It has been an incredible three years for Mercedes. Three consecutive constructors championships, with no competition at all. Two drivers championships for Lewis Hamilton, and now, one for Nico Rosberg.
After an intense 2014 season, Lewis comfortably took the 2015 crown. He was clearly the class of the field. Lesser men would have given up, demoralised, but since the day he lost the 2015 championship in Austin, Nico Rosberg has looked like a man on a mission. Seven consecutive victories following that dark day in Texas.
Early flyaways
The first four races have a familiar theme. Lewis struggled with engine issues in qualifying, poor starts, and generally looked hapless at times. No one can deny his outright pace - he's one of the most talented of all time, but a Formula 1 weekend is more than just speed over one lap. Chinese GP especially was one of Lewis' worst performances, failing to pass midfield teams despite Mercedes' formidable advantage.
Meanwhile, Nico dominated the first four races. Not all the wins were easy, but even when Lewis was in play, it was Nico who was ruthless, closing out the first four races with four wins, leaving him an enormous 42 points ahead.
Catastrophe in Catalunya
The Spanish GP started the worst possible outcome for Mercedes - Nico and Lewis crashing into each other. Nico pulled off a daring overtake on Lewis round Turn 1, but he had previously made a mistake by being in the wrong engine mode. Despite that, Lewis was far too aggressive in trying to gain the position back, as Niki Lauda rightly pointed out. He was never going to make it, and instead he collected his team mate with him. This was a completely unnecessary crash which could easily have been avoided. This was definitely a pivotal moment in the season. Had Nico won this, Lewis would have been nearly 50 points behind, a completely different mind game.
Meanwhile, from the ashes of Mercedes' misfortune, a new champion is born - Max Verstappen. Already very impressive in Toro Rosso, Helmut "Ruthless" Marko took the decision to swap Kvyat with Max in the lead Red Bull team pretty much with no warning. It drew a lot of criticism, but it was an absolutely dream debut, with Max on top fending off a resurgent Kimi Raikkonen. It was a champion's drive - no one would have guessed he's barely old enough to get a driving license! There's no doubt this lad will be champion one day.
The European Mid-Season
Since the Barcelona debacle, it was a complete turn-around all the way to the summer break. Lewis gain an impossible 70+ points, completely turning the championship on its head.
At Monaco, Nico suffered from varying issues. He let Lewis past, who went on to win the race. It's worth noting that Lewis has never followed a team order, but Nico has always been completely a team man - much to his credit.
Since then, Lewis was absolutely dominant - winning six races in five outings, including all 4 in July. Meanwhile, Nico had a torrid time. Pushed out wide at Canada by Lewis, poor start in Hungary and Germany, overly harsh penalties in Germany and Britain.
There were two standout races though - European (Baku) and Austrian. Lewis completely messed up Baku, crashing his car in qualifying. While Nico was imperious, rounding off a Grand Chelem (i.e. pole, lead every lap, fastest lap and win). Lewis bungled with car settings, the same ones Nico fixed in a jiffy.
And then there was Austria. Despite a gearbox failure and grid penalty, Nico drove like a champion... till the penultimate lap. On the dramatic last lap, he defended a charging Lewis with a very clumsy move. The end result - Lewis P1, Nico P4.
The Post-Break Turnaround
Lewis had turned the championship completely on its head in the European mid-season. Everyone thought that was it - this was a repeat of 2015. Lewis would simply cruise to the world championship from here on out.
But this is no ordinary competitor - this is Nico Rosberg. Ever tenacious, he would keep on fighting.
At the Belgium GP, Lewis had to take a grid penalty, but he totally lucked out with the safety car situation, coming up to P5 within a handful of laps. P3, damage limitation complete. At Monza, Lewis pulled out a stunning lap in qualifying, only to make a mess of his start - again. Nico was in complete control. Even when Lewis had a chance to fight back, he simply didn't have the pace to challenge.
The next race is my favourite of the year - Singapore GP. This was definitely Nico's best race of the year, absolutely sensational quali lap. He held it throughout the race, till Mercedes totally messed up the strategy. Ricciardo was clearly on the better strategy charging in with much fresher, faster tyres, while Nico's were pretty much . In the end, Nico came home with half a second to spare, judging it to absolute perfection. It was intense, nail biting, and for me, the most exciting sporting event in years.
With three wins in a row, what seemed like an easy fourth title for Lewis Hamilton was turned around yet again, with Nico leading the championship.
The Malaysian Blowup and Nico in command
It all seemed to go horribly wrong for Nico at Turn 1 in Sepang. Vettel T-boned him straight into last place. He had fought back, but with Lewis was all set to re-take the lead, when disaster struck. A completely unexpected blow-up on a fresh engine.
To make matters worse, at Japanese GP Nico edged Lewis throughout, further aided by yet another poor start by Lewis. The end result, Nico went into the last four races with his championship in his hand. With a 33 point lead in hand, all Nico had to do was finish the last four races in second.
The Duel in the Desert
And that's what he did. Things looked uncertain in Mexico, Austin and Brazil, but Nico held his nerve. Meanwhile, Lewis showed his class, winning each from pole, and doing everything he could.
Coming into the season finale in Abu Dhabi, we knew winning wouldn't be enough for Lewis. It was mind games throughout the weekend, but when it came to the final moments, Lewis disobeyed team orders - yet again - driving as slow as he could, backing Nico up to the charging Vettel. Who could blame Lewis, but shitting all over your team is not cool, at all.
Nico kept his nerves, came home second for what was the closest race of the year, though artificially so thanks to Lewis' antics.
Winners and losers
You've got to hand it to Nico Rosberg. I've seen a lot of Hamilton fanboys (and Hamilton himself) repeatedly make excuses about the reliability issues, but that is frankly bullshit. A Formula 1 championship is won over an entire year, and no one ever has won by luck. Both drivers have had their ups and downs, but at the end of the day, Nico did everything he had to. If you really want to get into those meaningless arguments, why not point out that Nico has had way more reliability failures in the past, having lost the 2014 championship through two retirements at the end, or that Lewis' 2008 championship was down to Massa's misfortunes.
Through all this trash talk, often from the British media asking ridiculous questions, Nico stayed calm, held firm, never batted an eyelid. He was the most consistent throughout the year, and had some outstanding performances that eclipsed the very best of Hamilton. At the same time, he played the team game, remained a gentleman to the very end. It's a shame, because even the drivers now have to specifically point out that he's a deserving champion.
Not to take anything away from Hamilton, he's a fabulous racer and proved again that he's probably the fastest currently over a single lap. (Though I'd have to say Alonso is the most complete driver on the grid today) He had a fantastic year as well, coming ever so close, but not quite.
Speaking of Alonso, he was stunningly fast throughout, given his pretty average McLaren. I don't think it was a mistake leaving Ferrari - clearly he'd have just rounded out with more 2nd or 3rd places. He had to try something radical, and joining McLaren was the right tactic. You could bet your ass he tried his best for a Mercedes drive, but Nico and Lewis are pretty much locked out there.
And then there's Max, who lit up the scene race after race through maneuvers his more experienced colleagues wouldn't dare make. Brazil and Spain wear both standout performances, alongside Nico in Singapore.
Force India were fantastic as well, earning the most points-per-dollar. Fantastic achievement, beating teams with more than twice their budget.
The biggest loser, of course, is Ferrari. People were expecting them to challenge Mercedes, but they just weren't on it, eventually losing second place to Red Bull. And what can you say of Seb Vettel? He was the grumpy uncle of F1 throughout the season. Kimi, though, fought back very well towards the end.
Wehrlein was particularly good in the Manor, though it was Ocon who got the Force India drive. Let's hope Wehrlein makes Mercedes once Nico and Lewis bow out.
Looking forward to 2017
Wider tyres, wider chassis, more downforce. Finally, we'll get what people want. The engines stay pretty much the same, though we can hope Renault and Honda have caught up. The engines today are quite incredible - 900 bhp from a rev-limited 1.6L V6 is quite bonkers. Cars will be 4-5 seconds faster, which is an absolute age in Formula 1 terms. I expect Red Bull to really challenge Mercedes next year - they have the best aerodynamics team and the focus next year is squarely on aero. Max and Daniel slugging it out at the top - wow, what a prospect. Ferrari will be there of course. McLaren is a bit of a wild card. They have all the money, talent and resources - they couldn't continue to underperform, could they?
Finally, Lewis' decisions are going to have ramifications. Rumours suggest that he was close to quitting after the Spanish GP, where Mercedes seemed to lay the blame at his door. He has continued to disobey instructions, and Abu Dhabi might just be a point of no return. At the same time, Lewis doesn't have a choice - he has to make it work, Mercedes is the only way he can realistically win another championship, but it'll come at a cost. I can't wait to find out more about what went on behind the scenes.
All images courtesy of Formula1.com