How Rosberg can win the title in Brazil – and why he probably will

2016 Brazilian Grand Prix

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Nico Rosberg’s chances of clinching the world championship in Brazil are much stronger than they were in Mexico.

As Lewis Hamilton was unable to make major inroads into Rosberg’s points lead in Mexico, a win for Rosberg would guarantee him the championship. But he could secure the title by finishing as low as sixth depending on what happens to his team mate.

The table below shows all the possible outcomes of next week’s race at the Interlagos circuit for both drivers. The outcomes in which Rosberg would win the championship are highlighted:

Rosberg’s points lead after BrazilHamilton
1st2nd3rd4th5th6th7th8th9th10th11th/DNF
Rosberg1st26293234363840424344
2nd12222527293133353637
3rd9162224262830323334
4th6131621232527293031
5th4111417212325272829
6th291215172123252627
7th071013151721232425
8th-25811131517212223
9th-4369111315172021
10th-5258101214161820
11th/DNF-61479111315171819

Perhaps the biggest worry for Hamilton is that there are few scenarios in which the championship remains open if he finishes behind Rosberg in Brazil. They all involve both of the Mercedes drivers finishing outside the top two places, something which hasn’t happened all year (see below).

If Rosberg leads a Mercedes one-two it’s over for Hamilton
Note that if Rosberg ends the race 25 points ahead of Hamilton he will only have won the championship if he has finished second.

If Rosberg finishes second and Hamilton fourth, Rosberg will be 25 points ahead of Hamilton. But even if Hamilton wins the final race and Rosberg fails to score, meaning they end the year level on points, Rosberg will win the title on count-back. Both will have won nine races but Rosberg will have four seconds to Hamilton’s three.

However in all other outcomes where Rosberg ends the Brazilian Grand Prix 25 points ahead of Hamilton, the championship will remain unresolved. Hamilton will still have a slim chance of winning the title by winning the race while Rosberg fails to score, in which scenario he will win on count-back to third place finishes, by four to two.

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In order for Hamilton to go into the final race knowing a victory would secure him the title regardless of where Rosberg finishes, he needs a points lead of at least six. He would achieve this by winning the race while Rosberg finishes fourth.

You can check all possible outcomes to the championship using the F1 Fanatic Points Calculator:

How likely is Rosberg to win the championship in Brazil?

Out of the 19 races so far this season more than half have produced an outcome which, if repeated in Brazil, would secure the title for Rosberg:

RoundRaceRosbergHamiltonRosberg points lead*
1Australia1226
2Bahrain1329
3China1738
4Russia1226
5Spain19
6Monaco710
7Canada514
8Europe1534
9Austria416
10Great Britain319
11Hungary2112
12Germany416
13Belgium1329
14Italy1226
15Singapore1329
16Malaysia334
17Japan1329
18United States2112
19Mexico2112

*What Rosberg’s point lead would be after Brazil if he and Hamilton finished in that order again

Hamilton hasn’t beaten Rosberg in Brazil at Mercedes

The other concern for Hamilton is that Interlagos is one of few circuits where Rosberg has dependably been quicker than him. In their three previous races there as team mates Rosberg has out-qualified and out-raced Hamilton every time.

If Hamilton is going to keep his championship chances alive until Abu Dhabi he will have to produce his best performance yet at Interlagos – a circuit where he has never won in his nine previous appearances.

2016 Brazilian Grand Prix

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    Author information

    Keith Collantine
    Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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    101 comments on “How Rosberg can win the title in Brazil – and why he probably will”

    1. Now hope it will rain in Interlagos and we have the same outcome as in rainy Monaco. Than we would have a tie going to the last round.

      1. ColdFly F1 (@)
        4th November 2016, 17:36

        Unless the rain is so bad that they can’t finish 75% of the race, @grapmg.
        Then even a repeat of Monaco (and half points) allows ROS to finish 1 place behind HAM in Abu Dhabi.

        1. @coldfly Yes that is correct. Can’t remember the last race when that happened.

          PS. I’m not in favor for Hamilton nor Rosberg, just hope for an exciting fight for WDC between the two in the last race.

          1. I hope Rosberg wins it in Brazil just so that I won’t have to watch Abu Dhabi.

            1. You don’t have to watch it at all if you like.

          2. @grapmg the last half points race was malaysia 09.

        2. This post prompts me to wonder… if you get half points for a win because it was a half-race, does that also count as half a win for the purposes of breaking a championship tie, or is it still a whole win?

          1. As the winner in such a race gets 12½ points it is unlikely that he would tie in the championship in points. But someone gets 7½ points and another ½, if those land with a rival for the championship it still could tie.

            1. To illustrate my point, say I have four race wins (100 points), a win in a half distance race (12.5 points), a second place (18 points) and a ninth place (2 points). That’s 132.5 points in total.

              Now say that you have five race wins (125 points) and a third in the half distance race (7.5 points). That, too, is 132.5 points. We are exactly tied on points.

              Now, do we say that I have 4.5 race wins, and you beat me in the championship with more race wins? Or do we say that we both have five race wins apiece (as I still won that half race, even if it only gave half points), and then use second places as a tie breaker, allowing me to beat you in the championship?

              That’s the question here: Does a position in a half race count as a full or a half-position when using the number of finishes in each position to break a tie?

          2. Your classified finishing position is 1, so it is treated as one whole race win.

          3. A win is a win.

            1. I would agree too, but that begs the question of why you award only half points for it, if the meaningful value is a full win?

            2. Knoxploration You make a very good point. My simple logic says that if only half points are awarded, then the win should also only have half it’s value too. But the other posters are probably right in their assessment of the situation that a win is a win. After all, you can’t dig half a hole can you? I must admit to not knowing what the answer is and I would be interested if somebody looks up the rule and answers your question.

          4. The sporting regulations refer to ‘1st places’, not ‘wins’.

            Regulation 7.2:
            If two or more constructors or drivers finish the season with the same number of points, the higher place in the Championship (in either case) shall be awarded to :
            a) The holder of the greatest number of first places.
            b) If the number of first places is the same, the holder of the greatest number of second places.
            c) If the number of second places is the same, the holder of the greatest number of third places and so on until a winner emerges.
            d) If this procedure fails to produce a result, the FIA will nominate the winner according to such criteria as it thinks fit.

            That last one is interesting!

    2. What a fight. Can’t wait for Interlagos. Should be an emotional one for Massa as well.

      1. Agreed. I hope he gets a proper send-off.

    3. So, I guess it’s easy peasy for Hamilton. Just win the race!

      1. It’s easier peasier for Rosberg. Just needs a couple of first corner collisions with his teammate.

        Not that I think that will happen.

        1. Not so easy-peasy for Hamilton, he can win both races and still lose, Rosberg would need only one 2P and one 3P (or 2P in both of course).

          Nico has no need to tangle with Lewis at all, just follow him to 2P in both races so he is unlikely to force T1 collisions.

    4. i hope rosberg wins because it will validate his title. it’d be a bit of a damp squib if he clinches it by following hamilton home 4 times in a row.

      1. No, it wont. Having a DNF and still winning the title is what validates it – as he would have won it on an equal footing to Lewis.

        1. Yes, Rosberg would have more points if he wins the Title, and the Title would be his. There is no such separation in the WDC that indicates if kbdavies feels it was a valid championship or not. They are all valid. I don’t think Rosberg is worried about you feeling it is validated or not. It’s not Rosberg’s fault for Hamilton’s DNFs.

        2. @kbdavies
          so he wins in Brazil and has a DNF while leading in Abu Dhabi. Fair enough.

        3. I didn’t hear you speaking up that Lewis titles weren’t fair because he didn’t have a wiring loom installation error like rosberg did in Singapore.

          Did Mercedes make Lewis hit the wall in Baku? If Lewis was half as dominating as his fans suggest Lewis could have more than one DNF and still have a comfortable lead.

          See Sebastian vettel as an example of how to dominate your teammate with the best machine on the grid.

          Fact is Lewis is responsible for the races that he messed up on his own, wasn’t faster than Nico when his car was working, etc, and had he performed on those days we wouldn’t be having this conversation.

          The better driver will win the WDC this year. If to Lewis it’s because he out drove and if it’s rosberg it’s EXACTLY THE SAME.

          1. Desperate stuff. Keep rehearsing the ‘Lewis wasn’t perfect either’ fakery, in case Rosberg wins a championship with 5 competitive wins to 10, which might make it the worst ever.

            1. Is that you Donald trump?

          2. “See Sebastian vettel as an example of how to dominate your teammate with the best machine on the grid.”

            Seb didnt grow up with Web nor raced long enough along side him from the start… Web is 11 yrs older than Seb, so expect some difference…

            Ham n Ros grew up racing together or one another all their career! there is no generation gap…

            Fact is Ham was winning Msia with a big margin, and he was gonna level the field if he won!

            Another fact is Ham didnt magically screwed up his starts! Both cars had the issue! It is to do with hardware in hand, and Merc admitted and knows about it…

            Another fact for you, Ros knew he couldnt race Ham on level field, so he caused another situation in Spain like in Spa last time and he lost no points in spain due to knocking both out, but in Aus is the only one he screwed up big time loosing points….
            If Ver was penalized earlier for his moves, we wouldnt be talking about silly points…
            If you wanna fact check reliability, check Lewis’s engine counts now! Not Just singapore 2014, also in 2014, Ham had more DNFs, as Ros didnt leave the field on last race, even without it, he was lagging behind, not leading!
            If you think Ros winning the title would be the better driver, you dont watch F1 fairly…

            1. Wow the Waa-milton fans are out in full force. Coulda shoulda woulda – Rosberg deserves the title when he wins it.

            2. @sjzelli No Rosberg does not.

            3. What about Azerbaijan? Please realise rosberg has fairly beaten Hamilton many times, and the final points tally determines the championship, not ifs and buts.

    5. I think probably is too strong a term. Hamilton probably was going to win 2007 until China. Abu Dhabi and Brazil came so close to torpedoing Vettel’s championship. In Mexico Rosberg was lucky with the clash with Verstappen.

      I still think even with only 2 races to go the championship could yet see a twist.

      1. you know what ‘probability’ means right?

        1. I sure do! So a quick glance over the possible outcomes shows less that could result in Rosberg winning the championship in Brazil than see it go down to Abu Dhabi. And then factoring in each driver’s season form for a likely finishing position for them both gives you a high probability of the championship not being decided in Brazil if you really want to throw statistics into the mix.

          So thank you for asking, but I’ll stand by Rosberg ‘probably’ winning in Brazil being an incorrect statement. Peace!

          1. I’d say “probably” is too open, you can’t say if it is correct or not. If by probably you mean that it is more likely to happen than the opposite (i.e, probability > 0.5, or 50%) then we have a basis for discussion.

            Of 111 possible combinations (not counting half points due to an unfinished race as a possibility, but maybe we should) Nico gets it in 33, less than one third. But of course they are not equally likely. You can go by stats from previous races and estimate a probability, but it is just that, an estimation.

            The worst stat for Lewis to consider is that he never won at Interlagos in 9 races. Not winning again this year would be a disaster for him, but still Nico would be WDC only in 33/100 scenarios. And Lewis would actually improve his present situation with a 2P if Nico gets 7P or worse (how likely is this?), he wouls still be behind Nico but a victory in Abu Dhabi would get him the title.

            Now what is the likeliest outcome?. With Merc’s dominance, I’d say its a 1-2 for Merc. Nico does not need to fight Lewis for P1, so I’d say Lewis P1 and Nico P2 is a very likely outcome, and it will leave the WDC to be decided at Yas Marina (with a big advantage for Nico, who would only need to be 3rd if Lewis wins, 7th if Lewis is second, 8th if 3rd, and whatever if Lewis does not make the podium). But going by Lewis’ previous record at Interlagos I’d say that he’s unlikely to win, and then the most likely winner is Nico who would of course get the tittle.

            So I’d conclude that Nico has a pretty high probability of getting the title next Sunday (but not necessarily over 50%). And most scenarios where he doesn’t get it leave him with a great advantage for Abu Dhabi. The WDC is his to lose more than Lewis’ to win. But of course it has happened many times before.

            Now if we could bring that tiny Shanghai gravel trap to Interlagos…

            1. Statistics are always open to a level of interpretation. Hamilton has a higher average finishing position that Rosberg taking out DNF’s. Even using DNF’s and going from his average classification their average classification doesn’t find Rosberg a sufficient points gap to take it in Brazil.

              And of course, the people who do it for a living, the bookies all have Hamilton as favorite. Keith’s article was an interesting interpretation of statistics and was good for opening up a discussion, but I and people who’s job it is to calculate that probability for the bookies disagree.

            2. Actually bookies’ odds are not based on the probability of each outcome so much as on what the punters are hoping will be the outcome. The odds are chosen to get as close as possible to the same total payout whatever the result – and of course to make sure that it is less than the total the punters have paid in.

              If Hamilton is the favourite it is because more of the punters are his fans than Rosberg’s.

      2. petebaldwin (@)
        4th November 2016, 15:24

        Absolutely! Rosberg is only 19 points in front so a DNF for Rosberg and a win for Hamilton will mean that Hamilton goes into the last race of the season in front.

        Rosberg was lucky in Malaysia with the overtake on Kimi and was lucky in Mexico to have not been taken out by Verstappen.

        I just hope that Hamilton doesn’t have any issues for the remainder of the season and makes Rosberg earn it. It’d be a real shame to see Hamilton retire from a race handing the title to his teammate.

        1. Rosberg at Malaysia was extremely lucky that Hamilton had that complete engine failure, which caused his retirement while comfortably leading that race with only 16 laps to go, and on to a certain win. Without that failure, Lewis would be leading the championship today by 9 points.

          1. Not only that, Ham was unlucky with Bottas and China was another complete disaster Nasr hitting him, gearbox penalty etc… Baku was complete cock up by team not telling him what has been changed before hand… and not the same behavior with nico in a similar situation… if it wasnt for the help with nico, he would be most likely DNF or dropped a lot further down had the team not helped at all like they did with ham!

            Ros had the most help and most reliable car this year, and still reverted to dirty driving antics… if he wins this year, he will be one of the most undeserving drivers…

            People keeps saying Ham screwed up starts and caused this issue… right, how many times mercedes drivers had screwed up the start? mercedes acknowledged the hardware issue, and knows about it… it is not just ham magically forgot how to start off the line… thats the dumbest reason everyone whoever hates him…has been giving

            1. @mysticus Don’t forget Russia where Hamilton again had car problems during quality or free practice and in the race again, cause Hamilton was closing in on Rosberg hard until the team told Hamilton he had a pressure leak or whatever it was

            2. also, if Ros loose the title after this much luck and drama he created, he will never get the caurage / chance as everyone will look down on him after this, an wont take him seriously…

    6. Brazil’s going to be interesting. Rosberg will have the full weight of the potential title on his shoulders (far more then Mexico, where it was only a vague possibility at best) and with his recent record at the track he’ll be expected to win. However, Hamilton’s on song and determined to do all he can (not to mention win at his idol’s home circuit) while Red Bull and possibly Ferrari are nipping at the Mercedes’ heels. Austria may also come to his mind, another track he’s usually superior on but this time he failed to take the win. Time will tell, of course.

      1. Didn’t it take Senna a fair few goes before he finally won an F1 race in Brazil? Maybe then, this could be the year that Hamilton finally does it himself.

        1. It took Senna 10 attempts. Something tells me Hamilton would rather like that to happen to himself.

          1. It took Senna 8 attempts before he won in 1991.

    7. I really hope it rains so hard in Brazil cause we all know Rosberg is not good in the rain. I also feel like Hamilton deserve it more, Hamilton could be in the lead was not it not for the Malaysia DNF. So gutted by it still and i can’t help but i feel like Rosberg is being helped to become WDC.

      1. @patienceandtime
        Bahrain 2015 Rosberg’s brakes failed with 2 laps to go costing him 3 points. A combined 50, let me say that again, 50 points lost in Italy and Russia. Hamilton lost 12 points in Singapore, the race in which it mattered the least and 10 in Monaco. That’s in effect 31 points that Rosberg lost just through reliability. Yet nobody talks about this do, they? Rosberg had raised his game this year and has proven too much for Hamilton at certain venues. There’s nothing concerning Hamilton’s unreliability this year to make any fuss about. Rosberg will be a very well deserved champion and I don’t care what your response might be, because I’ve stated only facts. FACTS.

        1. And Hamilton won the championship by 59 points so reliability wouldn’t have altered the outcome.

          This year though if Hamilton loses by less than 28 points and Rosberg doesn’t have a DNF due to reliability then Malaysia can be identified as a single point in the season that potluck has affected the outcome.

          1. Fair enough, but still not enough to claim Rosberg was handed the title completely by unreliability.

            1. Would Rosberg be leading the championship now. If it wasn’t for that complete engine failure that Lewis had suffered at Malaysia. The answer is……..No he would trailing Lewis by 9 points……FACT.

            2. @sravan-pe

              Well, that’s not what I’m saying. Taking Rosberg’s bad luck out of 2015, Hamilton still won enough points on merit that even if Rosberg had gained the extra points lost from bad luck, Hamilton would still have won the championship.

              This year though, unless Rosberg ends on 28 or more points or more than Hamilton. That single incident of bad luck Hamilton had, that Rosberg didn’t is enough to account for Rosberg’s point lead which is absolutely a deciding factor.

              Luck and reliability is almost always a factor in a championship. For instance taking reliability and none fault retirements out of the equation Hamilton wouldn’t have won 2008 (but would probably have won 2012).

            3. You know what’s also a fact, Samouri? Hamilton wouldn’t have been able to be in the situation to challenge in Malaysia, had his team not clearly ignored the spirit of the rules to buy him a free supply of engines which *no* other driver on the grid has had access to.

              That engine failure? That was karma.

            4. @samouri

              … But it did happen. You can’t change reality.

              Why not just look forward to the remaining races? Either driver can still win, how good is that?

            5. knoxploration: what a load of nonsense.

              Mercedes protested that loophole at the start of the season and not only were they overruled by the other teams (who wanted the ability to get extra engines) but they were also lynched by people saying they only wanted the rule change to get an advantage over the other teams. The rule wasn’t changed and people complain anyway about them “getting an advantage”. Average IQ of an “f1 fan” is 12 it seems.

            6. Absolutly Martin.
              Let’s also add, contrary to what knoxploration wrote that that loophole is still available for all to use.
              McLaren and Ferrari did it previously, I don’t remember knoxploration ranting against them. That post was just a plain lie.

          2. What about those points gained as a result of Rosberg obeying team orders in Monaco?

            1. That Rosberg was too slow and would have angered the whole team had he kept in front?
              Remember Brum: you win the championship with your team, no against it.

      2. Hamilton deserves it more because he hits walls in Baku?

        Hamilton deserves it more because he chokes in Japan?

        You’re saying a DNF means a driver deserves a championship?

        Sad fans these days. That’s why F1 is falling apart.

        1. I think it depends who you’re a rapid fan of.

          I’m certainly hoping the one I’m a fan of wins. But either way, I won’t be sore, the winner will have earned it.

          1. I meant rabid, but rapid almost works haha.

        2. @The Duke Are these two examples all you can up with ?. Hamilton had engine problems in China and Russia and in the race in Russia Hamilton had another engine problem while gaining on Rosberg..

      3. I’m from Brazil and it’s been raining on and off since last week and this trend is expected to continue until next week.

        I hope it rains next week that’s Lewis’ best chance, not because I think Nico is not good in the wet but because in a wet weather race, the race becomes more unpredictable.

    8. Out of the 19 races so far this season more than half have produced an outcome which, if repeated in Brazil, would secure the title for Rosberg:

      That is a unique way of assessing possible outcomes, nice idea Keith. Although I must admit the title sounds a little on the optimistic side. Then again, at this juncture in the title race, if you titled the article “the sky is blue” you’d still see someone quibbling over it. 😊

      I would like the championship to be settled in Brazil for one reason, and one reason only – I do not want Abu Dhabi (a flashy pretender, in my eyes) to get any more attention by hosting the title decider: I want that glory for Interlagos.

      For my wish to come true, it will mean Rosberg winning the championship. That’s the only downside of my wish – it would have been even nicer for a winner-takes-all showdown at Brazil.

      1. Abu Dhabi, beautiful place. Spent vacation there last year, loved it. Would I want to go to Interlagos? Yes!, more than Abu Dhabi? of course not. At least, in Abu Dhabi I don’t get robbed on a daytime in the middle of street.

        They just want to promote their land just like other lands did when they first started hosting F1 races. What’s bad about it.

        1. My gripe is against the circuit, not the entirety of Abu Dhabi, just to clear the air.

        2. If you like to enjoy your vacations in the middle of an oligarch’s paradise, surrounded by the fruits of what is essentially little different to slave labor and in a society which condones stoning and flogging and which censors the media and restricts dissenting opinions, well, that’s your choice. Doubtless you’d enjoy vacationing in Putin’s corrupt hellhole, Sochi, as well.

          But frankly, F1 should not be visiting these places and helping to prop up dictators and oligarchs. These races should not be happening, any more than we should have raced in South Africa despite apartheid.

          At least there, some of the teams had the balls to boycott races in the mid-80s, even if they had to be pressured into it by the French government. And eventually, we did the right thing and stopped going to South Africa at all, as long as apartheid remained.

          Nowadays, though, we just go to whichever corrupt nation Ecclestone sends us, happily ignoring the flagrant human rights abuses surrounding all of the “racing”. And we throw away great circuits and decades of history to ensure Bernie can line his pockets ever deeper with dirty money from these events, whose sole purpose is to try and put a nice glossy finish on top of the turd sandwich so it looks pretty to the rest of the world.

          1. You clearly have absolutely no idea what you are talking about.

            Of all the Middle East and frankly many other countries you would do well to restrict your opinions until you actually have some experience to back up your assumptions. Oman and Abu are two of the better run countries in the world. You simply cannot compare to Russia or anywhere else.

            I know – I spent 25 years working in them and I can find you hundreds of people at all levels that would agree. Even the chaps from across the water cleaning the toilets.

            Keep the biased talk until you can speak from experience.

            Yep might be a boring track but that I recall was not designed by them!

            1. … I’m sorry, there’s more than enough abhorrent and ridiculous laws to be able to criticize.

              When a gay man can walk down the street holding hands with his partner (not married obviously, that’s not legal), while talking to his sister who’s wearing short shorts and a tank top, while drinking a beer and listening to some music, perhaps she’s even dancing. When that can happen, then I’ll keep quite about it.

              In 2014 they stoned a woman to death.

            2. “Yep might be a boring track but that I recall was not designed by them!”

              Designed by a German. I thought that was why we built all of those Lancasters.

            3. Sorry but living the sweet life as a highly-paid expat and judging how your live-in maid was treated does not mean you know the facts. There are some great documentaries out there showing the living conditions of the people making the big shiny buildings, all of whom are barely above slave labor and had to be tricked into their jobs in the first place.

      2. That’s the only downside of my wish – it would have been even nicer for a winner-takes-all showdown at Brazil.

        There’s no possible scenario in which two drivers can each clinch the title at the penultimate race, so you might as well just say you want Brazil to be last on the calendar. I do too. :)

        1. @estesark – oh yes, given a choice, I’d love Brazil to host the season finale, the way it used to be 😊

        2. ColdFly F1 (@)
          4th November 2016, 18:04

          There’s no possible scenario in which two drivers can each clinch the title at the penultimate race

          Unless we have quadruple points in Brazil (I hope Bernie doesn’t read this) ;-)

    9. I wouldn’t mind the title being decided in Interlagos, as it’s actually a cool place for racing, with a very passionate crowd, a decent layout, and it was host to some of the most nerve-wrecking title showdowns in recent history. Abu Dhabi, by contrast, is one of the most boring, artificial places with two of the most anti-climactic conclusions to a championship in its short history.

      1. Or was it nerve-wracking? Nerve-racking? Argh …

    10. Where does this idea that Rosberg isn’t good in the rain come from?

      Yes he had struggles at Monaco this year but that is 1 race out how how many he’s done in the wet, Most of which where he’s been competitive. Was he not leading Lewis for most of the wet Japanese Gp in 2014? Lewis didn’t pass him until the rain had stopped, the track was dry enough for inter’s & DRS had been enabled which was a big factor in how Lewis got by. In the pure wet conditions Lewis had no answer & it was Lewis that ran off the track at one point.

      And his issues at Monaco were not even because it was wet, It was down to him not been able to get the tyres into there operating window due to the setup he was running that weekend not putting enough load/temperature into them…. An issue many others have had in the dry with the current spec tyres & incidentally the same issue that Nico was having at Mexico last weekend.

      1. He isn’t the fastest in the wet, but Monaco was a one off in terms of bad performances. I think he appears worse then he is as Hamilton’s pulled off some stunning wet weather performances.

        1. @wildfire15 There is no doubt Hamilton is the better wet weather driver, but as you say Monaco was a one off. Don’t forget Silverstone and COTA last year where Rosberg was way faster in the wet.

    11. I hope he wins in Sao Paulo, clinches the title and then has a retirement to slightly even it out with Lewis (meaning he wins the title by 1 point).

      But i think Rosberg would deserve to win the championship even though Hamilton has had all the bad luck bcuz he’s a hard worker and he has done everything he can this year; capitalizing on Lewis’s bad luck and mistakes.

    12. Perhaps the biggest worry for Hamilton is that there are few scenarios in which the championship remains open if he finishes behind Rosberg in Brazil. They all involve both of the Mercedes drivers finishing outside the top two places, something which hasn’t happened all year (see below).

      Not quite all: it could also happen if Rosberg is second and Hamilton is third.

      1. Yup, true, big mistake, well spotted!!

        In that case Rosberg would be 22 points ahead, and also the countback would favor him (one more win, one more second). Not that it matters (you cannot get 3 points, except for 7P if the race counts only half the points. But Lewis would need the full 25 points, so no way)

        So in Abu Dabhi the possibilities would be simple: Lewis absolutely needs a win, and Nico has enough with an 8th. Said another way: Nico would win the WDC in all cases except with a Lewis win and a Nico P9, P10 or DNS.

        Now a Merc finishing the race that low sounds well nigh impossible, so the only likely scenario for a Lewis WDC after a Nico P2/Lewis P3 at Interlagos would be a Lewis win and a Nico DNF at Yas Marina.

    13. After watching the highlights of the season, again, irrespective of the reliability issues that’s dogged Hamilton this season, his starts have been awful! which on some occasions had led to follow up issues, i.e. colliding with Bottas, losing places, etc, whilst Rosberg gets away and finishes the job.

      That to me is essentially where Hamilton has really lost this season. Rosberg did what needed to be done, fair enough he’s been questionable with some of his moves on track, but when he had the advantage, whether it was gifted, luck, doesn’t matter he brought the car home. If by some divine intervention Rosberg doesn’t win it this year, he’ll be exceptionally unfortunate. Then again, Hamilton knows that feeling all too well…

      1. Yet if the engine had not let go – LH would be leading thus making all the remaining issues completely invalid…

        In other words bar that blow up LH drove the better season. Full stop.

        And then we add the three back of the grids to the matter by having the worst Mercedes engines for years?

        No sorry, NR is likely to win but please don’t suggest a dodgy clutch is the reason, it really is not.

      2. Icarus: I’ve seen this starts vs mechanical reliability debate about which has hurt Hamilton more and I really don’t think your stance holds water.

        I did a summary post the US GP which shows mechanical reliability has been much more costly. I have copy/pasted the post below

        ———-
        Points Hamilton has lost to Rosberg so far in 2016:

        Starts (Calculated based on grid position to finishing position):
        AUS: 14
        Bhr: 17
        HUN: -14
        GER: -20
        ITA: 14
        JPN: 3
        Total: 14 lost to Rosberg through starts

        Reliability (Where failure happened in Qualifying points are calculated based on the assumption of a Merc 1-2, first number in ROS favour and second in HAM favour):
        CHN: 12 – 26
        RUS: 0 – 14
        BEL: 3 – 17
        MAL: 28
        Total: 43 – 85 (avg 64) points lost to Rosberg through reliability issues

        Championship standings as of 25th Oct 2016 had starts not been an issue:
        1) Rosberg
        2) Hamilton (-12)

        Championship standings as of 25th Oct 2016 had reliability not been an issue:
        1) Hamilton
        2) Rosberg -17 – -59 (avg -38)

        So seems pretty clear cut to me about what has been more costly to Hamilton this season. Had he not suffered the problems with reliability that he has then realistically you could say he would be leading the championship by at least 17 points, and if everything had went spectacularly for him he could be leading by 2 race wins at this point.

        ———–

        Bare in mind Hamilton has had an additional 7 point gain on Rosberg since then too.

        1. Useful analysis to refresh some memories that have been playing tricks :)

        2. concise assessment, Martin. the numbers speak for themselves..

    14. Dear Mercedes, if the WDC is decided in Brazil, don’t come to the last race…
      it is really not that much fun watching you dominate.

      1. @dutchtreat – I wouldn’t mind seeing their test drivers (Ocon/Wehrlein) take the Mercedes cars racing, instead of Hamilton and Rosberg.

        1. Hamilton “gave up” after wining the title last year with 3 races to go. If Rosberg seals the deal in Brazil, Hamilton won’t even make it out of bed for Abu Dhabi.

        2. @phylyp
          I’m for that if it means that Rosberg and Hamilton drive the Manor cars for the weekend.

          1. Yep, let them drive the B-team’s cars!

    15. Does the last couple of races have any question marks over Nico’s engine reliability??? Thought he was almost out of some of the engine/components unlike Lewis who has taken his penalty and has sufficient…..New bits for Nico in Brazil…and he is at the back…as I would have thought that would be the best of the 2 races to be at the back…

      1. @jop452

        His components will have more miles on them, but will still be well within their expected life given the amount of data and testing Mercedes have on them.

        Coupled with the detailed analysis Mercedes perform on the engines and oil samples they will have a good idea of where in their life they are and if the risk of running them is too great.

    16. “Probably” is a stretch.

    17. Antoon van Gemert
      5th November 2016, 16:31

      Never mind the mathematics, this would be my dreamscenario: 10 Laps before the end of the race, a sudden thunderstorm brings havoc into the field, with Nico Rosberg, leading the race, as one of the victims, spinning off the circuit, his Mercedes damaged beyond repair. After the neccessary pitstops Max Verstappen takes over the lead, with Lewis Hamilton in second and Ricciardo in third. A hard charging Vettel closes up on Ricciardo, but at the end suddenly misses out again for a chance on the podium, because he ‘had to take a wee’. “Honestly?” had ask Maurizio over the radio, answered by an angry “(peep) YES,HONESTLY!”. Maurizio takes his hands up in the air and shouts: “Why, why,why!”. In the meantime Max takes the chequered flag and wins his second Grand Prix, while singing “I’m racing in the rain…”. Max is now fourth in the championship. Lewis takes a solid and safe second place, with now just one point behind Rosberg. In the last race of the season the two Mercedes-cars are finally forced to race each other hard, leaving a big smile on the face of Bernie Ecclestone. May the best man win……….THE END.

      1. Nice one, Anton. Here’s my minor contribution…

        And out of gratefulness, Bernie gives Verstappen a peck on the cheek, thereby answering the Photo Caption Competition. 😂

      2. Nice scenario!

    18. Going to be an interesting first corner in Brazil thats for sure! can’t wait!

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