Lewis Hamilton’s title campaign in the 2016 season came down to the very last race with teammate Nico Rosberg.
The pair had been fighting for the third year in a row in the hybrid era, having been the only two drivers who were able to regularly win races due to the sheer speed of Mercedes.
Their power unit, coupled with an efficient chassis, enabled them to dominate the early part of the regulations, while both Hamilton and Rosberg relived their karting years battling on track.
Rosberg held the upper hand at the start of the season by taking four wins in a row at Australia, Bahrain, China and Russia. His dominance appeared to irk Hamilton, who tried to make sure he was the lead car the next race in Spain, only for the pair to collide within the first few corners.
It was the tipping point for Mercedes and led to stronger rules of engagement for the rest of the season from team principal Toto Wolff. The next seven races would yield mixed results, with one win before the summer break.
When they came back, Rosberg went on a winning spree again for four of the next five Grands Prix, while Hamilton fought back with wins in the US, Mexico and Brazil. The pair went into the title decider in Abu Dhabi with just 12 points between them.
Lewis Hamilton tries to block Nico Rosberg at 2016 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
Rosberg only needed to finish on the podium if Hamilton won the race, which he duly took one step towards when he qualified on pole on the Saturday with a lap that was three tenths quicker than his teammate.
Hamilton would lead from Rosberg, who was being cautious at the start due to the championship implications, while Kimi Raikkonen rose to third after overtaking Daniel Ricciardo.
Max Verstappen spun and fell to 19th place, but would play a pivotal role in the championship after rising through the field before the first round of stops. With the Dutchman now in P3 after a series of overtakes, Rosberg was advised not to take any risks with Verstappen by Mercedes as they thought he would pit.
Red Bull would go on to leave Verstappen out for as long as they could in the first stint, holding up Rosberg in the process. The risk would go on to impact Rosberg, as both Ferrari’s of Raikkonen and Vettel emerged behind the leaders.
Rosberg was told to attack and pass Verstappen, which he managed to do midway through the race and began to catch Hamilton. Once they pitted, Rosberg would emerge with a safe gap of around four seconds to Verstappen, but Hamilton had other ideas.
The Briton began to gradually slow the pace down, first lapping in the 1m45s before dropping to 1m46s. Rosberg protested and told Mercedes that the pace was too slow, but Hamilton ignored calls to increase his speed to allow Verstappen and Vettel to catch up.
Vettel would go on to attack Rosberg on the final lap, but the German defended as Verstappen lurked behind and the risk of being relegated off the podium and thus losing the title became real. Rosberg held on with Vettel close behind, with Hamilton crossing the line in first and Rosberg second to win the title.
Toto Wolff tells Lewis Hamilton he should drive for Christian Horner after Abu Dhabi incident
The move by Hamilton drew a mixed response from those within F1, but it was team principal Toto Wolff who was most vocal along with advisor Niki Lauda.
Wolff understood the situation that Hamilton was in, but likened it to insubordination and in an interview with Channel 4, jokingly said he should look at racing for Christian Horner.
Wolff: “It was a difficult situation because on one side he needed to fight for his world championship and it was fading away. Before the race, he had two possibilities: either he disappears into the distance and shows that he’s the greatest guy out there, or he follows Christian Horner’s instructions and backs everybody off!”
Eddie Jordan: “Which he did!”
Wolff: “Yeah, maybe he should drive for him!”
Mercedes didn’t explicitly tell their drivers that they were not allowed to hold each other up, but it was clear that Hamilton’s actions jeopardised a potential one-two for them regardless of the title permutations.
Nico Rosberg stuns with shock retirement announcement
No less than a couple of weeks after winning the title in Abu Dhabi, Rosberg would stun us all at the FIA Prize Giving Gala by announcing his immediate retirement from F1.
The German had conquered what he set out to achieve and entered the exclusive club of a driver who has won the title, who is the son of another world champion (Keke Rosberg).
Only Damon Hill has managed to achieve a similar feat, having won the title in 1996, some 30 years after his father, Graham Hill, won the title.