Having seen his reign come to an end, Hamilton-convinced he is the moral champion of 2016, per the Telegraph's Oliver Brown-will blame his reliability issues for his failure to win a fourth title this season.īut ask yourself this: Why did it take him until mid-October to solve a problem that had plagued him from the very beginning of the year? It wasn't just a champion's drive-it was a day for clearing hurdles, for breaking down walls, for taking that final step. With the four leading cars running too close for comfort, Rosberg knew the slightest error would be enough to lose those two positions and, with them, the championship, but he remained composed to finish second and finally finish the job. When it became clear Verstappen had adopted a one-stop strategy, Rosberg was informed over team radio how it was critical to overtake the teenager and-in a move reminiscent of Button's series of now-or-never passes at Brazil 2009-he wasted little time.īattling the most creative, aggressive racer in F1, he beat Verstappen on the brakes into Turn 8, avoided locking up, muscled himself alongside the boy wonder, breezed past the underpowered Red Bull on the straight that followed and then switched across the track to guard against a counter-attack.Īt that point, it seemed Rosberg had already done enough, only for Hamilton's tactics to put him in the most difficult position in the closing laps, when he watched his rear-view mirrors almost as much as the track ahead. 6 car.īut a slow stop of his own- a function of his mechanics' desperation to avoid an unsafe-release penalty as Vettel trundled down the pit lane-saw a potential first place become third and, all of a sudden, his race was not quite as comfortable as it appeared.
Rosberg had seemed set to take the lead during the first round of pit stops, when Hamilton's slow stop opened an opportunity for the No. To prove they were nothing more than myths, and to demonstrate just how far he has come. Those were said to be the biggest hurdles preventing Rosberg from making the leap from a serial race winner to a world champion, and-on his day of destiny-it was almost as though he took it upon himself to clear them both at once. The second? Following an untidy end to 2014 and that unforced error while leading the 2015 United States GP, he has an unfortunate habit of cracking under pressure at pivotal moments. The first is that he lacks the skill, bravery and judgement of his closest rivals in wheel-to-wheel combat. Of all the criticisms directed at Rosberg in recent years, two have stood out above the rest.
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