Hamilton Tried To Win The F1 Title By Driving Super Slow, But It Didn’t Work

Lewis Hamilton started the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix from pole position, but knew he had to do something different if he wanted to take a fourth world title.

Nico Rosberg lined up alongside him and needed to finish on the podium, if Hamilton won, to claim his first world championship.

What followed proved to be one of the tensest season finales and title deciders we’ve seen in some time, with Hamilton pulling out an unusual tactic to try and take the title.

But what other option did he have? With the chequered flag in sight, Rosberg remained in second place but the Red Bull drivers and Sebastian Vettel on super-softs were closing in.

Hamilton put the tactics to work and drove slower than Mercedes wanted, in a bid to bunch up the field and push Rosberg into the clutches of the Red Bulls and Vettel.

The Ferrari driver ended up picking his way passed Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen, latching onto the gearbox of Rosberg with a few laps remaining.

Through all of this, Mercedes kept telling Hamilton to up the pace due to the “dangers” from behind. But Hamilton continued to do what he was doing, in the hope of securing the title.

The repetitive instructions caused Hamilton to respond “just let us race” and “I’m comfortable where I am”. Things got a little heated over team radio!

But in the end, Hamilton’s tactic didn’t pay off as Vettel’s charge faded. The Ferrari racer tried, but couldn’t get ahead of Rosberg.

Hamilton crossed the line in first place, with Rosberg in second to secure the world title – his first in F1. Vettel was third, with Verstappen and Ricciardo next up.

After so much Mercedes domination, it really was cool to see three different cars in the top four, fighting so close together with just a few seconds separating them for the final few laps.

It was a hugely tense final race and an emotional one too, for Rosberg, Hamilton (for the wrong reasons – even if he did seem fairly upbeat on the podium) and – of course – the departing Felipe Massa and Jenson Button. Massa finished ninth, while Button retired with a suspension failure.

And of course, it was super awkward between Hamilton and Rosberg after the race…