Nico Rosberg, Lewis Hamilton pick identical tyres for title showdown
(L-R) EA Pirelli manager Giovanni Tolasi, Monitor MD Tony Glencross, Italian ambassador Dominico Fornara, Mandela Group chairman Hajji Omar Mandela and City Oil director Hassan Ahmed watching the draw Pirelli for the eight Yas Marina circuit winners.
What you need to know:
- Formula One. Hamilton’s first victory in Brazil was the 52nd of his career, taking him ahead of Alain Prost, with only Michael Schumacher ahead of him. He produced a masterclass of a drive in Brazil, showing that he is a level above Rosberg in wet conditions. The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will also be watched by eight lucky Ugandans who were selected in a draw of City Tyres and official F1 tyre sponsors Pirelli
Title rivals Nico Rosbeg and Lewis Hamilton have opted for exactly the same allocation of tyres for their championship showdown in Abu Dhabi.
Rosberg leads Hamilton by 12 points going to Yas Marina and needs only a podium finish to secure a maiden world championship. The Mercedes drivers have opted for exactly the same compounds -- four soft, two super-soft and seven ultra-soft tyres -- for the race weekend.
Abu Dhabi marks the return of the new-for-2016 ultra-soft tyre, which last appeared around the streets of Singapore. Three of last five races -- Malaysia, Japan and Brazil -- had tyres at the opposite end of Pirelli’s tyre range.
Ferrari and Williams have split strategies between their drivers while Red Bull’s have opted for one more soft and one fewer ultra-soft than the Mercedes drivers. McLaren is the only team to select one super-soft tyre for both drivers, loading up on the other two compounds.
Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg has the most aggressive selection with eight ultra-soft tyres. Meanwhile Rosberg insists that the Abu Dhabi GP will be a difficult weekend, despite having the luxury of only having to finish third to win the title, even if Hamilton wins.
Rosberg was asked if getting through a tricky race in Brazil – where something could easily have gone wrong for him – was the last major hurdle facing his title quest.
“Abu Dhabi is going to be a difficult race weekend like always,” he said. “It’s always a challenge to do a good job on a race weekend. Nothing in F1 is easy. I don’t see it like that.”
Rosberg also laughed off suggestions that his “one race at a time” approach won’t apply now that Abu Dhabi has been confirmed as a showdown for the title. He has said all year that he is approaching each weekend as an individual race to be won, and has insisted that the title was not on his mind.
“I don’t know how I shall approach my last race yet. I shall let you know on [the] Thursday, when I have a bit more time to think about it.”
Meanwhile, Rosberg admitted that he was surprised by Red Bull’s decision to pit Max Verstappen in the late stages of the Brazilian GP – a move that cost the Dutchman second place.
Verstappen was running ahead of Rosberg on extreme wets when he was called in for intermediate tires in an attempt to give him a potential advantage over leader Lewis Hamilton. However, a safety car period soon followed, and the team pitted him again to go back to extremes, leaving him to fight back to third from 14th. Rosberg acknowledged that his life was made easier when Verstappen pitted.
“I was out there to try and win the race. Especially in the first part of the race my mindset was what can I do to get back forwards again. But at the same time I was realistic about the fact that it was going to be very difficult to get back in front of him, because he was on the same pace to us.
2016 F1 Drivers Standings
Nico Rosberg Mercedes 367 points
Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 355
Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull 246
Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 197
Max Verstappen Red Bull 192
Kimi Raikkonen Scuderia 178
Sergio Perez Sahara Force 97
Valtteri Bottas Williams 85
Nico Hulkenberg Sahara 66
Fernando Alonso McLaren 53
Felipe Massa Williams 51
Carlos Sainz Scuderia 46
Romain Grosjean Haas 29
Daniil Kvyat Red Bull 25
Jenson Button McLaren 21
Kevin Magnussen Renault 7
Felipe Nasr Sauber 2
Pascal Wehrlein Manor 1
2016 F1 Constructors Standings
Mercedes 722 points
Red Bull Racing 446
Scuderia Ferrari 375
Sahara Force India 163
Williams Martini 136
McLaren-Honda 75
Scuderia Toro Rosso 63
Haas F1 Team 29
Renault Sport F1 8
Sauber 2
2016 Fastest Pitstop Award
G. Prix Team Driver Fastest stop
Australia Williams Valtteri Bottas 2.35s
Bahrain Williams Felipe Massa 2.27s
China Williams Felipe Massa 2.10s
Russia Williams Felipe Massa 2.23s
Spain Williams Felipe Massa 2.12s
Monaco Williams Valtteri Bottas 2.43s
Canada Williams Valtteri Bottas 2.11s
Europe Williams Felipe Massa 1.92s
2016 races
* Mar 20
Austrian Grand Prix
* Apr 3
Bahrain Grand Prix
* Apr 17
Chinese Grand Prix
* May 1
Russian Grand Prix
* May 15
Spanish Grand Prix
* May 29
Monaco Grand Prix
* Jun 12
Canadian G. Prix
* Jun 19
European G. Prix
* Jul 3
Austrian Grand Prix
* Jul 10
British Grand Prix
* Jul 24
Hungarian G. Prix
* Jul 31
German Grand Prix
* Aug 28
Belgian Grand Prix
* Sep 4
Italian Grand Prix
* Sep 18
Singapore G. Prix
* Oct 2
Malaysia Grand Prix
* Oct 9
Japanese Grand Prix
*Oct 23
US Grand Prix
*Oct 30
Mexican Grand Prix
*Nov 13
Brazilian Grand Prix
Nov 27
Abu Dhabi G. Prix
*denotes races finished
