Nico is more precise but Lewis has the talent...
ALONE but for a bottle of wine, a master of motor racing will sit down on his sofa to watch Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg’s final duel for the Formula One drivers’ championship of the world.
In the Italian commune of Masera, 80 miles northeast of Turin, Dino Chiesa will be content whoever emerges victorious from the desert finale in Abu Dhabi a week today.
‘Being on my own I can scream, cry, be happy,’ says Chiesa, a legend of the karting world, who offers a unique perspective having managed Hamilton and Rosberg as young karters in Team MBM, Mercedes-Benz McLaren, in 2000-2001.
‘I don’t want to be with someone who is actively supporting either Lewis or Nico. I’ll be happy regardless of the result. I can even start the wine on the formation lap, and maybe have another bottle, champagne perhaps, after the race.’
They were 15 and 16 at the time and firm friends as well as karting rivals when they came under Chiesa’s aegis. And he believes that, despite the pair’s jousting, an essential bond remains between them. ‘We built the team specifically for them both — a gentleman’s agreement with Ron Dennis, who was in charge of the McLaren young driver programme that Lewis was on, and Keke Rosberg, Nico’s dad, who was looking after his son’s career,’ says Chiesa.
‘Lewis and Nico were meant to be together for three years but they were so quick they stepped up to cars after two years. Nico went to BMW and Lewis to Renault. I remember them as young boys. Friendly boys. A karting team is small, just five or six of us including the drivers. It is a little family. The boys usually slept together.
‘Lewis was more mature. Nico had to learn from him. I believe they are still friends. I remember the Australian Grand Prix in 2008. They had their first podium together in Formula One. Lewis called me early in the morning because of the time difference.
‘He was so happy. He said it was like their go-karting days: he and Nico together on the podium. That’s why I believe there is still friendship there. It is impossible to be enemies after all that.’
The maths favours Hamilton going into the last race at Abu Dhabi’s Yas Marina track. He leads the championship by 17 points but with the scores counting double at the final round that is not as commanding a lead as it might sound. A victory would be the most direct way for Hamilton to win his second title.
But if Rosberg won the race, Hamilton would need to come second. If Rosberg were second, Hamilton would need to come fifth. If Rosberg were third, Hamilton would need to come sixth. Given the sheer dominance of their Mercedes cars, any other permutation is surely no more than theoretical. Many observers were surprised by Rosberg beating Hamilton to another landmark this season: he leads 10 poles to seven. Chiesa is not.
‘Nico needs to build up to his limit, which is why qualifying suits him. Lewis can go to the limit immediately without build-up, and that helps when they race. He is more aggressive and better at knowing when to overtake. He makes it look easy. It is not so easy for Nico, who is more smooth, safe and consistent,’ adds Chiesa.
It is a statement on the lifestyle of his two former charges that Chiesa expects to speak only to Rosberg before next Sunday. That is because Hamilton is out of reach — the sport’s global superstar, a status that has won him Bernie Ecclestone’s support. He believes a Hamilton championship would do more to promote his billionpound circus.
Chiesa says: ‘I’ll talk to Nico for sure. He is polite, calmer. When he is home, he is home. He has a wife. He is settled. Lewis is very busy. He has less time to spend with people — I don’t mean that in a bad way; it is normal when you become more of a VIP. I think he wants to spend time with his friends and girlfriend. I am not part of his family.
‘Lewis has changed his phone number many times and it isn’t always easy to get hold of him. But he has my number if he wants me.’