ROSBERG’S PATH TO FORMULA ONE WORLD TITLE
* Australian Grand Prix (March 20): Hamilton begins from pole but a poor start – the first of many in the season – costs him dearly. He recovers to second place behind winner Rosberg.
* Bahrain Grand Prix (April 3): Rosberg again wins from second on the grid as Hamilton clashes early with Valtteri Bottas of Williams to drop to ninth. He fights back to third behind Rosberg and Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen.
* Chinese Grand Prix (April 17): Rosberg wins from his first pole of the year while Hamilton, who failed to post a time in qualifying, due to engine problems, moves through the grid to finish seventh.
* Russian Grand Prix (May 1): Technical difficulties continue to plague Hamilton who starts 10th. He moves up to finish second but Rosberg’s easy win from pole extends his title advantage to 43 points.
* Spanish Grand Prix (May 15): Hamilton and Rosberg take each other out to the fury of their Mercedes bosses. Teenager Max Verstappen, promoted to Red Bull from Toro Rosso, becomes the youngest ever F1 race winner.
* Monaco Grand Prix (May 29): Australia’s Daniel Ricciardo pips the Mercedes pair to pole but a bad pitstop hands the win to Hamilton. Rosberg finishes seventh.
* Canadian Grand Prix (June 12): Hamilton builds on his momentum from Monaco to win from pole. With Rosberg struggling to fifth, the gap is cut to nine points.
* European Grand Prix (June 19): Rosberg wins from pole, Hamilton crashes in qualifying but finishes fifth.
* Austrian Grand Prix (July 3): Hamilton starts from pole but wins only with a dramatic last lap overtake of Rosberg, who he bumps from the track. Rosberg finishes fourth and Mercedes motorsport chief Toto Wolff threatens to impose team orders should there be another such incident.
* British Grand Prix (July 10): Hamilton becomes the first driver to win three consecutive British grands prix, leading Rosberg home from pole position – Rosberg only leads title race by one point.
* Hungarian Grand Prix (July 24): Rosberg starts from pole but loses out to Hamilton as the Briton takes the lead in the standings for the first time in the season.
* German Grand Prix (July 31): Rosberg again fails to convert from pole, slipping down to fourth as Hamilton secures a fourth win in a row.
* Belgian Grand Prix (August 28): Rosberg strikes back, this time leading from pole to the win while Hamilton – having used up his engine tokens – starts from the back of the grid. He races through the field to a brilliant third.
* Italian Grand Prix (September 4): Hamilton dominates the whole weekend to race day, achieving pole by nearly half a second from Rosberg, but pays the price for a poor start to finish second. Rosberg wins.
* Singapore Grand Prix (September 18): Rosberg wins from Ricciardo as Hamilton, who qualified third, has to settle for the final podium place as Rosberg leads title race again.
* Malaysian Grand Prix (October 2): Hamilton is set to reclaim the title lead with victory but his engine fails late in the race he is leading at the time. Rosberg, who was clipped at the start, recovers to third behind winner Ricciardo.
* Japanese Grand Prix (October 9): Rosberg is on top all weekend and wins as Mercedes secure a third consecutive constructors’ title. An out of sorts Hamilton is pushed into third by Verstappen.
* US Grand Prix (October 23): Hamilton must win to keep title hopes alive and does so in convincing fashion from pole. Rosberg finishes second.
* Mexican Grand Prix (October 30): Hamilton survives running wide at the first corner to win from pole while Rosberg fights off Verstappen to take second – Ricciardo takes third.
* Brazilian Grand Prix (November 13): Hamilton leads untroubled from the front in a race badly affected by rain which caused havoc further down the field. Rosberg also manages to stay out of trouble for second.
* Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (November 27): Hamilton clinches his fourth straight win from pole but Rosberg gets the podium finish he needs to secure the title, coming second.
