Identifying the Turning Point in Lewis Hamilton-Nico Rosberg F1 Title Battle
In the end, Lewis Hamilton won the 2014 Formula One World Championship with ease.
A run of six wins in the final seven races of the season in a period which saw Nico Rosberg, his Mercedes team-mate and title rival, suffer two crippling mechanical problems, allowed the British driver to claim his second title by a margin of 67 points.
Rosberg's cruel luck—which led to him retiring from September's Singapore Grand Prix and finishing a lowly 14th in the double-points finale that was Sunday's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix—left the German somewhat isolated in the final standings, just 79 points ahead of Daniel Ricciardo, the Red Bull driver.
The gap between the new world champion and the runner-up has had the unfortunate effect of distorting the true story of the battle between the Mercedes drivers and indeed the 2014 campaign, for it was one of joyous twists and turns.
As the dust begins to settle on the season and F1 begins to catch its breath, now is the time for reflection, contemplation and, for some at least, celebration.
Part of the post-season process of looking back, of course, includes the identification of turning points to understand just where the championship was won by Hamilton and lost by Rosberg.
The British driver's victory after a cat-and-mouse chase in April's Bahrain Grand Prix, the German's off-track excursion in qualifying at Monaco and his conservative drive to second place in the Canadian Grand Prix all at times seemed like potential season-defining moments as the Silver Arrows pair traded blow after blow.
But there is an almost universal agreement that the destiny of the crown hinged upon one moment alone.
That honour goes to the second lap of the Belgian Grand Prix, when the title protagonists collided—quite unbelievably—for the only time in 2014.
Rosberg tried an overambitious overtaking manoeuvre around the outside of the tightening right-hander and in the process made contact with Hamilton's rear-left tyre, which caused a puncture and ultimately led to the 2008 world champion's retirement from the race.
The German emerged relatively unscathed to eventually finish second to Ricciardo on the day, but errors soon crept into his performances as Hamilton immediately embarked upon a career-best streak of five consecutive wins, effectively pulling out of reach with two races to spare.
Although the drama at Spa-Francorchamps undoubtedly set the tone for the remainder of the season, the true turning point of 2014, in fact, occurred at the previous round, the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Ahead of the Budapest event, Rosberg held an 14-point advantage over Hamilton, having won three of the five preceding races.
The German stood a good chance of making that four in six at the Hungaroring, with the No. 6 car setting a comfortable pole position after Hamilton's car had burst into flames in qualifying, ending his session before it had even begun.
Despite the damp conditions of race day threatening to bring Mercedes closer to the chasing pack, Rosberg ran away at the front, building a gap of 10 seconds to second-placed Valtteri Bottas by Lap 8, as per the FIA television feed.
Hamilton, in contrast, spun on cold tyres and brakes just two corners into the race, having started from the pit lane. Despite recovering from it to make his way to up to 13th in the early stages, it seemed as though the Mercedes drivers were competing in an entirely different race.
Until the safety car was deployed.
The timing of Marcus Ericsson's crash at the exit of Turn 3 meant the safety car appeared on Lap 9 directly in front of Rosberg, who was denied the chance to change to dry tyres—unlike most of his peers, including his team-mate and eventual race winner Ricciardo—as the weather improved.
Forced to do an extra lap at a significantly reduced pace, the German, through no fault of his own, almost instantly fell from a position of dominance into the thick of the action in fourth.
Rosberg's struggle for pace as the safety car was withdrawn, coupled with Hamilton's decisiveness in traffic, allowed the No. 44 car to come within one car of his team-mate little more than a lap into the restart of the grand prix before taking fourth from the German after the second round of pit stops.
The "team orders" hullabaloo that followed, with Hamilton refusing to move aside for his team-mate to ensure the German's three-stop strategy succeeded, only added insult to injury for Rosberg, who despite being on course for an easy victory suddenly had a fight on his hands for a mere podium finish.
He was denied that podium finish on the very last lap of the grand prix, with the final straw coming in the form of Hamilton pushing the German onto the grass at Turn 2.
Despite maintaining the persona of Mr. Composure after the race—telling Mercedes' official website that "we will discuss this internally"—Rosberg would almost certainly have departed the Hungaroring that evening with a great sense of injustice, not only at the race officials but his own colleagues.
The four-week summer break presented him with a chance to reset and return for the second half of the season with a clear mind, but he carried that ill-feeling all the way from Hungary to Spa.
Hamilton's revelation to reporters, via the Mirror's Byron Young, in Belgium that Rosberg admitted to purposefully hitting him to "prove a point" highlighted the German's underlying frustration and perhaps indicated that his outlook had changed.
Post-Budapest, the game plan that had served Rosberg so well was put to one side as he sought revenge.
It was no longer about Rosberg winning the championship for himself—it was about preventing the man on the other side of the garage from emerging victorious.
The fallout following the Belgian Grand Prix was the first indication, in the public eye, that the momentum had swung vigorously in Hamilton's favour, but it was in Hungary—the moment when the safety car obstructed Rosberg's path to victory—where the tide truly began to turn.
