As expected, Mercedes' Nico Rosberg became the 2016 world champion in Abu Dhabi, finishing second in an intense race that saw the top three drivers closing the contest within a 1-second gap. Rosberg had a hard time to escape the clutches of the aggressive Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull's Max Verstappen. Rosberg's team mate, the British Lewis Hamilton, commanded the race from the beginning, but seeing that the championship title would end up with his rival, he slowed down and almost allowed the Ferrari and Red Bull pursuers to try their luck at winning the race and push Rosberg down below in the final standings — which might have deprived Hamilton of the win, but possibly given him another world title.

Eventually, Hamilton came home first, crossing the finish line 0.4 seconds ahead after 55 laps to score his 10th win of the season, the 53rd of his career. For Vettel, third was a decent way to finish a season that did not favor Ferrari. The feisty Dutch Verstappen took fourth from his team mate Ricciardo, and the distant Räikkönen.

Sources: see Formula 1

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