Hamilton or Rosberg. Which one will win the drivers title.

Jordan 199

So the drivers championship will be decided on Sunday at Abu Dhabi. Nico Rosberg is first in the standings with 367 points, 12 points ahead of Lewis Hamilton who has 355 points.

Which driver do you think will be crowned champion on Sunday?

Zaph

I think Hamilton will win the race, but I can't see Nico finishing off the podium and that will be enough to give him the title. I'm not a fan of either tbh, but if I had to choose I'd prefer Hamilton to win it.

mickdw

Rosberg will be in hard luck if he doesn't win. I think he will Win and I will be happy.

Spudman_20000

Haven't been a big fan of Rosberg tippy toeing to the championship in the last couple of races, but barring a complete disaster, he'll take the driver's crown this year.

I fully expect him to aim for just a podium this weekend, rather than trying to win it in style.

ScumLord

Rosberg should take it. I wouldn't like to see him lose it now. It might not have been the most exciting championship win but he put in the work, I think he upped his game to protect his lead and at this point I'd rather see another Champion on the grid next year than see a driver simply add another to his belt. Should give him more confidence going into the next season when anything could happen. More downforce might suit Rosberg better. There's no doubt Hamilton has great skills with a looser car, more downforce may even the playing field a bit.

rat catcher

Love to see Nico win. And see Hamilton spit the dummy out!

NATLOR

Rosberg will win barring being taken out or mechanical failure.

Hamilton is no doubt the better driver but will be more than happy to see him beaten

Zaph

Spudman_20000 wrote: »

Haven't been a big fan of Rosberg tippy toeing to the championship in the last couple of races, but barring a complete disaster, he'll take the driver's crown this year.

I fully expect him to aim for just a podium this weekend, rather than trying to win it in style.

Yeah, he never really inherited his father's couldn't give a fcuk style of driving. I couldn't imagine Keke just settling for a podium if he was in a similar position, he'd be out to win.

R00ster

If Rosberg is running second to Hamilton towards the end and the Red Bulls are in close succession, naturally he would be very nervous. He can't afford to be too conservative, or the Mercs be could split by the Red Bulls.

Anjobe

Rosberg to win the title, Hamilton to win the race.

Hamilton has certainly been unlucky with engine failures this year (can anyone calculate the chances of all the Mercedes engines to fail this year being in his allocation?), but has had some poor races too, he could have had the title won by now.

It would be very hard on Rosberg to lose it because of a mechanical failure at this stage, or by being taken out by someone else's accident, but if he drops it under pressure or drives too conservatively and gets picked off by the Red Bull's then he will only have himself to blame.

who the fug

We will find out if Rosberg is up there with Senna and Schumacher , or just another also run

Frank Bullitt

Rosberg for me.

ScumLord

Anjobe wrote: »

Hamilton has certainly been unlucky with engine failures this year (can anyone calculate the chances of all the Mercedes engines to fail this year being in his allocation?), but has had some poor races too, he could have had the title won by now.

Yeah, as much as Hamiltons engine failures were a factor he's string of poor starts are probably what lost him the championship. He could have recovered from the failures, him being so close to first coming into the last race kind of proves the failures weren't the end of his challenge, if he hadn't messed up those starts he would probably be in the lead by now.

That's the thing with professional sports like F1, it's not enough to be the best, you also have to be perfect, mistakes are amplified by the skill of your competitors. Rosberg just didn't make as many mistakes and that's enough to give him the championship.

CFlat

Hard to see Rosberg throwing it away at this stage but just to be sure he could do Schumacher on it and take himself and Ham out at the first corner

Seriously, this WDC could be in the hands of the RBs if they can get into the mix at the front and keep Rosberg off the podium. Who wins if Rosberg comes 4th and they both have the same points?

Rhaegal

Be sickened if Hammy wins again.

NATLOR

CFlat wrote: »

Hard to see Rosberg throwing it away at this stage but just to be sure he could do Schumacher on it and take himself and Ham out at the first corner

Seriously, this WDC could be in the hands of the RBs if they can get into the mix at the front and keep Rosberg off the podium. Who wins if Rosberg comes 4th and they both have the same points?

If Rosberg finishes 4th and Hamilton wins, Hamilton wins by one point

CFlat

NATLOR wrote: »

If Rosberg finishes 4th and Hamilton wins, Hamilton wins by one point

Oh yea, did me maths wrong there.

skipper_G

I'm not necessarily a fan of Rosberg but I'd choose anybody over Hamilton!
Putting my Hamilton hate aside for a moment Rosberg deserves it. He probably knows Hamilton is faster all things considered but he has put himself in this position through hardwork and determination. His win to race ratio is almost on par with Alonso, he's certainly not an average driver so it won't be undeserved if he wins.

Slutmonkey57b

Heart says Rosberg, head says Hamilton.

Rosberg has improved a lot this year, and totally deserves to win, but there are still too many occasions when he's made a "bottled it" error. Interestingly, Hamilton isn't immune to that either, but manages to cover it up with the media better (or rather, the media are more disposed to give him a pass on it).

Whatever happens, I don't want to see Verstappen bashing into the middle of it, ****ing up Rosberg's race and making smarmy comments afterwards. But I have a feeling he will. Because I personally think he's a ****, racing talent aside.

Joeseph Balls

If there was anyone to lose in this position it would be Rosberg. Through bottling it or bad luck.
Not a fan of either but rather see rosberg win

Autosport

Nico Rosberg

Hamilton to win the race and title. I don't think Rosberg deserves it.

flazio

I think Rosberg will win it and I hope he wins the race as well because as it stands they both have 9 wins each. If Hamilton wins the race and Rosberg comes second or third it'll be 10-9 wins to Hamilton and yet Rosberg is champion.
I know, I know that the points system is fair that way and Rosberg is the more consistent in all races but it still wouldn't feel right.
However should Rosberg win the race, then no problem.

boardsuser1

Personally I want Rosberg to win. sick to death of Hamilton.

Not taking away from the fact he is a good driver but the hype is just too much.

I thought the era's of both Schumacher and Vettel were bad, this Mercedes era is much worse.

And I was a big Schumacher supporter at that.

Out of curiosity I wonder will Rosberg have the number 1 on the car next season if he wins.

Can't understand why Hamilton thinks that 44 looks better than 1.

Can't say i'm a fan of this whole permanent race number thing.

Ghost Train

Hope Rosberg wins it. Would be a bit cruel to lose it at the last race with the lead he had had

Mitch Connor

Would prefer to see Hamilton win the title as i feel he is the better driver but I just don't see Rosberg not finishing second at least.

I do find it funny that Merc keep saying they fear an engine failure deciding the title. The multiple engine failures Hamilton suffered (and Rosberg did not) are why Rosberg is in the lead. Those 0 point races Hamilton had were far more costly than ones he simply didn't win because of a poor start.

The fact he has pushed Rosberg so close despite the massive difference in their fortunes shows, to me, that Hamilton is the better of the two overall.

ScumLord

Mitch Connor wrote: »

I do find it funny that Merc keep saying they fear an engine failure deciding the title. The multiple engine failures Hamilton suffered (and Rosberg did not) are why Rosberg is in the lead. Those 0 point races Hamilton had were far more costly than ones he simply didn't win because of a poor start.

Engine failures happen though. They also didn't prevent Hamilton from winning this championship. If he hadn't messed up those starts he would have won the championship even with the engine failures. He had a chance to win, he fluffed it.

skipper_G

ScumLord wrote: »

Engine failures happen though. They also didn't prevent Hamilton from winning this championship. If he hadn't messed up those starts he would have won the championship even with the engine failures. He had a chance to win, he fluffed it.

I agree with that, mechanical failures are part of racing. Hamilton had 3 or 4 bad starts, they are mistakes. Rosberg has had some but less frequently than Hamilton. In races, there has been 1 mechanical failure resulting in a DNF for Hamilton this season. I wouldn't call that excessive, the attached table lifted from an article on Sky Sports shows that Hamilton has had the better of reliability over the last few years vs his teammate.

Joeseph Balls

KC161 wrote: »

Personally I want Rosberg to win. sick to death of Hamilton.

Not taking away from the fact he is a good driver but the hype is just too much.

I thought the era's of both Schumacher and Vettel were bad, this Mercedes era is much worse.

And I was a big Schumacher supporter at that.

Out of curiosity I wonder will Rosberg have the number 1 on the car next season if he wins.

Can't understand why Hamilton thinks that 44 looks better than 1.

Can't say i'm a fan of this whole permanent race number thing.

Is it superstition with 44?

boardsuser1

Joeseph Balls wrote: »

Is it superstition with 44?

He had it in his karting days I think. Rosberg is only following his father. Keke had the number 6 in 1982 when he took the title.

Cookie_Monster

Hamiltons engine to blown up 5 laps from the end, denying him the title :pac:

the meltdown would be priceless

Charlie-Bravo

Just for novelty sake, I had a look at what the points would be like if still using the old points system from the two previous points structures:

1991-2002 2003-2009 2010-now
Rosberg: 130 150 367
Hamilton: 126 144 355
Diff -4 -6 -12

Now, if we were to analyse where Rosberg would need to finish if Lewis wins the race, in 2003-2009 Rosberg would have to finish 4th, while in 1991-2002 coming 2nd would put them on even points with Lewis with most wins.

If Lewis wins this weekend, Rosberg needs to come third to take the championship as we know. Kinda makes you think a little. The current points structure seems to be balanced based on the previous two points systems.

Brian CivilEng

Really want Rosberg to win this. He is not as naturally talented as Hamilton but he has worked darn hard to get where he is. I love seeing guys succeed who have plugged at it for years.

walshb

Don't think I could beat Hamilton should he pull this out of the bag...Not all that liking of Rosberg, but still rather he than Hamilton..

It's good for F1 that it's a season decider... I'm quite excited for this race tomorrow.

NATLOR

Will be interesting to see Hamilton's strategy,bit pointless sailing off into the distance and hoping for the best, so would expect to see him trying to back rosberg up in to the pack but then would rosberg consider taking Hamilton out given the chance? Should be interesting !

CFlat

Yea hopefully it will go down to the wire a la 2008. Would hate to see it decided in the first corner. Risky for Rosberg to try and take Ham out cause he may end up f$$king himself up and Ham not being damaged enough that he could continue on. Anyway I don't think Rosberg would do that.

As they said on C4 today if Ham wants to back Rosberg up he may do it in the first couple of laps before the DRS kicks in cause after that it would be pointless.

Really looking forward to tomorrows race.

Vic_08

If FOM/FIA had any sense of occasion they'd concoct some infringement against Mercedes and demote both drivers to the back of the grid or a pit lane start, let them both fight through the field to get the points they need.

As it is odds are that it'll be wrapped up by turn 3 lap 1.