2014 F1 Etihad Abu Dhabi Grand Prix: And your 2014 Champion is….
The 2014 Formula One season has come to this: the last two hours of grand prix racing for the year. The constructors champion, Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 team, has the two best drivers on the grid battling it out for the chance to have their names inscribed in the annals of Formula One as 2014 World Drivers Champion.
Will it be Nico or Lewis? The Brit or the German-Austrian? Will Rosberg win his first ever crown or will Hamilton claim the second championship in his illustrous career?
The stage is set, the Yas Marina Circuit filled to capacity, with fans trooping from all over the world to watch and bear witness to the title deciding race. This is the one that matters most: the 2014 Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Friday practice saw Lewis Hamilton top the time sheets on both sessions, while in free practice three, Rosberg got the better of his team-mate. Saturday Qualifying saw the usual suspects lord it over the rest of the field. Nico Rosberg took P1, and 0.3 seconds adrift was Lewis Hamilton in the sister Merc challenger. Valtteri Bottas, on board the FW36 for Williams Martini Racing slotted in at P3, while Felipe Massa in the other FW36 stood on P4. Daniil Kyvat and Jenson Button took P5 and P6 respectively. Kimi Raikkonen, in the very rare occasion, took P7 ahead of Fernando Alonso in P8, while Kevin Magnussen in the MP4-29 and Jean-Eric Vergne in the STR9 rounded up the top 10. Red Bull Drivers Sebastian Vettel and Daniel Ricciardo, both of whom were disqualified by the stewards for running flexible front wings, started from the pit lane.
The Abu Dhabi air was ripe with anticipation, will Nico get off the line cleanly? Will Lewis challenge for the lead immediately or will he bide his time? Will a lunge for turn 1 cause a pile up that could take out one or two of the championship contenders?
As the lights went out to signal the start of the race, Lewis Hamilton, like a bat out of hell, flew past Rosberg and into the lead by turn 1. Nico, who didn’t get a good start, had to settle for P2. It seemed that the pressure was mounting on the German and that little hesitation off the line cost him. Rosberg now had to contend with defending against the fast running FW36 of Massa.
Lewis, who was racing on a different level, was driving the wheels off the F1 WO5 hybrid, in the process, establishing a lead of 1.2 seconds as early as the second lap. Hamilton was in the zone. This was his race. He just needed to maintain his lead and keep away from trouble, and the championship was his.
Lap 6 saw Ferrari call in Fernando for a change of tires. The rears were graining and Alonso wanted to change to the primes. As the soft tires were mounted on the Ferrari, Kimi was slowing down due to lack of grip and had to be called in next to salvage his race.
Lewis pitted on lap 11. Even registering a 2.7 second pit stop, Hamilton came out behind his team-mate, but Nico was on his way in a lap later. Hamilton re-claimed the position as the German drove in for a new set of Pirellis. Massa briefly led the race, but as soon as he came in for his tire change, Hamilton took over the lead and went about establishing another fastest lap of the race.
As the cars and drivers settled in for the 55 lap race, fears of a long drawn out parade to the flag went out the window on lap 25. Nico Rosberg was slowing down!
The number 6 car suddenly encountered a problem with its ERS (energy recovery system) unit. This is robbing Rosberg of about 160 hp, crippling him in the process. Nico’s championship challenge was slowly disappearing.
Team engineers on the Mercedes pit wall frantically tried to assist the stricken Mercedes, but at this point, all was lost. There was no magic button to re-boot the system. Rosberg had to make do with what he had.
After the second round of pitstops, the Williams Martini Racing duo were looking at a double podium appearance. This would be a fantastic end to the season for the team from Grove.
Daniel Ricciardo, in the RB10, was looking at passing Bottas for P4, but the FW36 was just too far ahead and Ricciardo took the flag in fourth place.
Nico was called in two laps from the finish, but ever the sportsman, Rosberg radioed back, asking that the team let him finish the race. One can only imagine the emotions underneath Rosberg’s helmet as Hamilton lapped him on the final lap.
Lewis Hamilton crossed the line 2.5 seconds ahead of Felipe Massa to claim his eleventh victory of the season, and, more importantly, claim his second World Drivers Championship. Valtteri Bottas took the last step on the podium, and with it, Williams Martini Racing took third in the Constructors Championship.
Lewis Hamilton now lends his name to the record books as Britian’s winningest Formula 1 driver, eclipsing Nigel Mansell and Sir Jackie Stewart. Lewis, with his eleven wins this season, ties Sebastian Vettel, with Michael Schumacher in second place, for having the most wins in a season.
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