With all of the hype surrounding Lewis Hamilton turned down only a teeny-weeny bit, it is only fair to reflect on the loss of the biggest loser of Sunday’s Formula One finale: Nico Rosberg.
Unless you are a fan of The Hammer, the race would have left a very sour aftertaste to what was a very exciting season. The race itself had everything going for it: Lewis passing Nico at the start, the Mercedes men pulling away from the field and extending that gap until the first round of pit stops… That’s about where it went haywire for both men, with Nico feeling the full raft of the racing gods who just wanted to destroy what could have been a sensational effort to an enticing season.
What happened to Nico is nothing short of a shame. All through the two weeks since Brazil, building up to the final race, Mercedes GP boss Toto Wolff came out saying how it would be a shame if something should happen to Lewis.
“Clearly Lewis breaking down would be a nightmare. We want the championship to end in a straight and fair battle,” Wolff said.
It would seem that more precaution was taken to ensure the reliability Lewis’ car than Nico’s. It can’t be denied that the Mercedes Formula One car driven by Nico had suffered the most embarrassing of breakdowns the team had seen the entire season. It was horrendous seeing the title fight that fans had deserved to see slip off the scale to the point where nothing can be done about it.
In truth, mechanical failures are a part of Formula One and regardless of how much you try to avoid it, luck has no preference.
Mercedes, however, did let Rosberg down, as Wolff said after the dramatic and anti-climatic race on the streets of Yas Marina.
“That we had the problem on Nico’s car is something that gives us a bitter taste. I feel that we let him down a little bit.”
Saying that the team let Nico down “a little bit” is perhaps the understatement of the season. But what was more of a shock was when Wolff said that a breakdown on Lewis’ car would have been more disastrous.
“Lewis not finishing – being in the lead in the championship and being in the lead in the race – would be an even bigger drama.”
How can a team boss proclaim high and low that he wants both his drivers to have fair and equal treatment within the team, but then he goes about saying that the one’s failure is worse than the other’s?
Just because Lewis was leading both the championship and the race at the time when the gremlins popped up, he is just as much a racer for Mercedes as Nico is. Does this mean that if the roles were reversed and Lewis lost the championship because of Mercedes’ technical failures, that Nico would have faced the daunting task of being labelled a champion who won his title because his teammate did not finish? Would Wolff had said that it was “a giant let-down on Lewis’ part by Mercedes’” rather than “we let him down a little bit”?
No amount of comfort can make up for the loss of not being a Formula One champion. Regardless of whether Lewis won a total of 11 races in 2014 and regardless of whether Nico faced fewer technical failures than Lewis, point is, when it mattered, Nico was let down.
Nico conceded after the race that Lewis had deserved to win the title, and rightfully so. Lewis raced well in 2014; he really did. On merit alone he should be champion and there is nothing anyone can say to change that. His composure and calmness under pressure bagged him a second title. He, too, faced issues on his car, but fortunately for him it was not as serious as Nico’s.
“All in all, Lewis deserved to win the championship,” said Nico. “I’m very disappointed, but what happened to me had no impact, it did not change anything, so there is no point focusing on that. “He did just a little bit better than me.”
Reflecting on the season Nico said: “It’s been an intense battle but a great battle. I race for battles like that. Lewis has been the best and it has been a great challenge. Most of the time it has been extremely enjoyable.”
The team will now shift their focus to 2015, but will first enjoy a well-deserved winter break.
For one, Nico has the support of former champion Niki Lauda, who believes the German will be back stronger in 2015.
“Nico will fight back and has the potential upwards,” the Mercedes Non-Executive Chairman told reporters.
“There is still something to come out of his speed and performance and technical inputs he gives.
“So next year is going to be fun again between the two and I really hope nobody else will interfere.”