Round 21: Abu Dhabi

Justin:

Well, there is so much to cover. Perhaps the thing to kick off with is to say, that whilst I was attempting to blog after every race this year, I noticed the last race I did so for was Singapore.

This is kind of appropriate. Nico Rosberg obliterated Hamilton in Singapore, probably giving his best performance of 2016. Nico himself said after that it was his best ever qualifying.

And so, from Singapore to Abu Dhabi - Nico Rosberg is our 2016 Formula 1 World Champion.

It was an exciting race, thanks in most part to Hamilton going only as quickly (or slowly) as he needed to, to back Rosberg into the chasing pack.

I don't understand the amount of backlash in the media regarding the tactics employed by Hamilton really. Rosberg himself has said he understood why he raced like that.

It truly was the drive of a champion by Nico Rosberg. The dive on Verstappen was a balls out overtake of the finest margins. Absorbing all the pressure as Hamilton drove slowly ahead whilst Vettel and Verstappen filled his mirrors. Brilliant under pressure. He held firm.

A worthy World Champion, for sure ;-).

Time to go
And then, a shock for us all. Nico announced his retirement a couple of days after the race.

After it had sunk in with me, I thought, you know what...fair play mate. He is happy with his choice. He has achieved all he wanted to and 2016 was the most emotional and stressful for him. He was under a lot of pressure, especially from Japan onwards. The relief was etched all over his face after he won.

I watched the FIA Prize Giving online and it was awesome, for sure.

Speculation
And now, silly season commences again. Most seats for 2017 had been filled, but Rosberg leaving could potentially start another merry-go-round.

There are a lot of rumours swirling around about this, and a lot of funny internet memes about the race to the Mercedes seat.

Will Vettel want to tear up his Ferrari contract? I don't think they will be winning next year. I expect Red Bull to be the ones who go up against Mercedes. Will Alonso even be allowed to leave McLaren? Will Mercedes go for a number 2? If they do, it will be a boring 2017 watching Hamilton race up front with no fast teammate to push him.

All will be revealed. Into a winter of over 3 months with no F1 we go.

Enjoy your next role as father and husband Champion.