The Formula 1 Season Run-In – Who’s in Pole Position?

With the Formula 1 season drawing to a tense conclusion, George Dagless takes on the unenviable task of predicting who will take home motor sport’s most coveted crown.

As Lewis Hamilton waltzed to victory in the Singapore Grand Prix, with Nico Rosberg looking on from the pit lane, this year’s Formula 1 World Championship truly came alive. In a battle that has ebbed and flowed all season, Hamilton reeled in his German teammate’s points advantage and now has a three point lead going into the final five races. It promises to be a thrilling climax to what has already been a season of great entertainment and tumultuous tension.

The Japanese Grand Prix is the next episode in this great sporting soap opera. Famous for title deciders, the Suzuka circuit is a driver’s favourite. It has a mixture of fast and slow paced corners, long straights and a unique figure-of-eight layout that is physically demanding for the drivers. It will not decide which side of the Mercedes garage the title is heading to, but it could give us a clue.

The animosity between Hamilton and Rosberg, the ‘best friends’ who have raced together since they were boys, seems to have cooled off for now, with both drivers having seemingly called a truce after the Italian Grand Prix. However, with both of them in easily the best car on the grid, they can expect to be running up front for the remainder of the season. Therefore, it may just boil down to who has the best reliability. This has proven to be Hamilton’s Achilles heel for the duration of the season. Every time he has closed in on his teammate in the standings, his car has let him down.

Rosberg, meanwhile, has shown the consistency needed to win a world title; his almost robotic approach has seen him relentlessly collect points. It was only at the last race in Singapore and at the British Grand Prix that his car has let him down.

It will almost certainly come down to the final race in Abu Dhabi, which will be a fitting conclusion for this season. It is more than likely that the first row will be occupied by the two silver arrows in what will hopefully be a winner-takes-all race. The ultimate victor will be the one who can remain cool in the most pressurised of situations.

History suggests Hamilton will prevail, given his previous experience in world title shoot-outs, but as we see so often, the form book becomes irrelevant in a scenario like this. One thing is for certain though; the season run-in is going to be almighty.