Rosberg and Hamilton select same tyres for Abu Dhabi GP

It plunged him down the field to 16th from where he fought back up to third, just behind Rosberg, with Ricciardo eighth.

Racing towards the 25 points, it looked as if the Brit would reduce Rosberg’s lead in the standings by 10 points after Max Verstappen overtook the German.

Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team’s British driver Lewis Hamilton is pictured on the podium after winning the Brazilian Grand Prix ahead of title rival and Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg at the Interlagos circuit in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on 13 November, 2016.

“I feel incredibly proud to have now won in the place that he has done”.

“I’m going to go and give it everything I’ve got in Abu Dhabi, which is generally a really good track for me. He has finished every race, not had any problems, whereas I have”. “But I will take the speed I’ve got to try to win the race”.

“I didn’t call him but I met him”, Jos said when asked whether there had been another post-race phone conversation. I think it is my 31st or 32nd win with the team, which is just insane.

No driver has failed to be champion with eight or more wins in a season but Hamilton has nine after Interlagos, a triumph that also put him second on the all-time list. Those poor performances – and his mechanical failures, where he has been much unluckier than Rosberg – are the reason he is on the brink of losing his crown.

In conditions created to give the leaders a headache, Hamilton was flawless, not even making the slightest hint of a mistake and dealing with the variables in a calm, composed fashion. Maybe Hamilton was so far ahead of everyone else that he missed all the action that was going on behind him.

“If we can’t bring sponsors back, then Formula One management would have to cover that gap”, Rohonyi told reporters shortly before Sunday’s race, which was won by Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton.

All but a half-dozen of the early laps were run behind a safety auto with drivers struggling to see through tire spray and struggling to avoid hydroplaning in standing water.

Hamilton led from start to finish through all the starts and stops.

But Rosberg needs only to secure a top-three finish under the floodlights to emulate his father Keke, the 1982 world champion, and finally end his long-running losing streak to Hamilton.

Rosberg’s only non-finish was as a result of the crash he and Hamilton had together on the first lap in Spain, which took them both out.