With just two points between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg in the race for the title, and only seven stops left on the F1 calendar, the 2016 season is going to go down to the wire. So instead of trying to predict the outcome, we thought we’d take stock of the season so far and look back at some of the most memorable moments.
1. Qualifying chaos
The F1 season burst back into life at the Australian grand prix, where a new qualifying system was given its first official outing. The new elimination style of qualifying was originally introduced to make qualifying more exciting, but after a chaotic morning in Melbourne the system was scrapped. An emergency meeting of team principles and managers led to the new format being binned after just one race.
2. Rosberg races into an early lead
After Lewis Hamilton cruised to his third world title in 2015, he started the season as the firm favourite to clinch the 2016 Driver’s Championship. Nico Rosberg had other ideas though, and the German driver raced into an early lead by winning the first four races of the season in emphatic fashion.
3. Mighty Max
Aged 18 years and 228 days, Max Verstappen became the youngest driver ever to win a Formula 1 race. Verstappen held his nerve to take the chequered flag at the Spanish Grand Prix, after Mercedes teammates Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg colided on the opening lap.
4. Hamilton and Rosberg’s paths collide
The 2015 season saw a few near misses between the two silver arrows, but this season their luck seems to have run out and the two Mercedes teammates seem to collide on an almost weekly basis. The first incident the season saw both drivers retire after a single lap of the Spanish GP, and was swiftly followed by a collision on the opening lap of the Canadian grand Prix a month later. With Mercedes bosses ruling out any team orders the two drivers were free to continue their on-track rivalry, which they celebrate by colliding on the final lap of the Austrian Grand Prix.
5. Four’s the magic number
After Nico Rosberg’s dominant start to the season Hamilton had to pull something out of the bag, and his controversial win in Austria saw the start of a four race streak, which included claiming his fourth British Grand Prix win.
6. Ricciardo celebrates with a ‘shooey’
It’s almost impossible not love Daniel Ricciardo, not only is he an incredible driver, he’s a top bloke too, and after finishing second in the German Grand Prix the Aussie cemented his status as a man of the people by swigging champagne from his shoe. What a legend.
7. Hamilton starts from the back in Belgium
Consecutive race victories in Austria, Britain, Hungary and Germany helped Hamilton overhaul Rosberg at the top of the Driver’s Championship, but a grid penalty in Belgium threatened to undo all his hard work. After breaching engine regulations Hamilton started from the race from the back of the grid, but somehow managed to secure a place on the podium by finishing third.
8. Farewell Felipe
One of the Paddock’s most popular drivers Felipe Massa announced his retirement after 14 years in Formula 1. The 35-year-old Brazilian who drives for Williams will step down after the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi.
9. Overtake of the season
With seven races of the season left it seems premature to announce the overtake of the season, but the way Daniel Ricciardo blew Valterri Bottas away is going to take some beating. The move came on the final lap of the Italian Grand Prix and saw him move from sixth to fifth with a ridiculous move that came out of nowhere. The picture above doesn’t quite do Ricciardo’s move justice, so it’s well worth searching for.