News Lewis Hamilton Wins the 2014 F1 Championship

Lewis Hamilton is a double World Champion after taking victory in Abu Dhabi this evening.

Unfortunately we did not see a battle on track to decide the championship as Mercedes' reliability came into the equation again as Nico Rosberg's car that faltered mid-race and saw him eventually finish outside of the points, resulting in Hamilton convincingly winning the title by 67 points, taking the full 50 for the win in a race where double points were being used for the first – and probably last time.
 

Red Bull has already secured 2nd place, and had an entertaining afternoon having started the race with both cars from the pitlane following a disqualification from qualifying for running an illegal front-wing on both cars. Sebastian Vettel who will drive for Ferrari next years signed off from Red Bull in 8th place, yet once again comprehensively out-driven by teammate Daniel Ricciardo who finished in 4th. Ricciardo must surely be the driver of the year in many people's eyes.

Williams secured third place ahead of Ferrari – a fantastic turn around for the team that scored just five points and finished in ninth one year ago. With Felipe Massa finishing in a very close second place today and teammate Valteri Bottas joining him on the podium, they were a class apart from the Scuderia who finished the race in ninth place for Alonso, his last race for the team and 10th with Raikkonen.

McLaren-Mercedes also secured 5th place in the championship, mainly down to an impressive drive from Jenson Button. Had he not finished in 5th it is likely that Force India would have taken their place. An announcement is expected from McLaren on their line-up for 2015 next week, with many questions hanging over McLaren on whether Jenson Button or Kevin Magnussen will be retained to drive alongside an expected Fernando Alonso. The final standings certainly can't hide the fact that Button scored 71 points more than Magnussen in 2014.

At the tail-end of the grid Marussia do finish in 9th place in the constructors championship  – whether we see them in 2015 and collect the financial reward for that result we can only wait and see. Staggeringly, Sauber finish the year pointless and in tenth place. Caterham who did race this weekend after a crowd funding strategy paid off, got one car to the end in the form of British rookie Will Stevens who performed admirably in trying conditions.

The sport of Formula One goes into an off season now with a sense of uncertainty. With the financials of the sport under much scrutiny and a lack of support from the commercial arm for the smaller teams, the number of cars on the grid and whether the three-cars per team prospect arises, the first race in March 2015 in Melbourne, Australia seems a long way off with many questions unanswered.

As for now, the sport has a new double world champion in Lewis Hamilton. He becomes the first multiple-winning champion from Great Britain since Jackie Stewart did so in 1971; he won 11 races in 2014 alone, and the first champion for the silver arrows since Juan Manuel Fangio achieved that in 1955. We have seen a very different Hamilton this year who has become a much more composed personality, an attacking race driver yet able to manage tyres, fuel economy and frustrations on track not affecting end results. He has not been the quickest over a single lap but the race day he has come into his own. He will be a popular champion and for F1 it could do with some positive energy and publicity. Lewis Hamilton will help to position the sport back into the world of glamour, entertainment and prestige it needs.

For now, we take a break until early February when cars will hit the track for winter testing. On TeamVVV we will have a review of the season in the coming weeks looking at team and driver performances – do get involved, we always like to see your thoughts on F1.  

Classified Results from Abu Dhabi GP:
1st: Lewis Hamilton
2nd: Felipe Massa
3rd: Valtteri Bottas
4th: Daniel Ricciardo
5th: Jenson Button
6th: Nico Hulkenberg
7th: Sergio Perez
8th: Sebastian Vettel
9th: Fernando Alonso
10th: Kimi Räikkönen
11th: Kevin Magnussen
12th: Jean-Eric Vergne
13th: Romain Grosjean
14th: Nico Rosberg
15th: Esteban Gutierrez        
16th: Adrian Sutil       
17th: Will Stevens

Retired: Kamui Kobayashi
Retired: Pastor Maldonado              
Retired: Daniil Kvyat

Selected Driver Quotes

McLaren
Jenson Button, 5th

Red Bull Racing
Sebastian Vettel, 8th

Ferrari
Fernando Alonso, 9th

Marco Mattiacci, Ferrari team principal
"This race was the epilogue to a difficult season for the team at the track and for all the men and women of the Scuderia back home. It's the last day of a season that saw the beginning of a technical revolution that required a different approach and work methodologies and it was a year that presented a steep learning curve for all of us. Unfortunately, the result here in Abu Dhabi reflects the performance level seen in recent races, even though Fernando and Kimi fought all the way as always, showing just what they are capable of. On behalf of the team, I want to congratulate Lewis Hamilton on his fantastic win and I also want to once again thank Fernando, while regretting that we never won the title together. Nevertheless, we had the pleasure of sharing unforgettable moments that are now part of Ferrari history. I also thank Kimi, who this year has patiently dealt with a car that was not easy to manage and I am sure we will soon see him able to express his great talent. Now we are continuing in a methodical and disciplined fashion with the work behind the scenes in Maranello, so as to give our drivers a competitive car with which we can return as soon as possible to the top level of this sport."

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