MERCEDES driver Lewis Hamilton celebrates after winning the Formula One world championship. His victory made him a 3-time world champion. The British driver is flanked by teammate Nico Rosberg (left) and Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel, both of Germany. AP
The 2015 F1 season once again saw the dominant Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team lord it over the competition. It was Lewis Hamilton battling Nico Rosberg and Sebastian Vettel for the coveted drivers title, with the Constructors’ Championship trophy staying in the cabinet of the Mercedes Team factory in Brackley.
Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton, now a three-time World Drivers’ Champion, has the distinction of being ranked among the elite in Formula One, sharing it with the likes of Ayrton Senna, Vettel, Alain Prost and Michael Schumacher.
If Hamilton’s 2015 form carries over to 2016, he could very well equal Vettel’s record of four championship titles.
We now review the season’s best that gave Hamilton his third World Drivers’ Championship title.
Firing the first salvo
For months, F1 fans were eagerly anticipating the start of the season, and when it finally did, Hamilton led from the get-go.
After the mandatory round of pit stops, Hamilton crossed the line nearly two seconds ahead of everyone else. Rosberg took second, while Vettel claimed third.
Mercedes takes Shanghai
It was another Mercedes 1-2 in Shanghai, with, Hamilton over Rosberg, and Vettel slotting in at third.
The long straights of Shanghai gave Mercedes’ power advantage over the rest more evident.
Rosberg felt that, as he was following Hamilton around, his car was suffering from the dirty air left behind, which led him to complain for the engineers to inform Hamilton to speed up so as not to destroy his tires and be a sitting duck for a Vettel attack.
The animosity between the Mercedes team mates became a talking point in the paddock. In the end, Hamilton crossed the line comfortably in first, with Rosberg holding off Vettel and taking second.
Errors cost Vettel
Manama has seen some of the worst riots condemning the monarchy and its supposed lavish expenditures, including the Bahrain GP. But try as they may, activists had always failed to get any form of race cancellation.
Uncharacteristic errors from Vettel in the dying stages of the race cost him dearly. He lost position to Rosberg, and gave Kimi Räikkönen a chance to fight for second.
Räikkönen had the speed advantage and it showed. He crossed the line behind eventual winner Hamilton, ahead of Rosberg, with Vettel back in fifth.
Another win
The Spanish GP saw another Mercedes 1-2 in qualifying, but this time it was Rosberg atop the grid with Hamilton sitting in second.
Vettel took comfort in the fact that his Ferrari had enough grunt to claim third.
At the start, Rosberg sped away from the pack as Hamilton encountered problems and dropped behind Vettel, with the German keeping just had enough pace to hold the Brit at bay.
Midway into the race, Rosberg had a comfortable 20-second lead over his rivals.
Hamilton was able to undercut Vettel in the last round of pit stops to take second, with the latter having to settle for third.
Keeping the lead
Canada is where Hamilton had his first career victory. He led the field from the start although teammate Rosberg kept the pressure on.
In the closing laps, Hamilton was told to save fuel, and Rosberg saw this as his chance. But the defending champ held on to win the Candian GP.
Valtteri Bottas took third while Vettel, who had an early puncture, took fifth behind Räikkönen.
Home win
Winning his home race last year, Hamilton was again favored to win in Silverstone.
At the start of the race, it was the Williams duo of Felipe Massa and Bottas who jumped both the slow-starting Mercs. At the first round of pit stops, Hamilton took on fresh rubber first, followed immediately by Rosberg to come out ahead.
Lap 36 saw the clouds open up, and the lack of grip saw Massa and Bottas as the biggest losers; Vettel found his way from midfield to claim third.
Out in front, Hamilton maintained his lead over Rosberg to win the 2015 British GP.
Blowout in Belgium
Wanting to regain their season-long advantage, Mercedes AMG arrived in Belgium with only one thing in mind: to dominate the race and snuff out the fire from Ferrari’s challenge.
Hamilton took first position early on and never looked back, with Rosberg coming in second.
Hamilton reigns in Monza
Hamilton topped the time sheets early on, and managed to extend his lead further on. He crossed the line 25 seconds in front of Vettel, with Massa taking the last step on the podium.
Win No. 41 at Suzuka
After struggling in Singapore, the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 team went into Suzuka, knowing full well that Ferrari was hot on their heels and that the team couldn’t afford another dip in their performance.
The race to Turn 1 was won by Hamilton. Mercedes power was on display at Suzuka. Hamilton kept adding to his lead by more than 0.5 second per lap. Nobody could muster a challenge with the way Lewis was driving.
It was only a matter of time before the Brit claimed his third major title.
Hamilton crossed the line to take win No. 41 of his career. He now stands equal with Senna in wins, and moves him to fourth behind Vettel (42), Prost (51) and Schumacher (91) in the all-time wins list.
Flying to victory
At the Russian GP, Rosberg had the resolve to win at all cost, knowing all too well that he needed to keep Hamilton behind to have a shot at the championship.
He edged out Hamilton at the start, but a few laps later reported a clutch problem that necessitated him to bring the car back to the pits and into eventual retirement.
By this time, Hamilton was flying. He kept pounding some serious lap times, and the gap was so big that even when he did decide to pit, he still came out ahead. Such was the power advantage of the Mercs over the rest of the grid.
Hamilton crossed the line to take win No. 42. Vettel took the silver, and due to the Bottas-Räikkönen collision, Sergio Pérez inherited third place.
Statistical certainty
At the start, Hamilton was wheel to wheel with Rosberg in the climb to Turn 1, but managed to once again “push” the latter to claim first position.
Lap after lap hence, the trophy seemed to be making its way into Hamilton’s arms.
When Hamilton dived in for his last stop, Rosberg took the lead, with Hamilton playing catch up. Rosberg was in control and looked like the championship fight would be extended another week.
Then the unthinkable happened. Rosberg locked up and spun out at Turn 12; this was the opportunity Hamilton was looking for.
Hamilton flew on to take the lead and the checkered flag.
By this time, Hamilton had 327 points, and statistically, this meant the 2015 Formula 1 World Drivers’ Championship title.
Next best
With the driver’s title firmly in the hands of Hamilton, the fight for the title of being “the next best” was in Mexico.
The start saw Rosberg lead the field. He made his race look, well, pedestrian as all the fights were in the midfield. He easily crossed the line to win the Mexican GP.
This was Rosberg’s first win since June, and ensured that he had a 21-point buffer to ward off Vettel for second place.
Assuring 1-2 posts
With Rosberg, Hamilton, Vettel, Bottas, Räikkönen and Nico Hülkenberg occupying the Top 6 positions, Mercedes made it very clear that for the remaining races, beating Vettel was paramount.
Rosberg led throughout the race. He crossed the line with a 5.8-second gap to Hamilton, relegating Vettel to third. Rosberg was now assured of second honors in the drivers standings.
Bragging rights
The Abu Dhabi GP was now only for bragging rights. It was the Merc boys again topping the grid, Rosberg to Hamilton, and third to Räikkönen.
It might have been a different story had Rosberg found his mojo early in the season, but as the saying goes, “There’s always next year.”
from the looks of it, 2016 will again see Hamilton and Rosberg fighting it out for driver’s trophy.
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