« Slowing down and compromising Rosberg’s race »: a false good idea for Hamilton?
Christian Horner has thrown a spanner in the works by simply advising Hamilton to "slow down" Rosberg to improve his chances of being crowned world champion! A piece of advice quickly dismissed out of hand by the man himself.
Has Lewis Hamilton already found an alliance to achieve the impossible in Abu Dhabi? To claim the World Drivers’ Championship title, he must first win and also rely on two drivers finishing ahead of Rosberg. As a reminder, we are discussing the most likely scenario of a victory for the English Mercedes driver.
Christian Horner and the Role of the Red Bull Arbitrator
Faced with this, the team principal of the closest team to the Silver Arrows proposed a rather surprising tactic in front of the journalists present in the United Arab Emirates: “We could be Lewis’s best friends this Sunday if we manage to place our cars in front of Nico. There’s hardly a chance that Lewis will be half a lap ahead of everyone – if he’s smart, he can slow down the cars behind him, it’s competition; and that’s the only way for the result to turn in his favor!”
Obviously, Horner knows very well the role his two drivers could play in the last race of the season. Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen are the most likely drivers to challenge Rosberg. We certainly remember the last two races, where the young Dutchman gave the current world championship leader a hard time. So, Lewis Hamilton could skillfully avoid increasing the pressure, enhancing Rosberg’s chances of getting caught in traffic and, in doing so, increasing the pressure on Nico… Nico has everything to lose. Lewis’s job is somewhat facilitated as Nico would have the pressure to secure the championship.
In the wake of his boss, Daniel Ricciardo acknowledges in turn that keeping Rosberg behind could indeed help Hamilton himself. The Australian is curious, putting himself in the shoes of the competitor marked with number 44: “I’m sure he (Hamilton) wants us to get in front but I also think he is focused on his race. Because if he proceeds in this way, then we can also beat him (pointing at Rosberg).”
In fact, the British team principal remembers very well how Sebastian Vettel clinched his first Formula 1 title for his team in 2010, in Abu Dhabi no less. Back then, Fernando Alonso was the world leader before the final race. The Ferrari driver had 246 points, 8 points ahead of Webber, 15 points ahead of Vettel, with a points system similar to 2016. We know what happened next… For Horner, the situation seems similar this year:
« This scenario is almost the one Sebastian faced in 2010—he paid little attention to what was happening around him, focusing only on doing the job and having a great race. Fernando concentrated on what Mark was doing and forgot about Seb. He (Alonso) needed to have a race similar to Nico, just needing to finish in the top 3 to become world champion. Lewis still has an interesting chance in this final race. »
Lewis Hamilton doesn’t see it that way…
But the triple world champion has formally rejected Christian Horner’s recommendations. The 2016 title contender doubts this method. He prefers to try to shift the fight to the psychological field, through unrivaled domination. « That has never been my thought process. If I’m in the lead, I want to be as far ahead as possible. When you have a gap of 18-30 seconds at the front, it’s also damaging for the guy you’re fighting with in the championship. If you look closely at the last race, without the red flag, I would have been 30 seconds ahead. It’s more of an achievement in itself than holding up your teammate. It wouldn’t make much sense; it’s not practical to do here; you have two long DRS zones. This idea is neither simple nor wise! »
Ultimately, beyond the Rosberg vs Hamilton battle, everything will depend on the performance of the Red Bull team. If Ricciardo and Verstappen are immediately up to speed, anything is possible around the Yas Marina circuit…
