Formula One ( F1 )

rumours are he has a get out clause for F1 in 2017 anyway, so he might jump ship before season out - button can come in and trundle around in 12th then...

Of course this means McLaren will win 2018.

My immediate thought also.

Button to retire:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/38092740

He'll be back to replace Alonso in about 4 races into 2017.

Looks like no German GP next year. That's a bit shit.

Yeah, Hockenheim is one of my faves.

I guess Rosberg should be pretty happy that there's a Red Bull on soft tyres right behind and Vettel and Verstappen are right next to each other and likely to have some contact.

Can't wait to see how this unfolds!

Wide!

old hockenheim for me. i guess the remains were bullbozed over and it was given back to nature. might have read that here.

Damn, 2 laps to go, if only Max had more left in his tyres, and never willed on Vettle so hard to do better...

Max spun in first corner, raced to P2 in lap 15. Nice to see he can do it in the dry as well. Already looking forward to the replays from the car(s) as (naturally) we hardly saw how he got there during the race broadcast.

Strange tactics by Hamilton letting them all bunch up behind him. Hoping for mayhem & mistakes so he could've won the championship? Then again, it's a cut throat world in F1. Congrats to Rosberg.

Wow, I enjoyed the last half of that race. Appreciate that the sight of 4 cars vying for the top spots was manufactured by Lewis backing Nico up, but it was great to see a bit of real tension instead of a procession.
Got no love for Lewis normally, but I thought Paddy Lowe could do one asking him to speed up. Constructors was long since done and dusted, no reason not to let the two race. It'd have been plain stupid for Lewis just to floor it and finish first by 30 seconds with Nico coasting around in 2nd for the title.

Verstappen didn't exactly race to second place. He passed some slower cars but the others in front of him pitted.

Completely agree with @duncs regarding the team's instructions to Hamilton. Johnny Herbert made exactly the same point to Lowe after the race.

10th best driver wins the championship meh !!! great sport

@citron- a little harsh i feel.

Merc were not concerned about Hamilton 'v' Nico with the "instructions" to hamilton - they were concerned that in the last race of the season a WDC decider, they would have egg over their faces PUBLICLY from
a) losing the race to a fast charging vettel
b) bad publicity over 1 of their drivers (lewis) causing mayhem behind deliberately with nico possibly getting punted off .
c) bad publicity over 1 of their drivers (nico) punting off the other mercedes driver because of (b)
d) both drivers being out in a tangle of wheels and none of them finishing the race

in all scenarios apart from Lewis driving "normally" it could have ended so much more badly for them

it was only fortunate that Max had trashed his tyres and Vettel prefers Nico to Lewis to win the title, (by the by, with Nico winning the title, vettel remains the only 4 times champion on the grid for next year)

if lewis wanted to the win the title, then over the season he should have brought his "A game" to some races where he didnt seem bothered, he should not have crashed into his team mate in spain, he should also not have crashed in Baku and should have practiced his starts better. talk about that before we talk about a single engine failure that actually has levelled the engine failures to be equal between nico / lewis since lewis joined Mercedes.

I guess they should probably change how they give out the points then.

Awesome job, great consistency throughout the season by Nico, well deserved.

Pretty tense final few laps there! Surprisingly decent race at Abu Dhabi.

Still would've been better had it been at Interlagos...

Out of interest, who was the best driver (and I guess thus deserved the championship) in your mind?

Not particularly a meant asa reference to Hamilton, more that no other team has been anything like competitive, leading to a two horse race. That coupled with the rise of manufacturers expressing interest in formula E makes me wonder what the future of F1 is. I am quite amazed that Bernie managed to sell what is surely a sport in decline.

Like the Prost/Senna era? Like the Mansell/Piquet era?

It's quite easy to have rose tinted glasses regarding the past. Not to mention it was in those days when the leader could lap the entire field.

But next season should be closer, here's hoping!

Not sure about best, but most underrated for me was Sainz. I struggle to see that anyone could even place Rosberg in their top 5, but each to their own.

true, he did not pass all of them by overtaking. still, ending the race in 4th after being last in the 1st lap still pretty impressive.

Maybe a little harsh, but I struggle to see Rosberg as a genuine top 10 contender. For sure if Hamilton had not had off days it would have been different. But my feeling is that when you have one maufacturer so dominant it makes for not such a good show.

I dont think Nico is as good as lewis, but top 5 driver at least, if we want to talk about undeserving titles in superior equipment - Damon Hill, Villeneuve, Hakkinen....

the problem with F1 is it is usually quite rare for multiple teams to be with in with a shout of a title - if it was not McLaren it was Williams it was Ferrari then Red Bull - Mercedes turn this time.....

Button.