We arrived in Abu Dhabi in the early hours of Thursday morning from a late flight so it was straight into it later that day when we arrived at the track.
We stay on Yas Island so it's a 15 minute walk around the perimeter of the circuit to make our way in through the security gates and under the paddock across to the TV compound. We had a full team for the last race and after our production meeting it was into the paddock to see what news there was and carry out any interviews for the weekend's pieces. I was doing a piece on how the two title-chasing drivers were feeling coming into the weekend. One with nothing to lose, and the other with everything to lose but a childhood dream to gain.
The Thursday drivers' press conference had been split into two parts to allow those leaving the sport to have their time, and then those chasing the drivers title to have theirs. As a result I interviewed Nico and Lewis before they went into the press conference instead of afterwards as I would normally do. Nico kept to his one race at a time mantra while Lewis seemed relaxed. You could sense the nerves though. Nico was guarded in his responses and didn't say anything we hadn't heard before but that is how he has been dealing with the situation and knowing what we do now, it obviously works for him.
Then they went into the press conference room and walked up to the front where they were asked by the moderator to stand for a photo and shake hands. Neither proffered their hand to the other and Nico was heard to say that he didn't want to shake hands, while Lewis said nothing. But their body language said everything. When answering questions Lewis was jokey and relaxed, Nico tense and focussed. Hardly surprising when you consider their respective positions in the championship. One senior member of the Mercedes team intimated to me the lack of a handshake was not an issue, "we want rivals, not friends" were their words.
On Thursday evening we had one last team barbecue at our hotel, with our friends at Sky Germany and Sky Italy. It was hard to believe it was the last race already, this year seems to have gone quicker than any of the previous years despite being the longest. Everyone is feeling it though. It is an incredibly glamorous existence on the surface but your body tells you it is an exhausting one underneath. Not to mention the time away from home and the strains put on every relationship, be it family, friends or partners. So it was with some relief that we had reached race 21!
For some though it was their final race ever. Jenson Button had revealed in Monza that he wouldn't be getting in an F1 car in 2017 but that he had a contract for 2018 should McLaren want him, and should he want to do it at the age of 38. However, the Friday before the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix week I noticed Jenson liked an article on social media which declared this weekend as his last in F1. It was what we all knew but he vocalised it for the first time in the drivers' press conference on Thursday when he said: "I think of this as my last race and I hope everyone else does as well."
On Saturday evening Williams held drinks on their rooftop terrace to say farewell to Felipe Massa and, as you might expect, it was packed. As well as members of the team there were plenty of media and some of the drivers dropped by too. Valtteri Bottas, Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez, Daniil Kvyat, Felipe Nasr, Esteban Gutierrez, Esteban Ocon and Pascal Wehrlein all made an appearance. Felipe was presented with a cartoon of the most memorable moments in his career as well as being told he was being given his 2016 Formula One car to keep with it's Brazilian "Massa" livery. It's a good job he has a big house!
Race day was tense. You could feel it in the paddock and especially around the Silver Arrows hospitality and garage. I remember waiting to do my toilet run interviews and watching both Mercedes drivers stroll across to the garage within moments of each other for one final comfort break. Neither ever gives interviews at this point so I don't ask but I watched them go back to the grid. Lewis and his physio Angela strolled back but Nico came out flustered and looking around for his way back to his car, eyes darting. I can't begin to imagine how he was feeling at that point, knowing it was his title to lose. He had done all the hard work and just had to not lose his place on track and he would be champion.
I watched the start from the media centre as it's close to the interview pen in Abu Dhabi and after they both got away cleanly, one journalist said "well that's that then!", assuming now the result was a foregone conclusion. Even more so when Max Verstappen spun and ended up having to claw his way though the pack. He did a brilliant job making his tyres last so he could one stop but as we now know his pace dropped off significantly in the closing stages. I wonder what race we could have had had he got away cleanly.
We had been told before the race that Mercedes had told Lewis not to back Nico into the pack or he would lose his right to pit first and they would bring Nico in. So when after the final stop he started doing exactly that, Mercedes got on the radio and spoke to him. They started the weekend saying they wanted rivals not friends, yet were now asking a driver to make it easier for his team-mate to win the world title. They said they still wanted the win and didn't want Ferrari to snatch a race win away from them.
But they are racing drivers and as Mercedes have often reminded them, once the constructors' title is secure they are free to race. I was amazed to hear Rosberg ask the team if they could ask Lewis to let him by, and then if Lewis was still second at the end of the race Nico would give the place back to him. There was a hint of desperation in his voice, it faltered for the first time all weekend. How much of a bad taste would it have left in the mouth if the drivers' title was decided because of team orders handed out in the last race of the season? Lewis' actions were a last-ditch attempt by a racing driver trying to win himself the world title. You can't blame him, it was his instinct to do whatever he could and we wouldn't expect anything less from a three time world champion.
In the end, none of it mattered as Nico's consistency in the previous 20 races had given him plenty of wriggle room come the Abu Dhabi finale. He has been a different Nico this year. He may have seemed tense and nervous pre race but his 'mantra' had worked for him and no amount of questions from the media saw him deviate from that mindset. Not vocally anyway.
Plus, let's not forget, as the team reminded him, his overtake on Max was critical, and he completed it without so much as kiss on the Red Bull's bodywork. I don't remember seeing him successfully complete a move like that in the last three seasons at least, but I am sure you will correct me if I am wrong! It hasn't been the only difference this year. He said that after losing the title last year he spent two days just by himself not talking to anyone and just contemplating what had happened and how to make sure it didn't happen again. He said he made an effort to leave no stone unturned, and when you consider he wanted the stitching changed on his gloves mid season so he could have a better feel for the starts, you can see he meant it.
I enjoyed the interview with Nico post race as it's the most emotion I have ever seen from him and you could see how relieved he was after the tension and anxiety of those 55 laps. As you know from reading these diaries, he has previously been difficult and cold, but this time, for the first time there seemed to be some genuine warmth. The relief he was feeling was palpable.
My interview with Lewis was more challenging, as it always is with the loser. But I have no doubt he will come back even more determined next year. His performance at the last three race weekends has been imperious, as the 'what ifs' and 'if only's' must have been ringing in his ears. Yes he has had more bad luck, reliability or mechanical issues but Nico had to be there to pounce and pounce he did. I have no doubt Lewis will have learned something from Nico's response to defeat in 2015 and expect him to dominate at the start of next season.
Elsewhere we said farewell to Jenson and I was gutted to see him have to retire from his final F1 race. I remember watching him for so many years before getting to work in the sport. But it did mean that he had plenty of time in the media pen and got to say everything he wanted as he was the only one in there at the time, and we all got to say goodbye to him. The paddock will miss him for so many reasons, but he has said he will be at four F1 races next season with McLaren so I am sure you haven't seen the last of him on your screens.
I went to the post race party on Sunday night with a friend and it was nice to see so many familiar faces from the paddock enjoying a well earned night out. The talk was of winter plans and how quickly pre-season testing would come around. I caught up with lots so people you barely get time to say more than a passing "hi" to in the paddock. One of those was a member of Nico's personal team and their relief and pride at finally winning the title was a joy to listen to. They talked of the sacrifices and the effort that had gone into this moment.
Then a certain world champion came over and gave me a hug.
He had given pretty much every journalist in the media pen earlier a hug except the people on my side of the pen. He stopped briefly to chat before returning to his family and friends. I cannot imagine how much he has been dealing with mentally this season and how tough he has found it. There have been those saying he should give up if he can't win it this year with so much going his way. Imagine being told you should quit what you do because you are only the second best in the world? He may not have the personality of Daniel Ricciardo, the race craft of Lewis Hamilton, or the fearlessness of Max Verstappen, but he has plenty of skill, undeniable dogged determination, focus and dedication .... and sometimes that is enough. As it is, records will show that in 2016 he was the best Formula One driver in the world.
For Lewis it is a winter to lick his wounds and to remember that no one can be that unlucky two years in a row so his challenge for 2017 starts now. He will need to be on his A game because there is no guarantee he, or any driver, won't suffer mechanical issues next year too. Add to the mix the possibility of a Red Bull that could be on a par with the Silver Arrows, and at the hands of Ricciardo and Verstappen, and 2017 is mouth watering already. And I haven't even landed home from the 2016 season yet......
Thanks for your company this year and all your messages. Have a great winter!
Rachel
PS. The diary was written before Nico's announcement. Maybe now the hugs make sense! It's a shame he isn't defending his title but maybe now we understand more of what he has been through this year and how much it has taken out of him. He doesn't want to fight anymore. I'd love to see what someone like Carlos Sainz could do in that Mercedes and of the options available he may well be one of the cheaper contracts for Mercedes to buy out.... Looking forward to 2017 even more now...