Just like dad, Rosberg is champ, ending Hamilton’s F1 title run
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — Nico Rosberg no longer will be known simply as the son of Formula One champion Keke Rosberg.
The German driver is now a champion in his own right after clinching his first title Sunday to match his father’s achievement from 1982.
“Two Rosbergs are world champions ... if I’ve got my statistics right,” Nico Rosberg joked moments after clinching the title.
Graham Hill (1962, 1968) and Damon Hill (1996) are the only other father and son to have won the title.
Rosberg’s second place at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was enough to wrest the title from Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton, who won the race from the pole, and also prevented his archrival from clinching his third straight and fourth overall.
“It’s unbelievably special to beat him because the level’s so high,” Rosberg said. “It makes this so much more satisfying for me, because he’s the benchmark and I took the world championship away from him.”
Rosberg ended with 385 points to Hamilton’s 380.
Rosberg’s title went down to the wire in a nerve-shredding finale.
With Hamilton purposefully slowing him down — he needed to win and for Rosberg to finish fourth — and two other drivers hard on his tail and the title on the line, Rosberg did not crack.
“Nico drove well not to make a mistake,” said Hamilton, who won 10 races this year.
Hamilton disobeyed team orders to speed up near the end; instead, he tried to back Rosberg toward Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen in third and fourth places, respectively. Hamilton first ignored a race engineer’s request for him to speed up and then even rebuffed executive director Paddy Lowe’s explicit order to speed up.
“I’m in the lead right now,” he responded to Lowe. “I’m quite comfortable where I am.”
Vettel could not quite pass Rosberg, finishing third ahead of Verstappen and fourth overall in the championship behind Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo.
“If I had dropped behind those guys, it was over,” said Rosberg, who finished runner-up to Hamilton in the past two years. “It was so intense, the race, so tough.”
About Hamilton’s tactic: “You can understand the team’s perspective and you can understand Lewis’ perspective,” Rosberg said. “So that’s it.”
Perhaps Rosberg took a cue from his 67-yearold father, who was one of the most flamboyant drivers of his generation.
“Every Saturday night, I get a text from him: ‘Pedal to the metal.’ That’s it,” Rosberg said. “It’s been good how he’s let me get on with it and taken a step back. So I’m very thankful for that.”
Vettel was a wheel’s length away from him on the final lap, but Rosberg kept his cool and his elation was evident as he let out a delighted screech of “Yes! World champion!” when he crossed the line.
Then he jumped out of his car and danced around the track before being hugged by his mechanics and was tossed into the air by his Mercedes crew. He then grabbed Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone and lifted him into the air.
On the podium, Rosberg’s eyes were watering as the weight of his achievement sank in and he thanked his wife, who also wiped away tears nearby.
Rosberg repeatedly wiped his face and lowered his head several times in the postrace news conference, appearing emotionally exhausted as he tilted back into his chair and rubbed his eyes.
Still, he expects to find plenty of energy to celebrate his win. “Tonight’s going to be absolutely nuts,” he said. “I don’t think I’m going to be available for a few days.”