2016 F1 Season
21 races · Mercedes W07
The 2016 season brought the Mercedes team-mate rivalry to boiling point, in the most intense in-house duel since the days of Senna and Prost. Nico Rosberg planned everything meticulously to beat Lewis Hamilton once and for all.
Rosberg opened by winning the first four races and withstood Hamilton's fightback, as the Briton dominated much of the summer but suffered a crucial engine failure in Malaysia while leading. The tension even boiled over on track, with a famous collision between the pair in Spain that took both out.
At the Abu Dhabi finale, Rosberg only needed to finish third; Hamilton tried to back him into the pack by slowing the pace, but the German held on and was crowned champion. Five days later he announced his retirement, becoming the very rare champion who walks away at the top.
Drivers' Champion
Nico Rosberg
Mercedes W07
Constructors' Champion
Mercedes
21 races
Key moment
"Rosberg wins the title in Abu Dhabi and retires 5 days later — the only driver to do so."
What if 2016 had been raced 100 times?
We took the real 2016 grid — every car with its performance and reliability, every driver with his rating — and re-ran the full 21-race championship 100 times.
| Driver | Avg. finish | Titles |
|---|---|---|
| Lewis HamiltonMercedes | P1.1 | 92% |
| Nico Rosbergreal championMercedes | P1.9 | 8% |
| Max VerstappenRed Bull | P3.1 | 0% |
| Sebastian VettelFerrari | P4.3 | 0% |
| Daniel RicciardoRed Bull | P5.3 | 0% |
| Kimi RäikkönenFerrari | P5.4 | 0% |
The engine disagrees with history: its favourite was Lewis Hamilton (92%), and Nico Rosberg only wins 8% of the time. That title was won with something a table cannot hold.
Tags
What if Senna, Hamilton or Alonso had driven the 2016 championship-winning car?