Monday 30th November 2015
Lewis snoozes, Alonso's year out, and goodbye
Conversion: I hope above all else this isn't the new Mercedes-influenced trend in F1.
A comfortable victory in the end for Nico
And so the battle of Abu Dhabi was basically over 20 seconds after the lights turned green.But isn't that always the case? Aren't I only griping because it was Nico winning rather than Lewis? Well, no, because something has changed in the last few races that means the two are closer than ever; Nico's faster in qualifying, Lewis is maybe a bit quicker in the races, but there's little in it - and unlike with competing teams, where strategic ingenuity can slot you past a close competitor, Mercedes is understandably reluctant to allow this. Hence the three processions to the line of the last three races.
It's the price you pay for having two quick guys in the fastest car, in the ever-present era of overtaking being nigh-on impossible if the cars and drivers are as fast as one another anyway. Which is part of what's wrong with F1. The Mercs recently haven't been able to overtake on the track, and they've forbidden any real opportunity to do it in the pits: the result is closely-run stalemate.
We've had three snooze-fest races of it to end 2015 on. Here's hoping it isn't a trend that's continued into 2016.
Triple world champ celebrations!
Hangover for Lewis?Of course, we wouldn't be talking about this if Lewis Hamilton's form hadn't dropped off. That's six consecutive pole positions for Nico Rosberg, and three consecutive wins, which could easily have been a few more if Lewis hadn't got his elbows out at the start line.
Lewis says something's changed on the car that has started to favour Nico. He even says he took a part off this weekend that he thought wasn't working for him, but which made the car quicker: it makes no sense to me either, and certainly seemed a new one on the Mercedes-AMG engineers. The car's evolved to make it trickier for him to find the balance and, apparently, easier for Nico.
I've got another theory. He's won his championship and is subconsciously easing off, focusing more on the parties and the lifestyle and Instagram than the races itself. Even if something HAS changed, a focused and talented driver like Lewis should be able to work out how to solve it - but if nothing's at stake and, by his own post-Monaco-car-crash admission, he's tired, then will he really be quite as obsessive in finding out what's what? Why not just clock it all, drive the final races and then spend a few weeks in early 2016 going through it with fanatical intensity?
Given his griping in the races about not being allowed to dig in and experiment, Lewis sounds like a man who's already on holiday. Unless, of course, it's mind games, and he's happy to let Nico feel he has the upper hand going into the winter...
Another twist in the McLaren-Honda saga...
Alonso: on holiday for 2016?As almost always, the big F1 headlines of Abu Dhabi came off track, when Ron Dennis appeared to suggest Fernando Alonso could take a sabbatical in 2016 if the car isn't fast enough. It was news to Fernando when he was asked, and also apparently news to Ron when he saw the headlines: that isn't quite what he had in mind, he said.
But it was still him that, however innocently, raised the idea of a sabbatical: why muddy the waters if it's not even something that's remotely possible? Yes, there have been 'back in the game' successes in the past - Prost won the World Championship in 1993 after sitting out '92 because he was sacked by Ferrari in '91 - but, given the choice, you'd surely have to think driving a rubbish car is better than driving no car at all, if you're going to end up in its successor anyway.
It's guaranteed one thing, though: all eyes (and stopwatches) on Alonso the very first time he drives the 2016 car in pre-season testing...
Goodbye
As the motorsport season comes to a close, so too does Motorsport on Monday. With no races to reflect on, we could spend the winter talking about rumour and intrigue every Monday, but when people like Lewis are clearly already on holiday, we felt that may get a bit monotonous, so are instead waving the chequered flag. For now, thanks for reading, commenting and engaging: it's been a blast.
[Photos:, Lewis Hamilton via]