Hamilton targets Vettel´s Gulf record, Rosberg close to glory – the Abu Dhabi GP in Opta numbers
A place on the podium in Sunday’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will be good enough for Nico Rosberg to be crowned Formula One world champion for the first time in his career, as Mercedes seek to emulate Red Bull’s Gulf dominance.
Reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton could yet retain his title if he earns 12 points more than team-mate Rosberg and ends the race in first or second place.
As the 2016 season nears a dramatic conclusion at Yas Marina circuit, we bring you the best of the Opta stats.
2 – Abu Dhabi has been the decisive circuit for the F1 world championship twice before – first in 2010 when Sebastian Vettel won his first title and also in 2014 when Lewis Hamilton won Mercedes GP’s first title in the modern era.
2 – Mercedes have won the last two races in Abu Dhabi. No team has won three in a row.
5 – Sebastian Vettel is the F1 driver with the most wins (five) in the Arabian Peninsula (Hamilton has four).
158 – Red Bull have the most wins (3), pole positions (3), fastest laps (4), podium finishes (6), leading KMs (750) and points won (158) at Yas Marina.
13th – Going into his final race in F1, Felipe Massa will be looking to improve on the worst qualification on home soil (13th) of his career last week.
2009 – Following Felipe Nasr’s ninth-place finish for Sauber in Brazil, all teams have now earned points this season, something that had not happened since 2009.
3:01.01 – The rain-interrupted Brazilian GP lasted three hours, one minute one second and as such was the second longest race in F1 since 1961, after the 2011 Canadian GP (4:04.39).
323 – Five years ago Rubens Barrichello retired from F1; he is still the driver to have been involved in the most races (323) in the history of the sport.
800 – At Interlagos, McLaren competed in their 800th GP, only Ferrari have raced in more (928).
19 – In Brazil, Max Verstappen became the youngest driver to record a fastest lap in F1 history (19 years and one month).
52 – On Sunday, Hamilton became the driver with the second most wins in F1 history (52), only behind Michael Schumacher (91).
24 – Hamilton has recorded pole positions at more different circuits (24) than any other driver in F1 history.
