Hamilton vs Rosberg 2016: the most epic teammate battle
Rosberg won the title on the last race. Hamilton was faster almost all season. Simulate the outcome.
The simulation's verdict
Lewis Hamilton would have won the 2016 title in 89% of the 200 simulations.
Lewis Hamilton
Nico Rosberg
Who finished ahead
Based on 200 simulations of the 2016 season. Numbers can vary each time you play.
Historical context
The 2016 season was the tensest between teammates since Senna-Prost at McLaren. Rosberg won the first 4 races but Hamilton dominated the summer. In Abu Dhabi, Rosberg needed to finish third and did. Under different circumstances, without Hamilton's retirements, the Brit would have won his fourth consecutive title.
The real 2016 season
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.
Real champion: Nico Rosberg in the Mercedes W07. Rosberg wins the title in Abu Dhabi and retires 5 days later — the only driver to do so. See the full 2016 season →
The drivers
Lewis Hamilton is the most decorated driver in history in wins and poles, and equals Schumacher with seven world titles. Raised in Stevenage and backed by McLaren from childhood, he burst onto the scene in 2007 with such force that he came within a single point of the championship in his rookie year. He made amends in 2008, clinching his first title on the final corner of the last race in Brazil, snatching it from Felipe Massa metres from the line. Full profile →
Nico Rosberg produced one of modern Formula 1's most singular stories: winning the world championship and retiring five days later, at the absolute peak. Son of 1982 champion Keke Rosberg, he grew up between Germany and Monaco and was, curiously, a childhood friend of Lewis Hamilton, with whom he would wage his greatest battle. After cutting his teeth at Williams, he joined Mercedes in 2010 and rode the team's rise to the top of the hybrid era. Full profile →
How it's simulated
The engine recreates qualifying (Q1, Q2, Q3) and every Grand Prix with the ~20 real drivers of 2016, weighing each car's performance, driver skill, weather, safety cars and tyre wear. Learn how the simulator works →
Season
2016
Mode
Free duel
Tags
Choose driver, car and season. The engine simulates the full championship with real drivers.