World champion looking to end Mercedes team-mate's winning streak at Yas Marina circuit
Tuesday 24 November 2015 12:49, UK
The world championship might be long settled but that’s not going to stop Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg from squaring up to each other one last time in this weekend’s Abu Dhabi GP.
It's been Rosberg all the way ever since Hamilton retained the title in Austin, with the German seeking his third straight win at the Yas Marina circuit - the venue where Hamilton won his second world championship 12 months ago.
One Mercedes driver, with no small measure of personal pride to regain after a tough season, says he's coming into the race on a high while the other - who said at the last race that his "main job is done this year" - wants to sign off in the same style. So which is it to be?
"Last year, this place brought probably the most intense weekend of my life. I didn't sleep much through nerves and not knowing what was ahead. But this time around there's no pressure, so I'll be well-rested and aiming to go out on a high," said Hamilton, who blamed tiredness caused by his hectic schedule for a road traffic accident a few days before the Brazilian GP.
"I've had two really great weekends now in Mexico and Brazil, so I'm heading into the final race on a massive high," said Rosberg.
"Abu Dhabi hasn't always been an easy one for me. Of course, last year was probably my biggest disappointment - losing the title at the last moment with a mechanical problem. But I showed my speed there with pole position and I have good momentum behind me right now, so I'm aiming to end the season on a big positive this time around."
Of course, it might be the case that neither takes the win: Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel showed strongly on race day in Brazil last weekend while Williams' Felipe Massa was in contention for victory in Abu Dhabi last year.
"Of course, it will be close as always with Lewis and we saw a big push from Ferrari in Sao Paulo, so it won't be straightforward," Rosberg added. "But I'm up for a battle and hopefully we can put on a great show for the fans to end the year."
Massa said: "Abu Dhabi last season, I think this was the best race I've had in my time at Williams. To be able to fight for the victory was amazing, there have been two races we were really fighting for the victory, one was Silverstone this year and the other was Abu Dhabi.
"We got very close to winning the race, it was the best result for the team with both cars on the podium."
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