Abu Dhabi – Race: Lewis Hamilton wins the Grand Prix and the crown!

The final race of the 2014 Formula 1 season will be held under radiant weather, and like the sun, the temperature will gradually drop to give way to the coolness of the Yas Marina night.

The start is given! Lewis Hamilton gets the best launch and quickly gains the advantage over Nico Rosberg who remains stuck. In the rest of the pack, it’s chaotic: Bottas has dropped to 8th position and there are some tight battles. Magnussen announces that he touched someone, but without serious consequences. Massa and Button are in 3rd and 4th positions followed by the two Ferraris, which are within a second of each other. Kvyat is 7th, losing two places.

After 4 laps out of 55, Hamilton leads Rosberg (+1.5s), Massa (+4.6s), Button (+7.9s), and Räikkönen (+8.2s). Rosberg makes an effort to try to regain time and ground from his teammate with a view to using the DRS. Alonso gains the advantage over Räikkönen, and Kvyat also takes the opportunity to overtake the Finn. The Spaniard enters the pits right after this maneuver. Bottas overtakes Räikkönen at the end of the straight. Iceman struggles with his tires. The pit window is therefore open: Button, Kvyat, and Räikkönen dive in and rejoin in this order. They end up behind Stevens, who doesn’t give way and offers resistance to Alonso, Grosjean, and Kvyat.

After 8 laps, Hamilton is still leading by 2.4 seconds ahead of Rosberg. Following them are Massa, Bottas, and Hülkenberg. These 5 drivers have not pitted. Bottas is informed that his competitors – who stopped early – are losing time in traffic, which could allow him to move up. Ricciardo is in 8th place, and Vettel is battling Magnussen for the 9th position. Among the leaders, Hamilton is the first to pit, followed by Bottas. The stop goes smoothly for both men. Hamilton comes out third, behind Rosberg and Massa who still need to pit. The German comes in for his stop which is equally good. He comes out with a 2.6s gap behind. Up front, Massa still has not pitted. In the pack, there’s intense battling between Vergne and Ricciardo for 6th place: a great fraternal battle between the two former teammates, with the Frenchman holding his position temporarily before the Australian takes the lead in the next lap.

After 14 laps, Massa, who was leading, enters the pits, leaving the field open for Hamilton and Rosberg, separated by 2.5s. Hülkenberg, in 4th place, will receive a 5s penalty for forcing Magnussen off the track at the start. He is followed by Ricciardo, Bottas, Magnussen, Vettel, and Button. Bottas is also complaining about the presence of debris on the track at turn 1. The three leaders are in a league of their own, all lapping in 1:47 while the others are at least half a second slower. Daniil Kvyat retires on lap 16 due to a mechanical problem. At Mercedes, Rosberg is asked to be patient and manage the gap: he will adjust his strategy and attempt a longer stint than his teammate.

In the rest of the pack, a tightening has occurred in the middle of the top 10: Magnussen (6th), Vettel, Button, and Alonso are within two seconds of each other by the 18th lap. Two laps later, Alonso puts pressure on Button’s McLaren, which can no longer open its DRS. However, the speed differences on the long straight are not enough for the drivers to gain a decisive advantage. The status quo remains. Meanwhile, Red Bull informs Ricciardo that he does not have to race against Bottas: they are not competing for the same position and are on different strategies. Both RB10s have yet to change tires, which Vettel complains about on the 22nd lap. Magnussen and he pit on the 23rd lap.

**After 23 laps**, Hamilton is leading ahead of Rosberg (+3.9), Massa (+12.5), Ricciardo (+30.8), and Bottas (+31.7). Rosberg made a mistake in the last sector and lost more than a second in the last lap. In the following lap, the German loses more than three seconds again. The gap is 7.1s: he indicates that he’s losing engine power and Massa is closing in rapidly. According to his team, he is experiencing an energy recovery problem. The Brazilian takes the advantage over the stricken Mercedes on the 27th lap.

At mid-race, Hamilton now has a 13.8s lead over Massa. Rosberg is 3rd with about fifteen seconds ahead of Bottas, but this lead is melting rapidly. At the same time, Maldonado experiences a major technical failure and his engine has exploded. He pulls over onto the grass and the track marshals can intervene, under yellow flag conditions in the last sector. In the Lotus camp, there is hilarity in response to this situation. Things are speeding up on the track: Button and Alonso are engaged in a fierce battle for 10th place, but the Briton misses his braking point.

After 31 laps, Hamilton leads ahead of Massa but has adopted a conservative pace, aiming to preserve his car. He pits at the end of the lap with a slow puncture: the stop goes smoothly. The Williams takes the lead with a few more laps to go. Hamilton comes out behind Rosberg but overtakes him easily on the straight. A lap later, Bottas logically takes the advantage over the Mercedes number 6. The German therefore drops to 4th place. Further back, the two Ferraris are battling again for the 10th position. Rosberg pits: the stop is slow, but it’s no longer what really matters. He rejoins in 7th place, behind Ricciardo, Pérez, and Hülkenberg, who have not yet pitted.

After 37 laps, Massa is in the lead with a 15.5s advantage over Hamilton but still has a pit stop to make. Ricciardo is giving it his all to widen the gap. Rosberg’s problem could allow him to break into the top 5, especially as Vettel takes the advantage over the Mercedes. On the 40th lap, Rosberg is now threatened by Button who overtakes him. The No. 6 is in 8th place at this point in the race, with Alonso making a very strong comeback. The German is asking what’s happening: he’s experiencing the malfunctions of his W05 Hybrid which shut down on its own. It looks like a nightmare.

After 43 laps, Massa, who was in the lead, pits. Hamilton was attacking and will take back the lead. The Brazilian returns on super-soft tires: he’s going to fight for victory against the Briton! The two men are separated by less than 11 seconds. On the first lap, the Williams is half a second faster. At the same time, Rosberg is overtaken by Hülkenberg, dropping back to 8th place. The title now seems far away for the son of the 1982 World Champion. The gap between Hamilton and Massa falls to 9.3 seconds with 9 laps to go, then 8 in the next lap.

After 48 laps, Hamilton is leading but Massa is making a strong comeback with his super-soft tires. The Brazilian is 6.8s behind. Following are Bottas, Ricciardo, Button, Hülkenberg, Rosberg, Pérez, Vettel, and Alonso. The Mexican is now putting pressure on the number 6 Mercedes and overtakes it, just as Vettel does a few hectometers later. Rosberg is even slowing down and falls out of the top 10 in the 52nd lap. The German’s championship hopes are over.

With 3 laps to go, Massa is 3.5 seconds behind Hamilton, who even has Nico Rosberg in his sights. The German, who is asked to pit, requests to finish the race, gets overtaken by his teammate and then by the Williams. In the final lap, the 2.5 seconds separating Hamilton and Massa are enough! Lewis Hamilton is World Champion!