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Hamilton and Rosberg will be unified in contrasts this weekend

As gimmicks go, the double points system for the final race of this year's Formula 1 season is as...



Hamilton and Rosberg will be u...
Golf

Hamilton and Rosberg will be unified in contrasts this weekend

As gimmicks go, the double points system for the final race of this year's Formula 1 season is as gimmicky as they come.

While those running F1 may be worried about flagging TV audiences should a driver build up a sizeable championship lead ahead of the final stages of the season, like Sebastian Vettel and Michael Schumacher had done in recent years, they should just let nature - and machinery - take its course. Or maybe pave the way for a more equitable division of revenue between the teams on the grid.

That being said, it has set up a fascinating final tilt for the Drivers Championship crown in Abu Dhabi this Sunday.
The Constructors title may have been wrapped up long ago, but the personal battle between Mercedes team-mates Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg needs resolution.

Their dominance of the individual and team championships this year has harked back to the late 1980s intra-team rivalry of Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost at the Honda-powered McLaren.

Senna and Prost were always contrasted by perceptions that the former was the holistic talent with raw speed, while the Frenchman was dubbed the "Professor" for a perceived calculated style of driving - perceptions which were not entirely accurate for either legend.

But the fascinating thing in the battle between Hamilton and Robserg is the contrast between the two on and off the track.

On the track, Hamilton has had the better of things when the two have been involved in a straight fight between the white lines of the track. The Briton has dominated when it comes to race wins (10 to Rosberg’s 4) and crucially overtook his team-mate on the way to race wins in Japan and the United States Grand Prix.

It points to the notion that Hamilton is indeed the better out-and-out-racer.

But the fact that Rosberg is still in with a shout (if he wins on Sunday and Hamilton finishes lower than second, Rosberg takes the title) points to a remarkable consistency.

The German has received praise for the amount of time he puts into the technical side of the garage and in recent days there has been much focus on the fact that he holds the Williams teams record for their Engineering Aptitude Test administered to new recruits.

The other contrast that has been made is the different pathways into F1. Although both drivers crossed paths as team-mates in karting, Rosberg is the son of former F1 champion Keke with all the benefits that confers, while Hamilton’s parents had to make more sacrifices to finance his route to the top.

But having said that, Hamilton was immediately placed in a title challenging seat at McLaren in his extraordinary debut Formula 1 season in 2007, whereas Rosberg started further back with a mid-ranking Williams team before moving to Mercedes in 2009. His first race victory did not come until 2012 and this season was the first that he has won more than two Grand Prix in the same season, whereas Hamilton already holds the British record for F1 race wins with 32 victories at the same age of 29.

Yet their different trajectories and contrasting styles will see them united in more than team livery on Sunday – united in the will to win. May the best man win!

 

And on a sidenote...if Formula 1 bosses want a double points gimmick, perhaps classic race tracks with real history and tradition like Monaco, Spa, Suzuka or Monza would be more deserving than the newer tracks.

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