Breaking news
Formula 1 Abu Dhabi GP
Mercedes driver title scenario led to “inevitable conflicts” – Lowe
Mercedes chief Paddy Lowe admits that it was “nailbiting” to watch the closing stages of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, as Lewis Hamilton attempted to back up teammate Nico Rosberg in the F1 title decider.
Charles Bradley
Edited: Nov 27, 2016, 6:11 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Lowe said that there was “inevitable conflicts” due to scenario that the drivers found themselves in, with Hamilton needing to win with Rosberg in fourth to claim his fourth title.
With Sebastian Vettel’s Ferrari coming through, Lowe ordered Hamilton to raise his pace, but Hamilton clearly defied this, stating at one point: “I'm not bothered if I win or lose this race.”
“This is what makes Formula 1 exciting in a way, we are constructed to have inevitable conflicts between what a team wants and what two individual drivers want,” said Lowe. “They are two guys who are team players but in the end they each wanna win.
“Our main objective is to win the race and we didn’t like the look of a red car coming though at a far higher pace than our team.”
On the specifics of whether Hamilton defied the team’s direct instructions, Lowe replied: “I don’t wanna comment too much on the subject, because we weren’t driving the car.
“Who knows what the real pace is of a car when you’re not driving it. It did present some challenges. In the end, Lewis and Nico are out there racing.
“It was great to see Sebastian coming through, with what turned out to be a very good strategy from Ferrari to get him ahead of the two Red Bulls, that was unexpected.
“It was nailbiting stuff on the pitwall, those final two laps – would Vettel get through Nico or even Lewis? We don’t often see four cars crossing the line within what felt like a second and half."
Rosberg tribute
Lowe then paid tribute to Rosberg’s achievement, which emulates his father’s world championship success 34 years ago.
“I’m very, very happy for Nico because he has 23 wins, by a long way the most number of a driver who’s not won the championship,” said Lowe. “It’s just great he’s put himself into that rare and special category.
“For me, it’s not just about winning races, it’s sustaining that energy, commitment and nerve throughout a season, and nothing is more pointy than this race here. It all came down to a showdown, do you hold your nerve at that point? And he did it today. That’s the mark of a real world champion.”
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Lewis Hamilton wins tense Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Nico Rosberg takes first F1 world title with second place
Next article Abu Dhabi GP: Post-race press conference
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Charles Bradley
Mika Hakkinen on his darkest day in F1
Formula 1
Formula 1 1 y
Mika Hakkinen on his darkest day in F1
Dillon: Spotter was “wrong” to shout “wreck him!” before Hamlin clash
NASCAR Cup
NASCAR Cup
Richmond II
Aug 13, 2024
Dillon: Spotter was “wrong” to shout “wreck him!” before Hamlin clash
Hamlin: NASCAR stripping Dillon of win would be “warranted”
NASCAR Cup
NASCAR Cup
Richmond II
Aug 12, 2024
Hamlin: NASCAR stripping Dillon of win would be “warranted”
More from
Lewis Hamilton
‘Lewis suspected a conspiracy’ – Nico Rosberg explains how Lewis Hamilton F1 rivalry went awry at Mercedes
Formula 1
Formula 1 4 h
‘Lewis suspected a conspiracy’ – Nico Rosberg explains how Lewis Hamilton F1 rivalry went awry at Mercedes
F1 driver contracts: How long is each driver tied down for?
Formula 1
Formula 1 1 d
F1 driver contracts: How long is each driver tied down for?
More from
Mercedes
Kimi Antonelli meets Italian president Sergio Mattarella
Formula 1
Formula 1 10 h
Kimi Antonelli meets Italian president Sergio Mattarella
Latest news
The ten closest finishes from the 2026 NASCAR season
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup 4 h
The ten closest finishes from the 2026 NASCAR season
‘Lewis suspected a conspiracy’ – Nico Rosberg explains how Lewis Hamilton F1 rivalry went awry at Mercedes
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1 4 h
‘Lewis suspected a conspiracy’ – Nico Rosberg explains how Lewis Hamilton F1 rivalry went awry at Mercedes
BMW "proud of what we achieved" after securing runner-up in 2026 WEC
WEC
WEC WEC
Monza
6 h
BMW "proud of what we achieved" after securing runner-up in 2026 WEC
The numbers that reveal how sprint races have turned the MotoGP title fight upside down
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Qatar GP
8 h
The numbers that reveal how sprint races have turned the MotoGP title fight upside down
Feature
Discover prime content
Top 10 F1 cars of the 1970s
Formula 1
By Kevin Turner
Top 10 F1 cars of the 1970s
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe