RACE TO THE FINISH LINE
F1 crown down to final race
“I’m not trying to bring home any second places,” Nico Rosberg said last month, before proceeding to bring home three second places in a row.
This week, the German again insisted he will be gunning for victory at the Formula One season finale in Abu Dhabi on Sunday, even though another second-place finish — or even third — will secure him the drivers’ championship.
“Nothing in this sport is easy, so this won’t be any different and I still have to go all out for a good result,” the Mercedes driver said in comments supplied by the team.
“I will give it everything to end the season with a win.”
We get it, Nico. You have to say that. But here’s the thing: No one believed you then, and no one believes you now.
Of course the guy wants to win races, and there would be no better way to put an exclamation mark on his first F1 drivers’ crown than to climb on the top step of the podium at the deciding Grand Prix.
By the same token, fans want to witness a wheel-to-wheel fight to the finish between Rosberg and teammate Lewis Hamilton, the only other driver in mathematical contention.
But let’s face it — Rosberg must tread lightly to avoid the possibility of an accident or other mishap. Otherwise, he risks losing the war for the sake of winning a battle.
So it’s steady as he goes. Rosberg arrives at the Yas Marina Circuit nursing a 12-point lead, meaning a third-place finish will suffice to secure the championship even if Hamilton wins his fourth straight race.
Of course, there will be much hand-wringing if the script unfolds that way. Another win for Hamilton would give him 10 on the season, one more than Rosberg. And he has 11 poles to Rosberg’s eight. Some will say Hamilton is the more deserving champion.
No question, their respective positions might be reversed had Hamilton not suffered more mechanical failures during the campaign. However, luck is part of the game, whatever the sport.
Besides, the wins column might look different had Rosberg faced more pressure to finish first these last few outings. No matter what he says, when the mind knows second is good enough, prudence takes over.
My view: Either driver is deserving of this title. My only hope is the outcome will be decided with both silver cars crossing the finish line and not as a result of a mechanical problem or an accident caused by others.
Meanwhile, any finger-pointing should be directed at the rest of the field for failing to put up a credible challenge to Mercedes for three years, during which the team has amassed 50 wins from 58 races.
We’re told the law of diminishing returns dictates that, when rules and regulations remain stable, the laggards will catch up eventually. And yet that has failed
to happen.
If fans are turning away — and they are — the fault lies not with Mercedes but the likes of Ferrari, McLaren-Honda and Renault. This season, only Red Bull has managed to break the stranglehold, twice in 20 races.
Next year, the formula in Formula One will undergo the first significant revamp since 2014, sending all teams back to the drawing board. Let’s hope the changes in bodywork, engine rules and tires will shake up the usual running order.
Closer to home, there is much to look forward to — including, it seems, the race itself.
Officially, the Canadian Grand Prix remains “subject to confirmation” on the 2017 provisional calendar. But this week, Mayor Denis Coderre announced an agreement in principle with F1 ringmaster Bernie Ecclestone that is to allow the event to go ahead next summer and beyond.
The impasse stemmed from the city’s inability to meet its contractual obligation to upgrade the garages and other facilities at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in time for the Grand Prix next June 9-11. Coderre says details of the agreement in principle are forthcoming. Meanwhile, tickets have been put on sale, finally.
F1, for its part, is to issue the official season calendar Nov. 30.
Grand Prix weekend in Montreal is always a big party, and this one promises to be bigger still. The 2017 edition marks the 50th anniversary of F1 in this country, and falls amid Montreal’s 375th birthday celebrations.
It will also feature the first Canadian driver since Jacques Villeneuve hung up his F1 racing gloves a decade ago — Montreal native Lance Stroll, who at 18 will be the youngest driver on the grid.
Make no mistake, Stroll is a genuine talent with multiple triumphs in lower racing categories who has been turning heads pretty much since he learned to drive a go-kart at age 5.
In the high-stakes world of F1, it also helps he is the son of Lawrence Stroll, the billionaire businessman, investor (Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, Michael Kors) and owner of Circuit MontTremblant and the Ferrari-Maserati dealership in Montreal.
Stroll is replacing the retiring Felipe Massa of Brazil at the Williams team. As it happens, Villeneuve became Canada’s first F1 champion with that squad in 1997.
Williams has long ceased being the powerhouse it once was, and hasn’t won a race since 2012. Still, it will be fun to watch how Stroll fares in the big leagues.
Hope to see you then.