Able student and Grand Prix obsessive Lewis Walsham hopes to be the next Murray Walker. Here he practises his skills on the most important race for a British driver for six years.
Pre-Race key points:
· Hamilton or Rosberg could win title today
· If Rosberg wins, Hamilton must finish 2nd and if Hamilton has a DNF, Rosberg must come fifth or higher
· Red Bull’s start from the pit lane after found with illegal front wings
· Vettel’s final race for Red Bull. He will join Ferrari in 2015 on a three year deal
· Alonso’s final race for Ferrari. He is expected to join McLaren in 2015
· Could be Jenson Button’s or Kevin Magnussen’s final Formula 1 race
· Hamilton leads championship by 17 points coming into this race
· Double points are on offer
· Formula 1’s only twilight race
· Rosberg on pole with Hamilton second, Williams lock out the second row
BBC F1 Chief Analyst and former Jordan GP owner Eddie Jordan: “Lewis and Nico say they are relaxed but deep down they absolutely are not. They both know only one of them can win this title and both want it desperately.”
Hamilton and Rosberg first met when they were team-mates back in their karting days in 1997
BBC F1 Co-commentator and former F1 Driver David Coulthard: “It's advantage Nico Rosberg as we go into this race. He needs to win the grand prix to have any chance. Lewis Hamilton only has to finish second because of his points advantage.”
It’s now 1pm BST. Let’s go racing at the Yas Marina Circuit here in Abu Dhabi!
LAP 1: Lights out and away we go!
Lewis Hamilton makes a brilliant get away and storms into the lead whilst Rosberg makes a terrible get away and is under attack from the Williams of Felipe Massa but just manages to hold. Meanwhile the Ferrari’s of Raikkonen and Alonso make a great start and are up into 5th and 6th already!
Oh no! Contact between the Sauber of Esteban Gutierrez and the McLaren of Kevin Magnussen. Magnussen has front-right suspension damage, not a great start for the Dane! Meanwhile Hamilton leads from Rosberg in second, Massa third and Button in fourth.
LAP 5:
We’ve got Williams’ Valtteri Bottas complaining of rear tyre graining. The Finn started on the tyres he qualified on and doesn’t sound like he can make them last any longer.
Wow! Great overtake by Daniel Ricciardo! He overtakes two cars down the straight and slots into 15th place. Remember he and his team-mate Sebastian Vettel started from the pit lane. Ricciardo has been well-recognised for his spectacular overtaking manoeuvres this year.
LAP 6:
Fernando Alonso pits from sixth place. Very slick stop by the Ferrari team, 2.5 seconds
Meanwhile out on track it’s the battle of the Finns with Valtteri Bottas overtaking Kimi Raikkonen for fifth place. Round of Applause for that one!
LAP 7: Pit activity
We have a few cars entering the pits now for an early stop to ditch those worn out qualifying tyres for fresh ones. We have Jenson Button, Daniil Kvyat and Kimi Raikkonen pitting. They rejoin way down the order however.
LAP 8:
A little update out on track. It is Lewis Hamilton who leads 2 seconds over Nico Rosberg
LAP 11:
Into the pits comes Lewis Hamilton for fresh tyres. It’s a quick stop by Mercedes and is out on his way once more and rejoins in 3rd place.
Meanwhile there is confirmation that car number 27 (Nico Hulkenberg) has a 5 second stop and go penalty for forcing car 20 (Kevin Magnussen) off the track on lap 1
LAP 12:
Nico Rosberg pits from the lead and rejoins in 3rd place. Felipe Massa is our new race leader. The first time he has lead a race since the Austrian Grand Prix back in June, where he started from pole position.
LAP 14:
Felipe Massa finally pits which releases Lewis Hamilton back into the lead.
LAP 16: RETIREMENT!
Toro Rosso driver Daniil Kvyat pulls off to the side of the track. The Russian driver who heads off to Red Bull next season becomes the first retirement of the grand prix.
LAP 20: TOP 5:
HAM, ROS, MAS, RIC, BUT
Both Red Bulls and Kevin Magnussen are yet to make a pit stop.
LAP 22:
Into the pits come Kevin Magnussen and Sebastian Vettel and Vettel has a slow stop, its 4.3 seconds and Magnussen is back out ahead of him. Not the pit stop the German had hoped for in his final grand prix for Red Bull
LAP 25: PROBLEMS!
Nico Rosberg is complaining that he has lost engine power and is 3 seconds off Hamilton’s lap times. His Electrical Recovery System (ERS) has failed too. This is drama indeed for championship contender! He is having a lot of problems with his Mercedes!
3rd place man Felipe Massa takes a whole 5 seconds out of Rosberg on that lap and sweeps past the Mercedes on the main straight
LAP 28: FIRE!!!
Pastor Maldonado pulls off to the side of the track again! The Venezuelan gets out of his Lotus and is very disappointed. Not the ending the team based in Enstone had hoped for after a nightmare season!
No need for a safety car
LAP 30:
We’ve got a great fight going on for 10th position here between Button, Alonso, Magnussen and Raikkonen. Bit harder for Magnussen as he’s a rookie and fighting three world champions and the most experienced drivers on the grid
LAP 31:
Massa takes 2 seconds out of Hamilton. Does Lewis have a problem? Could this be Canada all over again?
LAP 33:
The two Ferrari drivers are battling for 10th place
Seriously?
LAP 37:
Nico Rosberg: “Tell me what to!”
Race Engineer: “Just drive flat out Nico that’s all you can do”
Not looking good for Rosberg who’s championship hopes are disappearing rapidly now
LAP 44: RETIREMENT!
Caterham’s Kamui Kobayashi has been pushed back into the garage with an electrical problem. Such a shame for Caterham after their success of returning for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix from the donation of £2.5 million from fans, after being in administration during the US and Brazilian Grand Prix
LAP 46:
It’s not getting any better for Nico Rosberg as he is now under attack from the man in 8th place, Nico Hulkenberg in the Force India. But because of Rosberg’s problems it is no issue for Hulkenberg to get past him.
LAP 49: TOP5:
HAM, MAS, BOT, RIC, BUT
LAP 54:
2 laps to go and Felipe Massa is on an absolute charge for the lead and the race win but he is still 3 seconds behind Hamilton. I don’t see how he can take the lead and win unless Hamilton has a problem or makes a mistake
LAP 55:
Final lap now and Lewis Hamilton still leads by 3 seconds and his dreams are about to come true with Rosberg down in 14th place after being overtaken by Jean-Eric Vergne in the Toro Rosso for 13th.
Williams are set to score their first double podium since 2005 when Mark Webber and Nick Heidfeld were the last to do so for the team.
CHEQURED FLAG!
LEWIS HAMILTON IS THE 2014 FORMULA 1 WORLD CHAMPION!!!
It’s his second world title (his first was 6 years ago in 2008) Hamilton is only the fourth Briton to win more than one title. He joins other multiple British Champions Jim Clark (1963, 1965) Graham Hill (1962, 1968) Jackie Stewart (1969, 1971, and 1973)
Prince Harry congratulates Lewis on the team radio. “Thank you very much Lewis for not letting the British public down.” “Well done Lewis you are a legend.”
Lewis’s reaction: “Woooooaaahh world champion, oh my god, can't believe it, thanks everyone.”
Hamilton and Button execute some superb doughnuts in front of the crowd; there are a lot of British fans here this weekend! We don’t know if we’ll see Jenson Button in Formula 1 in 2015 or not, but he’s had a great 15 year career.
Jenson Button’s Career:
Williams: 2000
Benetton: 2001
Renault: 2002
Lucky Strike BAR Honda: 2003-2005
Honda F1: 2006-2008
Brawn GP: 2009 (WORLD CHAMPION)
McLaren: 2010-Present
Lewis Hamilton is the first driver to win the drivers world championship with Mercedes-Benz since Juan Manuel Fangio in 1955 and the 23rd November 2014 will sure be a memorable day for Hamilton, Mercedes and Great Britain.
SEE YOU IN 2015!
That’s it now until 2015 but what an exciting year it has been. The two Mercedes drivers have fought it out all year, Massa claimed his first pole position since 2008 and Force India scored the first podium since 2009 which was their only podium until this year. This Year has had its bad moments to. Caterham and Marussia were put into administration back in early November and we can’t forget about Jules Bianchi who had the most horrific accident at the Japanese Grand Prix in October, which left him unconscious and with serious head injuries. He currently lies in a critical condition and remains unconscious in the hospital he was born in, in his home town of Nice, France. We remember Jules best for scoring Marussia’s first ever points back at the 2014 Monaco Grand Prix. This young man was and still is admired by all in the paddock. We are all thinking of you Jules!
Formula 1 will be back in Australia in March 2015 where we look forward to another great year of war at Mercedes
See you then!
Pre-Race key points:
· Hamilton or Rosberg could win title today
· If Rosberg wins, Hamilton must finish 2nd and if Hamilton has a DNF, Rosberg must come fifth or higher
· Red Bull’s start from the pit lane after found with illegal front wings
· Vettel’s final race for Red Bull. He will join Ferrari in 2015 on a three year deal
· Alonso’s final race for Ferrari. He is expected to join McLaren in 2015
· Could be Jenson Button’s or Kevin Magnussen’s final Formula 1 race
· Hamilton leads championship by 17 points coming into this race
· Double points are on offer
· Formula 1’s only twilight race
· Rosberg on pole with Hamilton second, Williams lock out the second row
BBC F1 Chief Analyst and former Jordan GP owner Eddie Jordan: “Lewis and Nico say they are relaxed but deep down they absolutely are not. They both know only one of them can win this title and both want it desperately.”
Hamilton and Rosberg first met when they were team-mates back in their karting days in 1997
BBC F1 Co-commentator and former F1 Driver David Coulthard: “It's advantage Nico Rosberg as we go into this race. He needs to win the grand prix to have any chance. Lewis Hamilton only has to finish second because of his points advantage.”
It’s now 1pm BST. Let’s go racing at the Yas Marina Circuit here in Abu Dhabi!
LAP 1: Lights out and away we go!
Lewis Hamilton makes a brilliant get away and storms into the lead whilst Rosberg makes a terrible get away and is under attack from the Williams of Felipe Massa but just manages to hold. Meanwhile the Ferrari’s of Raikkonen and Alonso make a great start and are up into 5th and 6th already!
Oh no! Contact between the Sauber of Esteban Gutierrez and the McLaren of Kevin Magnussen. Magnussen has front-right suspension damage, not a great start for the Dane! Meanwhile Hamilton leads from Rosberg in second, Massa third and Button in fourth.
LAP 5:
We’ve got Williams’ Valtteri Bottas complaining of rear tyre graining. The Finn started on the tyres he qualified on and doesn’t sound like he can make them last any longer.
Wow! Great overtake by Daniel Ricciardo! He overtakes two cars down the straight and slots into 15th place. Remember he and his team-mate Sebastian Vettel started from the pit lane. Ricciardo has been well-recognised for his spectacular overtaking manoeuvres this year.
LAP 6:
Fernando Alonso pits from sixth place. Very slick stop by the Ferrari team, 2.5 seconds
Meanwhile out on track it’s the battle of the Finns with Valtteri Bottas overtaking Kimi Raikkonen for fifth place. Round of Applause for that one!
LAP 7: Pit activity
We have a few cars entering the pits now for an early stop to ditch those worn out qualifying tyres for fresh ones. We have Jenson Button, Daniil Kvyat and Kimi Raikkonen pitting. They rejoin way down the order however.
LAP 8:
A little update out on track. It is Lewis Hamilton who leads 2 seconds over Nico Rosberg
LAP 11:
Into the pits comes Lewis Hamilton for fresh tyres. It’s a quick stop by Mercedes and is out on his way once more and rejoins in 3rd place.
Meanwhile there is confirmation that car number 27 (Nico Hulkenberg) has a 5 second stop and go penalty for forcing car 20 (Kevin Magnussen) off the track on lap 1
LAP 12:
Nico Rosberg pits from the lead and rejoins in 3rd place. Felipe Massa is our new race leader. The first time he has lead a race since the Austrian Grand Prix back in June, where he started from pole position.
LAP 14:
Felipe Massa finally pits which releases Lewis Hamilton back into the lead.
LAP 16: RETIREMENT!
Toro Rosso driver Daniil Kvyat pulls off to the side of the track. The Russian driver who heads off to Red Bull next season becomes the first retirement of the grand prix.
LAP 20: TOP 5:
HAM, ROS, MAS, RIC, BUT
Both Red Bulls and Kevin Magnussen are yet to make a pit stop.
LAP 22:
Into the pits come Kevin Magnussen and Sebastian Vettel and Vettel has a slow stop, its 4.3 seconds and Magnussen is back out ahead of him. Not the pit stop the German had hoped for in his final grand prix for Red Bull
LAP 25: PROBLEMS!
Nico Rosberg is complaining that he has lost engine power and is 3 seconds off Hamilton’s lap times. His Electrical Recovery System (ERS) has failed too. This is drama indeed for championship contender! He is having a lot of problems with his Mercedes!
3rd place man Felipe Massa takes a whole 5 seconds out of Rosberg on that lap and sweeps past the Mercedes on the main straight
LAP 28: FIRE!!!
Pastor Maldonado pulls off to the side of the track again! The Venezuelan gets out of his Lotus and is very disappointed. Not the ending the team based in Enstone had hoped for after a nightmare season!
No need for a safety car
LAP 30:
We’ve got a great fight going on for 10th position here between Button, Alonso, Magnussen and Raikkonen. Bit harder for Magnussen as he’s a rookie and fighting three world champions and the most experienced drivers on the grid
LAP 31:
Massa takes 2 seconds out of Hamilton. Does Lewis have a problem? Could this be Canada all over again?
LAP 33:
The two Ferrari drivers are battling for 10th place
Seriously?
LAP 37:
Nico Rosberg: “Tell me what to!”
Race Engineer: “Just drive flat out Nico that’s all you can do”
Not looking good for Rosberg who’s championship hopes are disappearing rapidly now
LAP 44: RETIREMENT!
Caterham’s Kamui Kobayashi has been pushed back into the garage with an electrical problem. Such a shame for Caterham after their success of returning for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix from the donation of £2.5 million from fans, after being in administration during the US and Brazilian Grand Prix
LAP 46:
It’s not getting any better for Nico Rosberg as he is now under attack from the man in 8th place, Nico Hulkenberg in the Force India. But because of Rosberg’s problems it is no issue for Hulkenberg to get past him.
LAP 49: TOP5:
HAM, MAS, BOT, RIC, BUT
LAP 54:
2 laps to go and Felipe Massa is on an absolute charge for the lead and the race win but he is still 3 seconds behind Hamilton. I don’t see how he can take the lead and win unless Hamilton has a problem or makes a mistake
LAP 55:
Final lap now and Lewis Hamilton still leads by 3 seconds and his dreams are about to come true with Rosberg down in 14th place after being overtaken by Jean-Eric Vergne in the Toro Rosso for 13th.
Williams are set to score their first double podium since 2005 when Mark Webber and Nick Heidfeld were the last to do so for the team.
CHEQURED FLAG!
LEWIS HAMILTON IS THE 2014 FORMULA 1 WORLD CHAMPION!!!
It’s his second world title (his first was 6 years ago in 2008) Hamilton is only the fourth Briton to win more than one title. He joins other multiple British Champions Jim Clark (1963, 1965) Graham Hill (1962, 1968) Jackie Stewart (1969, 1971, and 1973)
Prince Harry congratulates Lewis on the team radio. “Thank you very much Lewis for not letting the British public down.” “Well done Lewis you are a legend.”
Lewis’s reaction: “Woooooaaahh world champion, oh my god, can't believe it, thanks everyone.”
Hamilton and Button execute some superb doughnuts in front of the crowd; there are a lot of British fans here this weekend! We don’t know if we’ll see Jenson Button in Formula 1 in 2015 or not, but he’s had a great 15 year career.
Jenson Button’s Career:
Williams: 2000
Benetton: 2001
Renault: 2002
Lucky Strike BAR Honda: 2003-2005
Honda F1: 2006-2008
Brawn GP: 2009 (WORLD CHAMPION)
McLaren: 2010-Present
Lewis Hamilton is the first driver to win the drivers world championship with Mercedes-Benz since Juan Manuel Fangio in 1955 and the 23rd November 2014 will sure be a memorable day for Hamilton, Mercedes and Great Britain.
SEE YOU IN 2015!
That’s it now until 2015 but what an exciting year it has been. The two Mercedes drivers have fought it out all year, Massa claimed his first pole position since 2008 and Force India scored the first podium since 2009 which was their only podium until this year. This Year has had its bad moments to. Caterham and Marussia were put into administration back in early November and we can’t forget about Jules Bianchi who had the most horrific accident at the Japanese Grand Prix in October, which left him unconscious and with serious head injuries. He currently lies in a critical condition and remains unconscious in the hospital he was born in, in his home town of Nice, France. We remember Jules best for scoring Marussia’s first ever points back at the 2014 Monaco Grand Prix. This young man was and still is admired by all in the paddock. We are all thinking of you Jules!
Formula 1 will be back in Australia in March 2015 where we look forward to another great year of war at Mercedes
See you then!