The German drove a stellar race to win his first Formula One Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at the Yas Marina Circuit on Sunday night.
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Rosberg led the race from the start and for most of the 55 laps.
Rosberg crossed the line 8.2 seconds clear of Hamilton – leaving the world champion with mixed emotions. “Since then I have come back stronger and I am excited about the way the end of the season went”.
Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff speculated after the race that Rosberg’s renewed spark may have been caused by a release of pressure from no longer having to fight for the title.
Rosberg produced a dominant display at the Yas Marina Circuit to beat Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton once again and secure a third win in succession for the first time in his career.
“I have got this great graph which shows you all the races, and all 12 of the opening races – apart from Barcelona – the vehicle was great”. Finn Kimi Raikkonen finished third ahead of his Ferrari team-mate four-time former champion Sebastian Vettel and Sergio Perez of Force India.
For Rosberg, the moment is something that he did not want to stop, knowing that he has won the last three races to go with six consecutive poles. So the end result hasn’t been great many times but today, or this weekend, was a bit better. The speed has been there but there have been some mistakes.
Before that decisive pit stop for Hamilton however, the Briton had pleaded with his crew to let him hang on for the victory while running on the same tyres. But it was down to the team which tire we went to for the final stint. He is quick. We have seen him have so many pole positions and he is smoother (than Hamilton).
Behind the two silver arrows, the luckless Fernando Alonso suffered a puncture in a collision with Pastor Maldonado’s Lotus, for which he was regarded as the guilty party, and given a drive-through penalty, taken after his necessary pit-stop for repairs.
That analogy seemed appropriate on Sunday as the 2015 campaign ended with a cliffhanger at the Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix that will keep fans intrigued until the new season begins in March in Australia next year.
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“I’m feeling very happy”, beamed Rosberg, whose recent performances have belied those he gave earlier in the season, suddenly giving voice to the suggestion that he may provide a much sterner challenge in 2016. Daniel Ricciardo took sixth place Nico Hulkenberg, with Felipe Massa holding on to eighth ahead of, despite the Frenchman’s last lap push after going on to the super soft tyres for his final stint.
