewis but it was so nice to see after qualifying that everyone was acknowledging me respectfully and applauding.”
Hamilton ultimately won 11 grands prix to Rosberg’s five during the season, and outscored him by 384 points to 317.
But Rosberg outqualified his team-mate 12 times in 19 races, winning F1’s inaugural qualifying trophy via his 11 poles.
“There is also a lot of strong points I can build on for next year,” he said.
“I’ve been the better qualifier over the last two years, but I need to find a little bit in the racing and I am going to find that.
“It’s not going to be easy to improve and find that little bit extra, but I know what the areas are so I’m going to push for them.”
Double world champion Fernando Alonso has ended his swansong with Scuderia Ferrari and admitted it was ’emotional’. Autosport.com has the details.
Fernando Alonso described his final Formula 1 race for Ferrari as “emotional”, after ending his five years with the Scuderia with a ninth-place finish in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
The Spaniard was unable to help the Maranello-based team leapfrog Williams for third in the F1 constructors’ championship and also dropped behind Sebastian Vettel to sixth in the drivers’ standings, his worst result since joining Ferrari for the 2010 season.
Alonso said the emotional significance of the race took its toll before it even started.
“It was emotional,” he said. “The worst moment was on the grid when I jumped in the car, we fired up the engine, and the mechanics stayed there with the blankets for the last minute, with 20 seconds to go.
“I saw the faces of the guys with the two front tyres and they were looking at me with eyes shining, and it was tough. It was tough to put it in first gear and start the formation lap.
“I will miss the team, I will miss the guys. But when you join a new project it’s because you think it is better.”
Alonso’s team-mate Kimi Raikkonen said he was not surprised that Ferrari struggled for pace in the season finale.
The Finn outqualified Alonso for only the third time this season but was passed by him early on in the race and only inherited 10th when Nico Rosberg suffered mechanical problems and slumped to 14th late on.
The 2008 world champion, whose 12th place in the drivers’ standings is the worst result of his F1 career, said the race went more or less how the team had expected.
“I didn’t have the speed, the car was behaving not badly but just lacking all round lap time,” Raikkonen explained.
“We got done in a straight line a few times and weren’t really able to attack so were falling backwards a bit.
“We expected it to be a difficult race and that’s what it turned out to be.”
Christian Horner lauds ‘unbelievable’ Daniel Ricciardo after a brilliant drive in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The three race winning had to start from the pit lane following a qualification over the flexible front wings. Ricciardo charged through the field to take a solid fourth. Autosport.com has the story.
Red Bull boss Christian Horner joked that his team should just forget about qualifying in the future, as he hailed Daniel Ricciardo’s charge through the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix field.
Although expressing a sense of relief that Mercedes’ dominant campaign ended without controversy, he said Nico Rosberg’s reliability problems meant it was not a perfect day.
As Hamilton claimed the title with victory, rival Rosberg limped to 14th with energy recovery system problems.
“It’s a relief now and that has really kicked in in the last hour,” said Wolff of his emotions over the title decider.
“Although we won the championship, we knew that it was going to be a challenge to stay neutral and balancing out between the drivers. But now, that is over and it’s a relief.
“But there is also a bittersweet feeling left. Lewis Hamilton won 11 races, and he deserved to be world champion. He had many downs and many ups and at the end he’s a worthy world champion.
“The bitter part is that we have worked so hard to make the car reliable to enable the boys to fight it out on track.
“The fact that we had the problem with Nico’s car means there is a bitter taste and we let him down a little bit.
“But from a rational point of view you could say that it was already difficult to really make it after he had not a perfect start.”
The fact that the finale was overshadowed by reliability problems left Mercedes very aware that the championship could have been decided by such faults.
Had it been Hamilton who hit trouble instead, leaving the way open for Rosberg to win, then it would have handed the title to the German.
When asked what that would have meant, Wolff said: “Nico not finishing for us is a personal drama because we expect to give them two cars to make it to the end.
“Lewis not finishing, being in the lead of the championship and the lead of the race, would have been a bigger drama.
“Nevertheless it doesn’t make it any more acceptable to have seen Nico’s car break down.”
Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff has admitted that the 2014 Formula 1 season-closing Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, in which Lewis Hamilton became champion, left him with a bittersweet feeling.
Although expressing a sense of relief that Mercedes’ dominant campaign ended without controversy, he said Nico Rosberg’s reliability problems meant it was not a perfect day.
As Hamilton claimed the title with victory, rival Rosberg limped to 14th with energy recovery system problems.
“It’s a relief now and that has really kicked in in the last hour,” said Wolff of his emotions over the title decider.
“Although we won the championship, we knew that it was going to be a challenge to stay neutral and balancing out between the drivers. But now, that is over and it’s a relief.
“But there is also a bittersweet feeling left. Lewis Hamilton won 11 races, and he deserved to be world champion. He had many downs and many ups and at the end he’s a worthy world champion.
“The bitter part is that we have worked so hard to make the car reliable to enable the boys to fight it out on track.
“The fact that we had the problem with Nico’s car means there is a bitter taste and we let him down a little bit.
“But from a rational point of view you could say that it was already difficult to really make it after he had not a perfect start.”
The fact that the finale was overshadowed by reliability problems left Mercedes very aware that the championship could have been decided by such faults.
Had it been Hamilton who hit trouble instead, leaving the way open for Rosberg to win, then it would have handed the title to the German.
When asked what that would have meant, Wolff said: “Nico not finishing for us is a personal drama because we expect to give them two cars to make it to the end.
“Lewis not finishing, being in the lead of the championship and the lead of the race, would have been a bigger drama.
“Nevertheless it doesn’t make it any more acceptable to have seen Nico’s car break down.”
Source: Autosport.com
This just in from ‘Drop It Don’t Pop It TV!!’…
Yo yo YO what’s WHAT’s UP!?!?! This is your DJ Mike the, um, MECHANICAL DJ coming at ya with the latest F1 news!
This just in…
Mr. Mc Hammer now crowned Raps first ever F1 ambassador after Lewis Hamilton and his team turned ‘Hammer Time’ into an official F1 term, having won the championship. The phrase will now be recognized as legit terminology by the FIA and all it’s sponsors! Nice one Lewis!!!
Mr. Mc Hammer had this to say…
“Well man, what’s left, you know?
He dropped it down, then let it go!!!
Braked like a mofo, accelerated like a b!tch!!!
Hammer Time! And Nico can’t touch this!!!!”
Thanks Mr. Mc Hammer, that didn’t really rhyme too well at the end, but we got your point!
Speaking of the championship runner-up, Mr. Nico Rosberg showed himself to be a gentleman and a true racer by finishing the race in an almost tearful moment of determination. It really was like a scene from an American blockbuster, only without the cheesy patriotism, childish heroics or Bayplosions!!! Though there was a flaming car towards the end…
Well done Mr. Nico, keep calm and carry on mate!! Best of luck next year, Cool Runnings to ya!!!!
Meanwhile, Mr. Vanilla Ice was said to be devastated that none of his catchphrases have been recognized this year by the FIA (hell, hardly anyone in F1 has even used them!!!) In reaction to this, Mr. Arnold Schwarzenegger has spoken out in support of his friend ‘Ice’ (who he’s been a fan of ever since he first heard ‘Turtle Power’). Apparently, he’s encouraged Mr. Ice to not ‘melt with envy’, and instead ‘chill’ and ‘stay frosty’. Mr. Ice was unavailable for comment.
In other news, Williams (who’ve had a crazy awesome year with much improvement, well done people!!!!!) continue to deny rumors of a possible sponsorship deal with the eponymous pop mogul will.i.am., apparently claiming this to be ‘silly and unfounded’. Mr. will.i.am. however says that he’s ‘open.to.the.idea.’ and that he feels a real ‘kin.ship.’ with the team, complimenting them for their ‘will.power.’. Unfortunately, it’s unknown whether or not he plans to stop putting annoyingly unnecessary periods after EVERYTHING, but we’ll keep you posted on any developments.
Finally, Mr. Ricciardo has now officially been crowned ‘The New Mr. Smiley’ by the FIA. He’s apparently very ‘happy’ about this but not as happy as the Farrell song, because ‘…that’s ridiculous’.
And that’s all for this update! A final shout out to Mr. Eddie Jordan for taking a pie to the face like a real man, and Mr. Coulthard for his ‘cat like’ reflexes in running away from it!!!!
Take care people! And remember, Drop It, Don’t Pop It!!!! ^_^
Thanks for the comment A.C. Really appreciate it and I like the news flash style. 🙂
You’re not going to believe this but the actual MC Hammer expressed his admiration to the new double world champion with this personal tweet to Lewis Hamilton. Check it out player!
https://twitter.com/MCHammer/status/536764852396912640
In addition, Mr Super Cool Motherf**ker aka Samuel L Jackson was in full support to the Mercedes driver prior to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. How f**king awesome is that?!
https://twitter.com/SamuelLJackson/status/536508374649946112
As for the race, it was an anti-climax despite the major hype/build-up from both the BBC and Sky Sports. The ways Lewis Hamilton can win the title. 17 points. Nico Rosberg must win or finish ahead of his team-mate. Blah-blah-blah!
Hamilton won the race thanks to his lighting start off the grid. Second to first in the space of a few seconds even before Turn 1. Rosberg had too much wheelspin and gave chase throughout, but this Yas Marina circuit is difficult to catch and pass despite two DRS zones…
In the end, the expected wheel-to-wheel battle never occurred due to Nico Rosberg’s car developing an ERS issue. Yes, Mercedes has the fastest car but also has suffered reliability issues. And in this case, has strike the championship contender in his important race.
Full credit to Nico to carry on despite losing power. He made the chequered flag but was classified a pointless P14. Missing out on all the double points but to be honest, the worthy driver won the championship thanks to more victories rather than this gimmick to spice up the finale.
Lewis Hamilton won eleven races this season and joins the elite of double British world champions with the likes of Graham Hill, Jim Clark and Sir Jackie Stewart. He deserved this championship thanks to his out-right pace and determination to race for victory.
As for Mercedes, I am super impressed by the achievements set this year. Eleven 1-2 results. Pole position trophy for Rosberg. Constructors’ championship thanks to a Silver Arrows 1-2 in Russia and now the Drivers’ title to Lewis Hamilton. The W05 Hybrid is a great car and has dominated this season’s racing.
And yet, the star of F1 2014 has to be The Honey Badger. Daniel Ricciardo has done an awesome job for Red Bull Racing. Promoted to the top team from the junior Red Bull squad that is Scuderia Toro Rosso, to be alongside a four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel!
To score three Grand Prix victories is a massive achievement and Daniel Ricciardo is one of the most popular drivers on the grid. His passion, enthusiasm, sense of humour and his big smile makes the Red Bull star a favourite. He was the only non-Mercedes driver to win this season and his team-mate was left in the dust!
As for Williams, this is an excellent recovery after a nightmare 2013 season. From ninth to third in the Constructors’ standings. The switch to the powerful Mercedes power unit helped but the FW36 car design gave confidence to Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas to push for results.
The highlight has to be the Williams front row at the Austrian Grand Prix. Sadly the team’s strategy was weak and despite having the package to win, the team can only score a podium.
Despite that, to finish behind new champions Mercedes and previous title winner Red Bull Racing is a massive achievement and I have full support that Williams can go one better next year.
Yes, the start of the new season is more than a hundred days away but after a thrilling and sometimes controversial championship involving the Silver Arrows racers, I am looking forward to another contest between Rosberg and Hamilton.
Hey Leaf!
No problem man, got your email as well by the way, cheers! Fairly good review of A$$ Horizon, though he was way too nice about the helic**kter. >_>
Getting back on topic, it was indeed anti-climactic in terms of Nico vs. Lewis, but I feel that Nico has silenced a lot of critics with his attitude in that race, so in a way though he lost the race, he actually scored a major victory in the PR war. Though I’m sure he’d happily sacrifice any good PR for the championship title, if he had the choice! Such is life. >___>
Oh, and a quick note on Vettel, I get his frustration, having been basically ‘badger slapped’ by Ricciardo all year long, he wants a change and a fresh seat, as it were. But he’s really got his work cut out for him with Ferrari. He COULD do a Schumacher and help rebuild the team into something awesome, sure. But this is very different. They were in ‘a BIT of a slump’ when Schumacher took the reigns back in the day, true. However, the prancing horse has had it’s worse season in DECADES, so if anything he’ll have an even harder challenge!!!! O_O
I wish him luck though, it’s always tough to see a great driver in a slump, so hopefully he’ll enjoy the new car at least, even he still ends up getting ‘badger slapped’. 😛
Hmm, for some reason this bit got cut from my last post! Must be a HTML thing but anyway, I meant to also say…
Good to see the man Hammer paying his respects to Lewis, as well as Mr. Jackson (no relation :P). Ain’t no snake’s on Hamilton’s plane motherf*cker!!!!!!
Ahem, moving on, Ricciardo is CRAZY good, arguably outperforming his car in pretty much every race, and putting it in positions its got not business being in (bit like a spicy lamb chop in space, really…), excited to see what he can do next year. The fact he’s so enthusiastic as well doesn’t hurt either!
Onto Button… ARGHHHHHHH!!!!!!! >_<
I hate that side of Formula 1. I know, it's part of the sport and we all acknowledge and (grudgingly) accept it, but damn man, just listen to 'Dennis the Menace', speaking about the McLaren board meeting in early December… “Any decision has to be supported by the shareholders and the board. It’s pretty understandable we’re looking at two people, and there’s a broader choice than Kevin and Jenson, but nevertheless whatever the decision, it won’t be taken until then.”
SERIOUSLY!?!?!? That sounds like a meeting at MY workplace, that's not cool man. I expect something a little better, a little bit more passionate from Formula 1, and McLaren for that matter. But welp, as we both know, it really is 'all about the money'. Hopefully they decide Button is worth it, but we shall see. Crappy timing though, guys. REALLY crappy timing, but that's the corporate world for you!!!!