LETTERS Lewis must learn
I think Lewis Hamilton has proved once again how he thinks his ego is bigger than F1 or Mercedes.
The rights or wrongs of his diabolical display in Abu Dhabi of lack of respect for everyone around him, I’d like to look at two scenarios and their outcomes for him.
Firstly, what he did. I think he robbed the TV and paying public of the spectacle of Mercedes going flat out. He disobeyed his paymasters and nearly jeopardised their desired 1-2 finish.
He totally engineered a situation over which he had little control (he made not have cared less) as Nico could have clumsily took them both off in an attempt to get away from Vettel (and probably only got a five-second penalty for causing an avoidable accident) and still lost the championship.
Nico could have let Vettel past and still won the championship, with the possibility that the faster Ferrari would have taken him off and further annoyed his paymasters.
Secondly he could have given us a wonderful display of car control and Mercedes dominance, leaving Nico to fight his own battle with Vettel (pleased his paymasters) giving us a good entertaining race.
The contrasting ongoing consequences of his stupidity mean that rather than being a gracious loser with the benefits of having Mercedes 100 per cent behind him next year, he has alienated Nico, Toto Wolff, the Daimler Board, Vettel, the paying public, the FIA race officials and the rest of the world.
Post-season blues might be in full flow, but you can relive the celebrations of the 2016 Autosport Awards, with Sky Sports F1 running a highlights programme from the event (Thursday, 1900-2000hrs).
If a bit of gravel and mud is more your thing than black tie, you can relive the last year of Volkswagen’s all-conquering effort with a handy World Rally Championship best-of programme, with highlights from the 2016 season (Sunday, 1340-1650hrs, Motors TV). Sebastien Ogier is the man in demand as he attempts to plot his future following a fourth world title, and this highlights show will remind you why he’s so desired.
If you’re already struggling to cope with life after Formula 1, Sky Sports F1 is your friend through the offseason with their series of Classic F1 races. The next one to get your nostalgia going is the 1991 Mexican Grand Prix (Monday, 2100-2145hrs). Williams was at the peak of its powers in South America, and locked out the front row, but could drivers Riccardo Patrese and team-mate Nigel Mansell convert that success into victory?
For any aspiring single-seater racer, the Macau Grand Prix must surely be up there as one of the must-do events – and it’s not hard to see why with the difficult and narrow street racing having the stars of the future battle it out for the crown. 2016 was another action packed running, and Motors TV has a handy highlights package (Monday, 1720-1855hrs).