By winning the title Rosberg has emulated his father Keke, who won the world championship in 1982. They join Graham and Damon Hill as the only father-and-son pair in the sport’s history to both win the world championship.
Rosberg races under a German licence and has become the third German driver to win the world championship after Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel.
List of Formula One drivers’ champions
| Rank | Driver | Championships |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael Schumacher | 7 |
| 2 | Juan Manuel Fangio | 5 |
| =3 | Alain Prost | 4 |
| =3 | Sebastian Vettel | 4 |
| =5 | Jack Brabham | 3 |
| =5 | Jackie Stewart | 3 |
| =5 | Niki Lauda | 3 |
| =5 | Nelson Piquet | 3 |
| =5 | Ayrton Senna | 3 |
| =5 | Lewis Hamilton | 3 |
| =11 | Alberto Ascari | 2 |
| =11 | Jim Clark | 2 |
| =11 | Graham Hill | 2 |
| =11 | Emerson Fittipaldi | 2 |
| =11 | Mika Hakkinen | 2 |
| =11 | Fernando Alonso | 2 |
| =17 | Giuseppe Farina | 1 |
| =17 | Mike Hawthorn | 1 |
| =17 | Phil Hill | 1 |
| =17 | John Surtees | 1 |
| =17 | Denny Hulme | 1 |
| =17 | Jochen Rindt | 1 |
| =17 | James Hunt | 1 |
| =17 | Mario Andretti | 1 |
| =17 | Jody Scheckter | 1 |
| =17 | Alan Jones | 1 |
| =17 | Keke Rosberg | 1 |
| =17 | Nigel Mansell | 1 |
| =17 | Damon Hill | 1 |
| =17 | Jacques Villeneuve | 1 |
| =17 | Kimi Raikkonen | 1 |
| =17 | Jenson Button | 1 |
| =17 | Nico Rosberg | 1 |
2016 F1 season
- Which was F1’s best down-to-the-wire title fight?
- Are tickets too dear? Crowds fell at some tracks in 2016
- F1’s TV audience decline stopped in 2016
- Brawn among key F1 hires announced by Liberty
- Has F1 hit ‘peak penalties’? Fewer sanctions in 2016
Yes (@come-on-kubica)
27th November 2016, 14:39
A deserved world championship.
ThisNoNameID2 (@patienceandtime)
27th November 2016, 14:41
@come-on-kibica The fact you even mention it says a lot. Rosberg #fakechamp
Nuff said
27th November 2016, 14:48
Sorry to break it to you, but there’s no such thing as a fake champ. What a glorious day.
Ajaxn
27th November 2016, 16:03
If this championship season was a series of horse races, there would by now have been a long overdue stewards enquiry. If i were a betting man and had placed hard earned money on the outcome of this ‘championship’ i would feel hard done by.
Of course history will only remember the bottom line and not its peculiar circumstance, our historians will make sure of that, but In my opinion Hamilton’s fight to the very last second of the very last lap was the most honest thing about this year’s championship.
I also think on reflection many people will see his refusal to simply follow team orders as the mark of a true sport’s man. That gesture of defiance was about the credibility of this sport.
Some might say there is a bigger picture, citing the pending withdrawal of the German grandprix as one factor in that bigger picture. To that i would say this ‘sport’, like all sports, hinges on its credibility, not its entertainment, or its advertising revenue. This very technical industry should be about the driver , their passion, their conviction, and their absolute dedication, not some overly contrived idea of deservedness based on sentiment. This season will be remebered and i think we can thank Hamilton for the part he has played to make sure of that.
Now can you imagine recent greats having to share their championships?
Kimiwillbeback
27th November 2016, 16:51
It”s official, Hamiltons claim to being a great will be in question. Was it his talent or the most dominant car ever seen in F1 that was responsible for his win-tally and Championships?
We don’t know for sure, but we do know this: None of the other greats in F1 has lost the Championship in a dominant car to a teammate that wasn’t also a great. The question is, is Rosberg a great or is Hamilton not quite as great as some would like to believe? An open question in my view.
Lee1
27th November 2016, 17:42
@kimiwillbeback
Rosberg just had a better car than Lewis. Simple really…
Plus pretty much every multiple world champ has won in a dominant car. Schumacher had a dominant car, vettel had a dominant car, senna often had a dominant car. Let’s remember that hamiltons first championship was in a car that was on par with the ferrari, had the fia trying to stop him.
I would also suggest that rosberg had more support from the team this year judging by the team radio orders given during the race.
Grosjean's smile (@testacorsa)
27th November 2016, 18:11
@kimiwillbeback man you’re twisting the knife :D
Maddme
27th November 2016, 14:49
Less so than the Great Pretender, that is Lewis Hamilton!
JammyB
27th November 2016, 15:02
F1 all time Driver wins standing
1. Michael Schumacher 91
2. Lewis Hamilton 53
3. Alain Prost 51
Yes “pretender” -rolls eyes- the hate for Hamilton is real
Rambler
27th November 2016, 15:31
And why is he so much more hated than any other champion? There’s probably a reason for the hate buddy
kpcart
27th November 2016, 15:42
you do realise has had a race winning car in more races then anyone in history???
Daniel
27th November 2016, 16:03
Until his tragic accident, Schumacher was much more hated, at least in Brazil
Dani
27th November 2016, 15:04
Don’t worry, I’m sure the Ham will be thinking in his heart how he’s the champion. Deluded.
David Not Coulthard (@davidnotcoulthard)
27th November 2016, 16:09
@patienceandtime #GVorPironifor82 #Laudasreliabilitysucked85 #Laudashouldvewon76 #FangiowasGIVENthetitlebysomeBritishguy and the list would go on if you see it like that.
Lari (@lari)
27th November 2016, 16:24
Oh I am so feasting on the tears of crymilton fans, this will last a long, long time :) What a joyful day and blessed ending to the season!
Tifoso1989 (@tifoso1989)
27th November 2016, 17:53
@patienceandtime
facepalm !!!
Gustav Hafren
27th November 2016, 14:43
Fantastic performance by the World Champion of the next years to come. Dirty play by the one we’ve seen enough of.
Dom (@3dom)
27th November 2016, 15:15
What else would you expect?! It was the only tactic that he could employ and added to the spectacle of the contest. If he hadn’t tried that tactic then the race would have been poorer for it. Both are great drivers and I doubt that any other champion would have taken a different tact
Sun Siyuan (@peking901)
27th November 2016, 15:49
Then he shouldn’t say he WILL NOT impede anyone in the race! Hypocrite like always. Sorry, never liked him.
Blazz
27th November 2016, 15:51
Did you like Schumi or Senna’s dirty tactics that were actually worse?
Blazz
27th November 2016, 15:50
So in your opinion Rosberg will have the beating of Lewis for “many years to come”?
Ajaxn
27th November 2016, 16:36
He has a point. Albeit not the point he intends.
Personally i hope the rival teams produce cars which forces Mercedes to drive true.
I hope next season is one where every point counts, a season where you can’t afford to leave points in the garage.
As it is they ran away with the constructors despite all those points lost to ‘mechanical failures’.
Michael (@freelittlebirds)
27th November 2016, 16:35
@come-on-kubica
Pole Champion: Lewis Hamilton
Victory Champion: Lewis Hamilton
On Track winner: Lewis Hamilton
World Champion: Nico Rosberg
Kickstarter Campaign to help Nico: Mercedes
Enough said…
Tifoso1989 (@tifoso1989)
27th November 2016, 17:56
@freelittlebirds
Hamilton won his first WDC in a similar way. It’s payback now !
Michael (@freelittlebirds)
27th November 2016, 23:31
@tifoso1989 I’ll always take better, talented, and faster over lucky, less talented with higher car reliability. Especially on the same team where you can’t make any claims of having a faster car.
I see your point though – I like Massa and I’m glad you support him!
Gillesvigo
27th November 2016, 21:28
To hamilton fans: He didnot have more points than his teamate in the 30% of his career: 2007 (= points Alonso)/ 2011 (button) and 2016 (rosberg)
SevenFiftySeven
28th November 2016, 1:24
Many, many congratulations to Nico for securing a very well fought and deserved world championship. He’s been the underdog; undeservedly targeted and denigrated by the media at times; never had the popular vote; wasn’t preferred to be champion by the head of FOM. Yet, he managed to earn the title against a very tough competitor – with unwavering focus, self-belief, consistency and support from his young family and his highly professional and impartial employers, the Mercedes F1 team, the pinnacle of automotive technology and engineering. He’s been a team player all season, said the right things, appraised his immediate opponent when called for and held his nerve and temperament all season. Well done!
Good fight back from Lewis till the end. You can only control what’s in your hands. Reliability isn’t one. Given Lewis’ stature as a driver and a multi WDC, Baku qualy and Spain DNF were costly mistakes in his title hunt. One can never afford to let your guard down, especially if you have a strong team mate. Unforced mistake at Baku qualy and impatience at Spain is what really took the title out of Lewis’ hands (let’s forget reliability and bad starts). Spain could very easily have been just Lewis’ DNF with Rosberg going on to win with an even bigger points differential. Still, Lewis performed brilliantly all season with very strong qualis and dominant race wins.
All the best to both in 2017!
WilliamB (@william-brierty)
27th November 2016, 14:39
Before the anti-Rosberg furore begins let us first look at Nico Rosberg the champion from a few alternatives angles. Firstly, why has Rosberg not previously won a title? Is it because he is not a good enough driver? No, plenty of drivers have taken F1 titles with a sparser skill set than Nico. He is an excellent qualifier, a consistent starter, a cerebral operator and has an uncanny talent for keeping his nose clean across a weekend. Being saddled alongside one of the greatest drivers of all time has much more to do with his failure to tally titles prior to now. He is not Lewis’ equal, but practically no one is.
Secondly, who on the grid currently could have done as good or better job at challenging Lewis over the past few years? Vettel and Ricciardo, probably? Verstappen and Alonso, maybe? That is a list of drivers who are either already champions or likely to become champions in the future. Why does Nico not deserve to join that list?
We can all debate whether Nico deserved to be this year’s champion, but when he has performed so admirably against one of greatest competitors the sport has ever seen, I don’t think anyone can deny that Rosberg deserves to be a champion.
Dani
27th November 2016, 15:07
Completely agree.
And it’s also quite refreshing to me to have a new champion.
Oversteer (@oversteer)
27th November 2016, 15:10
I could not agree more!!
Phylyp (@phylyp)
27th November 2016, 15:25
COTD
Newfangled (@newfangled)
27th November 2016, 15:42
I remember watching Rosberg driving for Williams in Bahrain 2007. I thought he was a world champion in the making back then, much in the same way I think Verstappen is now.
A very well-measured summation of Rosberg’s achievements this year. COTD.
Peppermint-Lemon (@)
27th November 2016, 19:11
Yeah I remember him setting fastest laps in Bahrain 2006, his first season. Was very impressive even back then.
Newfangled (@newfangled)
27th November 2016, 19:21
I think you may have corrected me without meaning to. You have my thanks! I believe I meant 2006, given the fastest laps.
WilliamB (@william-brierty)
27th November 2016, 16:11
I would add to that by saying the Nico Rosberg that hobbled into the 2015 US Grand Prix third in the standings (behind the Ferrari of Vettel) was not capable of beating Hamilton over a season no matter what the circumstances. Rosberg responded to his nemesis’ second title in a row with three victories from pole.
But Hamilton no longer had the motivation of a title to chance, right? Come 2016, those “sexy laps” that generally put Hamilton half a second down the road the previous year barely got his nose ahead in Bahrain, CotA and Interlagos. Whilst in 2015 Lewis found it all too easy to maintain or extend his practice margin over his teammate, this year those seemingly one-sided weekends have all too often seen Nico within touching distance come the end of qualifying or the race. Hamilton’s 2015 monopoly on virtuoso weekends was also broken by prodigious efforts from Nico in Singapore and Japan.
The influence of these marginal performance gains on Nico’s side versus the infinite counterfactual permutations that would have handed the title to Hamilton is a topic for the eternal abyss of internet comment threads, but this is undeniable: Nico Rosberg picked himself up and dusted himself off after two consecutive title defeats and found a new performance level in himself in a way that only a great sportsman can.
Lari (@lari)
27th November 2016, 16:27
COTD. This is something we need more here, not what the anti-Rosberg (previously anti-Vettel, and list goes on) infidels are producing here. Well done Rosberg! Next year will be really, really interesting with all the changes to tires, widths, etc bound to come.
David Not Coulthard (@davidnotcoulthard)
27th November 2016, 16:27
@william-brierty And unlike his dad he didn’t have title rivals eliminated by injury of Jochen Mass’ car.
jeff
27th November 2016, 17:19
I think that most people know that Hamilton is the better driver but that is no reason to make negative comments toward Rosberg. It is very telling that almost all of the talk after this championship has come to a close is of how Rosberg might not be in the same class as Hamilton and others but he deserves it this time.
These conversation have all had a contrived ring to them.
I have heard nobody say that Rosberg made a convincing championship winner and everyone is instead is asking “is he a deserving champion” and when you look at the facts, sure, he is. He got more points than anyone else and that is all he needed to do.
Yes we all know that if it were not for mechanical failures on the other cars then this would have been the 3rd consecutive runner up place for Rosberg.
However, Rosberg has improved since 2015 and he likely owes this championship as much to his incremental improvement as he does to the DNF points handed to him.
It’s not an empty win, he didn’t really cheat much this year and his driving was faster, still boring and still a conservative style that fails to excite (notice the lack of a season montage for him after the race?) but faster than last year none the less.o excite (notice the lack of a season montage for him after the race?) but faster than last year none the less.
Rosberg improved his game so that he could finish consistently in 2nd and collect the occasional race win too.
A title winning formula? yes. An exciting title campaign to watch? No.
I sincerely hope that we will one day get a chance to see how good Rosberg really is in wheel to wheel racing, maybe next year there will not be such a ridiculous gap between the competition and we can see 6 or more drivers fighting it out and see how he stacks up against them.
HStefen (@etiennecout)
27th November 2016, 16:49
Thank you sir, a much needed comment
Broke84 (@broke84)
27th November 2016, 17:07
I agree with this and was looking to say something similar but it has now been said so little point me saying the same. I’m happy to see Rosberg become champion and I was happy with Hamiltons attitude on the podium until the channel 4 interview. We could argue all day long about reliability, Hamilton’s starts etc but all that matters is the points tally at the end of the season. I want to add in at this point that Hamilton was not in the wrong to back Rosberg up, it is not as if he drove into anybody to try and win. Two great and smart drivers, Rosbergs turn this year. i wonder if he’ll stick with number 6 or carry no 1 on his car next year.
Dani
27th November 2016, 17:24
Agreed. As a British fan, not impressed with how Hamilton has behaved.
Phil Norman (@phil-f1-21)
27th November 2016, 18:11
+ 1 to the main comment.
Every world champion has a slice of luck as well. Nico made the best of the situations he found himself in. He may not have the out and out pace of Lewis or the passing ability. The fastest driver doesn’t always win though. It’s a marathon not a sprint ironically. I think he dealt with the pressure on him very well.
Frasier (@frasier)
27th November 2016, 18:25
The question Lee McK asked Lewis was ‘and you feel that at the end of it all you were given equal opportunity and on this occasion Nico Rosberg, the better man, won’
Answer ‘umm, I don’t agree with that necessarily, but er, I guess I’ll leave that to your imagination’
Quite clearly, by the luck that is motor racing, Nico had 100% reliability, was able to put the car where its pace demanded, the front row, at every race and Lewis had many, many technical issues, one of which cost him a certain 28 points relative to Nico.
Hence why on earth should Lewis agree to that proposition?
Aapje (@aapje)
27th November 2016, 18:14
COTD
Pyon (@pyon)
27th November 2016, 18:33
+1
Charles King (@charleski)
27th November 2016, 14:42
Anyone who wins nine races and comes top on points deserves the title. Well done, Nico.
David BR
27th November 2016, 15:01
Deserve is a kind of empty phrase. Was he best driver or best Mercedes driver even? Clearly not.
Still hopefully Mercedes will have that need for Rosberg to win out of their system now. Those calls for Hamilton to speed up were vomit-inducingly crass. Absolutely no need for them.
Bobby (@f1bobby)
27th November 2016, 15:04
Anyone who wins 10 deserves it more.
Charles King (@charleski)
27th November 2016, 15:07
As I pointed out below, Nico deserves this title just as much as Lewis deserved to snatch the 2008 title from Felipe.
David BR
27th November 2016, 15:30
Massa who was handed the win at Spa? And given a place for free in China by Kimi? Hamilton did what he had to do unassisted by FIA or a faster team mate.
Tifoso1989 (@tifoso1989)
27th November 2016, 18:03
Hamilton was also gifted the place in Hockenheim 2008 by Kovalainen in a similar way to the Ferrari team orders in 2010 but of course without the stupid message “Kovalainen is faster than you !”
David BR
28th November 2016, 0:37
(@tifoso1989) Not remotely similar! Raikonnen had to slow down, pull over and fetch an ice cream for Massa to get past. Kovalainen was slower than Hamilton but asked to not waste time fighting for a position he was certain to lose as Hamilton, on new tyres, had a brief window to catch cars ahead (whereas Kovi didn’t). Agreed they’re different?!
Kazihno (@kazinho)
28th November 2016, 6:42
No, Massa who was robbed of 2 x wins by retiring from the lead in Hungary and Singapore. Funny how you only remember the retirements that suit your agenda.
trublu (@trublu)
27th November 2016, 15:43
As pointed below your point makes no sense. 2008 was Mass 6-5 Hamilton in race wins. If Massa wasn’t gifted Hamilton’s Spa win, it would have been Hamilton with one more race win.
Pietro
28th November 2016, 15:24
@f1bobby “Anyone who wins 10 deserves it more”
The championship is assigned on points, not wins.
If it was assigned on wins probably race tactics of the two drivers would have been different from race 1.
Rosberg secured second places to get the points he needed, it’s tactics. Hamilton slowed Rosberg in the season finale to gain more points on him hoping someone would pass him, different tactics, but to obtain same effect.
As you can’t blame Hamilton on slowing down the pack to win the championship, you can’t blame Rosberg to just concentrate on points (reducing risks) in the final races.
Rules affect the way drivers drive.
FreddyVictor
27th November 2016, 15:10
Spot on !
He deserves it just as much as his dad who won *only* 1 race in his championship year
Loads of pressure heaped on Nico by his ‘team mate’ but he held his nerve with a faultless drive
Hopefully next year Nico will become slightly deaf when the team ask him to let his ‘team mate’ past for instance @ Monaco
Will Wood (@willwood)
27th November 2016, 14:44
Congratulations Nico Rosberg – World Champion!
Lewis Hamilton did everything he could to try and beat his team mate and will go down as one of the greatest of all time, but I am delighted for Rosberg who I feel has deserved more respect for his achievements than he gets.
Oh, and no arguments please. Nico > Keke… ;)
WilliamB (@william-brierty)
27th November 2016, 15:13
@willwood IMO Rosberg > Button/Raikkonen, hence, more than worthy champion.
David Not Coulthard (@davidnotcoulthard)
27th November 2016, 16:44
@willwood An article on how avoiding death and injury was not all that was needed of Nico (GV and Pironi helped Keke get closer to the title quite a bit AFAIK) would be interesting.
ThisNoNameID2 (@patienceandtime)
27th November 2016, 14:44
Not deserved at all. but congrats
dex022 (@dex022)
27th November 2016, 15:01
So Ham with Monaco gifted win would be more deserving?
Debra
27th November 2016, 15:55
You mean, “gifted the win” by Redbull, because if I remember correctly it was their strategy that lost Ricciardo the win.
ThisNoNameID2 (@patienceandtime)
27th November 2016, 16:11
@dex022 Considered how Hamilton drove 51 laps on tires and having RBR to adjust their strategy, forcing them in a mistake which nobody else dared to do ofcourse
Peppermint-Lemon (@)
27th November 2016, 19:24
Lol are you serious?! Red bull messed up Monaco all on their own. You must be one of hammys pr spinners lol.
Mehtab Ahmed (@t4bb3)
27th November 2016, 20:12
Almost everybody drove 51 laps in Monaco on tires, Rosberg even drove 78 laps on tires! Take that! hah!
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
27th November 2016, 14:45
A very good world champion. You don’t see a guy losing the battle to one of the greatest drivers in history come back and win the title like that. It’s happened very few times between team mates and it never happened after two consecutive defeats.
Nico’s last races of 2015 were a decisive point, even if by then we thought Lewis was just taking it easy. But something changed after that in his mind. Somehow the Nico we’ve seen before was gone and he was more fighty and quite a lot more prepared to win, to beat Lewis whenever he could and to pick up any gifts from Hamilton’s unreability.
Well done Nico! a deserved prize!
Dani
27th November 2016, 14:50
Well done Nico! I feel he has improved so much this year and has had the right strength, mentality and challenge in him to win the champion. I am absolutely ecstatic! :)
ThisNoNameID2 (@patienceandtime)
27th November 2016, 19:16
@dani LOL. Only thing that ‘improved’ was his reliability compared to Hamilton. Was absolute trash in Monaco and Brasil and asking for Hamilton set up the whole time.
Peppermint-Lemon (@)
27th November 2016, 19:30
There have been plenty of times where both Merc drivers have felt the need to take the set up on the other car. Happens in every team all the time.
Kazihno (@kazinho)
28th November 2016, 6:52
You forgot to mention his starts were better too. That’s why your boy lost the title: he didn’t fix his starting procedure until it was too late.
John Toad (@)
27th November 2016, 14:51
That race encapsulated everything that is wrong with F1 currently and why Rosberg’s world championship has an asterisk by it.
No matter how slowly Hamilton was driving at the end Rosberg didn’t try to pass him instead bleating to the team to ask for Hamilton to speed up.
If not for Hamilton’s equipment failures this season he would have won the championship even earlier than last season.
It’s a simple fact that Rosberg is a good driver, a poor racer and second best to Hamilton.
dex022 (@dex022)
27th November 2016, 15:03
So Ham with Monaco gifted win would be more deserving? I need to simply answer to all of you talking b s .
Drg
27th November 2016, 15:55
I keep seeing this comment and its frankly tiring.
Why don’t you take a look at the absolutely gifted win of 015? An absolute travesty. A crazy situation.
Or this year. Austria. Quite possibly the biggest F1 joke I have seen. A strategist spending so long trying to protect Rosberg he forgot there were two racers!
Now try to find a single race where Rosberg has started at the back or in any way been screwed by strategy.
None.
They got what they wanted and its trashing the sport.
ThisNoNameID2 (@patienceandtime)
27th November 2016, 19:17
@Drg Well said mate.
gdewilde (@gdewilde)
27th November 2016, 15:03
Pretty poor comment, especially part about the asterisk..
Neiana (@neiana)
27th November 2016, 15:05
* Had ROS attempted to pass HAM, HAM would have been more inclined to fight harder and less inclined to not wreck.
* HAM increased his speed quickly when crossing DRS detection, then slammed on the brakes in the middle of a corner if ROS was behind him.
* ROS’s purpose was to not wreck, and he passed VES with a massively risky move considering the move itself and who it was against.
I think HAM was very poor today and ROS was very smart.
Oversteer (@oversteer)
27th November 2016, 15:14
I think HAM did a great job in the last laps, trying everything he could to win, anyway it made for a great finish, abet a bit artificial.
Grosjean's smile (@testacorsa)
27th November 2016, 18:23
Spot on!
David BR
27th November 2016, 15:16
+1 Asking for Hamilton to let him past? That’s not the attitude of a championship driver, it just isn’t. Rosberg lucked this one.
Well done, deserved, top job etc. platitudes don’t hide that fact.
stefan
27th November 2016, 18:42
it was clear ham was going to do anything to win, including running ros off if he ever got close, even risking a DSQ
ros shouldn’t have risked any ham dirty tricks, was smart to stay 2nd as it was enough
David BR
27th November 2016, 21:41
Clear in your own little head maybe.
spoutnik (@spoutnik)
27th November 2016, 14:51
Fantastic! He just beat one of the all time best driver. Well done world champion, enjoy!
ThisNoNameID2 (@patienceandtime)
27th November 2016, 19:18
@spoutnik Reliability did.
Peppermint-Lemon (@)
27th November 2016, 19:56
Yeah after both suffered reliability problems, Nico made the best of it, bettering his teammate. Lewis underperformed at baku, moaned as Nico had same problem, then Hamilton broke his car in Malaysia (he is a car breaker).
dbHenry
28th November 2016, 15:58
Reliability can relate directly to the driver, or his nuances in driving. Nico protected his car better than Hamilton over the course of the season. Thus better reliability for the Champion.
Eggry (@eggry)
27th November 2016, 14:51
He didn’t win the race but he drove like master of race craft. He deserves it!
JammyB
27th November 2016, 14:53
I feel like for years after this people will be having to explain how Rosberg “deserved” his title, where as all of the other world champions on the grid have never had it in question. I honestly just like seeing the fastest driver win but this year the driver with the 2nd most wins and 2nd most pole positions won due to unreliability sad year to me, just looking forward to next year now to see the 2017 cars.
Charles King (@charleski)
27th November 2016, 15:01
Let’s see, when did a driver last win the WDC despite only being 2nd in number of wins? Oh yeah, 2008 … who was that driver again?
/rolleyes
dan
27th November 2016, 15:06
lol Hamilton was in a worse car
Peppermint-Lemon (@)
27th November 2016, 19:57
No he wasn’t! Lol.
Bobby (@f1bobby)
27th November 2016, 15:07
Against a different team. Do you need a lesson in apples and pears?
JammyB
27th November 2016, 15:09
And notice how he has 3 world championships and not just 2008? So not really sure how that argument explains 2014-2015 in him not being a “deserved” world champion
Charles King (@charleski)
27th November 2016, 15:17
@f1bobby: Utterly irrelevant. Massa lost the 2008 title through unreliability, just as Lewis did this year.
@JammyB: Lewis deserved his 3 WDC titles, just like Nico deserved to take it this year. That’s the rules of the game.
Peppermint-Lemon (@)
27th November 2016, 20:00
All earned through favourtism and poor sportsmanship.
Neiana (@neiana)
27th November 2016, 15:16
Oh yeah, wasn’t that when another team tried to fix the result of a race (like HAM tried to do today)?
Oh yeah, wasn’t that when another driver basically let Hamilton by at the very last moment, rather than make him race for the position?
Oh yeah, 2008 belongs to Massa in my opinion.
David Not Coulthard (@davidnotcoulthard)
27th November 2016, 16:11
@neiana And I’d say Malaysia this year was very much payback for Hungary 2008.
It was less painful, I’d even say, since it failed further from home than Hungary 2008.
trublu (@trublu)
27th November 2016, 15:19
Hamilton had one less cos he was robbed of his win at Spa.
/rollseyes
Baron
27th November 2016, 20:07
And Massa was robbed in Hungary. Your point?
Benji
27th November 2016, 14:54
#notmychampion ! Just kidding. He’s had a solid season but I think his 2014 season was more impressive. Over the 3 championship winning years together he probably deserves one against Hamilton and I think if you’d said to both drivers in 2013 this would be the outcome both would have ripped your arms off for it.
bogaaaa (@nosehair)
27th November 2016, 14:55
Raced for 2nd place last 4 races…l like nico but his none fighting 2nd places is disgraceful..none of the great would of drove for 2nd 4 times in a row.
Feuerdrache (@xenomorph91)
27th November 2016, 15:07
So, Prost is no all time great?
Michael Brown (@)
27th November 2016, 15:08
Prost isn’t great then
Lari (@lari)
27th November 2016, 16:31
You just got served.
bogaaaa (@nosehair)
27th November 2016, 21:59
No prost wasnt a great
Kazihno (@kazinho)
28th November 2016, 7:05
Alonso pretty much did this strategy in 2005 and no one complains that he didn’t deserve it.
Move on. You are embarrassing yourself.
Daniel Hollis
27th November 2016, 15:00
I wanted Lewis to win and I still think he is the slightly faster of the two. But given how close Nico has pushed him, I think over 3 years of Mercedes dominance, 2 – 1 to Hamilton is a very fair reflection. Nico deserved at least 1 title based on how he has driven for the last 3 years. Well done Nico! Now bring on 2017!
Ju88sy (@)
27th November 2016, 17:14
Nico did a great job this season concentrating on getting the maximum possible result irrespective of what’s happening on the other side of the garage. He was fortunate with reliability, but he did what was required of him which is all a driver can do.
Dani
27th November 2016, 15:00
Such a pleasant guy, and had such determination. Loved his podium speech too and honouring his wife! Pleased that Vettel got third too and also highlighted that Hamilton was purposely going slow, even though his team instructed him to go faster! Definitely pleased with the results!
Uzair Syed (@ultimateuzair)
27th November 2016, 15:08
Congratulations to Nico on a very consistent season! There are now two world champions in the Rosberg family! Well done.
ThisNoNameID2 (@patienceandtime)
27th November 2016, 19:54
‘Consistent’ ain’t hard if your car keeps failing..
Baron
27th November 2016, 20:10
Actually. It is. But I suppose you meant the opposite.
Peppermint-Lemon (@)
27th November 2016, 20:36
You’re right, even with car problems Nico still won the championship. Great driver!
dan
27th November 2016, 15:08
lol rememeber few races ago and people said what an injustice if Nico is not champ with 9 races? Lewis won 10 races lol.
Dom (@3dom)
27th November 2016, 15:09
It hurts watching your favourite driver lose out on the world championship, but all I can say is congratulations to Nico Rosberg.
It’s hard to accept when you see Hamilton win 10 races and score more poles and still lose out, when he was the only one to lose a certain victory when his engine failed in Malaysia. Lewis had a few scruffy moments, like some of the starts and Baku qualy, but I think he also performed well enough to be deserving of the title. Still Nico is a driver that I admire, he does a fan video after every race regardless of the outcome, and has shown such resolve. Consistency helped him, yes, but he has proven to be blindingly quick too.
Both have shown what it takes, and at the end of the day, points mean prizes and we can only have one champion.
Well done Nico and well done Lewis. Two fantastic drivers. I look forward to seeing you mix it with your rivals next season as two worthy champions.
Blazz
27th November 2016, 15:26
+1
Stefanauss (@stefanauss)
27th November 2016, 15:10
“Not bad for a guy who will never be world champion”
Erik Kennedy (@erikkennedy)
27th November 2016, 15:15
Ha ha.
Jay Menon (@jaymenon10)
27th November 2016, 15:38
World champion in inverted commas
dan
27th November 2016, 15:11
Merc did not care who won? Yh sure it was a joke Paddy on radio must got a nice bonus to huide there biast. Oh well all you who say NR deserved it Lewis did more this year. I can live easy with 3 titles and supporting the better driver.
Nikos (@exeviolthor)
27th November 2016, 18:36
Mercedes have a rule that the drivers have to make sure that the team wins the race. That is why they were asking Hamilton to up his pace. They were afraid that Vettel would pass both of them.
It is the same reason for which Rosberg let Hamilton pass him in Monaco.
David BR
27th November 2016, 22:27
And if you want to know why Formula 1’s popularity is in decline, it’s that kind of attitude that drains the life from the sport. Hamilton’s tactics today, whether they were the best for him or not, made the race worth watching at least. Mercedes instructing him to speed up and deliver a 1-2 procession were the complete opposite. Hamilton correctly (being a racing driver…) ignored the instructions, but still they expose just how pre-packaged and micro-managed everything seems to spectators and viewers.
WheelToWheel (@lolzerbob)
27th November 2016, 15:11
Congrats Nico on a deserved WC title :)
dan
27th November 2016, 15:13
10 races and not champion it is hard. Oh well atleast Lewis can be content with knowing he as better as ever concerning Nico. Also where are the Lewis is not gracious people to? He was very gracious. Toto showing his true colours finaly.
dan
27th November 2016, 15:16
Quicker than ever in qually 53 wins Lewis is still better than Nico. But Nico deserves a WC he became underrated he would have beat Button in qually and Alonso. Hamilton has had great teammates.
dan
27th November 2016, 15:19
“Reliabilty is apart of F1 for ever”
Haha not for Nico of course not a single problem. That’s what it took lol and you want say he deserved it more? He deserves to be a champ but not this year over Lewis. How can anyone even say it he won by 5 pts with all them problems. If you flipped it Lewis would be champ after Brazil or before so how did Nico deserve it more?
David Not Coulthard (@davidnotcoulthard)
27th November 2016, 16:19
Put 2008 under scrutiny, then.
Start with Hungary.
sm
27th November 2016, 17:43
then Singapore…
Prieni
27th November 2016, 21:21
And look at the w014 finale…
Humb S (@humb)
28th November 2016, 3:14
Don’t forge Spa2008.
Kazihno (@kazinho)
28th November 2016, 7:09
Spa? Either someone didn’t watch all the races or mathematics isn’t one’s strong suit.
Blazz
27th November 2016, 15:21
I have to pass my congratulations to Nico Rosberg. I am a Hamilton fan and I am obviously gutted for Lewis but the championship was lost ages ago for him. Funnily enough I was already consigned to Rosberg being WDC after the Japanese GP and the Malaysian GP retirement was the death knell for Lewis.
Why did Rosberg win?
– He drove well
– He mastered the starts better than Lewis which is part of driver ability
– He had less reliability issues than Lewis.
When Lewis reflects back on this season I think he will be kicking himself on the starts especially after those first 4 fly away races. Those were the foundations for his defeat in my opinion. But on balance he lost the title by a few points despite these issues and still won more races and outqualified Rosberg across the season.
Some said Rosberg would never be world champion especially after 2014, I even thought that. But clearly this season was his best chance and unlike 2014 he made the most of it. Still, what counts at the end of the day is that Rosberg did the best job given the situation he was handed. Quite something seeing him break down on the podium there and he will undoubtedly cherish this moment with those close to him.
This may be his and Lewis’ last chance of claiming more championships as the formula changes next year. As we have learnt over the years no team wins forever.
Nico Rosberg is our 2016 world champion.
Phylyp (@phylyp)
27th November 2016, 15:27
So we lose one WDC with Button leaving, and gain a new one for 2017 – thereby continuing with 5 WDCs on the grid.
If only Button had stayed on, we’d have had 3 teams with WDC driver pairings!
Estesark (@estesark)
27th November 2016, 15:31
Brilliant photo.
Rui Oliveira (@lumberjackpt81)
27th November 2016, 15:33
Some words about Lewis Hamilton:
19 points ahead of Nico Rosberg before the summer break. Starting last the Spa race, and DNF in Malaysia while leading, directly penalizing Lewis in more 28 points.
Neverthless, Lewis lost the championship by only 5 points.
With no doubt, he would deserve the world championship.
Nico Rosberg: he has the speed to fight Lewis Hamilton, so he is world champion material. So, not a shameful world champion and he should be congratulated for the title.
Ajaxn
27th November 2016, 16:21
Well put.
Not to mention a world champion in season with so many ‘poor starts’ , anyone would think Hamilton was some kind of rank armature.
The way this is reported kind of reminds me of that new meme – Hypernormalisation.
ILuvSoundtracks (@)
27th November 2016, 15:35
33rd championship winner.
mark jackson
27th November 2016, 15:35
Congrats to both Nico and Lewis. Ultimately, they gave the fans a great season of racing. I think Nico proved he deserved to be champion today, his faultless drive, his composure, the overtake on MadMax.
maarten.f1 (@)
27th November 2016, 15:41
I think was a very well deserved title for Rosberg. Hamilton had only two retirements and finished off the podium only twice. Whereas Rosberg finished off the podium four times, and had one retirement. It’s not like Hamilton had a horrible season (especially considering he had ten wins), it’s just that Rosberg had a better one. Good for Rosberg to win his title! Now starts the long wait for 2017…
pH (@ph)
27th November 2016, 15:43
Hamilton drove really well today. Managed to push Rosberg back without ever coming under threat of being passed himself. I am not sure Rosberg could pull it off as well. I admit it did not taste right when I saw it, but we have seen moves all year long that were much less gentlemantly, like pushing another driver off the track. I do not hold it against Hamilton.
If we use Hamilton (a generally accepted all time great) as a yardstick to measure Rosberg, and look at the list of WCD’s, I guess that one championship is about right for Rosberg. Now that this is done with, we can go back watching Hamilton trying to get four, five…
Greup (@greup)
27th November 2016, 16:05
2-1 to Lewis over three years in the best car. Sounds like a resonable outcome.
Gigantor (@kbdavies)
27th November 2016, 16:42
No. It’s 3-0.
Diceman (@diceman)
27th November 2016, 18:29
3-1, actually. Why does no-one count 2013 here or anywhere?
Tommy Scragend
27th November 2016, 20:39
He did say “three years in the best car”. In 2013 the Mercedes wasn’t the best car.
Mark (@blueruck)
27th November 2016, 16:11
Not a big ROS fan, but I can’t bad mouth his championship. He had the most points in the last race of the year and he is the Champion. It was his year, luck was on his side – i.e. no engine failures, major mechanical issues, etc.
HAM had a magical year with 10 wins, but luck was not on his side. So he came up 6 points short of being the Champ.
Imre (@f1mre)
27th November 2016, 16:34
I hope he chooses No. 1 instead of 6 for 2017.
DaveW (@dmw)
27th November 2016, 16:37
Anyone fancy a recount?
J/k
Congrats to a Rosberg on a well earned first title.
Also congrats to Keith and his editorial staff on another season leading the pack covering the sport.
BAKA
27th November 2016, 17:01
Who held the champion status for a long time?
Just in terms of number of days continously holding a champion…It will be good to see who had retained champions in the order
Luffy
27th November 2016, 17:15
TOP:
1.Shumi – 4 years 11 months 17 days
2.Fangio – 4 years 1 month 27 days
3.Vettel – 4 years 9 days
MIDDLE:
2.1 years – Prost, Alonso, Hamilton
BOTTOM:
Remaining all champions held less than 2 years continuously at the max.
Broke84 (@broke84)
27th November 2016, 17:20
I think it is worth giving Perez, Alonso and Sainz Jr a big shout out in their final championship positions, Perez for finishing 7th behind the drivers for the big 3 teams, Alonso for getting 10th in a still not brilliant car and Sainz Jnr for finishing 7 points off Massa in a Torro rosso.
Jonathan Parkin
27th November 2016, 17:24
I was a little worried that Nico did what Seb did a few years back and not return to the pits. Vettel nearly got investigated for doing exactly the same thing, the only difference being he had more races if he got a point penalty. Nico doesn’t
Neel Jani (@neelv27)
27th November 2016, 17:46
I think Seb answered it well here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DaLHTzRQJ2w
Jump to 14:13
krxx
27th November 2016, 20:12
@neelv27
And what do you make of the part @5:50? Notice Ros @6:01, hilarious.
Tifoso1989 (@tifoso1989)
27th November 2016, 18:20
Congratulations Nico, a well deserved champion even though he is not my favorite driver, coming back from a 2-0 defeat against the “Hummer” Lewis, one of the toughest competitors in the history of F1, is indeed a big deal. Nico may not be as fast as Lewis in both qualify and race but the fact that he has beaten Lewis over a season shows how good his determination is. BTW i become changing my opinion about him in Abu Dhabi 2014 when he continued to race till the end, the only thing he lacks is wheel to wheel racing, maybe this WDC will help him in that aspect.
Diceman (@diceman)
27th November 2016, 18:26
As someone who has been following Nico since 2006, I feel extremely happy for him. With the new rules coming next year I feel this was most likely his last chance to win the title, and I’m glad he didn’t blow it up. After 4 seasons together there’s no denying that Hamilton is the overall better driver of these two, but when looking at their careers as a whole, I do feel Rosberg deserved to win his 1st title more than Hamilton would have deserved his 4th.
michael
27th November 2016, 19:12
Next year will be a redbull driver who is gonna top the championship, mark my words!
So this year was Nico’s best and only chance to be crown as a WDC
michael
27th November 2016, 19:16
For those who think ROS is an avarage driver? … just watch those years when he raced for mercedes with MSC as teammate.
krxx
27th November 2016, 20:23
Ros is a top driver for sure, but those seasons actually (helped to) confirm(ed) to me that none of the current drivers holds a candle to MSch.
Peppermint-Lemon (@)
27th November 2016, 21:06
Agreed. An old Schumacher in early 40s mixing it with Nico put Michael on hamiltons current level, which is incredible. Schumacher in his 20s/30s would’ve chewed up and spat out all out the current drivers (including Hamilton) had they have been his teammate in the 90s/00s.
SevenFiftySeven
28th November 2016, 2:02
+1
hunocsi (@hunocsi)
27th November 2016, 19:24
What is very important and has to be pointed out that since the introduction of these hybrid V6 power units, nobody has performed proper donuts, all attempts were sketchy (what with the saving rubber and engine mile and all that nonsense).
Rosberg truly put down his footmark as a world champion as he produced great donuts on the grid, so hats off – he deserves it just for this reason alone.
hunocsi (@hunocsi)
27th November 2016, 19:25
Also, has he not been fined like Vettel in 2013 in India for parking his car on the track?
Bob
27th November 2016, 19:55
It’s cool that after 7 years rivals finally swap a title. It gives this season something extra and makes Lewis his 2 previous titles also more special.
I think it’s good for F1, consecutive champions get borring. I almost watched no F1 live since 2013, just resumes, but somehow Nico made it interesting again.
krxx
27th November 2016, 20:32
makes Lewis his 2 previous titles also more special. – Especially the ones who seem to have a blind spot for Rosberg’s accomplishments should learn to appreciate this. Maybe in time they will.
Bob
27th November 2016, 20:43
Yup, like Nico having more poles than Lewis in 2014, who would have guessed he was able to do that.
Don’t want to spice things up. But the Brittish media, which is very dominant, rarely highlightens the good points of rivals of a British driver/atlete. I’ve seen this in F1 and in cycling, F1fanatic is a rare exeption. So Rosberg will always have the general perseption against him. 2008 is the best example of how selective they are.
Mehtab Ahmed (@t4bb3)
27th November 2016, 20:25
It is sad what the comment section is turning into after a really good season of F1.
Bob
27th November 2016, 20:47
It’s better to be talked about than not being talked about, or something like that. At least this season was interesting again, so that is good. The outcome made us forget that it’s always the best car that wins, not the best driver (of the whole pack I mean).
nase
27th November 2016, 21:09
@t4bb3
Yeah, sadly. But we’re in Lewisland here (figuratively speaking), and as Lewis has decided to set an irreconcilable tone, none of all this really comes as a surprise.
Oh, what an inspiring driver he could be if he had at least some decency in addition to his amazing talent …
Hamish Curtis (@ayrtonsenna26)
27th November 2016, 20:52
I wonder if Nico will take the No.1 next year or if, like Lewis he will keep No.6.
Melvin (@)
27th November 2016, 21:06
Congratulations to Rosberg. Well done.
nase
27th November 2016, 21:12
I’d love to see a Caption Competition with that photo. :)
krxx
28th November 2016, 12:21
Silver Arrow ejects Silver Arrowhead
Matt Conway
27th November 2016, 22:28
People are citing reliability as the reason that Hamilton lost this year and whilst it certainly played it’s part as it has done in almost every world championship. There is no denying the fact that Hamilton’s starts have been an issue when he is without mechanical issues. Since he has put in the extra effort to remedy this (As he himself confirmed), his starts have been much better.
Nico also had worse reliability than Lewis last year, suffering two DNFs to Lewis’ one. However, given Hamilton’s fantastic form last year it wasn’t considered an issue.
Happy to see a new world champion in Nico, I hope Lewis takes it on the chin (As I’m sure he will) and comes back even stronger next year. If anyone can bring it, he’s the one you’d expect to do so.
bull mello (@bullmello)
27th November 2016, 23:39
Great photo heading this story! Not a Rosberg fan, but as a racing fan and a photographer, that is a perfect shot.
Robert (@)
28th November 2016, 1:58
I’m glad Rosberg won the title after what happened in this race, if Hamilton had won the title in this fashion (backing Rosberg into others) I think he probably would’ve later regretted it because it isn’t a very sporting thing to do. I’m disappointed with him that he tried this tactic, it is not the type of thing I would expect of a true racer and sportsman.
Humb S (@humb)
28th November 2016, 3:05
You made the list, now what?
Summon the partisans to discover their IP numbers? Then burning their houses to the ground?
Were you born in a democracy?
When did manking forget to respect others points of view?
Humb S (@humb)
28th November 2016, 3:26
Ooops… I can’t figure out what happened… LoL
Pretty sure I was replyng someone…
Kazihno (@kazinho)
28th November 2016, 6:43
Bitter British tears are the sweetest. And I cannot get enough of them.
Balue (@balue)
28th November 2016, 12:43
Yay!! Fantastic. Big grats to Nico!
Vicky Torres
28th November 2016, 13:18
What do you need for a tequila shot:
Bottle of tequila
Shot glass
A lime
Don’t bring any salt, there is plenty here in the comments!
Congratulations Nico. Whether you call him an unworthy Champion or not , the word “Champion” is still in it and belongs to only one man, Nico Rosberg.
PJA (@pja)
28th November 2016, 17:28
The question of whether Rosberg deserves to be champion seems to be an issue, all the Channel 4 team felt the need to state that Rosberg deserves to be the champion after yesterday’s race and it is a subject brought up in other places, something which I don’t think is normally the case.
Rosberg is a deserving champion because he had the most points this season, whoever scores the most points over the course of the season deserves to be champion. It doesn’t matter if that driver is lucky, has the best car or is not the best driver over the course of the season.
Yes Rosberg has been lucky with Hamilton having all his reliability problems, you may expect teammates to have similar reliability, but luck plays a part in all sports and all walks of life and reliability in particular is a big part of F1, just because one driver has a car failure at one race it does not mean that the next failure in that team has to happen to the other driver.
The differing reliability records of the Mercedes drivers has meant that Rosberg has had a car advantage over his teammate but most Drivers Champions have a car advantage over their rivals.
Some may think that just because Rosberg hasn’t been the best driver this season means he isn’t a deserving champion, but again because of the nature of this sport it is normally the best driver and car combination who become champion not the best driver.
I usually don’t make a full ranking of the best drivers each season but while I would hesitate to say that either Mercedes driver was the best driver in 2016 I would rank Hamilton above Rosberg for this season but that doesn’t mean I don’t think Rosberg does not deserve to be Champion this year.
The only time I would think a driver with the most points didn’t deserve to be champion was if that particular driver had cheated or done something controversial to win the title, and that has definitely not happened with Rosberg this year.