Lewis Hamilton wins 2014 F1 championship: Lewis Hamilton vs Nico Rosberg - race-by-race review
A look back at the 2014 season that saw Lewis Hamilton clinch his second championship of his career in Abu Dhabi
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Your support makes all the difference.Lewis Hamilton beat Nico Rosberg to the Formula One world title with victory at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Sunday.
Here we chart how the battle for supremacy unfolded throughout the year.
AUSTRALIA, MARCH 16
Pole for Hamilton, but a cylinder failure on lap three forced him into retirement, allowing Rosberg to claim a comfortable win from Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo, who was later disqualified for a technical fuel infringement.
Points: Rosberg 25, Hamilton 0
MALAYSIA, MARCH 30
Pole position, fastest lap and a race win for Hamilton to complement the 100th points finish of his F1 career, with Rosberg a distant second, just over 17 seconds adrift.
Pts: Rosberg 43, Hamilton 25
BAHRAIN, APRIL 4
Mercedes' first front-row lock-out, with Rosberg ahead of Hamilton, but after a thrilling wheel-to-wheel duel it was the Briton who again took the chequered flag by just one second.
Pts: Rosberg 61, Hamilton 50
CHINA, APRIL 11
Hamilton became the most successful Briton over one lap in F1 by claiming his 34th pole, taking him past the legendary Jim Clark. The win followed, with Rosberg climbing from fourth on the grid to second.
Pts: Rosberg 79, Hamilton 75
SPAIN, MAY 11
A fourth pole in five races was followed by a fourth consecutive win for Hamilton, with Rosberg runner-up for a fourth straight race. The gap was a meagre 0.6 seconds at the flag. It later emerged Hamilton turned up his engine mode to keep Rosberg at bay late on, seemingly in retaliation for the latter doing something similar in Bahrain.
Pts: Hamilton 100, Rosberg 97
MONACO, MAY 25
Rosberg landed a contentious pole, bringing out yellow flags after heading down a run-off area after out-braking himself at Mirabeau, forcing Hamilton to slow behind when on a quicker lap. Rosberg then led Hamilton home, but the two men refuse to acknowledge or speak to one another during the podium ceremony.
Pts: Rosberg 122, Hamilton 118
CANADA, JUNE 8
Mercedes' record-equalling run of five successive one-twos came to an end as Ricciardo claimed the win after Hamilton retired with brake issues, whilst Rosberg encountered problems with the energy recovery system.
Pts: Rosberg 140, Hamilton 118
AUSTRIA, JUNE 22
Hamilton made mistakes on each of his hot laps in final qualifying, one of which impeded Rosberg, handing a shock front row to Williams. Mercedes proved too strong in the race, though, with Rosberg on the top step and Hamilton second from ninth on the grid.
Pts: Rosberg 165, Hamilton 136
BRITAIN, JULY 6
Hamilton suffered brain fade at Silverstone and pulls out of a lap in drying conditions, allowing Rosberg to blast by and claim pole. But spurred on by his home fans, Hamilton roared to victory from sixth, whilst Rosberg retired for the first time with a gearbox issue.
Pts: Rosberg 165, Hamilton 161
GERMANY, JULY 20
A brake failure in qualifying pitched Hamilton into a high-speed crash into a barrier. Starting from 20th he produces a stunning drive to claim third, limiting the damage to Rosberg who made no mistakes to win from pole.
Pts: Rosberg 190, Hamilton 176
HUNGARY, JULY 27
This time a fire in qualifying due to a fuel leak leaves Hamilton 22nd and last on the grid, with Rosberg on pole. But again Hamilton conjured a brilliant recovery drive to finish third, with Rosberg fourth behind winner Ricciardo. The German fumed post-race, though, as Hamilton ignored - rightly as it later transpired - a team order to allow his team-mate by.
Pts: Rosberg 202, Hamilton 191
BELGIUM, AUGUST 24
Controversy on lap two as Rosberg ran into Hamilton, leading to a puncture for the latter, and ultimately retirement late on due to damage sustained from a long return to the pits. Rosberg finished second behind Ricciardo, but in a heated post-race meeting Hamilton revealed his team-mate had admitted deliberately hitting him.
Pts: Rosberg 220, Hamilton 191
ITALY, SEPTEMBER 7
For the first time in eight races Hamilton landed pole, with Rosberg second on the grid. A slow getaway, due to a technical issue, dropped Hamilton to fourth at the start behind leader Rosberg, but a mistake from the German on lap 29 handed Hamilton the win.
Pts: Rosberg 238, Hamilton 216
SINGAPORE, SEPTEMBER 21
Ahead of the formation lap Rosberg encountered an electronics issue with his gearbox, forcing him to start from the pit lane. Although his team managed to get him going, he was forced to retire on lap 14. Hamilton, meanwhile, went on to claim victory from pole and regain the lead of the championship.
Pts: Hamilton 241, Rosberg 238
JAPAN, OCTOBER 5
A third straight win for Hamilton - and eighth of the season - with Rosberg second, but the result was completely overshadowed by the horrific accident involving Jules Bianchi that resulted in the race being stopped after 43 laps.
Pts: Hamilton 266, Rosberg 256
RUSSIA, OCTOBER 12
Hamilton made it four wins in a row thanks to Rosberg locking up at turn one, flatspotting his tyres, forcing him into an immediate pit stop. Rosberg, though, came back from 20th to second after running for 52 laps on one set of tyres.
Pts: Hamilton 291, Rosberg 274
UNITED STATES, NOVEMBER 2
A brake problem in qualifying handed Rosberg pole ahead of Hamilton, but a routine overtake during the race gave the latter his 32nd career victory, making him the most successful Briton in F1 history in terms of race wins.
Pts: Hamilton 316, Rosberg 292
BRAZIL, NOVEMBER 9
A dominant weekend from Rosberg, who is fastest in all three practice sessions and at the end of each qualifying period ahead of a crucial race win, albeit courtesy of a Hamilton spin when he had the lead - and potential victory - in his sights.
Pts: Hamilton 334, Rosberg 317
ABU DHABI, November 23
Hamilton took control with a stunning start to steam past pole-sitter Rosberg, who later in the race struggled with an engine issue.
Pts: Hamilton 384, Rosberg 317
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