On tap this week:
- Hamilton-Rosberg games continue
- Stroll gets Williams seat
- Mercedes equals records
- F1 closes loophole
- Quote of the Week: Kimi doesn't care about fourth
- Another open wheel star in NASCAR?
Nico Rosberg won't be getting a Christmas card from Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton, but apparently that's nothing new.
When asked in the post race press conference if they would exchange presents over the holidays this year, Rosberg said "Hmm, maybe a Christmas card" to which teammate Lewis Hamilton retorted quickly, "I don't think we've ever done either, so there's no reason to change."
While being left off each others Christmas card list might not be a sticking point for either, there does appear to be signs that the acrimony between the two was reaching the critical point as their third year as teammates came to a close.
Minutes before the card remark, Rosberg didn't seem too keen when it was suggested during the post-race podium interview that he and Hamilton have dinner to reflect on Mercedes' season.
"Let's skip that part — maybe we'll catch up in the Amber Lounge (where there's a posh after party) later on."
The tensions between the pair jumped back into the spotlight after a now infamous cap tossing incident in Austin following the U.S. Grand Prix. In the green room before the podium ceremonies, Rosberg angrily flung a second-place hat back at Hamilton after the race winner had thrown it in his lap.
The teammates have known each other since they were young karters, but their on-track battles continue to strain their relationship. The pair clashed in several incidents over the past two years as they battled for superiority in a car that was clearly better then the rest.
It's all been a handful for team principal Toto Wolff, who must keep the drivers he's called kindergarteners in check. And judging from the way Wolff's charges interacted after the season finale in Abu Dhabi on Sunday, the Mercedes boss' job won't be getting any easier in 2016.
Asked at the post-race press conference which Mercedes driver was happier going into the off-season, Abu Dhabi Grand Prix winner Rosberg, who ended the year with three straight victories and a string of six poles, said he was "feeling very happy."
Hamilton, who took home his third Formula One title in 2015 shot back: "I think being world champion sounds a lot better than winning the race, so that's good."
Random thoughts
The Williams Racing team confirmed last week that Montreal teen Lance Stroll will join the Formula One team's young driver stable next year. These seats typically come with a price tag of several million dollars, but that shouldn't be a problem for the 17-year-old, who is the son of retail billionaire and Circuit Mont-Tremblant owner Lawrence Stroll.
"We will be doing some simulator work with him to try to improve him as a driver," said Williams deputy team boss Clare Williams. "We'll be supporting his season in Formula 3 next year and hopefully he will have a great season and we'll see where he ends up at the end of 2016."
By the numbers
How dominant was the 2015 Mercedes F1 car? In 19 races, Mercedes tied its records for the most wins in a season (16) and pole positions (18), rang up 13 fastest laps, and put up 12 1-2 finishes on its way to a second consecutive constructors' title. While it was a distant second overall, Ferrari also added to its numbers in 2015, pushing the record for most wins from pole to 124 and the mark for race leads from start to finish to 68 on the strength of Sebastian Vettel's pole and lights-to-flag victory in Singapore.
Technically speaking
Formula One's governing Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) closed a possible loophole over the weekend to keep big outfits from using smaller teams as research arms. Although not mentioned in the Mercedes submission asking the FIA to look at the sport's regulations, many worried that the close relationship between Ferrari and the new Haas F1 outfit would see it helping the Scuderia technically in 2016. "These limits are ... intended to ensure that no competitor is able to circumvent the purpose or intention of the restrictions by, for example, using a third party to carry out aerodynamic development on their behalf," the FIA's decision said.
Quote of the week
"If you don't win, it doesn't make an awful lot of difference if you're second, wherever you finish. I'm happy to have had a kind of okay race in the last one, but it doesn't change anything really of how our season went."
— Ferrari's Kimi Räikkönen on finishing third in Sunday's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, which sealed his fourth place overall in the 2015 Formula One driver's championship.
The last word
Canadian James Hinchcliffe isn't the only open wheel racer looking to test the NASCAR waters. the IndyCar driver said last week that he'd like to use the August break in his series to make a stock car start. Red Bull Racing's Daniel Ricciardo has also joined the fray.
It's all just Twitter banter right now involving the Formula One star and NASCAR star Dale Earnhardt Jr., but Ricciardo said he'd love to get on the phone with Dale and ask him for a test at least," the Australian said.
Like us on Facebook
Follow us on Instagram
Add us to your circles
Sign up for our weekly newsletter
Jeff Pappone