He may have the drivers’ title already won, but the season-ending Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Formula One Grand Prix at the end of this month is still a very important race for Lewis Hamilton.
Having been beaten by Mercedes-GP teammate Nico Rosberg in yesterday’s Brazilian Grand Prix, and in Mexico two weeks earlier, the British driver is in danger of allowing the man he shares a garage with to end the year with all the positive momentum.
Yes, Hamilton is world champion, nothing can change that, but do you think he really wants his teammate, who he has dominated for much of the year, to go off into the winter break with three victories on the bounce?
No chance.
Sunday’s result has guaranteed that Hamilton will be bringing his A game to Yas Marina Circuit on November 29 to ensure that he brings an end to Rosberg’s run.
Momentum is important thing in F1, and right now Rosberg has it all. The German has demonstrated enough times already this year that there is very little between him and Hamilton, particularly in qualifying, and the growing confidence and belief he can challenge his teammate is very dangerous for Hamilton.
Rosberg has never won three races in a row in F1, but he will have the chance to do that in Abu Dhabi, so expect him to go all out at the capital’s track.
Rosberg essentially lost the championship in the first 12 races of the year, where he finished ahead of Hamilton just three times. And, of equal relevance, only out-qualified him once.
Rosberg had played down the effect of losing the drivers’ title to Hamilton at Yas Marina 12 months ago having led for most of the season, but given how poorly he started this season compared to his teammate it is hard to imagine that that disappointment is not far from his thoughts.
Which makes the prospect of an upbeat and confident Rosberg ready and raring to go in 2016 good news for both he and F1 fans.
Realistically, unless Ferrari make a big step up in performance over the winter, we are looking at more Mercedes domination in 2016, and for the sake of the sport’s entertainment value it needs Rosberg to give Hamilton a genuine title fight.
The Rosberg renaissance has gone on longer than Mexico and Brazil. He has been matching Hamilton for pace since Japan in September.
Suzuka was the start of a run of five successive pole positions, and although Hamilton won there after taking the lead at the start, that was the first evidence that Rosberg was capable of taking the fight to his teammate.
He was leading from pole in Russia when a mechanical problem sidelined him; he was superb for most of the race in the United States, more assured in both the wet and dry conditions than Hamilton.
It was a huge shame that Rosberg ran wide late in the race to gift Hamilton the race win, ruining what had been one of the 30-year-old German’s best displays of the season.
But he has been flawless in Mexico and Brazil, in qualifying and the race, winning both.
So, Hamilton is going to have to raise his game, and whether he can or not will make for fascinating viewing at Yas Marina.
Qualifying on November 28 is going to be vital, because as yesterday’s race demonstrated, track position is crucial in 2015.
Hamilton said he was faster than Rosberg yesterday but could do nothing about it, with the Mercedes cars so well-matched only a mistake from the German was ever going to afford the champion the chance to pass.
Hamilton lamented on the pit radio at one stage that “it is impossible to follow at this track”.
The front wing design on the 2015 cars has made it harder for cars to follow closely behind the car in front without losing aerodynamic performance.
It would be easier to show empathy to Hamilton had he not been so condescending to Rosberg earlier in the season.
When the German had been behind the world champion in China he had complained that his teammate had been going too slow at times.
Hamilton had dismissed Rosberg’s accusation, and said at the time: “If Nico wanted to get by he could have tried but he didn’t.”
Hamilton did not have this trouble earlier in the season, because he was taking poles and turning them into leads, controlling races from the front.
Now it is Rosberg.
A sign of how good Hamilton actually is will be if he can turn the tide his way again in Abu Dhabi.
gcaygill@thenational.ae
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