British driver Lewis Hamilton won the Formula One title in the season finale on Sunday. He won the title by winning the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the final race of the year.
Hamilton entered the race with a 17 point lead over his rival Nico Rosberg, needing only a top two finish to guarantee the title. Roseberg started the race from the pole, but Hamilton passed him going into the first turn. On lap 25 Rosberg started having technical problems. First Rosberg’s Mercedes lost its energy recovery system, then had problems with the brakes and throttle, leading to a 14th place finish, according to the New York Times. Brazil’s Felipe Massa finished second behind Hamilton with Valtteri Bottas third and Daniel Ricciardo finished in fourth.
“Woooooo-hoooooo, world champion I can’t believe it! Thank you so much guys,” Hamilton said over the radio after the race. "It’s hard to soak all of this up. So much pressure. I didn't sleep last night. I went for a run and had a massage, I thought I would be tired, but somehow I felt composed for the race. This has been an incredible year. It feels very surreal, like an out-of-body experience, like it's not really happening."
He went on to add, "I'm lost for words. One thing I want to say is a big huge `Thank You' to all the fans, to my family. I love you guys. This is the greatest day of my life -- 2008 was a special day but this is way, way beyond that."
This season Hamilton won 11 races. Rosberg won five races this year. This title is the second F1 title for Hamilton, he won his first in 2008. He becomes just the third driver to win two F1 title, joining Graham Hill and Jim Clark, according to the Associated Press. Only Jackie Stewart has more titles with three.
As The Guardian notes, Hamilton is the fourth British driver to win more than one world title, the first in 43 years, and the 16th British driver overall to do it. By winning the title Hamilton becomes the second most successful driver in F1, passing Fernando Alonso. Sebastian Vettel is the most successful driver with 39 wins and four titles, while Hamilton has 33 wins and two titles.