(Mercedes AMG PETRONAS F1 Team)
Mercedes AMG PETRONAS F1 Team's Lewis Hamilton is the new Formula One world drivers champion after taking his eleventh victory of the season at an extremely dramatic Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at the Yas Marina circuit. The double world champion took the lead at the start of the race after team mate and championship rival Nico Rosberg had a poor start from then on Hamilton dominated the race.
It was a fantastic race for the Williams Martini Racing Team as they secured their first double podium finish with Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas finishing the race in second and third place to consolidate third place in the Constructors championship ahead of Ferrari. Valtteri Bottas has finished the championship in fourth place in the championship just behind Infiniti Red Bull Racing's Daniel Ricciardo.
Infiniti Red Bull Racing's Daniel Ricciardo finished the race in fourth place which was a fantastic result for the Australian considering he started the race from the pit-lane along with team mate Sebastian Vettel.
Following the race, Daniel Ricciardo stated:
'Yeah really happy, I think it was pretty much a faultless race from all sides, from the strategy, to myself and the pit stops, everything was good so we did everything we needed to. I had fun passing, it wasn’t boring out there, so it was pretty much what I asked for. One spot better would have been nice, but fourth is really cool from the pit lane.
It’s been pretty much a perfect season, as perfect as it can be without holding a world title, so no real regrets, no complaints. It’s nice to not only start the season well, but to finish it well also and I think all the way through it was good - we had a strong summer as well, so the start, middle and end were pretty good'.
Following the race, Daniel Ricciardo stated:
'Yeah really happy, I think it was pretty much a faultless race from all sides, from the strategy, to myself and the pit stops, everything was good so we did everything we needed to. I had fun passing, it wasn’t boring out there, so it was pretty much what I asked for. One spot better would have been nice, but fourth is really cool from the pit lane.
It’s been pretty much a perfect season, as perfect as it can be without holding a world title, so no real regrets, no complaints. It’s nice to not only start the season well, but to finish it well also and I think all the way through it was good - we had a strong summer as well, so the start, middle and end were pretty good'.
It was a fantastic race for McLaren Mercedes who was potentially competing in his final Formula One Grand Prix as the 2009 world champion finished the race in fifth place helping the Woking based outfit to finish the season in fifth place in the Constructors championship.
The Sahara Force India Formula One team finished the race in 6th for Nico Hulkenberg and 7th place respectively for Sergio Perez meaning that the Silverstone based outfit finish the season in 6th place in the championship. Speaking following the race Nico Hulkenberg stated:
“I’m very happy with this result. After struggling with the car on Friday and in qualifying, I think we can be proud of today’s race and our performance is a good sign for next year as well. The car performed at its best; I had a good balance and I had the confidence to really push.
There were just a few laps after the pit stops when I was managing the tyres, but other than that it was flat out all the way. The long final stint on the supersoft tyres was brave, but it turned out to be a great strategy by the team and it really worked out well.'
Speaking following the race Nico Hulkenberg stated:
'The points today helped me to finish in the top ten of the championship, which is an important achievement after a great year. I think we could have been even higher up today, but we probably stopped too late for the final pit stop.
If we had been on the supersofts a bit earlier then maybe we could have been closer to Button at the end of the race. Looking back at the season overall I think everyone in the team has done a tremendous job and we should feel very happy about what we have achieved. I’ve enjoyed this season and now that I know the team I’m looking forward to coming back stronger in 2015.'
The Sahara Force India Formula One Team have now scored more points this season then they have done in their history and speaking following the race team principal and managing director Dr Vijay Mallya stated:
'Today we saw a captivating race that demonstrated how far we have come this season. Everyone in the team performed superbly, from the team on the pit wall that devised a very effective strategy, to the pit-crew who pulled off four good stops.
Equally, the drivers were superb and Nico and Sergio didn't put a wheel wrong on track. We battled with World Champions today and we beat them fair and square - we finished with both cars ahead of the Ferraris and one Red Bull. Nico's penalty was harsh and it surely cost him fifth place, which would have been thoroughly deserved.
Even though tonight's result was not enough to claim back fifth in the championship, we can look back to our season with pride. We scored the highest points tally in the history of the team, 155 points, and we finished with both cars in the points on ten occasions. I want to congratulate everyone in the team, both here at the track and back in Silverstone, for their effort this season, and encourage them to take this year as a spur for even greater things to come in 2015.'
“I’m very happy with this result. After struggling with the car on Friday and in qualifying, I think we can be proud of today’s race and our performance is a good sign for next year as well. The car performed at its best; I had a good balance and I had the confidence to really push.
There were just a few laps after the pit stops when I was managing the tyres, but other than that it was flat out all the way. The long final stint on the supersoft tyres was brave, but it turned out to be a great strategy by the team and it really worked out well.'
Speaking following the race Nico Hulkenberg stated:
'The points today helped me to finish in the top ten of the championship, which is an important achievement after a great year. I think we could have been even higher up today, but we probably stopped too late for the final pit stop.
If we had been on the supersofts a bit earlier then maybe we could have been closer to Button at the end of the race. Looking back at the season overall I think everyone in the team has done a tremendous job and we should feel very happy about what we have achieved. I’ve enjoyed this season and now that I know the team I’m looking forward to coming back stronger in 2015.'
The Sahara Force India Formula One Team have now scored more points this season then they have done in their history and speaking following the race team principal and managing director Dr Vijay Mallya stated:
'Today we saw a captivating race that demonstrated how far we have come this season. Everyone in the team performed superbly, from the team on the pit wall that devised a very effective strategy, to the pit-crew who pulled off four good stops.
Equally, the drivers were superb and Nico and Sergio didn't put a wheel wrong on track. We battled with World Champions today and we beat them fair and square - we finished with both cars ahead of the Ferraris and one Red Bull. Nico's penalty was harsh and it surely cost him fifth place, which would have been thoroughly deserved.
Even though tonight's result was not enough to claim back fifth in the championship, we can look back to our season with pride. We scored the highest points tally in the history of the team, 155 points, and we finished with both cars in the points on ten occasions. I want to congratulate everyone in the team, both here at the track and back in Silverstone, for their effort this season, and encourage them to take this year as a spur for even greater things to come in 2015.'
In his final race for the Infiniti Red Bull Racing team now former world champion Sebastian Vettel finished the race in eighth place to finish a difficult season for the German in fifth place in the championship, Speaking following his final race for the Milton Keynes based outfit Vettel stated:
'I felt there was more, but once I got stuck behind Kevin at the beginning it was quite tough, so I can’t be completely happy with today; when you race you want to finish as high up as you can and today I think we had the pace to finish higher. I think the last six years have been an incredible journey, obviously we didn’t expect that when we started working together – you can never expect four Driver titles and four Constructors’ Championships in a row.
You get to know some people in a very good way and build friendships that will last a long time. You go through happy days and sad days, you go through them together and I think I learned a lot. I’d like to thank Red Bull and the Team for everything they did and I will miss them. I feel ready for the next step.'
Infiniti Red Bull Racing end the 2014 season in second place in the championship following three race wins for Daniel Ricciardo and speaking following the race team principal Christian Horner stated:
'A phenomenal drive from Daniel to drive from the pit lane to P4, an incredible recovery after the circumstances of Saturday, signing off a fantastic season for Daniel finishing third in the World Championship and an unbelievable year. For Sebastian P8 isn’t reflective of his time within the Team, four world championships, 38 grand prix victories, four Constructors’
World Championships and 44 pole positions. He’s been a fantastic team member he’s been an absolutely awesome competitor. He’s been a pleasure and delight to work with and we wish him well for the future; he’ll always be a friend of the Team. Finally congratulations to Lewis Hamilton on achieving his second world championship, he’s a very deserving winner after the season he’s put together and it’s fitting that he won.'
'I felt there was more, but once I got stuck behind Kevin at the beginning it was quite tough, so I can’t be completely happy with today; when you race you want to finish as high up as you can and today I think we had the pace to finish higher. I think the last six years have been an incredible journey, obviously we didn’t expect that when we started working together – you can never expect four Driver titles and four Constructors’ Championships in a row.
You get to know some people in a very good way and build friendships that will last a long time. You go through happy days and sad days, you go through them together and I think I learned a lot. I’d like to thank Red Bull and the Team for everything they did and I will miss them. I feel ready for the next step.'
Infiniti Red Bull Racing end the 2014 season in second place in the championship following three race wins for Daniel Ricciardo and speaking following the race team principal Christian Horner stated:
'A phenomenal drive from Daniel to drive from the pit lane to P4, an incredible recovery after the circumstances of Saturday, signing off a fantastic season for Daniel finishing third in the World Championship and an unbelievable year. For Sebastian P8 isn’t reflective of his time within the Team, four world championships, 38 grand prix victories, four Constructors’
World Championships and 44 pole positions. He’s been a fantastic team member he’s been an absolutely awesome competitor. He’s been a pleasure and delight to work with and we wish him well for the future; he’ll always be a friend of the Team. Finally congratulations to Lewis Hamilton on achieving his second world championship, he’s a very deserving winner after the season he’s put together and it’s fitting that he won.'
It was an extremely disappointing end to a tough season for Ferrari as in his final race for the Italian team Fernando Alonso finished the race in ninth place while Kimi Raikkonen ended a extremely tough season for the Finn in 10th place to end the season in 12th place in the championship.
It was a disappointing race for Kevin Magnussen as the Dane finished the race just outside the points for McLaren in eleventh place.
Toro Rosso's Jean Eric Verrgne finished the race in 12th place in what may have been his final race for the Italian team.
The Lotus F1 Team's Romain Grosjean finished the race in 13th place in the team's final race with Renault power before they make the switch to Mercedes power in 2015. Speaking following the race Grosjean stated:
'We did the best we could today. My race wasn’t that eventful and unfortunately it came to an early end for Pastor, so I think that we are all glad that the season is now over. We thought about doing a three stop strategy early in the race but then we swapped back to two stops. I’m already looking forward to being in the simulator to test the E23. We have a new Power Unit and aerodynamically next year’s car is looking like a great step forward. Now it’s time to take a break, recharge our batteries and look forward to 2015.'
'We did the best we could today. My race wasn’t that eventful and unfortunately it came to an early end for Pastor, so I think that we are all glad that the season is now over. We thought about doing a three stop strategy early in the race but then we swapped back to two stops. I’m already looking forward to being in the simulator to test the E23. We have a new Power Unit and aerodynamically next year’s car is looking like a great step forward. Now it’s time to take a break, recharge our batteries and look forward to 2015.'
Nico Rosberg had an extremely disappointing race as he lost the lead of the race right at the start of the race and suffered an Energy Recovery System issue along with a number of other mechanical issues and eventually finished the race in 14th place. The German can take heart in the fact that he has had an incredible season and can come back even stronger next season.
The Sauber F1 Team's Esteban Gutierrez and Adrian Sutil's finished the race in 15th and 16th place respectively. The Swiss based outfit have now for the first time in their history gone a season without scoring a point.
Speaking following his last race for the team, Esteban Gutierrez stated:
'A race during which I fought from the beginning to the end. We managed to keep our planned two-stop-strategy, which was quite an aggressive one. On my last stint I had to drive as many laps as possible on this set of tyres, which worked out for us. I was pushing every lap, but at the same time I had to manage the tyres. I want to thank every team member; it was a pleasure to have worked with the Sauber F1 Team. I wish everyone all the best for the future.'
Adrian Sutil was also driving in his final race for the Swiss based outfit and speaking following the race he stated:
'It was a normal race. I had quite a good start. Afterwards Kevin (Magnussen) drove into my car, and I dropped back many positons. I still cannot say if my car was damaged or not. After this incident I tried my best to get back into the race. However, we had to switch to another strategy with three pit stops, which was not ideal. In general the pace was not good enough, so a better result would have been difficult to achieve. Finally, I want to thank the engineers and mechanics who have all worked very hard throughout the season.'
The 2014 Formula One season has been the toughest season for the Sauber F1 Team since they entered Formula One in 1993 and speaking following the final race in Abu Dhabi team principal Monisha Keltenborn stated:
'First of all, I want to congratulate Lewis Hamilton on winning the title, and the Mercedes team for an impressive dominant and outstanding season. Coming to our team, 15th and 16th in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix are typical of the 2014 season, which was a huge disappointment. Everyone within the team worked very hard, but we could not achieve the results we aimed for. We were not able to score points, which has never happened before in the history of the team. There are many reasons for this. However, it does not make sense to point fingers.
We will draw our conclusions and will initiate the right actions. We will move on and use our entire energy to bring the team back to where it was before, and where it should be. I want to thank every member of the team - mechanics, engineers, the employees at the factory and our drivers. A special thanks goes to Esteban Gutiérrez who was part of this team for five years, first as an affiliated driver and afterwards for two years as a race driver.
We were with him through good and bad times. Esteban was always loyal to the team. Adrian surely expected more from this season, as we also did. With the issues we had with the C33 he was not able to deliver results which we as a team and he wished for. Giedo van der Garde did a great job as test and reserve driver. We thank all of them, and wish them all the best for the future.'
The Swiss based teams head of Track engineering Giampaolo Dall'Ara stated:
'It started off quite well with Adrian gaining some positions at the start, but in Turn 7 on the first lap he was hit by another driver and lost some places. When he was then stuck in traffic behind slower cars we opted for an early pit stop, which originally was not planned. He was then on an three stop stragety. In hindsight that maybe cost him some time.
However, looking at the other car that had a clean two stop strategy, it didn’t really change a lot as our cars finished in 15th and 16th. Once again our performance was not good enough to achieve more. This race marks the end of a very difficult season. However, as a team we never gave up, and I would like to thank everyone for their hard work. As from tomorrow we will switch our focus to the 2015 season.'
Speaking following his last race for the team, Esteban Gutierrez stated:
'A race during which I fought from the beginning to the end. We managed to keep our planned two-stop-strategy, which was quite an aggressive one. On my last stint I had to drive as many laps as possible on this set of tyres, which worked out for us. I was pushing every lap, but at the same time I had to manage the tyres. I want to thank every team member; it was a pleasure to have worked with the Sauber F1 Team. I wish everyone all the best for the future.'
Adrian Sutil was also driving in his final race for the Swiss based outfit and speaking following the race he stated:
'It was a normal race. I had quite a good start. Afterwards Kevin (Magnussen) drove into my car, and I dropped back many positons. I still cannot say if my car was damaged or not. After this incident I tried my best to get back into the race. However, we had to switch to another strategy with three pit stops, which was not ideal. In general the pace was not good enough, so a better result would have been difficult to achieve. Finally, I want to thank the engineers and mechanics who have all worked very hard throughout the season.'
The 2014 Formula One season has been the toughest season for the Sauber F1 Team since they entered Formula One in 1993 and speaking following the final race in Abu Dhabi team principal Monisha Keltenborn stated:
'First of all, I want to congratulate Lewis Hamilton on winning the title, and the Mercedes team for an impressive dominant and outstanding season. Coming to our team, 15th and 16th in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix are typical of the 2014 season, which was a huge disappointment. Everyone within the team worked very hard, but we could not achieve the results we aimed for. We were not able to score points, which has never happened before in the history of the team. There are many reasons for this. However, it does not make sense to point fingers.
We will draw our conclusions and will initiate the right actions. We will move on and use our entire energy to bring the team back to where it was before, and where it should be. I want to thank every member of the team - mechanics, engineers, the employees at the factory and our drivers. A special thanks goes to Esteban Gutiérrez who was part of this team for five years, first as an affiliated driver and afterwards for two years as a race driver.
We were with him through good and bad times. Esteban was always loyal to the team. Adrian surely expected more from this season, as we also did. With the issues we had with the C33 he was not able to deliver results which we as a team and he wished for. Giedo van der Garde did a great job as test and reserve driver. We thank all of them, and wish them all the best for the future.'
The Swiss based teams head of Track engineering Giampaolo Dall'Ara stated:
'It started off quite well with Adrian gaining some positions at the start, but in Turn 7 on the first lap he was hit by another driver and lost some places. When he was then stuck in traffic behind slower cars we opted for an early pit stop, which originally was not planned. He was then on an three stop stragety. In hindsight that maybe cost him some time.
However, looking at the other car that had a clean two stop strategy, it didn’t really change a lot as our cars finished in 15th and 16th. Once again our performance was not good enough to achieve more. This race marks the end of a very difficult season. However, as a team we never gave up, and I would like to thank everyone for their hard work. As from tomorrow we will switch our focus to the 2015 season.'
Will Stevens who made his Formula One debut with the Caterham F1 Team this weekend finished the race in 17th place.
It was a disappointing race for the Lotus F1 Team's Pastor Maldonado as the Venezuelan failed to finish the race as a result of a engine fire. The Caterham F1 Team's Kanui Kobayashi failed to finish the race as did Daniil Kvyat failed to finish his final race for Toro Rosso before he heads to Infiniti Red Bull Racing for 2015.
Speaking following the race Maldonado stated:
'That was a surprising race for me. Our race pace was actually pretty good and I was able to fight with the Ferraris as well as enjoy the feel from the car. I was able to push and the car worked well on both tyre compounds. Unfortunately, my race had to end early.
The flames showed the engine wasn’t working too well which also mean it was getting quite hot in the car! It’s a shame to finish a season like we did, but I know we have a lot of potential for 2015, so I am really looking forward to surprising some people when we return.'
Following two great seasons in 2012 and 2013 the Enstone based outfit endured a difficult transition 2014 season with the new 1.6 litre V6 turbo charged power unit along with the other regulations and finish the season in eighth place having scored just ten points.
However there is light at the end of the tunnel as next season they will switch to a supply of Mercedes power unites while they will retain and unchanged line-up which will bring stability to the team which will be needed with the new power unit.
Speaking following the final race Lotus F1 Team technical director Nick Chester said:
'Firstly, we must thank Renault Sport F1 for all the good times we have enjoyed over the many years of our relationship together. It wasn’t quite the send-off we wanted, with disappointment for Pastor who suffered a Power Unit failure. He was running strongly in the race and our predictions show he would have finished quite closely to Ferrari, so close to the points.
Romain struggled a little bit more on this first set of soft tyres so we opted for an early next stop, which meant a longer final stint. He did a very good job considering the penalties he had to serve early in the race. No doubt it’s been a tough season from which we have learnt a lot. We are already fully focused on 2015 and aim to come back much stronger next season.'
The Enstone outfits deputy team principal Frederico Gastaldi is looking forward to the team's future stating:
'2014 won’t go down as a memorable season in terms of results for Enstone, but it will be a year we remember for really testing our resolve and strengthening our character.
Everyone at the track and at Enstone has fought all the way, despite the lack of results. We are determined to come back stronger in 2015 and everything is in place to enable this. Congratulations to Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes for their titles in 2014; both driver and team set a very high standard, so we know our goals for the future.'
Speaking following the race Maldonado stated:
'That was a surprising race for me. Our race pace was actually pretty good and I was able to fight with the Ferraris as well as enjoy the feel from the car. I was able to push and the car worked well on both tyre compounds. Unfortunately, my race had to end early.
The flames showed the engine wasn’t working too well which also mean it was getting quite hot in the car! It’s a shame to finish a season like we did, but I know we have a lot of potential for 2015, so I am really looking forward to surprising some people when we return.'
Following two great seasons in 2012 and 2013 the Enstone based outfit endured a difficult transition 2014 season with the new 1.6 litre V6 turbo charged power unit along with the other regulations and finish the season in eighth place having scored just ten points.
However there is light at the end of the tunnel as next season they will switch to a supply of Mercedes power unites while they will retain and unchanged line-up which will bring stability to the team which will be needed with the new power unit.
Speaking following the final race Lotus F1 Team technical director Nick Chester said:
'Firstly, we must thank Renault Sport F1 for all the good times we have enjoyed over the many years of our relationship together. It wasn’t quite the send-off we wanted, with disappointment for Pastor who suffered a Power Unit failure. He was running strongly in the race and our predictions show he would have finished quite closely to Ferrari, so close to the points.
Romain struggled a little bit more on this first set of soft tyres so we opted for an early next stop, which meant a longer final stint. He did a very good job considering the penalties he had to serve early in the race. No doubt it’s been a tough season from which we have learnt a lot. We are already fully focused on 2015 and aim to come back much stronger next season.'
The Enstone outfits deputy team principal Frederico Gastaldi is looking forward to the team's future stating:
'2014 won’t go down as a memorable season in terms of results for Enstone, but it will be a year we remember for really testing our resolve and strengthening our character.
Everyone at the track and at Enstone has fought all the way, despite the lack of results. We are determined to come back stronger in 2015 and everything is in place to enable this. Congratulations to Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes for their titles in 2014; both driver and team set a very high standard, so we know our goals for the future.'
Final 2014 Formula One Drivers Championship standings
1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes AMG PETRONAS F1 Team 384 Points 2014 World Champion
2 Nico Rosberg Mercedes AMG PETRONAS F1 Team 317
3 Daniel Ricciardo Infiniti Red Bull Racing 238
4 Valtteri Bottas Williams Martini Racing Team 186
5 Sebastian Vettel Infiniti Red Bull Racing 167
6 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 161
7 Felipe Massa Williams Martini Racing 134
8 Jenson Button McLaren Mercedes 126
9 Nico Hulkenberg Sahara Force India Formula One Team 96
10 Sergio Perez Sahara Force India Formula One Team 59
11 Kevin Magnussen McLaren Mercedes 55
12 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 55
13 Jean Eric Vergne Scuderia Toro Rosso 22
14 Romain Grosjean Lotus F1 Team 8
15 Daniil Kvyat Scuderia Toro Rosso 8
16 Pastor Maldonado Lotus F1 Team 2
17 Jules Bianchi Marussia F1 Team 2
Final 2014 Formula One Constructors Championship Standings
1 Mercedes AMG PETRONAS F1 Team 701 points
2 Infiniti Red Bull Racing Renault 405
3 Williams Martini Racing Mercedes Team 320
4 Scuderia Ferrari 216
5 McLaren Mercedes 181
6 Sahara Force India Formula One Team 155
7 Scuderia Toro Rosso Renault 30
8 Lotus F1 Team 10
9 Marussia F1 Team 2
10 Sauber F1 Team 0
11 Caterham F1 Team 0
© Ben Johnston 2014
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