Rosberg wins friends in defeat

Nico Rosberg lost out on the 2014 Formula One World Championship to Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton on Sunday.

With double points on offer in Abu Dhabi, Hamilton had to finish in the top two to clinch his second title.

This gave Rosberg hope going into the final weekend because without the aid of double points all Hamilton would have required under that scenario was a top six finish.

But with Rosberg on pole position, in theory at least, Rosberg had the chance to control the race, push Hamilton back into the chasing back which could have created the chance for Rosberg to win the championship.

If one of the chasing Williams’ of Massa or Bottas could have leapfrogged Hamilton, or the Brit was caught up in some contact then Rosberg could have won the race and the title.

As it happened, Rosberg suffered a poor start whilst Hamilton launched away from the grid in one of the finest starts we’ve seen all season.

Hamilton was first going into the first corner and clearly had the race pace to beat Rosberg in the final head-to-head showdown.

With Hamilton leading after the first of two scheduled pit-stops, Rosberg already looked out of ideas before technical problems ended his hopes.

He slowly fell down the order, before Mercedes ordered Rosberg to retire.

The German however requested to finish the race, which was granted by the team.

If Rosberg had lost support due to his actions in Monaco and Spa, he may well have won a few friends back in the manner that he accepted defeat both in the race and in the championship.

‘in the end, my race didn?t make a difference because Lewis won the race fair and square. He deserved to win today and also to win the championship,’ Rosberg told Sky Sports.

‘He was that little bit better this year and it is fully deserved. He has done an amazing job and was the best driver on the grid this year.’

?It?s been a great battle between us and that is what I race for. It?s been very intense at times but most of the time it?s been fantastic,’