It is said that privilege is a special right reserved only for a fortunate few. Yet, if you’re a Formula 1 fan every highly anticipated season comes with the guarantee that at the end of it you will be in a position to appreciate something truly special.
In 2014 the wheel-to-wheel battle in Bahrain, the controversy at Spa and the immense fight between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg have made up the majority of moments that will define this season. Ultimately the title of world champion can only belong to one driver and at the conclusion of this season it belongs to Lewis Hamilton.
In Saturday’s qualifying Rosberg comprehensively outdid Hamilton by four tenths of a second. His advantage would be short-lived as Hamilton rocketed off the line on Sunday and into the lead of the race. Williams’ Felipe Massa, who would later become a serious contender, slotted into third ahead of McLaren’s Jenson Button.
For the majority of the first half of the race Rosberg was within three seconds of his race leading teammate. However, on lap 24 Rosberg’s energy recovery system failed and the German dropped dramatically down the field. The second place Rosberg was running to Hamilton meant that he was never truly in contention for the title and the manner in which he handled the entire afternoon was admirable. As he painfully plummeted down the standings he was offered the option of retiring the car. His request to keep going is indicative of a driver who will not give up until the last possible moment; for more than this no team or fan could ask for. Ever the sportsman Rosberg was gracious enough to congratulate Hamilton in the pre-podium room after the extreme disappointment of finishing a lowly fourteenth.
Mercedes tried to avoid the same reliability disaster befalling Hamilton by de-tuning the engine and giving the Brit just enough power to maintain his position. Felipe Massa and Williams rolled the dice on a bold strategy move which put the Brazilian out on the less durable, but faster supersoft tyre for the final stint of the race. For ten astonishing laps it seemed as if the white-liveried Williams would do enough to win the race but in the end it wasn’t to be. Nevertheless, for the first time since 2005 Williams finished a grand prix with both drivers on the podium. The team’s resurgence has been nothing less than exceptional and has ensured an emphatic third place in the constructor’s championship.
After being excluded from qualifying for an illegal front wing both Red Bulls were relegated to a pitlane start. It was Daniel Ricciardo who made the most of it with another fine drive and fourth place finish. Jenson Button delivered a stellar drive for fifth which crucially kept McLaren ahead of Force India in the constructor’s standings. Several question marks surround Button’s future at the team but surely they would be daft not to sign the driver who scored double the points of his teammate and made it possible for McLaren to hold its head up after a difficult season.
Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg finished sixth ahead of his newly re-signed teammate Sergio Perez who fended off Sebastian Vettel for seventh. Vettel’s eighth place bring to an end a gloriously successful era of 45 poles, 39 wins and four world titles with the Red Bull team.
Fernando Alonso’s ninth place completed his final race as a Ferrari driver and he departs the Italian team after half a decade with eleven wins 
and no title success. Kimi Raikkonen brought Ferrari’s miserable season to a close with the final point paying position.
For as much well deserved praise as we heap on Hamilton so too there must be the acknowledgement of mighty fine job done by Nico Rosberg. His five grand prix wins and plethora of podiums proves that he wasn’t summarily routed by Hamilton. In the next few days and perhaps weeks these stats will be nothing more than cold comfort for Rosberg. However, soon the realisation will settle that he has gained an invaluable level of experience that will make him a much tougher driver and competitor from this point on.
On the podium Lewis Hamilton said that this second world championship title is “above and beyond” his first triumph in 2008 and it isn’t hard to understand why. Back then he was a relative newbie and without the real knowledge and understanding of what it means to be a grand prix driver. In 2014 all of the tenacity and wisdom gained through the years combined with his fabulous skill to deliver a staggering eleven grand prix wins. Now Lewis Hamilton is not only a fully fledged grand prix driver but a most deserving double world champion.
