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003 

Abu Dhabi 

2016 

1 

04 

NEWS WRAP 

1. XPB Images 

The Team 

CHARLES BRADLEY 

Group Editor 

ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN 

Editor 

28 

IN DETAIL 

JONATHAN NOBLE 

Editor-at-large 

MATTHEW SOMERFIELD 

Technical Editor 

KAREN CHAN 

Creative Designer 

JASON MCNEE 

Designer 

ADAM COOPER 

Contributor 

KATE WALKER 

Contributor 

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motorsport.com 

ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN 

EDITOR 

Formula 1 cops its fair share of 

criticism about being boring, sterile, 

and void of personalities. So I don’t 

think we should be jumping down 

Lewis Hamilton’s throat for trying to 

spice things up in Abu Dhabi. 

Realistically, that race could have 

gone either of two ways; Hamilton 

blazes into the distance, Rosberg 

mirrors his strategy from afar, and the 

German wraps up the title at the end 

of an uninspiring Mercedes cakewalk. 

Or, Hamilton employs completely 

legal (and in my view sporting enough) 

tactics and makes a four-way race of it, 

with the title not decided until, quite 

literally, the final corner of the season. 

Well played Lewis for doing the latter. 

For starters, we shouldn’t be 

surprised by Hamilton’s ruthless 

streak. Would a Senna or a Schumacher 

(or even a Vettel) not have done the 

same thing? 

Secondly, was it really that 

unsportsmanlike? He wasn’t weaving 

under brakes, preventing Rosberg from 

charging past. He wasn’t brake testing 

Nico hoping Vettel would charge into 

his gearbox. 

For me, it was a well-managed game 

plan – with some spice of a pitwall 

disagreement thrown in for good 

measure – which led to a thrilling end 

to the season. 

JONATHAN NOBLE 

EDITOR-AT-LARGE 

Whether you loved or hated the way 

that Lewis Hamilton tried to win the 

World Championship in Abu Dhabi, 

it is hard to escape the fact that he 

was in a Catch 22 situation. 

On the one side, he could have 

stamped his authority on the race, 

driven to the max, potentially won 

by 20 seconds and lost the World 

Championship to Nico Rosberg 

at the flag. 

Or, as he ultimately chose to, he 

could play the tactical game – try to 

back Rosberg in to the clutches of 

Ferrari and Red Bull and keep his 

fingers crossed that some cars would 

get in between the pair of them. 

It was the racer in Hamilton that 

won in the end; that made him go 

as slow as he dared; and keep alive 

that slim hope of some incident 

happening that could turn the title 

chase on its head at the last. It was all 

Hamilton really had to play with. 

And whatever criticisms he has 

received, whatever annoyance he 

has caused his bosses, what he did 

on Sunday shows just how much 

the world title means to him and 

how much he is going to regroup 

and work this winter to ensure he 

is never in such a lose-lose situation 

like this again. 

The 2017 title fight has begun already. 

06 

RACE ANALYSIS 

08 Free Practice | Qualifying | Results 

10 Race Analysis 

16 

TECHNICAL DEBRIEF 

16 With Giorgio Piola & 

Matthew Somerfield 

20 

IN PROFILE 

22 Daniel Ricciardo speaks exclusively 

about his high-profile teammate and his 

2017 title chances 

28 How Nico Rosberg finally took the fight 

to Lewis Hamilton – and came out on top 

36 

LAST LAP - 

2 | GPGAZETTE 

GPGAZETTE | 3

NW 

NEWS WRAP 

Abu Dhabi GP 2016 

Rosberg champion – 

but Hamilton in the 

spotlight 

1 

Nico Rosberg’s second place 

in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 

was enough for him to clinch 

the Formula 1 championship, 

but the main talking point 

after the race was Lewis 

Hamilton’s tactics. 

Hamilton had gone in to 

the season finale knowing 

that victory alone was not 

good enough – and that he 

needed at least two cars 

between himself and his 

teammate if he was to take 

his third consecutive title. 

But the manner in which 

he tried to make it happen 

– by backing Rosberg up 

into the pursuing pack in 

defiance of team orders 

from his bosses urging him 

to pick up the pace stirred 

up huge controversy. 

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff 

was clearly annoyed at the 

situation, but said he needed 

more information before 

coming to a firm verdict on 

whether or not Hamilton was 

out of order. 

“It’s not clear cut,” said 

Wolff. “I think we have to 

climb down – there’s so 

much work going on in the 

background, which plays a 

role in how we are thinking 

and this is why I don’t want 

to express that opinion 

before I’ve actually made up 

my mind for myself.” 

Having been firm with his 

drivers earlier this season 

after the collisions in Spain 

and Austria, Wolff suggested 

1. XPB Images | 2. XPB Images | 3. XPB Images | 4. XPB Images | 5. Daimler AG 

however that a decision 

needed to be taken about 

how the team imposed its 

rules of engagement from 

now on. 

“We need to look at the 

overall situation and say, 

what does it mean?” he said. 

“Everything is possible, from 

let’s change the rules for next 

year because it doesn’t work 

in those critical races. 

“Maybe we want to give 

them even more freedom 

in racing each other, or we 

could go to the more harsh 

side that we feel the values 

were not respected. This is 

180 degrees and I’m not sure 

yet where my finger is going 

to point – where the needle is 

going to go.” 

STANDING 

STARTS 

PLAN 

Formula 1 teams 

have approved a 

proposal from Bernie 

Ecclestone for there 

to be standing starts 

after all Safety Car 

periods from 2017. 

Ecclestone pushed 

for the idea in a 

meeting with team 

bosses in Abu Dhabi, 

because he is eager 

for more excitement 

to entice television 

viewers back. 

Although a 

proposal for this to 

happen two years 

ago was rejected 

following evaluation 

of its consequences, 

the matter will now 

be evaluated again 

prior to a potential 

FIA vote. 

I took a deep sip from my beer and 

thought this was going to get hot.” 

Keke Rosberg on watching Lewis Hamilton back Nico Rosberg into the 

pack in Abu Dhabi. 

2 

3 

Massa 

and 

Button 

say 

goodbye 

Formula 1 waved goodbye 

to two stalwart drivers in 

Abu Dhabi – with Felipe 

Massa and Jenson Button 

both adamant they got the 

timings of their grand prix 

exits spot on. 

Massa plans to race on 

– potentially in Formula 

E – but was full of emotions 

at the Yas Marina Circuit as 

Formula 1’s 2017 schedule looks set to be reduced to 

20 races when it is ratified by the FIA later this week, 

with Germany having lost its place. 

Following months of speculation about the fate of 

the Hockenheim event, the circuit’s boss announced 

last week that all hope of rescuing the event had faded. 

With the huge expense needed to pay the race 

hosting fee, and little prospect of turning around the 

drop in spectator numbers experienced in recent years, 

Hockenheim has given up on the race. 

“There was no offer that would have excluded all 

economic risks,” Hockenheim executive director Georg 

Seiler told AutoBild. 

“But just that was always our prerequisite. A pity, 

but not a surprise considering that the date was 

subject to confirmation and no deal between F1 and the 

Hockenheimring was put in place.” 

As well as Hockenheim falling off the schedule, other 

tweaks expected to the final calendar include reverting 

Austin/Mexico and Malaysia/Japan to being backto- 

backs. 

he celebrated with past and 

present team members, 

family and friends prior 

to signing out with a ninth 

placed finish. 

As a leaving gift, 

Williams gave him a 

photo album, a speciallycommissioned 

cartoon plus 

the car he raced in his final 

home Brazilian Grand Prix. 

“I am so proud of my 

career, everything I passed 

through, difficult moments, 

and great moments,” said 

Massa at a leaving party on 

Saturday night. “I think it is 

a good time, so I am really 

happy with my decision. 

“It is very difficult to 

decide or stop, because we 

are young and you need 

to decide something in the 

moment that you are still 

fit. To keep doing and keep 

working for very long, I am 

really sure I chose the right 

moment to do that.” 

GERMAN GRAND PRIX DROPPED FOR 2017 

4 

Possible 2017 F1 Calendar 

(*indicates changes from first version) 

March 26 

April 9 

April 16 

April 30 

May 14 

May 28 

June 11 

June 18 

July 2 

July 9 

July 30 

August 27 

September 3 

September 17 

October 1 

October 8 

October 22 

October 29 

November 12 

November 26 

Australia (Melbourne) 

China (Shanghai) 

Bahrain (Sakhir) 

Russia (Sochi) 

Spain (Barcelona) 

Monaco 

Canada (Montreal) 

Europe (Baku) 

Austria (Red Bull Ring) 

Britain (Silverstone) 

Hungary (Hungaroring)* 

Belgium (Spa) 

Italy (Monza) 

Singapore (Marina Bay)* 

Malaysia (Sepang)* 

Japan (Suzuka) 

United States (Austin) 

Mexico (Mexico City)* 

Brazil (Interlagos) 

Abu Dhabi (Yas Marina) 

Button went in to the 

season finale saying he was 

treating it like his final F1 

race – even though there is 

an option for him to return 

with McLaren in 2018. 

Despite regrets about 

having made his plans back 

in September, Button said 

he was wholly comfortable 

with his plan. 

“I’m very happy with 

my decision,” said Button, 

prior to retiring with 

broken suspension after 

clouting a kerb. “Who 

knows what’s going to 

happen next year, but that’s 

not the reason for leaving 

the sport. 

“It’s just the right time. 

The thought process that I 

had in August, long months 

to really think about the 

past, present and future. 

It’s definitely the right thing 

for me to be doing.” 

4 | GPGAZETTE 

GPGAZETTE | 5

Abu 

Dhabi GP 

2016 

Down to the 

final corner 

LAT Photographic

RA 

RACE ANALYSIS 

Free Practice | Qualifying | Results 

03 

FREE PRACTICE 

01 

CL DRIVER CHASSIS ENGINE LAPS TIME GAP INTERVAL 

02 


Lewis Hamilton was 

in stunning form 

during qualifying. 

Mercedes AMG 

Free Practice & 

Qualifying 

01 

FREE PRACTICE 

Lewis Hamilton outpaced championship rival Nico Rosberg 

in FP1 for the Abu Dhabi GP. 

Hamilton posted a best time of 1m42.869s on soft tyres 

to beat his Mercedes teammate by nearly four tenths of 

a second. 

The Mercedes drivers used the ultrasoft tyres for their 

first runs, but only Rosberg set his fastest time with them. 

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo finished 

in third and fourth as they appeared to be Mercedes’s 

closest challenger once more. 

Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel, who spent a significant 

part of the session running with the Halo on, rounded 

out the Top 5, albeit over a second off Hamilton’s pace. 

Teammate Kimi Raikkonen was seventh quickest, the 

Ferrari drivers split by the Force India of Sergio Perez. 

02 

FREE PRACTICE 

Lewis Hamilton maintained his advantage over Rosberg in 

second practice for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, but the gap 

between them was much smaller than in FP1. 

Hamilton lapped the Yas Marina track in 1m40.861s on 

ultrasoft rubber, just 0.079s quicker than Rosberg. 

Vettel was best of the rest, a quarter of a second off the 

Mercedes pace, but ahead of Verstappen and Raikkonen in the 

second Ferrari. 

But Vettel’s fine performance was ruined by what he reported 

as “gearbox failure” with 10 minutes left in the session. 

Apart from Rosberg, only Vettel was within half a second 

of Hamilton’s time. 

As in the first session, Daniil Kvyat suffered a left-rear 

puncture on his Toro Rosso, but this time at the high-speed 

Turn 16, causing him to spin wildly off the circuit. 

Sebastian Vettel topped the final practice session of the 

2016 season. 

The German driver set a best time of 1m40.775s on new 

ultrasoft tyres late in the running to outpace Verstappen 

by 0.137s seconds. 

Raikkonen was third in the second Ferrari as 

championship contenders Hamilton and Rosberg finished 

down in fourth and fifth after setting their best times earlier 

than their main rivals, who all improved late in the session. 

Ricciardo was sixth in the second Red Bull, ahead of Force 

India duo Perez and Hulkenberg. 

Bottas in the Williams and Haas’ Esteban Gutierrez 

completed the Top 10. 

Q 

QUALIFYING 

Lewis Hamilton took pole position for the Abu Dhabi Grand 

Prix, after lapping three tenths clear of Rosberg in qualifying. 

Hamilton lapped the Yas Marina circuit in 1m38.755s, 

and set two Q3 laps that were good enough for pole. It was 

Hamilton’s fourth consecutive F1 pole. 

Rosberg was 0.303s slower, with Ricciardo snatching third 

from Raikkonen on his final run. 

The second Ferrari of Vettel qualified fifth, ahead of 

Verstappen, who went off the track on his final run at Turn 11. 

Both Red Bulls opted to start the race on the supersoft 

Pirelli tyres, unlike everyone else in the Top 10 who set their 

best times in Q2 on ultrasofts. 

Hamilton set a 1m39.013s on his opening lap of Q3, 

compared to Rosberg’s 1m39.359s – a gap of 0.346s between 

them. Raikkonen was third fastest, six tenths down, just 

ahead of Ricciardo. Verstappen and Vettel were next up. 

On their second runs, Rosberg set the fastest first sector 

of the weekend, but Hamilton was quicker through sector 

two and completed his lap in 1m38.755s. Rosberg’s response 

was 1m39.058s, 0.303s down. 

Ricciardo worked down to a 1m39.589s, which was enough 

to beat Raikkonen to third. 

Vettel will start fifth, helped by Verstappen’s off at Turn 11 

that forced him to abort his final run. 

Hulkenberg was the best of the rest for Force India, 0.02s 

quicker than teammate Perez. McLaren’s Fernando Alonso 

beat Felipe Massa to ninth. 

1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes Mercedes 27 1'42.869 

2 Nico Rosberg Mercedes Mercedes 31 1'43.243 0.374 0.374 

3 Max Verstappen Red Bull TAG 26 1'43.297 0.428 0.054 

4 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull TAG 26 1'43.362 0.493 0.065 

5 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari Ferrari 27 1'44.005 1.136 0.643 

6 Sergio Perez Force India Mercedes 22 1'44.155 1.286 0.150 

7 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari Ferrari 26 1'44.556 1.687 0.401 

8 Carlos Sainz Jr. Toro Rosso Ferrari 21 1'44.685 1.816 0.129 

9 Felipe Massa Williams Mercedes 27 1'45.039 2.170 0.354 

10 Marcus Ericsson Sauber Ferrari 20 1'45.168 2.299 0.129 

11 Alfonso Celis Jr. Force India Mercedes 26 1'45.476 2.607 0.308 

12 Romain Grosjean Haas Ferrari 13 1'45.600 2.731 0.124 

13 Felipe Nasr Sauber Ferrari 17 1'45.778 2.909 0.178 

14 Esteban Gutierrez Haas Ferrari 20 1'45.925 3.056 0.147 

15 Valtteri Bottas Williams Mercedes 31 1'45.940 3.071 0.015 

16 Jolyon Palmer Renault Renault 32 1'46.219 3.350 0.279 

17 Kevin Magnussen Renault Renault 20 1'46.372 3.503 0.153 

18 Fernando Alonso McLaren Honda 21 1'46.379 3.510 0.007 

19 Pascal Wehrlein Manor Mercedes 29 1'46.458 3.589 0.079 

20 Jenson Button McLaren Honda 10 1'47.127 4.258 0.669 

21 Jordan King Manor Mercedes 26 1'47.558 4.689 0.431 

22 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso Ferrari 4 2'01.989 19.120 14.431 

03 


1 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari Ferrari 16 1'40.775 



4 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes Mercedes 15 1'41.065 0.290 0.066 




8 Nico Hulkenberg Force India Mercedes 13 1'42.067 1.292 0.182 












20 Esteban Ocon Manor Mercedes 15 1'43.733 2.958 0.316 



1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes Mercedes 36 1'40.861 


3 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari Ferrari 31 1'41.130 0.269 0.190 






9 Nico Hulkenberg Force India Mercedes 36 1'42.264 1.403 0.223 







16 Esteban Ocon Manor Mercedes 35 1'43.600 2.739 0.328 







Q 

CL DRIVER CHASSIS ENGINE TIME GAP INTERVAL 

1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes Mercedes 1'38.755 

2 Nico Rosberg Mercedes Mercedes 1'39.058 0.303 0.102 

3 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull TAG 1'39.589 0.834 0.566 

4 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari Ferrari 1'39.604 0.849 0.081 

5 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari Ferrari 1'39.661 0.906 0.010 

6 Max Verstappen Red Bull TAG 1'39.818 1.063 0.045 

7 Nico Hulkenberg Force India Mercedes 1'40.501 1.746 0.397 

8 Sergio Perez Force India Mercedes 1'40.519 1.764 0.167 

9 Fernando Alonso McLaren Honda 1'41.106 2.351 0.061 

10 Felipe Massa Williams Mercedes 1'41.213 2.458 0.101 

11 Valtteri Bottas Williams Mercedes 1'41.084 2.329 0.060 

12 Jenson Button McLaren Honda 1'41.272 2.517 0.011 

13 Esteban Gutierrez Haas Ferrari 1'41.480 2.725 0.090 

14 Romain Grosjean Haas Ferrari 1'41.564 2.809 0.205 

15 Jolyon Palmer Renault Renault 1'41.820 3.065 0.194 

16 Pascal Wehrlein Manor Mercedes 1'41.995 3.240 0.338 

17 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso Ferrari 1'42.003 3.248 0.017 

18 Kevin Magnussen Renault Renault 1'42.142 3.387 0.134 

19 Felipe Nasr Sauber Ferrari 1'42.247 3.492 0.017 

20 Esteban Ocon Manor Mercedes 1'42.286 3.531 0.005 

21 Carlos Sainz Jr. Toro Rosso Ferrari 1'42.393 3.638 0.191 

22 Marcus Ericsson Sauber Ferrari 1'42.637 3.882 0.058 

8 | GPGAZETTE 

GPGAZETTE | 9

RA 

RACE ANALYSIS 

Finals 

1 

Before the Abu Dhabi GP, the fear of many observers was 

that we would end up with a dull conclusion to the 2016 

World Championship, possibly with the outcome being 

decided with a first corner drama or early retirement for 

Lewis Hamilton. 

In the event the destiny of the title was not settled until 

the chequered flag flew, and Nico Rosberg crossed the line 

with just enough points to secure the title. 

Along the way, we had one of the most intriguing battles 

we have seen for a while, with Hamilton slowing down his 

teammate in controversial style. The Mercedes drivers were 

in turn being chased down by Sebastian Vettel and Max 

Verstappen, with both men running different strategies 

that converged with the top four crossing the line just 1.685 

seconds apart. 

HAMILTON SLOW FROM THE START 

We didn’t really know it at the time, but from the very early 

laps Mercedes sensed that Hamilton was not driving to the 

full potential of the W07 package. And that’s why we had 

the unusual sight of the race leader kicking off the pitstops 

when he came in after just seven laps, when third placed 

Kimi Raikkonen was just 3s behind him, and only 1.7s 

off Rosberg. 

“If we had pulled more of a gap, we would have stayed 

out longer,” said Lowe. 

“But the risk there is that there is a very strong undercut 

on the soft, and with the gaps we had we couldn’t risk 

others pre-empting that stop, so as soon as we had clear 

traffic behind, we went for it. 

Lewis 

goes rogue, 

Nico 

holds on 

Lewis Hamilton used 

road position to try 

and engineer himself 

a title in Abu Dhabi, 

despite pleas from 

the pitwall not to do 

so. In the end it didn’t 

work, Nico Rosberg 

triumphing in a thrilling 

World Championship 

showdown. 

MERCEDES LAYS DOWN THE LAW 

Everything went to plan for Mercedes, in qualifying at 

least, when Hamilton and Rosberg duly secured the front 

row spots. 

Even before the weekend Red Bull boss Christian Horner 

stirred the pot when he suggested that Lewis should back 

Nico up and make him vulnerable to being passed by those 

behind. Mercedes was well aware that such a scenario could 

unfold, and it was discussed within the camp beforehand. 

To the media Wolff said that he expected 

“sportsmanlike” behaviour from both men. 

There was plenty of other stuff for Mercedes to worry 

about it, not least the nightmare scenario of a mechanical 

problem hitting one or the other driver, and determining 

the direction of the World Championship. 

“It was a tense time,” Paddy Lowe told GP Gazette. 

“The team have done a fantastic job in the previous 20 

races. On one level we were comforted by the thought that 

we have all the procedures in place, we have all the that 

we’ve achieved to make our engineering and operations 

more and more reliable, and that will sustain as through 

the day. 

“What we wanted was good starts, a clean Turn 1, two 

cars home, and ideally a one and two finish. And we got all 

of those things...” 

But as we saw, it was a far from stress-free Sunday 

evening for Mercedes. As Lowe says, the start and first 

corner were clean, and one potential threat seemed to 

be neutralised when Max Verstappen spun to the rear 

of the field. 

Both the Dutchman and teammate Daniel Ricciardo 

had qualified in Q2 on supersofts rather than ultrasofts as 

once again RBR attempted to put pressure on Mercedes by 

following a different path. However, despite dropping to 

the back, Verstappen was far from out of the picture... 

It’s quite rare for us not to 

have any lead at that point 

in the race. There didn’t 

seem to be as much pace as 

we’d hoped for, let’s say, at 

that stage…” 

Lewis lost a little time in the stop as he had to wait for 

Raikkonen to pass by in the pitlane, and then exactly the 

same happened with Rosberg and Vettel when they came 

in a lap later. To most people’s surprise Ricciardo gave up 

any advantage he might have had with a long stint on the 

supersofts by pitting after just nine laps, in part because 

he’d locked up on the first lap which made a long stint 

somewhat less desirable. 

The wildcard at this stage was Verstappen. Despite his 

tyre-smoking spin on Lap 1, he was able to slice though 

the field and stay out for what turned into a one-stop 

strategy. And the intriguing aspect was that not having 

pitted, he found himself in second place, splitting the two 

Mercedes drivers. 

2 

ADAM COOPER 

1. Lewis Hamilton made 

sure Nico Rosberg 

didn’t get lonely in the 

closing stages of the 

race. 

LAT Photographic 

2. Max Verstappen’s race 

was complicated by 

a first-lap spin. 


10 | GPGAZETTE 

GPGAZETTE | 11

RA 

RACE ANALYSIS 

Finals 

CRITICAL CALL FOR ROSBERG 

That gave Rosberg and his team a headache that they 

hadn’t anticipated. 

“Each Ferrari caused us a release delay which is 

unfortunate,” said Lowe. “But not too much damage, apart 

from with Max in his offset strategy in the way, that created 

a little bit of difficulty for Nico. Eventually we called him 

and said he couldn’t wait any longer, we had to push for 

the overtake.” 

Indeed, we heard Nico’s engineer tell him that it was 

“critical” that he pass Verstappen. 

“That was not a nice thing to hear,” Nico joked after the 

race. “Really? Critical to pass Verstappen? Honesty, that was 

bad, that was really bad. That was a horrible feeling!” 

Given Verstappen’s reputation for making life difficult, 

and the fact that they’d already had moments together on 

track in Montreal, Germany and Mexico, not to mention 

Max’s bold outside pass in the wet in Brazil, Nico could be 

forgiven for being a bit wary. 

But to his credit he got his head down and made a bold 

pass, and Max gave him just enough space. 

3 

The feelings that I had in the 

battle and right after when 

I realised that I’d passed 

him, I’ve never had that in a 

racecar ever in my life,” 

said Rosberg. “And I don’t want ever want to have them 

again I don’t think...” 

“It was a great move,” said Lowe. “Considering that Nico’s 

main risk of the day was to have some sort of shunt that 

took him out. It was still brave, but well controlled, close 

racing. So a great overtake from Nico which was critical to 

his championship. 

“And respect to Max, he didn’t do anything silly either 

that would have distorted the championship.” 

So as of Lap 20 Rosberg was back in second place. He then 

put in a series of fastest laps, closing the gap to Hamilton 

down to 3s before Lewis pitted on Lap 28, with Nico coming 

in a lap later. 

Then it became apparent that there was another potential 

spanner in the works as Vettel took over the lead and 

continued to stay out, in effect shortening his third and final 

stint – for which he had a set of supersofts safely stashed away. 

It was clear that he would be the fastest guy on the track 

in that last stint, fast enough to be a threat to the Mercedes 

drivers. Indeed it was just a couple of laps after the stops that 

Hamilton was asked why he was so slow, and it was pointed 

out that he could be vulnerable to Vettel. 

4 HAMILTON TAKES A STAND 

3. Sebastian Vettel 

gave champion-to-be 

Rosberg a hard time 

late in the race. 


4. Rosberg’s race also 

included needing 

to find a way past 

Verstappen. 

XPB Images 

The next 25 or so laps were highly unusual as Hamilton 

received a stream of messages from the pitwall about 

his pace. 

After his final stop and the move to supersofts Vettel 

was flying, lapping a couple of seconds faster than the 

Merc drivers. He passed Raikkonen, Ricciardo and then, 

crucially, Verstappen. 

It was around that time that Lowe himself got on the 

radio and told Hamilton that he had to pick up the pace, 

making it clear that “this is an instruction”. 

“I can’t answer for the pace of the car, I’m not driving it,” 

said Lowe. 

“In the end Lewis is driving the car, he knows where 

he’s at. When you are in the lead, you control the race, 

and that’s your position to do so. All we can do is give 

recommendations, advising about the threats. We reached 

a point where the win was under serious threat from 

Sebastian, and we were giving him that information in 

very clear terms. 

“In the end, like I say, I can’t know the pace of the car, 

in case he could go quicker and was choosing not to. We 

were making very clear to him that this was the pace that 

was necessary to protect the win. What he does with that 

information in the end was up to him.” 

It could be argued that Rosberg’s second place was 

under threat, but the win itself was not. Surely Hamilton 

would simply have put the hammer down as soon as he saw 

red in his mirrors? But Lowe is adamant that there was no 

attempt to favour Nico in asking Lewis to speed up. 

“The very plain objective of an F1 team is to win every 

race, and ideally get a one-two. 

And it was clearly expressed 

to the drivers, we don’t 

mind which order it’s in, 

but we’re after a one-two, 

and we were not going to 

distort those objectives in 

favour of the drivers’ world 

championship.” 

In the end Lewis couldn’t quite get his ploy to work, 

although it came pretty close. When he crossed the line at 

the end of the 55 laps Rosberg was there behind him, as 

he had been at the three previous races. And that was just 

enough to secure the title. 

“The last 10 laps I could see them coming really close,” 

said Rosberg. “And with what Lewis was doing, I didn’t 

know how far he was going to push it. 


GPGAZETTE | 13

RA 

RACE ANALYSIS 

Finals 

5 

“I could just go completely extreme, and then it would 

have been a right mess. I didn’t know what to expect, 

so that was also very, very tough.” 

There was no hiding the fact that there were mixed 

emotions on the pitwall afterwards as Lowe, Wolff and Niki 

Lauda tried to come to terms with the fact that Hamilton 

had done his own thing, and how it had put an unexpected 

twist on what should have been an evening of celebration. 

There may have been some extra stress at Mercedes, 

but this was a great day for F1, with the title decided on 

the last lap of the 21st race of the sport’s longest season. 

“Pace was a problem all afternoon, but on the 

positive side we got a fantastic four-way finish at the end,” 

said Lowe. 

Final Results 

CL DRIVER CHASSIS ENGINE TIME GAP 

1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes Mercedes 

2 Nico Rosberg Mercedes Mercedes 0.439 12.504 

3 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari Ferrari 0.843 0.461 

4 Max Verstappen Red Bull TAG 1.685 5.990 

5 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull TAG 5.315 22.063 

6 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari Ferrari 18.816 1.613 

6 

6. It was close, it was 

tense, but Nico 

Rosberg came away 

from the Abu Dhabi 

race as the World 

Champion. 

XPB Images 

7. Hamilton’s best efforts 

to slow down Rosberg 

almost paid dividends. 

XPB Images 

F1 is about producing 

entertainment, producing 

a spectacle. And you 

couldn’t have wished 

for any better spectacle 

than that, to come home 

so close, getting the onetwo, 

Nico getting the 

championship. It was 

a perfect result for us.” 

7 Nico Hulkenberg Force India Mercedes 50.114 1.885 

8 Sergio Perez Force India Mercedes 58.776 1.895 

9 Felipe Massa Williams Mercedes 59.436 1.969 

10 Fernando Alonso McLaren Honda 59.896 1.998 

11 Romain Grosjean Haas Ferrari 1'16.777 2.156 

12 Esteban Gutierrez Haas Ferrari 1'35.113 2.407 

13 Esteban Ocon Manor Mercedes 1 lap 2.560 

14 Pascal Wehrlein Manor Mercedes 1 lap 3.009 

15 Marcus Ericsson Sauber Ferrari 1 lap 3.139 

16 Felipe Nasr Sauber Ferrari 1 lap 5.243 

17 Jolyon Palmer Renault Renault 1 lap 4.241 

DNF Carlos Sainz Jr. Toro Rosso Ferrari 4.276 

DNF Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso Ferrari 4.376 

DNF Jenson Button McLaren Honda 5.083 

DNF Valtteri Bottas Williams Mercedes 5.712 

DNF Kevin Magnussen Renault Renault 6.532 


GPGAZETTE | 15

TD 


With Giorgio Piola and Matthew Somerfield 

Technical 

Debrief 

FROM A TINY ACORN... 

WITH GIORGIO PIOLA 

& MATTHEW SOMERFIELD 

McLaren eyes 2017 

McLaren has undoubtedly been using the 

latter part of the 2016 season as an extended 

pre-season test session, with an eye on 

improving next year’s car before it even 

gets out of the blocks 

The video documents some of the changes made by the team 

since Melbourne, which as you can see has seen the team 

move the point at which the airflow moves across the front of 

the tyre and out around it. 

The use of outwash front wings have been prevalent 

since 2009, but the teams have been forced to refine how 

that airflow moves rearward depending on the prevailing 

regulations and tyre construction provided by Pirelli. 

However, the wider tyres and regulatory changes for 2017 

are hinting at a re-imagining of these flow structures, with 

some of the wing still poised to take care of outwash, but 

most of the flow will now most likely be sent inboard, making 

use of the additional surface area and protection from tyre 

wake that the larger bargeboards behind will provide. 

The wing used during Free Practice sessions by McLaren 

since Austin displays some of these tendencies and is seen as 

an indication of the direction they’ll take for 2017. 

The video goes onto to look at some of the rear wing solutions 

presented by McLaren this season, with the failed introduction 

of the long slotted endplate in Austria (above), followed by 

the introduction of the open-ended louvre endplate that was 

pioneered by Toro Rosso at the start of the season (below). 

From a technical point of view many of the things we see on 

Formula 1 cars aren’t new, rather a re-imagining of something 

that has gone before it. 

Perhaps they’ve become redundant due to a regulation 

change, or as other concepts have matured elsewhere on the 

car their importance has waned. 

Whatever the reason we often see solutions that circle 

back several years down the line as a team looks to achieve 

a similar aerodynamic goal. 

One such case has started to crop up during this 

regulation set, with a proliferation of airflow controlling 

devices found under the chassis’ of the lead cars, as they 

look to improve the direction of other airflow structures in 

that region. 

Mercedes was the first to introduce a ‘bat-wing’ back in 

2014, which is a relatively simple winglet that occupies an 

area in the regulations that allows for the placement of the 

ride height sensor. 

The bat-wing, named so because of its uncanny similarity 

to the winged mammal, works in harmony with and as an 

extension of the turning vanes that lie ahead of it. The use of 

this device means that the turning vanes can then be given a 

more difficult role too, which saw the W05’s vanes increased 

from three elements to four later in that opening season of 

these regulations. 

Furthermore, it allowed the designers to consider placing 

these vanes further forward, something Mercedes achieved 

by adding small tabs at the bottom of the chassis. 

It took a while for the others to catch on but Red Bull came 

up with its own interpretation in Austria, using a ‘gull-wing’. 

The team’s design saw a pair of winglets mounted at the 

rear of the new turning vanes (main inset) that connected 

them with the ride height sensor (upper inset and highlighted 

in green), in order to perform a similar role to Mercedes’s 

bat-wing. 

Ferrari adopted its own version of the ‘bat-wing’ much later, 

waiting until Austin in 2015, whilst making the effort to revise 

its turning vanes too, moving them further down the chassis 

and mounting the lead element to the underside of the nose, 

bringing them into a more forward position akin to the 

Mercedes solution. 

As testing came and went at the start of the 2016 season 

it became clear that Mercedes was still forging on with its 

concept, but rather than continue with its ‘bat-wing’ a revised 

nose layout for Ferrari saw the team abandon it and run a less 

complex set of turning vanes under the nose once more. 


GPGAZETTE | 17

TD 


With Giorgio Piola and Matthew Somerfield 

Technical 

Debrief 

WITH GIORGIO PIOLA 

& MATTHEW SOMERFIELD 

Given the very similar aerodynamic philosophies that Red 

Bull and McLaren share it’s of no surprise that the Wokingbased 

team was quick on the heels of its adversary and also 

decided to implement a splitter winglet at the German GP. 

The winglet takes into account the aerodynamic nuances 

between the RB12 and MP4-31 with the winglet shaped 

slightly differently, as the latter is less inclined and features 

an abrupt upturn at the outer edges. 

It won’t have gone unnoticed by many that the pair use 

a particularly aggressive rake on their car’s (nose down 

attitude), which means they are often seen to chase different 

aerodynamic concepts to the rest of the field, with the 

splitter winglet an indication of how the rake affects the 

airflow in this region. 

This area of the car seems to be of particular interest to 

Ferrari too as it looks for further improvements on next 

year’s car, as since the United States GP the team has also 

been testing its own version of the splitter winglet we’ve 

already seen Red Bull and McLaren adopt. 

As we head toward the change in regulations for 2017 

it is easy to see that certain areas of the car are going to be 

ripe for development, and whilst many will be focused on 

getting the big things right it is the details that will separate 

the grid. The enlarged bargeboards, 100mm shorter splitter 

and 200mm longer nose are all obstacles, and opportunities, 

for the designers. 

How these winglets, be it bat or splitter, fit into the new 

scheme is yet to be understood. But one thing is for sure, 

it’s unlikely to be the last time we’ve seen them. 

At this point several of the teams had settled into a similar 

solution to the one adopted by Red Bull in 2015, running 

horizontal fins attached to the rear of the turning vanes. 

But when the RB12 broke cover it was apparent that 

Red Bull had decided to forge another path. Placed on the 

upper surface of the splitter was a much bulkier winglet 

and whilst not as imposing as the ones run by BrawnGP and 

Williams in 2009 and 2010 respectively, its intention seemed 

similar nonetheless. 

The goal of this splitter winglet remains the same as the 

‘bat-wing’ – reposition the Y250 vortex in order that other 

flow structures are protected from the wake produced by 

the front tyre. However, it’s clear that Red Bull’s philosophy 

differs in such a way that the winglets position needs to be 

both lower and further back than the corresponding winglet 

used by Mercedes. 

The departure of James Allison from Ferrari seemed to 

refocus the Scuderia on this area of the car, and whilst the 

team had already introduced chassis winglets at Silverstone, 

they opted to make a return to the more complex turning 

vanes and the ‘bat-wing’ that they ran in the latter part of 

2015 in Japan. 


GPGAZETTE | 19

IN PROFILE: 

DANIEL RICCIARDO 

“ 

This is my 

chance at last, 

I don’t want to 

let this slip. 

” 

XPB Images

IP 

IN PROFILE 

Daniel Ricciardo 

1 

Being paired with F1’s most 

exciting young driver earlier 

this season didn’t phase Daniel 

Ricciardo. In fact, it made him 

better. So what does he really 

think of the Max hype? 

And can Red Bull topple the 

mighty Mercedes in 2017? 

We sat Ricciardo down for an 

exclusive one-on-one. 

1. Ricciardo is one of 

the coolest, and 

most popular guys 

in the paddock. 

Red Bull Content Pool 

2. In his own brutal 

assessment, the 

Austrian GP wasn’t 

a classic for the Aussie. 

XPB Images 

This has been an 

extraordinary 

season for 

Daniel Ricciardo. 

It started 

with some 

frustration, 

and then the 

surprise arrival at Red Bull Racing of 

Max Verstappen – who won first time 

out when a strategy call went his way 

rather than Daniel’s. 

Then there was Monaco, where the 

Aussie was set for a sensational win 

before the team botched his pitstop. 

More disappointment followed until 

things began to turn around when he 

finished on the podium in Hungary. 

After that things generally went 

Ricciardo’s way as he put in a series 

of great drives, and in Malaysia luck 

favoured him when Lewis Hamilton’s 

late engine failure handed him his 

first GP win since 2014. All in all, he 

secured a creditable third in the World 

Championship, right behind the allconquering 

Mercedes duo. 

ADAM COOPER: 

How would you sum up the 

2016 season? 

ROMAIN GROSJEAN: 

I think it’s definitely been a good 

season. 

I’ve been pleased with both 

aspects, firstly the team’s progress 

and rate of development, and success 

rate of development. 

They’re always pushing to put 

new parts on the car, but last year it 

didn’t seem that we had a massive 

success rate, a lot of parts we put on 

didn’t really give us what we wanted. 

This year most things we’ve put on 

have been, ‘wow that’s good’. 

So team progress has been great. 

And I think personally I’ve been 

driving well. It’s hard to have a 

perfect 21 races, but I think I can 

count three I wasn’t particularly 

happy with, and then the rest I’ve 

fulfilled everything I could. So from 

that side I’m really happy. 

You mentioned the chassis 

last year; Renault tended to 

get the blame for the team’s 

performance, but there 

was more to it than that 

wasn’t there? 

We definitely started last year with 

the power unit a long way off, the 

driveability was pretty bad. But then 

once that got better we found some 

weaknesses in the chassis as well. 

This year it came 

alive, it felt a lot 

more like 2014. 

Even little things like braking, for 

example. It was a strength in 2014, 

just getting the car stopped well and 

turned helps. 

Renault has made a step, 

because you wouldn’t be in 

the position you’re in now 

without that. But equally 

you’ve been a long way ahead 

of the works team, which 

must be encouraging on the 

chassis side. 

Absolutely. Some races we’ve been 

qualifying top three, while the others 

have been out in Q1. It’s been cool, 

Renault and TAG have done some 

good work. 

Again, Brazil last year I had an 

update, and it was slower. This year 

everything they’ve brought has been 

better. I think from both the chassis and 

power unit side it’s aligned well, and it’s 

been going in the right direction.” 

2 

You said earlier there were 

three races you weren’t happy 

with – which ones? 

Austria I just sort of struggled on the 

Sunday, so that one wasn’t a strong 

race. Silverstone, I wasn’t happy 

with it, but it was probably more the 

circumstances – the VSC put me back, 

and it was just a frustrating race. I felt 

that I had more to give, but I couldn’t. 

That was two in a row that I was 

a bit frustrated with. 

But you still finished fifth 

and fourth! 

Last year I would have taken a fifth 

and a fourth every weekend! 

Even so, it’s cool that our standards 

have risen now, and we’re expecting 

more. But I think with self-evaluation 

after the weekend they are probably 

two which I could maybe have made 

it a better weekend. 

The other was Japan. Probably 

a bit like Silverstone, a lot of it I felt 

was circumstances. I never really 

got going. I didn’t feel through fault 

of my own again, just got a bit stuck 

behind Perez at the start, didn’t have 

the speed to pass him, and then it just 

kind of snowballed backwards. 

And Baku wasn’t a strong race, 

but in a way again not really our 

fault, we had tyres going off and some 

brake issues. 

So in the end when I look at it 

Austria was the only one I personally 

felt I could maybe have done 

something better, but didn’t quite 

understand why I was so slow. 

Otherwise, I think I had a reason. 

ADAM COOPER 

Yeah, absolutely. And the team knew 

that as well, afterwards. 


GPGAZETTE | 23

IP 

IN PROFILE 


3 

4 

Was not winning Monaco the 

biggest disappointment of 

your career? 

Yes and no, because I guess that’s the 

one race you want to win, if there is 

one. It came from a massive high on 

the Saturday, to the low. So I would 

say yes. 

But then I’d look back and say no – 

because without the pitstop, it was the 

perfect weekend. We dominated FP2, 

qualifying, and then the race. 

Then I went straight back to 

my apartment. 

It’s not my style to spit the dummy 

if you like, I just felt it wasn’t going to 

be a good environment for anyone, so 

I was like ‘let me just go back and be 

in my own space’. I spoke to Christian 

[Horner] the Monday after the race, 

he called me, and again he was 

obviously apologetic. We obviously 

took a few days to overcome it, 

but I wasn’t calling him names 

or anything. 

I knew everyone 

was heartbroken 

– it was just a 

shitty situation. 

Your season turned around 

when you had a fantastic run 

from Hungary onwards. 

That was fun. It started again in 

Budapest. It was a big relief, because 

until then my only podium all 

year was Monaco, and it was a not 

enjoyable podium for me. 

China should have been a podium 

without the puncture, and then 

Barcelona. But Budapest was the first 

podium of the year where I could 

really enjoy it. And Seb was right on 

me the last two laps, so crossing the 

line was a bit of a relief. 

Hockenheim, to have the speed 

there was cool. Those two before the 

summer break put me in a good place 

heading into the break, and I felt like 

I had a better summer break because 

of those two. 

Mercedes drivers would be 

in trouble. 

It happened quite nicely I guess. It’s 

funny, because we thought Singapore 

would be the one, and we got close. 

So then I was like, ‘which other one 

is it going to come from?’ I thought 

maybe it would rain somewhere. 

Malaysia was interesting. I saw 

Turn 1, and thought, ‘I’m in second, 

this is great’. So immediately my 

target was I want to finish second 

today, because Lewis would 

probably disappear. 

Max was coming, I held him off, 

and I was like, ‘let’s keep holding 

him off, let’s just fight through these 

tyres’. Then my engineer said, 

‘yellow at Turn 1, Lewis is stopped’. 

It did take probably three seconds 

to process, and then I was, ‘that 

means I’m in the lead’. And then it 

was, ‘we’re not losing today!’ 

I don’t know if I believe in fate 

or destiny, but probably a little bit 

I guess. ‘This is my chance at last, 

I don’t want to let this slip.’ 

You mentioned Max. That race 

was a classic example of you 

fighting for position, and what 

eventually became a win. 

A lot of people are talking 

about your rivalry, but then 

equally you’ve been up against 

Sebastian Vettel... 

I feel like I’ve had both ends of the 

spectrum. When I came into Red Bull 

it was a four-time champ. He was the 

5 

number one guy in the sport at the 

time, and now I’ve got Max, who is 

the number one up-and-coming guy 

in the sport, sort of thing. 

It’s been cool. I obviously love the 

challenges. I think in Malaysia we 

handled it really well. 

If we are in a 

position to next 

year fight for 

the title, I think 

naturally the 

intensity around 

everything 

will rise. 

I’ve sort of said if we can be 

honest and respectful about it, then it 

shouldn’t escalate. Sure, the pressure 

and intensity will rise, but if we can 

still race hard but fair, and not drive 

each other off the track… 

He’s been pretty good this year, 

when I’ve got podiums he’s said 

congrats, and in Malaysia, I said good 

drive to him. If we can just be honest 

and just say he did the better job 

today – it’s not always easy, but that 

should keep it at a good level. 

3. The Monaco GP was 

a massive missed 

opportunity for 

Ricciardo. 

XPB Images 

4. He made up for it, kinda, 

with an out-of-theblue 

win in Malaysia. 

XPB Images 

5. .The intra-team battle 

between Ricciardo 

and Verstappen has 

been tense but fair. 

XPB Images 

It very easily was 

the best weekend 

of my career, but 

also the worst! 

We very rarely see you unhappy… 

Yeah, the disappointment, that was 

sky high. 

Was it difficult with the team 

after the race? 

Basically the only person I saw after 

the race was Helmut [Marko]. He was 

sort of waiting in my room, just to I 

guess apologise. 

How much difference did 

it make? 

It’s one of those things, confidence 

builds not only within yourself, but 

also the team around you. Even your 

engineers, you can tell when they’re 

feeling good, and there’s a bit more 

chat on the radio during the race. 

And the mechanics. 

Everyone loves a good result, and 

it felt like we started getting a few. 

It’s not like you’re trying harder, 

things just flow, and it’s that air of 

confidence - ‘we’ve had a good run’. 

How special was Malaysia? 

You probably thought that you 

wouldn’t win a race this year, 

as it seemed unlikely that both 


GPGAZETTE | 25

IP 

IN PROFILE 


6 

6. Ricciardo and Red Bull 

Racing are well-placed 

heading into the 

2017 season. 

XPB Images 

I guess you know where 

you stand with him. There’s 

no politics, he’s so black 

and white. 

I think so. Probably both of us 

are pretty easy going guys off the 

track. We’ve done some media stuff 

together this year, and I think we’ve 

got on pretty well. 

On the track 

where we’re 

probably two 

of the hardest 

racers we’ve 

probably 

done the best 

overtakes of 

the year, 

and stuff like that. We’ve both 

obviously got the same intentions 

on track. Pretty similar racers, 

I would say. 

Finally, with the team’s aero 

strength and Adrian Newey on 

board is it too simplistic to say 

that 2017 represents a great 

chance for the team? 

I think a lot of people are probably 

getting bit excited about next year. 

I’m obviously trying to stay a little bit 

grounded for now with that. 

We can have a great aero package, 

but it will probably then cost us time 

down the straights. And Mercedes, 

let’s not be fooled – sure they’ve got 

a great power unit, but they’ve got a 

great car. 

We’ll see. In Singapore they still 

gained on the straights compared to 

us, Rosberg’s lap was half a second 

quicker in quali, so they’ve still got a 

good car. 

I think they will still be the 

target next year, they’ll come out in 

Melbourne as the team to beat, but 

hopefully we’ll be close enough to 

pick up the pieces. 

7. Ricciardo kept his 

cool even when his 

new wunderkind 

teammate arrived. 


8. His top form was also 

pivotal in helping Red 

Bull pull clear of Ferrari 

and sometimes close 

the gap to Mercedes. 


7 

8 


GPGAZETTE | 27

ID 

IN DETAIL 

The World Championship 

ONE RACE 

AT A TIME 

A cool head and a methodical approach was key to 

Nico Rosberg finally toppling the mighty Lewis Hamilton in 

2016. How did it play out? And what were the key moments? 

Adam Cooper takes a closer look. 

It came down to the last 

corner of the last lap, but 

in the end he made it. 

Thirty four years after 

his father Keke won the 

title for Williams – famously 

earning only one victory 

during that dramatic 1982 season – 

Nico Rosberg joined Damon Hill on 

the exclusive list of sons of World 

Champions who have gone on to 

repeat the achievement. 

Inevitably, debate will continue 

about Lewis Hamilton’s claim to the 

2016 title, thanks to the huge impact 

poor engine reliability had on his 

season, in particular that late failure 

in Malaysia. 

But it would be unfair to allow 

such considerations to detract from 

Rosberg’s fantastic achievement. 

Having spent three years as 

Michael Schumacher’s teammate 

he has now spent four alongside 

Lewis Hamilton, who will surely 

be ranked among the all-time greats. 

And while overall the Briton comes 

out on top statistically, Rosberg has 

given him plenty to think about 

over their period together. With 

23 Grand Prix wins and 30 poles to 

his name he is a more than deserving 

World Champion. 

The battle for the 2016 title actually 

began as soon as Hamilton clinched 

last year’s title in Austin. Rosberg 

went on to win the next three races 

in Mexico, Brazil and Abu Dhabi, and 

while there was much speculation to 

the effect that Hamilton had mentally 

checked out after winning the title, 

Rosberg did an awesome job over 

those three weekends. 

Crucially that run also gave him a 

huge confidence boost heading into 

the winter, and he began 2016 in a 

good place. Always known for his 

attention to detail, he seemed more 

focussed than ever, adopting a “one 

race at a time” approach that seemed 

to serve him well. 

I always push 

myself to get 

better and better 

all the time,” 

he said on the eve of the Abu Dhabi 

finale. “In the winter I really think 

about which areas I need to work 

on. For example, it was one-on-one 

battles which was one of Lewis’s 

strengths, and I’ve tried to work 

on that, tried to improve, and I 

think I managed to do that, which is 

good. Definitely I’ve been at my best 

this year.” 

Nico could hardly have got off to 

a better start, making it seven in a 

row by winning the first four races 

of the season, the first time since 

Michael Schumacher in 2004 that 

anybody had done that. 

He was helped by a huge dose of 

misfortune for Hamilton. In Australia 

Lewis made a bad start from pole 

and had to recover to second, while 

in Bahrain he was nudged by Valtteri 

Bottas at the first corner, and climbed 

back to third. In China engine issues 

saw him start from the back of the 

grid and salvage seventh, and then 

in Russia he couldn’t take part in Q3, 

started 10th, and finished second. 

After just four races Rosberg had 

established a 43-point lead over 

his teammate. 

28 | XPB GPGAZETTE Images 

GPGAZETTE | 29

ID 

IN DETAIL 


1. Nico Rosberg had 

his sights set on 

Hamilton before the 

2016 season had 

even begun. 

XPB Images 

1 

2 

At this point it seemed that Lewis 

couldn’t catch a break, and the run 

continued in Spain where he took 

pole only to lose out to Rosberg at 

the start. When he tried to retake the 

lead the pair collided on the first lap. 

The incident led to much internal 

debate at Mercedes, and afterwards 

Toto Wolff claimed that the team had 

emerged stronger and that the rules 

of engagement were now clear to the 

two drivers. 

It was time for Hamilton’s luck to 

change, and it finally happened in 

Monaco. Beaten to pole by Daniel 

Ricciardo, the Mercedes drivers both 

faced an unusual challenge for race 

day – and then it rained. 

Hamilton did an amazing job to 

stay out on wet tyres on a drying 

track, going straight to slicks and 

skipping intermediates. He had some 

good fortune when Ricciardo had a 

disastrous pitstop, and he duly scored 

his first win of the year. Rosberg, 

in contrast, struggled throughout, 

and actually let Hamilton through in 

the early stages. He could manage 

only seventh. 

In Montreal Hamilton leaned 

on Rosberg at the first corner, and 

the German ran wide and dropped 

to 10th. As Lewis sped away to his 

second win of the year, Nico could 

only recover to fifth after an eventful 

afternoon. The advantage went his 

way again a week later in Baku, where 

he put on a great show all weekend to 

win from pole. 

Meanwhile, after hitting the wall in 

Q3, Hamilton had engine setting issues 

on the way to fifth. 

Hamilton then had an amazing 

run, scoring four wins in the calendar 

month of July before the summer 

break. In Austria he again clashed with 

Rosberg on the last lap, leaving his 

teammate to crawl home fourth with a 

damaged nose. At Silverstone Nico was 

demoted from second to third after the 

FIA deemed he had illegally received 

instructions over the radio – not long 

after such penalties became moot, 

after the rules were relaxed again. 

In Hungary Rosberg was second, 

and at his home race in Germany 

only fourth after receiving a five 

second penalty after an aggressive 

pass on Max Verstappen – which in 

effect became eight after the team 

miscalculated the timing. 

At this point Hamilton had turned 

a 43-point deficit into a 19-point 

advantage, and logic suggested that he 

would keep up that momentum and 

gradually leave Rosberg behind. 

However, that didn’t happen, 

and after the summer break fortune 

favoured Nico once again – and he won 

the next three races. 

At Spa Hamilton’s run of engine 

problems came to a head and the 

team decided to take grid penalties 

at a track where overtaking was 

relatively straightforward. In the end 

he managed to recover to third, but 

Rosberg took 10 points off his lead. 

At Monza Hamilton was on pole, but 

he made a bad start and eventually had 

to settle for second – another seven 

points gone, leaving Lewis with a lead 

of two points. Rosberg was in great 

form in Singapore, where Hamilton 

had to settle for third, losing his lead. 

The Malaysian 

GP was to prove 

a crucial turning 

point. Hamilton 

did everything 

right and was 

cruising to victory 

when his engine 

failed in the 

closing laps. 

Rosberg, who had been delayed 

by a first corner clash with Sebastian 

Vettel, moved up from fourth to 

third – so the retirement meant that 

Lewis lost 25 points, and Rosberg 

gained three. 

Hamilton was clearly frustrated 

in Japan, where he expressed his 

frustration at the media. Rosberg beat 

him to pole, and then he made a bad 

start and dropped to eighth, and once 

again he faced a recovery drive. In the 

end he only made it back to third as 

Rosberg won again. 

Nico now led by 313 points to 280 

with four races to go, and we were at 

the stage where he could take the title 

by finishing second even if Lewis won 

all the races. In other words, it was in 

his hands, and out of Hamilton’s. 

Remarkably, in the four races 

that followed that exact scenario 

played out. After the apparent blip 

in Suzuka, Hamilton seemed relaxed 

and focussed in Austin, where he won 

from pole. In Mexico he survived 

a trip across the grass at the first 

corner to win again, and then in 

atrocious conditions in Brazil he put 

in a faultless drive to make it three 

in a row. 

But on each occasion Rosberg was 

there in second, doing just enough 

to ensure that he was still in control 

of his destiny. That’s not to say that 

he was doing a mediocre job – things 

could easily have gone wrong in 

the wet in Brazil, where so many 

drivers crashed. 

The numbers were simple in 

Abu Dhabi. If Hamilton won Rosberg 

could take the title with a second or 

third place, and there was nothing 

that Lewis could do about it. Or 

was there? Hamilton’s slow pace in 

the race as he attempted to back 

up his teammate was seen either 

as inevitable and clever tactics, or 

unsporting behaviour that was not 

worthy of him as a World Champion 

and, especially, a representative of 

Mercedes-Benz. 

3 

2. The rivalry between the 

Mercedes drivers came 

to a head in Spain. 


3. And that wasn’t the 

only clash either. 

Montreal was another. 



GPGAZETTE | 31

ID 

IN DETAIL 


4 

4. Rosberg’s title charge 

was almost de-railed 

on Lap 1 in Malaysia. 

XPB Images 

5 

It made for an entertaining race and a 

dramatic final lap as Sebastian Vettel 

nearly found a way by Rosberg and 

Verstappen waited to pounce, but 

Rosberg just managed to hang in in 

second place and score the points 

he needed. 

He kept his head in difficult 

circumstances. Indeed, Rosberg’s 

mental approach has been a key factor 

in 2016. 

“I push in all directions, the head 

is an important part of sport,” he said 

after clinching the crown. “I look into 

that, and for me that just seemed the 

best way. 

If you think too 

much about the 

big picture and 

everything, that 

will just make you 

nervous, 

“because there’s so much at stake, 

and the desire to be world champion 

and that, that can weigh on your 

shoulders. 

“It really worked well for me to 

just keep it simple, stay right in the 

moment, and not go into all these 

desires – the desire to be world 

champion, that’s gigantic, holy moly, 

so better stay away from that, just right 

here in the moment. And it’s been a 

big part of the success this year. 

“It started after the beginning of the 

season, after winning all those races, 

it became very clear that 

it would be 

completely 

wrong to start 

thinking about 

my championship, 

because it’s Lewis 

Hamilton that’s 

my teammate, 

he’s always going 

to fight back, 

he’s always going 

to be massively 

tough to beat.” 

It was a strategy that paid off. 

Rosberg now heads into 2017 as a 

World Champion, with his confidence 

no doubt on a higher level than ever. 

How will his battle with Hamilton 

develop? It’s going to be fascinating to 

find out. 

. 

5. After Rosberg’s rocky 

start at Sepang, it 

was Hamilton’s title 

hopes that took the 

biggest hit. 

XPB Images 

6. In the end, Rosberg 

narrowly came out 

on top. 

XPB Images 

6 


GPGAZETTE | 33

LL 

Stirling Moss 

in a Vanwall, 

or Michael 

Schumacher 

in a Ferrari? 

Daniil Kvyat 

There were a few nice cars 

to drive in the past. Williams 

was competitive in the late 

‘1980s, so that would be 

cool. I’d also add [Alain] 

Prost and [Ayrton] Senna’s 

McLarens to the list, or 

[Michael] Schumacher’s 

Ferraris. Any of those cars, 

they are all so different, so 

interesting. I’m sure racing 

against Schumacher, Senna, 

and Prost would have been 

good fun! 

Sebastian Vettel 

It would have to be Michael 

[Schumacher] in the 2004 

Ferrari. 

Kevin Magnussen 

I would race Stirling Moss 

in his Vanwall, the green 

Vanwall from 1957 and ‘58. 

He was a racing driver, first, 

first, first, first, first, first, 

first. He just won everything. 

I’m a big fan of Stirling 

Moss, he’s my racing hero. 

In terms of the cars I think 

the early ‘90s, late ‘80s was 

the best, probably. The cars 

were good, very good. I’d 

love to really try and push in 

one of those cars. 

GARAGE ENVY SURTEES TS19 

ADAM COOPER 

Historic racing isn’t just for classic racing cars. Sometimes, it 

brings classic drivers out of the woodwork too. 

Jean-Denis Deletraz enjoyed a low-key career in F3000 

before finding the budget to compete in the 1994 Australian 

GP with Larrousse, plus San Marino and Germany for Pacific 

in early 1995. He then established himself as a solid performer 

in GT racing, even winning the Spa 24. 

However, now he’s back in F1 – competing in the Surtees 

TS19 raced by Alan Jones in 1976. One of a stable of cars owned 

by wealthy Dubai-based businessman, car collector and racer 

Fred Fatien, it runs in the Theodore Racing livery used by Jones 

on his way to fourth place at the ‘76 Japanese GP. 

“It’s amazing, because it’s real driving,” says the Swiss. 

“You jump in and you have only the steering wheel and the 

gearchange, and you have to manage everything by yourself – 

no electronics, no traction control, no radio, no team orders. 

They say it’s impossible to compare eras 

in Formula 1. Maybe so, but it’s still a lot of 

fun. Like any of us, the current crop of F1 

drivers all grew up with their own racing 

heroes. If they could pick any driver in 

history to race against, who would they 

choose? And what would they drive? 

Kate Walker found out. 

Jolyon Palmer 

Senna. Schumacher would 

be interesting as well, 

but he was racing in the 

modern era. And Senna in 

the ‘80s, you know… he’s 

obviously a massive legend, 

and maybe the best driver 

F1 had. I’d like to have seen 

him race in something 

modern. I want to see 

what Senna could do in the 

current Mercedes. 

Carlos Sainz Jr 

Can I choose three? I would 

like… there are many, 

actually! Senna, during 

one of his world titles with 

McLaren. The car I don’t 

Masters Historic Racing 

really mind, they were all 

amazing, but for sure the 

MP4-4. Then I would choose 

Michael Schumacher in 

2004, that car was so quick! 

I think it was the quickest F1 

car ever. And against a great 

champion like Michael! And 

then last but not least, 2007 

– instead of having [Lewis] 

Hamilton as the teammate 

of [Fernando] Alonso, 

it would be me. So I name 

my three heroes: Fernando, 

Michael and Ayrton in their 

best cars. 

It’s fantastic, pure pleasure. This was the dream period of F1, 

with James Hunt.” 

As for his brief ‘proper’ F1 career he says: “In 1994 we had 

started with paddle shifts, but there was not lot of electronics 

in those days. It was almost the same as the Surtees, apart 

from the aerodynamics! Larrousse called me 10 days before 

Adelaide, I had no testing, and then they went bankrupt. But 

because I did F1 I was able to drive for Ferrari, Aston Martin, 

and do Le Mans 10 times. So I have no regrets about that.” 

Meanwhile the Deletraz name could yet return to the 

contemporary F1 grid thanks to son Louis. The 19-year-old is 

already supported by Renault, and having finished runner-up in 

this year’s Formula V8 3.5 series he is destined for GP2 in 2017. 

SO YOU WANT 

TO BE A… 

RACE TEAM 

MANAGER 

KATE WALKER 

Working frantically behind 

the scenes yet barely visible 

to the public, F1 race team 

managers operate like swans; 

when they’re doing their job 

properly, the effort to attain 

perfection is hidden beneath 

the surface. Aside from a knack 

for organisation, the ability to 

balance a budget, and strong 

leadership skills, what does it 

take to be a race team manager? 

Adaptable 

perfectionism 

What works one year 

might not work the next, 

so your job is to treat 

good practice as a moving 

target – keep pushing 

for better ways to keep 

your team working at 

their peak. 

Multi-tasking, and 

plenty of it 

Accountant, HR officer, 

travel agent, guidance 

counsellor, nutritionist, 

pit crew, mediator, 

motivator… all of these 

hats (and many more!) 

will be yours to wear. 

An analytical mind 

How will next year’s rule 

changes affect your team 

and their working hours? 

How can you smooth the 

transition? Anticipating 

and circumventing 

potential issues is par 

for the course. 

Be able to plan ahead 

Be ready to work several 

races ahead at all times, 

managing administrative 

tasks for the Asian 

flyaways while driving 

around Europe, and 

planning 2017 when 2016 

has barely begun. 

A sympathetic ear 

Ensuring a team is 

operating at their best 

involves knowing what’s 

going on with individual 

team members, and 

keeping an ear open 

to problems both 

professional and personal. 

Did you enjoy the last issue of GP Gazette for 2016? 

Hit us up through our social channels to let us know what you think, and don’t forget to check 

back after the 2017 Australian Grand Prix for our first issue of the new year. 

CASE STUDY: 

Paul Seaby, Renault 

It’s weird to say, but really 

when I come to a circuit 

I’m not actually taking 

part in that event; I’m 

looking forward to other 

events. Hopefully, by the 

time we get to the track 

most things have been 

sorted, so I’m only there 

as a back-up if there are 

any problems. 

Obviously, making 

sure that the team 

works properly is my 

responsibility. So is making 

sure the pitstops are as 

good as possible, that’s 

my responsibility at a race. 

But as far as everything 

else goes, I’ve got guys 

that do it for me. I have 

my chief mechanic, my 

spares guy, and the 

engineering coordinator. 

They look after the build 

of the cars, get that done. 

Then there’s our 

trackside operations 

director, who looks after 

the running of the team, 

both the sporting side and 

the engineering side. And 

my race team coordinator, 

who deals with the circuits 

and things like that. 

While that’s going 

on I’m looking at paying 

bills or organising for 

upcoming events; travel 

queries, personnel queries, 

logistical queries... That’s 

the sort of thing I look at. 


GPGAZETTE | 37

Issue 003 

Abu Dhabi 2016 

For the latest Formula 1 news and reaction, head to motorsport.com 

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