Mercedes reflects on Rosberg’s issues in Abu Dhabi

Rarely has a team produced a car as performant as the Mercedes W05 Hybrid. The shift to V6 turbo hybrid engines paved the way for the German brand in the history of Formula 1, 60 years after their first victorious entry.

Lewis Hamilton won the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi, as well as his second world title, six years after his first, representing McLaren but also powered by Mercedes.

However, regrets remain on the side of the world champion team due to the issues faced by Nico Rosberg, who finished the GP in 14th place: “It was not the ideal race for us because we would have liked a one-two. We came to this race with the goal of a one-two, and we told Nico, even if it meant that Lewis would win the championship,” explained Paddy Lowe, executive technical director of Mercedes, to Adam Cooper.

The Briton also takes the opportunity to better explain the reason for the multiple breakdowns encountered by No. 6 shortly before mid-race: « There was a failure in the cooling system of the hybrid systems, and that was what set everything off. It was the heart of the problem and led to a number of other issues. Everything is connected: the turbo doesn’t work very well, and so on. Different things went back and forth. »

Lowe notes the observation of sometimes unreliable performance but ultimately quite evenly distributed between the two drivers: « I think if we take a step back and analyze the entire season, we were not as reliable as we should have been, but actually, the lack of reliability turned out to be quite fair in the end. Overall though, it was great to win the race. It makes 16 victories, and it was great for Lewis. »

Lewis Hamilton encountered serious problems in Australia (cylinder), Canada (brakes), Germany (brake disc in qualifying), Hungary (engine in qualifying) and retired in Belgium following contact with Nico Rosberg, who was hampered in Great Britain (electrical), Singapore (electrical) and thus in Abu Dhabi, but also endured the struggles with energy recovery in Montreal, a safety car launched at the wrong time in Hungary, and the consequences of the collision in Spa.

« I think it was the most fantastic season, and we just wanted to finish in a beautiful way, and that’s what we did, admits Paddy Lowe. « Obviously, Nico doesn’t really feel that way, but he has been a fantastic competitor, very respectful of Lewis and the team. A big congratulations to him for that, I think it must be quite difficult for him. He won the first pole position trophy, and that’s no small feat. » Nico Rosberg secured 11 pole positions this season, compared to 7 for Lewis Hamilton and 1 for Felipe Massa.

During this last part of the season, they have both driven exceptionally well. It’s the final part, where you are under pressure, the one that really counts, and it’s harder to get everything right. Both have shown that they are capable of being World Champions, and it bodes well for Nico in the future.

« You can’t take anything for granted during the winter in F1. We just have to do our best and see where we will be next year, » he concluded.