Lewis Hamilton: Making History - F1 2015 Review Formula 1

After the revolution comes the tweak.

Last season was a new beginning.

The almost total reconstruction of the Formula One racing car.

Now comes nothing more sweeping than a little cosmetic readjustment.

A nose job.

It's not so much about the body parts as the cast list.

There are child stars.

A pair of them are Toro Rosso.

Max Verstappen is 17 years old.

Yeah, it was a big crash, but I think at the end of the day, for me, it gave me more confidence.

There is movement among the established stars.

Sebastian Vettel to Ferrari.

Last year, I just didn't have a good season. Sort of doubting myself.

Fernando Alonso off to, of all places, McLaren.

Honda are back as engine suppliers.

New power, after the revolution.

COMMENTARY IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE

For big problems, you need big solutions.

Red Bull squabbling with Renault about engines.

Which stage did you realise things really weren't good with the engine?

2013!

No change at Mercedes.

Lewis Hamilton, Nico Rosberg in the all-conquering beast.

-You had to be tough.

-It was one step too far.

He complains about a lot of things.

Mercedes led the revolution - are still the car, the team,

the drivers to beat.

This is Formula One 2015.

So last year, we saw the emergence of the great powerhouse that is Mercedes and that

intriguing partnership between Lewis and Nico, with Lewis winning out.

So come 2015, we're all excited

about that and, of course, the return

of the partnership of McLaren-Honda,

with that great history.

We didn't really do much in Jerez,

so it's difficult to have a first impression, really.

Reliability was the biggest issue.

We did seven laps one day, five laps the next day,

so we understood that we have a long way to go.

I think it took us about eight races to do the same

mileage as what Mercedes did in winter testing.

If you can't put laps in the car, you don't fix your issues.

You don't develop the car and you can...

-You're always on the back foot.

-You talk about reliability.

Can you be any more specific, just to tell the people at home which particular aspect...?

Any. Any kind. I can't be more specific than this.

We had so many different reliability issues.

I remember the car felt good for gripping.

Easy to drive, but I felt not much power.

This, to me, is a classic case of miscommunication.

I have to believe that Honda at no point communicated to McLaren

just how poor their hybrid engine was performing on the dyno.

McLaren must have presumed, because of this great history that

they had in the past, that they would take care of the engine.

"We'll take care of the car."

"The two will meet, and we will, you know,

"show everyone just how good we are again."

And it was the biggest shocker that we've seen.

We also had that extraordinary story with that weird

crash from Fernando Alonso -

he ended up in hospital, had concussion.

Yeah, it was a strange accident.

I hit the wall not too fast, but enough to - I don't know,

with the angle or whatever - to be in an unfortunate situation.

The head is always one important part

and regarding the level of competitiveness that we had at that

point, going to Australia and risk 00.1%

was not worth doing it.

The disappointing thing, of course, is that we've got Jenson Button,

great driver, one of the fans' favourites,

with Kevin Magnussen stepping in to replace Fernando Alonso,

who was taking time out for this recovery from the concussion.

Was this real?

We couldn't believe how poor the performance was.

'Can Button get himself into the top 15? No, he can't! It's only 17th.

'Both McLarens are out in Q1.'

'The revived relationship between McLaren

'and Honda has not started well at all.

'We're not going to be seeing Kevin Magnussen make the start.

'His car expired on the reconnaissance lap to the grid.'

'Jenson's is the slowest car out on that racetrack.'

So, you're going to Melbourne,

you're 3.5 seconds off the pace, but...

5.5, I think.

But Jenson gets to the end of the race.

We don't know why and we are maybe lucky to go to the end of the race.

So no real emotions, except that understanding

the amount of work we are going to have to go through as McLaren-Honda.

'And Lewis Hamilton wins round one, the Australian Grand Prix.

'It's one-two for Mercedes.'

It was an amazing experience, an amazing feeling, too,

to go back in and still have the strength

and the power that we had from the year before.

I wouldn't say it was relief,

but it was good to see that what we'd seen over the winter, the

progress we've made on the chassis, and on the engine, became reality.

I'll be back! All right, give him a big hand, ladies and gentlemen.

It was the perfect start for Mercedes.

They carried the momentum from 2014.

The benefit of being a world championship team is - and you know

you've got it in the bag - you start your development earlier for the next season,

so it becomes even more difficult for teams to catch you.

Ferrari were showing signs that they were upping the ante when it came to

the hybrid power unit, but all the odds were pointing towards Mercedes.

Last year, I just didn't have a good season.

You know, I have no problem to stand up and say Daniel was quicker.

'Does Ricardo try round the out... He cuts back to the inside!

'Sebastian Vettel can do nothing.'

I was sort of doubting myself, as well.

'Vettel once again shaded.'

If things are not going well, or in general,

I try to look at myself before I point fingers at others

and of course, if, like last year, it doesn't work,

I'm always looking at myself, what I could've done better.

So overall, it was a tough year, no doubt.

Obviously, sportspeople operate on supreme confidence.

Absolute belief in their commitment, the decisions they make, but he was

actually made to look like a number two in comparison to Daniel Ricciardo.

So you can understand why, no matter what your past performance was,

he wasn't delivering in the new hybrid formula.

'Michael Schumacher wins.'

It became sort of clear then, "I want to do something,

"something new and, obviously, now I'm in a different chair," so... Or different car!

It has always been a dream since I was a child, really,

a couple of times I met Michael -

he was dressed in red and he was, you know, my hero,

so to put on the same dress as him,

maybe that's a dream that I had for many, many years.

Last season, Ferrari had their worst year in 21.

Two podiums and I can't even believe that I'm saying that now.

It was terrible.

The team has been through a difficult phase

and I think, really starting this year, everybody felt that,

OK, this is a new start and forget what happened in the past.

'Lights out. Away we go. Hamilton gets off the line well.

'Vettel, an average start, I would say.

'He's going to try and cut across in front of Rosberg.

'A good out-braking manoeuvre from Vettel,

'trying to get himself into second place. He's done it. Oh, Ericsson!

'That's a criminal mistake. The safety car has been deployed.

'Hamilton is pitted.'

'..Nico behind.

'Vettel has stayed out there, which puts the Ferrari into the lead.

'Here we go. We're going back to racing and Sebastian Vettel already opening up the gap.'

We already knew that they were not leaping away from us.

We already knew that the car was competitive and we already had

a fair idea that they were doing a three-stop and we knew we weren't.

'Sebastian Vettel.

'That puts Lewis Hamilton back into the lead of the Malaysian Grand Prix.

'Vettel down the inside of Rosberg and he's done it

'and he's taken second position away from Nico Rosberg.'

'Good boy, good boy. Hamilton seven seconds in front.'

'Wheels are dropping off. Just sliding around out here.

'Vettel coming down the inside to take the lead, getting past Lewis Hamilton.

'Right, Hamilton's bailed out. He's got to get another set of tyres on.'

No-one in the outside world expected us to win.

'Sebastian Vettel is heading to astonish the world of Formula One.'

We hardly dared believe that we could.

'Sebastian Vettel wins the Grand Prix of Malaysia.

'Yes, yes, yes! Whoohoo!

'Yes!'

VETTEL SHOUTING IN ITALIAN

When I was up there, I heard the German anthem

and then the Italian anthem and, dressed in red,

and, I don't know, I connected so many things from my childhood

and with Michael and that's why it was great to hear the guys singing

and, you know, I know it was me,

but to realise it was me up there...

I've worked with two guys who really, really,

really understand the value of being in a team.

And one was Michael and the other one is Sebastian

and that is not to denigrate the others,

but it's a particular strength in Sebastian

and it was a particular strength in Michael, as well.

I think Vettel needed it

because, having won four world championships with Red Bull, we

all thought it was the Adrian Newey, the Red Bull, that little domination,

that group of people, and I for one needed to be totally convinced.

Malaysia, for me, did that. Bravo.

Malaysia definitely stunned us, big time.

We didn't expect that and then we didn't really know what was

going to happen after that.

Is Ferrari really better than us now, all of a sudden?

But we fought back even stronger.

'Hamilton leads. Rosberg is in second, Vettel third.'

'Lewis is driving very slowly, so get him to speed up.'

'Rosberg is getting upset.

'Vettel starting to fill his mirrors full of red.'

You came on the radio, accusing Lewis of backing you into Vettel.

I think accusing is not the right word. I was mentioning it.

-RADIO:

-'If I go closer, I destroy my tyres.'

And I wasn't even mentioning backing into anybody.

I was just mentioning he should go a little bit faster.

OK, Lewis. We'd maybe like to pick the pace up a little bit.

'And Lewis Hamilton wins the Chinese Grand Prix and he beats his team-mate home in another one-two finish.'

It compromised my race massively at the time.

Not really quite sure what his problem is.

The best possible race for Lewis was to back me off into Vettel.

I wasn't, honestly. I mean, when I'm driving, I'm not really focusing...

When you're in the lead, particularly,

you're not really focusing so much on the guy behind.

You're focusing on what... what you've got to do.

You know, we have this fuel saving that we need to be doing,

the tyre saving, and it's...

The other guys, it's their job to either get round you,

if they feel that you're going slow, or you're too slow.

Interestingly, he said he was just thinking about himself,

you know, and that sort of says it all.

Was Lewis trying to do that?

We will never know. Um, you...

It is clear that when you fight against your team-mate

in the quickest car for the world championship, and your team-mate

is a good one, you need to just pull out all the tricks.

Did he do that in China?

We don't know, but I think it's something which is to be expected.

The thing is that we had discussed something pre-race,

because of the threat from Ferrari, just to make sure that we do

keep an eye on our team result, as well, you know, and our team effort,

and make sure that Ferrari doesn't beat either of us unnecessarily.

And that was sort of the fine line, you know,

where I felt that it was compromising my...

Me.

Last year, there were many flashpoints throughout the season.

We've not really had that this year.

I imagine that's a huge relief to you.

Um, maybe we were able to contain the discussions in the meetings

rooms and behind closed doors.

And Nico and Lewis realised that

it was detrimental to the team,

not positive for the spirits within the team

if these discussions, the controversy -

which needs to happen, of course - is being held in a public space.

'That uncomfortable relationship between Nico and Lewis,

'we'd already seen it the year before in Spa, when it burst out,

'when the contact was made there, so it was never really fixed.'

Team-mates do not like each other. They're not friends. Forget it.

They never will be.

'This is it. Can Hamilton take pole position in Bahrain?

'Across the line he goes. He's done it!'

-RADIO:

-'Beautiful work there, Lewis.'

'It's four for number 44.'

We get to Bahrain. Lewis gets his fourth straight pole.

Yeah, what was really interesting to me is, you saw all of the confidence

that Nico had through the previous season, he was going out

and just banging the pole positions and it was Lewis who was a bit scrappy.

You know, final run unqualified, lock-up,

or something would go wrong.

Come into this year, and Lewis is just supreme confidence,

bang, bang, bang. And it's Nico who is looking a little bit like a boxer on the ropes.

I don't think it's something I consciously worked on. Of course, I ended last season,

and I was thinking, OK,

qualifying is an area which made this year harder for me.

But generally, it was just getting more comfortable with the car.

'And Lewis Hamilton wins the Bahrain Grand Prix to take his third victory of 2015.'

He was very dominant, up to the point that we were surprised.

I had to fight back, because Lewis had got a bit of an advantage on the points.

In the battle between Lewis and I, it's so important,

every detail, you know, and then the qualifying position is

massively important, as well, and he beat me in qualifying the first

four races, I think, and then finally in Spain, I got the pole.

'And Lewis Hamilton has been stopped in his sequence of getting

'pole positions because Nico Rosberg has set the pace here. Now we have a battle on our hands.'

And then if you go into the first corner in front,

there's a big chance you'll win the race.

'Lights out, away we go and it's a good start from pole man Nico Rosberg.

'For the first time in 2015, he wins! Whoohoo! Yes!'

CHEERING

Of course, there was a lot of scepticism - is it too early,

is it dangerous, even?

But I think he's demonstrated he's a very special talent.

Let's talk about Max Verstappen.

17 years old, he comes into Formula One, the youngest ever driver.

He was karting two years ago.

It was a shocker for Formula One. You know, how can someone with

so little experience come and deliver the sort of passes we saw?

You know, China, for me, was already the sign that this guy had

supreme control, an instinctive ability to find gaps.

You know, it's one thing being fast, but to race like that, to me,

shows a real star quality.

I always enjoy driving a street circuit -

you're really on the edge of the car.

It's not downforce related,

it's more like moving around with the car, trying to feel

the grip between the walls, which is also quite entertaining.

'Here comes Verstappen.'

'Down the inside, it's Verstappen and Maldonado side by side.

'Aw, that's fantastic!

'You don't see overtaking like that often here in Monaco.'

I held my breath.

He found opportunities to overtake, instinctive ability to follow.

I think it was Seb when he passed Bottas.

You know, he was being lapped, and he just snuck through, as well, just caught Bottas by surprise.

-'He's going to do it!

-He does indeed.

-Verstappen goes past, as well!

'The next one they want to try and pass is Grosjean.

'Oh, no! Verstappen's hit it! He's in the barrier.'

RADIO: 'You OK, Max?'

I'm OK.

Yeah. It was a big crash, but I think, at the end of day,

then you really understand how strong an F1 car is

and I think it even improved myself, because, for me,

it gave me more confidence, because you're always a bit scared to crash

or touch a wall or whatever, but now I've had a big crash

and then it gets a bit more relaxed, I think.

He actually took a positive out of that.

This is a guy that's just building blocks of experience in his mind.

If he continues to go on like this,

he will be soon in the position to join people like Senna

and Schumacher as absolute greats, because he is that good.

He's impressed me, I cannot tell you.

I have not seen somebody emerge at such a young age

in the Formula One as powerful as him.

'Everything looking good

'for Hamilton to take his second Monaco victory.'

Monaco is just such a special race. Look at all the greats.

Look at Michael, who won that race so many times.

I've only won it once in the nine years,

and the three years I've been in this team, the car's been the best -

particularly for that race -

and I've lost all three and then this year, finally, I won pole,

I'm leading by 20-something seconds, living the life upfront!

'Big impact down there.

'Safety car, precautionary tyre change for Lewis Hamilton.'

'Rosberg is going through now.

'Yeah, that actually does put Rosberg in front.'

I knew it when I came out of the pit lane.

'He's come out in third, so that's very strange.'

For me, it wasn't an option to pit, because he had to stay out,

and then all of a sudden, I don't see anybody in front

and I see, you know, safety car, which was very strange

and then I see Lewis popping out of the pits in my window in a big,

big battle right behind me and I thought

they were going to crash into my gearbox.

-RADIO:

-'I've lost this race, haven't I?'

So why has that happened?

In that particular moment, Lewis came on the radio,

seeing somebody pitting on the big screen, saying,

"My tyres are dead, they will not recover. Consider pitting."

And our screens froze, so we didn't have the exact gaps any more

and then we lacked the overview of what's going on in the race,

with all our data, with the scientific approach,

with looking to our screens, monitoring every single

sensor on that car - we didn't look out of the window.

'Nico Rosberg wins the 2015 Monaco Grand Prix!

'Sebastian Vettel finishes in second place.

'Lewis Hamilton is robbed, but why? Why did Mercedes do what they did?'

I'm really sorry about that, Lewis, mate.

Please stop talking to me, please.

Lewis Hamilton, it looks like he wants to park up.

That was just the point, I was like a kettle boiled to the top.

You know, I take it personally.

Racing has been my life since I was eight years old,

so you put everything into it and remember, that's one year gone.

Fortunately, I hopefully have more years to go, but you never know

when it will be the last time you have a car like that.

Lewis Hamilton comes through to take victory in Canada.

Another win to add to his tally, his fourth win of 2015.

Canada, let's talk about Red Bull

because it was there last year that Daniel Ricciardo got his first

incredible victory. This season, he's 13th.

Red Bull and Renault not having a happy time this weekend.

I got lapped by a Williams.

It was definitely our most strange and our worst weekend of the year.

I'm laughing because I don't want to cry.

Red Bull is struggling with straight-line speed.

We have been missing something from power unit this year.

We probably didn't get enough of a step forward in between this season

which was a bit disappointing to start with.

But we should expect a lot more from that part of our car.

What is going on with Red Bull?

The first few races, power was one thing, but drivability,

I was just getting a headache from my head getting whiplash.

There was a lot of splutters and whatnot going on.

That made it nearly impossible to win this year.

It's not just about engine power,

there are so many other elements that's not working there.

On top of the drivability, there's reliability issues, as well,

so it's difficult because we're in a competition.

We're pushing hard, promises are made and expectations are set,

and when that doesn't happen,

inevitably, frustration boils over.

Yeah, we need to work with the guys at Renault and try to understand it

and support them, but what we've seen this weekend isn't acceptable.

The relationship with Renault had broken down sometime before,

but that's the first signs, really,

that they were prepared to be so vocal about it.

Eddie knows the importance of keeping your engine partner onside,

but Renault had stopped developing the products.

Red Bull stopped trusting in them

and they were looking for a divorce and it started to get a bit messy.

Remember, Renault are a car manufacturer

and there are so many people who are looking for the marketing

and promotion exercises that's involved in Formula One.

Why ridicule your own partner? There's no logic to it.

Hamilton has got through onto his final flying lap.

We're on a knife edge with these cars and if something's not perfect,

you downshift too early or you downshift from a bump,

you pay a price.

Oh, still Hamilton's spun it! On a good lap.

He is indeed, he is quicker than his best in the first sector.

I knew that I had to take risks to get pole.

I went for it and just got it completely wrong.

Oh, Nico Rosberg, when he looked to be up on Lewis Hamilton,

-he has gone off at the very last corner.

-Sorry about that, guys.

-What position is that?

-It's confirmed, P2, Nico.

I braked later, and it definitely didn't work out at all.

After all that, Lewis Hamilton has taken pole position.

As expected, Mercedes are up at the front

despite those offs in qualifying.

Lights out, away we go, it's a good start from Rosberg,

an excellent getaway, but Hamilton is going to try and shut the door.

Rosberg has won the start into turn one.

It was a great start, it worked out well.

A great battle for turn one,

turn two and turn three where we were side-by-side, as well.

They're charging up towards the second turn.

Hamilton will go to the outside.

Rosberg holds the inside line.

This is great stuff. We knew that Rosberg had to go for it.

That was the crucial thing for the win.

Then we had really good pace for the race, which I was happy about.

Nico Rosberg takes the chequered flag!

He's beaten Hamilton once again in Europe this season.

Silverstone is everything, I suppose.

It's such an emotive Grand Prix for us.

We won our first race there in '79.

Clay Regazzoni goes across the line

and he has won the British Grand Prix.

We had the glory days there with Nigel.

Nigel is not going to be allowed to get back to his pit. Amazing!

So going to Silverstone is always wonderful.

The British crowds, everything.

There's a festival feeling here.

Anticipation ahead of this Grand Prix.

Key to this race today could be the start.

It was a good start from both of us.

They didn't have a good start as well, which helps us.

But it was amazing.

Lights out and away we go!

A good start from the second row for Williams,

getting both cars past both Mercedes. Massa leads.

Bottas trying to get second from Hamilton.

Just describe the first 20 seconds of that race

from your point of view.

It was hideous!

Great stuff from Lewis Hamilton.

He wouldn't give up that position to Bottas.

I was sat there just thinking to myself,

"Oh, my God, is this what it's going to feel like

"when we start winning again?"

Because I'm not sure I can cope with this.

Look at Hamilton. Be careful...

Hamilton goes off in his attempts to try and wrest the lead

and that might give an opportunity for Valtteri Bottas.

Bottas goes into second place.

I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

It was like, is this a joke?

Our two cars going and taking on a Mercedes.

Instruction, no racing. Your tyre...

-I'm not racing.

-No racing for now. We'll keep you advised.

I really felt I had much more pace

than my team-mate.

I was behind him and I wasn't allowed to overtake,

so that was pretty tough to accept.

For me, it's clear, Williams should allow him to go.

Can I overtake? I can do it on the back straight. Tell me!

-Yes, you can.

-That was too late.

Hamilton, purple, purple in the first and second sector,

he's got the bit between his teeth.

In comes Lewis Hamilton from third position.

Sometimes you do a lap and you feel,

I could have braked later or carried more speed into that apex,

but that was on the limit without damaging the tyres

and I came out ahead.

So that means he's actually back out in fourth place,

so that is how crucial that move was.

In comes Felipe Massa and Nico Rosberg,

so that puts Bottas into the lead at this Grand Prix.

When my team-mate went into the pits, I improved nearly one second in my next lap.

It could have been a possibility for my first win, I could see it.

Rosberg, has he got it? They will battle it down to the end of the pit lane.

Who's going to get the edge? Massa - just. That's hugely helped Hamilton.

Had you let Valtteri pass Massa,

do you think the result would have been different?

Who knows? I don't personally believe so.

I think we still would have been trumped by the Mercedes.

Bottas comes in from the race lead. Hamilton is already on the start/finish straight.

He's alongside.

Hamilton retakes the lead and where does Bottas come back out?

He comes back out behind his team-mate Felipe Massa.

-Expecting rain in the next minute or so.

-Definitely rain falling now.

The battle for third place and Nico Rosberg go side-by-side

with the Williams and he's through at last.

In the damp conditions, he took advantage.

I had a great feeling in the car.

I'd found some grip that the others didn't have,

so I was pushing on.

Rosberg goes up into second place.

Look at Rosberg, he's catching Hamilton here.

Just when I was coming to get Lewis, it started to rain more.

He made the right call to come in.

Hamilton comes in from the lead of the Grand Prix.

Is he going for inters?

Start doing a rain dance

if you want to see a British winner this afternoon.

The strategist and the driver just got it spot-on,

coming into the pits at the right time and this is what made the race.

'Rain intensity is increasing.'

As it has turned out, that was the perfect lap to put

the intermediate tyres on.

By the time I got to the last corner before the pit entry,

it was flooded.

So in that last corner, I lost four seconds or five seconds.

APPLAUSE

He had to fight for it, but Lewis Hamilton wins the British Grand Prix.

Great job, guys, I'm so happy with that.

Thank you to all the fans for coming, that one was for you. Thank you.

Great call on the pit stop, Lewis, that was exactly the right time.

I can't really express how proud a moment it is for a British

driver to be in front of a home crowd and lead into the victory,

but afterwards, as I came onto the pit lane wall, and seeing

the whole sea of people and to see all those British flags...

It's a feeling that will live on in me for the rest of my life.

After Silverstone, we heard the desperately sad news that

Jules Bianchi had died after that terrible accident in Japan.

It really rocked the paddock, didn't it?

I knew already straightaway in Japan. When I went to the hospital,

I knew 100% that he was... impossible to survive.

I think maybe I need a few weeks to be a little bit better, you know?

Because it was so hard.

We had a lot of good moments in F3. I remember when we were team-mates.

Some of the after parties, for example, we did some funny...

funny things at the time, you know?

We were young. Young still.

A really talented racer.

I think it was only a matter of time that he could have been in a

better car and everyone would have seen how quick he really is, so...

Jules was literally one of my first friends I made in Europe, you know?

So we were 17 and we were both on that same journey.

Yeah, it was emotional, for sure.

He was one of us. He was a very close friend.

He lost life in a Formula One car and the only way to show him

respect was to fight hard again in a Formula One car.

Vettel's trying to come down the outside of Lewis Hamilton.

What a brilliant start by Sebastian Vettel,

and Kimi Raikkonen is past Hamilton and Ferrari are running 1-2.

This fundamentally changes the way this race is run.

-Hamilton's on the grass!

-He's in the gravel.

Hamilton losing a handful of places as he gets back on.

My goodness, we've got a race on our hands here now.

Hulkenberg's going off.

-He's going to be in the barrier.

-Ooh. That's a big hit.

-He's OK.

-Safety car's coming out.

Now, this DOES change things.

'We are racing for the win, mate.'

Yeah, I think Lewis Hamilton knows that. Get ready for the restart.

And Rosberg down the inside of Raikkonen,

as Ricciardo tries to go round the outside of Hamilton.

They touch and Ricciardo is forced wide.

Damage to Hamilton's wing.

Hamilton's been given a drive-through.

-I can't really see him scoring points here today.

-I'm so sorry, guys.

'Don't stress about it, Lewis, 20 seconds away from some points,

'so let's go get them.'

Nico Rosberg looking to take the lead at the world championship here today.

If he finishes in second place - and if Hamilton fails to score,

of course - that will put him one point ahead.

I'm losing power.

There's nothing that I can do.

'Understood, Kimi, I'm sorry, I'm sorry.'

Hamilton goes down the inside and it's an easy pass on Nasr.

So he is getting a point. That now puts him equal with Rosberg.

Here comes Hamilton.

And that puts him into eighth position.

Here comes Ricciardo. In lock-up.

He's in too deep!

Obviously, with Nico, I'd put myself in that position

by going for the move, but still on the exit he came across.

In my eyes, it was my road to use entirely

because he came in, completely overcooked it.

-He goes wide...

-Oh, and he loses his front wing now.

-He's got a puncture, Rosberg.

-'Puncture, puncture.'

Suddenly, Rosberg's chance of taking the lead of the champion

might be gone.

-Nico was adamant that that was his bit of track.

-Yeah. Definitely not.

Let's call it a racing incident, but it wasn't my fault.

He just clipped his front wing on my tyre. And that was it.

And so...lost out on a massive amount of points, there.

Lewis Hamilton, as he looks to protect his championship lead

and, in fact, not just protect it, to extend his championship lead.

Who would have thought that?

Sebastian Vettel has been wheel-perfect.

After all these years of trying so hard here in Hungary with Red Bull,

he hasn't won up till now, but today he has.

Grazie, ragazzi, grazie.

Mi sentite? Mi sentite?

Merci, Jules, cette victoire est pour toi.

You will always be in our hearts.

We know that, sooner or later, Jules would have been a part of this team.

Grazie, guys.

Hungary was a strange race - it was quite scrappy, which is something

we don't really see from you very often.

This is how the Sunday went.

It was a really cool Sunday, actually, until the race started.

The night before, I was invited by Ridley Scott - he said,

come by the shoot in the morning and I'm like, "Yes!"

Because he was filming with Matt Damon, the last scene of The Martian.

So, I went to bed, tossing and turning, didn't sleep

until nearly one o'clock and I woke up at 4am.

Time came, at eight o'clock or whatever it was, to leave the hotel.

Went to Ridley and at the time they were set up for this last scene

and he said, you know, "Matt hasn't come on yet.

"Why don't you sit where he is and act out his role?"

So, you know, I'm getting nervous because I'm...

This is Ridley Scott asking me to sit and act,

I don't know what the hell I'm supposed to do.

And then finally, Matt came and sat with Ridley and he's saying,

"Action", and I just, honestly, I couldn't believe it.

So I left there, went to the track and I'm on this high for a minute

and then started doing engineering and I start hitting a wall.

And I wasn't able to take a nap either, so I got in the car,

those first couple of laps to the grid felt terrible.

I was like, this is not good. I knew it.

I've now told you a story which I should have put in my book one day,

but...anyways.

You know, at this point in the season,

we're starting to feel that

Lewis is gathering momentum

and really getting Nico

under control, but then it

seemed like the season, come August,

was starting to catch up with him.

What, you mean because of his lifestyle, or...?

Potentially, I guess. You know, he's been back and forward to the States,

you know, he's much more active in chasing the social side of his life

than Nico, whose wife was pregnant and go back to Monaco

and living a quieter life.

You know, I think some people were starting to question, was it just becoming too much

burning the candle at both ends?

No-one expected Lotus to actually be on the grid in Spa.

The bailiffs were there.

You know, people were talking about wages not being paid,

engine bills not having been paid, gearbox bills, the tyres -

everything seemed to be just crunching down on Lotus.

Pretty early in the year, we knew we had to do with what we had.

We were supposed to have a new nose for the race one, which was delayed.

Race two, then race five, and then race ten.

And from then on it was... We knew that nothing would come

until the end of the year.

Grosjean going round the outside.

That's the second time he's made a good move on there.

It was, you know, one of those races where everything goes well.

And Grosjean is going to complete another move. He's into third place.

Lewis Hamilton takes victory in Belgium.

Romain Grosjean is going to finish in third place.

What a superb achievement for a team that has been struggling,

fighting for survival.

When you compare something like that with no podium.

It was a season we had. Yeah, it was hard to drive.

I had tears in my eyes.

-Really struggled to find the lines.

-That was incredible.

One of the best races of your career, mate. So proud.

HE SOBS

Superstar.

I was crying in the car because it was not only for me,

it was for the guys and for everything that they represented to me

for ten years and that was the best I could offer them.

Romain Grosjean takes a podium finish.

What a superb performance for him.

I don't think there are many teams that have celebrated a podium with bailiffs!

That's quite... That's quite an experience.

Romain Grosjean...the big smile is back.

Isn't it lovely to see him on the podium at Spa?

Romain Grosjean emerged as such a great team leader.

He did an amazing job. He's been in Enstone

for all those years and for him to bring that car and the drama

and the trauma that that team had endured for that weekend, to

get it onto the podium, for me was one of the highlights of the year.

It was important to launch an attack and close the gap down now

because Lewis was sort of getting away.

The new engine that I'd just put in got a problem

so I had to go back to the old engine and that had less power

and then broke down in the race, as well.

It's all over at Monza for Nico Rosberg.

What a blow this is in his world championship hopes.

'OK, Lewis, we need to pull a gap, don't ask questions.

'Just execute.'

In Italy, we had these new rules kicking in about minimum

tyre pressures and we were informed during the race that a new

investigation was being started about these pressures.

The consequence of a penalty would have probably been 30 seconds.

'So, there's no need to take any risk,

'just keep doing what you're doing.'

I'm going to pick up a little pace to where I was. It is taking risks.

Then they asked, "Just 30 seconds," I'm like, "Are you crazy?"

-That's a lot of time.

-It wasn't needed at the end.

We were right, there wasn't any mistake.

Hamilton takes victory at Monza.

'Those last few laps were not cool, man.'

My goodness, Lewis Hamilton is down in fifth place in Singapore.

Super weird. I don't really feel that I can explain it.

Now, what about Nico Rosberg? He's down in sixth place.

In qualifying, we were 1½ seconds slower. All of a sudden.

We were so shocked, we had no clue what was going on.

Sebastian Vettel has taken the first non-Mercedes-powered

pole position of the hybrid era.

Mercedes have dominated the season,

but that seems to be on the cusp of coming to an end.

And then the race also, just not quick enough

and then Lewis had bad luck, which I had in Monza.

Hamilton's in trouble, he's passed by his team-mate.

-Lost power, lost power.

-OK, Lewis, box, box.

And I wasn't able to make the most of it

because I just wasn't quick enough and finished fourth.

Sebastian Vettel wins in Singapore.

Yes, you did it, you did it!

Ooh-hoo! Grazie, ragazzi, grazie.

Mi sentite? Forza Ferrari!

The season we had was a big surprise, I think,

for us as well. A positive surprise.

We had a strong platform to start with and the people, in all honesty,

did a great job in making progress, especially on the engine side,

but also with the car, so, all in all, it was a great year.

It is a podium without a Mercedes driver anywhere to be seen.

Do you have any answers as to what happened that weekend?

Yes, but now we have the answers.

What happened to us this weekend was a lack of understanding

what was actually needed to perform well in Singapore.

It was covered up

by a 2014 car that was so dominant

that we won the race in Singapore,

although we could see that we had a little bit of a dip in form there.

All these engineers coming up with all these theories

of why it could happen, and honestly, in my heart,

I don't believe they also really fully know why it was.

After struggling so much, like we did in Singapore, there's this

rest of a feeling in you, saying,

"let's see how it goes in Japan".

After Singapore, they made some changes

and the car wasn't as nice to drive after that.

Hamilton comes across the line, it's not enough to beat his team-mate.

Rosberg has the upper hand.

It was clear at that time that with the drivers so near to each other

in terms of their competitiveness, that lap one, turn one was decisive.

Lights out, away we go,

and Hamilton makes a good start.

He's going to challenge as they head down towards the first corner.

You've got to be fierce, you've got to be strong,

you've got to be hard, to as much of a limit as you can.

Rosberg on the outside here, Hamilton down the inside.

Side-by-side through turn one.

You could ask every world champion, if you're on the outside,

you've got to back off.

Dropping back, Rosberg has lost second, he's lost third,

Rosberg down to fourth place.

And Hamilton has the advantage.

-It's a

-BLEEP

-feeling when my team-mate, or Lewis,

runs me out wide into the grass

and then I lose all those positions,

that really is not a good feeling.

So that was tough.

You have to be tough.

You can't be nice out there, you can't be, "Hey, here's some space."

It's "Hey, I'm taking it."

I'm here, I mean business, I'm not here to make friends,

I'm not here to finish the race and say,

"Hey, that was a lovely race, chap.

"You were so friendly with me. You let me win."

No.

Hamilton wins in Japan to take back-to-back victories at Suzuka.

Was Lewis unfair?

You know, we all just go with what the FIA says

and the FIA judged it to be...

a racing incident in Suzuka.

So we'll go with that.

Japan, let's talk about McLaren-Honda because Alonso is on team radio,

he knows what he's doing.

In Japan, when they broadcast that,

probably I knew that they could do that.

But I think the actions we need to take for next year

to be competitive, they need to be quite extreme.

For big problems, you need big solutions.

And I think maybe that helped for the big solutions.

He's not sending very polite messages,

or thinly veiled at all, is he?

That's a very much public slap in the face to Honda.

If you're going to say something to get out there in the public

and you want to make the people and the management of Honda

take full knowledge of what you're about to say,

then that's where you do it.

And he's very clever.

Alonso was as smart as could be.

Remember, in Canada,

where he said we're acting like a bunch of amateurs.

So it's not the first time. So it's calculated.

'We must save fuel, we must target zero.'

I'm a huge fan of McLaren, always was.

I'm concerned about the great teams. Where are they now?

You know, one off last place, all their sponsors gone, more or less.

Rudderless, absolutely no idea what's going on.

Honda, together with McLaren,

with two world champions in the car,

for me was the biggest disgrace of the season.

Rosberg desperately needs to beat Hamilton here today.

Lights out and away we go.

The two Mercedes cars go well, but Rosberg gets in front of Hamilton.

They are side-by-side.

Rosberg has the inside line.

I was getting into a really good roll, you know,

with Russia pole again and just leading the way, great start,

which was the improvement from Suzuka.

It was all going well.

'My throttle pedal is broken.'

Unbelievable, whatever, ten-cent piece breaks on the throttle damper

and the throttle pedal comes towards me,

and I've never had that in my whole racing career in anything.

She's just showing no acceleration off the turn whatsoever.

So I drove around trying to cope with it,

then eventually it just stuck open and I couldn't get round the corners

any more, it was getting dangerous, so I had to come in.

There's Nico Rosberg.

There's not much you can say for him now, is there?

'Lewis, your team-mate has retired, so let's refocus.

'Get on with this race.'

We've got an accident for Romain Grosjean.

This brings the safety car out,

you might see the pit lane getting busy now.

'Box this lap, box, box. Pits confirmed.'

The plan was always to go to one stop,

but obviously not that early, not 40 laps before the end.

When I realised how many laps I had to go, I thought, well,

this is going to be difficult,

because I knew my race was going to be the last ten or 15 laps.

This is where the real race is.

Sergio Perez is trying to hang on for a third-place finish here in Russia.

'You're still P3, but to make it work, we've got to have

-'maximum management on the front.

-'It's what I'm doing.

'I cannot do any more.'

The last couple of laps to basically run out of rubber.

Valtteri Bottas closing up, he's chasing down third-place Perez.

Bottas goes into third place!

Pulls off a fabulous move

and Raikkonen now going round the outside of Sergio Perez.

It's all gone wrong for Perez.

When they overtook me, I thought

that my podium was gone and I was going to finish fifth,

but I had no idea that they were so close together.

Perez could not quite respond and Bottas is in third.

But he's still under pressure from the Ferrari.

'Last lap, Kimi, last lap. All or nothing.'

Oh, no, they hit, they hit!

Bottas crashes into the barrier, Raikkonen's got damage.

Perez goes back into third place.

If I would have left the door open, in that kind of situation,

then he, plus everyone else, would have thought

I would do it again if someone is trying to overtake me

from that far, so that's not going to happen.

I thought he had seen me when I went, but obviously not.

Raikkonen was at fault, wasn't he, David?

Raikkonen, that was like optimism beyond control.

He came from so far back on a tight, shallow line

and just rear-ended Bottas.

Lewis Hamilton wins the Russian Grand Prix.

Now, who's going to be third? It's going to be Perez.

There he is. Perez finishes third here in Russia.

A third podium ever for this team.

What delight for them.

'Well done. That was very hard, man.

'I had no rubber left at all.'

There were a lot of emotions, you know,

because it was a podium.

Although I was lucky in the end, I really deserved it,

it was not like I was fifth the whole race and then they crashed,

I was third the whole race and then they crashed.

I'm very happy for the team.

The boys have been through tremendously difficult times,

so when you have those moments, you really try to stop time

and really enjoy them.

That podium was super huge for him and super huge for the team.

And it was a super huge weekend for Mercedes

because they clinched the constructors' title.

It was exactly the same as the previous year,

winning the World Championship as constructors in Russia.

It gave them a great opportunity to take the pressure valve off.

The money in Formula One for the teams comes from the constructors.

So that box is ticked.

It then allows them

a completely free hand to let the drivers race.

So we trot across the pond to the good old US of A,

the perfect setting for Lewis

who gets his first shot

at his third world title.

Firstly, the race for me

was one of the best races

that I can remember having.

Lights out and away we go.

Rosberg versus Hamilton, it's a pretty even start,

but Hamilton may have the chance to get up the inside.

Rosberg is trying to go wheel-to-wheel, they run wide.

Rosberg squeezed out to fourth place.

Hamilton certainly worked that to his advantage.

It was one step too far, too much.

He's seen my steering wheel, I'm turning, but the car's not turning.

Whilst I didn't intentionally do anything,

I felt afterwards I did, you know.

He decided to drive into me.

Have you seen over the last couple of years?

I mean, he complains about a lot of things,

but you just kind of let it go over your head because that's just

the way he is and it's a different background we come from, I guess.

Personally, I think Lewis was over-aggressive.

To me, a completely fair thing

for the inside car to dictate the line,

that's the end of the story.

But it wasn't really the race decider

because I did manage to fight back.

And Rosberg's got past Ricciardo.

Onto the straight, over the big bumps.

Daniel will be a sitting duck here, here comes Rosberg.

So Mercedes now running one and two.

Rosberg goes wide.

Ricciardo goes into second place,

he makes the move and Rosberg will be kicking himself there.

And look at this, Ricciardo's had another go to get past Hamilton.

And Daniel Ricciardo has found the space

and he's gone past the Mercedes.

Rosberg having a go at getting past Hamilton. He's got down the inside.

Can he hold on or is Hamilton going to fight back on the exit?

Yes, he will. They've got to give each other space, you'd think, as team-mates.

But Rosberg's got past him.

Well, we don't see that often.

Here comes Rosberg, he's going to reclaim the lead.

He does, he gets past Daniel Ricciardo.

Remember, if it were to finish this way, Lewis Hamilton would not

be world champion, not with Rosberg winning the race.

Well, that's karma. He's back in the lead,

so he should have nothing to complain about.

But still, you know, he had to find something to complain about.

Passed Lewis, passed the Red Bulls, take the lead.

Go up into the distance, get pulled back because of the safety car,

I had a ten-second lead already,

so that was destroyed by the safety car.

Hamilton draws alongside and overtakes Daniel Ricciardo.

Oh, a big shunt and it's Kvyat.

-Kvyat in the wall.

-Safety car for sure.

That's sure to bring the safety car out, yes.

This might be a lifeline for Hamilton.

Then the second safety car again destroyed my second lead

of a couple of seconds or whatever.

'OK, Lewis, you'll have ten laps remaining.

'Just keep it nice and clean.'

Away goes Rosberg, a bit of wheel spin on the restart as he launches it.

These tyres have lost temperature.

I was generally relaxed because it wasn't the last race

and the championship was coming down to that one moment.

But of course, that driver in me was saying, never give up, keep pushing.

Hamilton, fastest lap,

putting the pressure on Rosberg.

And then I messed up, myself, which, er...

is hugely annoying.

-Rosberg's made a mistake.

-He's had a tank slapper on acceleration.

Hamilton's taken the lead.

It means that Hamilton is where he needs to be

to win the championship now.

When the reality really hits you, you just have so much energy,

you just want to shout at the top of your lungs,

at the top of a building.

Lewis Hamilton has won his third World Championship.

He is the 2015 World Champion.

Yeah, pal, I'm pleased with it.

'How good does that sound, Lewis, three-times World Champion?'

'It's the greatest moment in my life. Thank you, guys, so much.'

I remember being at my dad's house in Hatfield, I think it was,

in a one-bedroom apartment, and wake up, got a bacon sarnie,

when I was five years old and watching Ayrton win these races

and it was a lifelong dream.

And you think, 25 years later,

that I'm achieving a similar success.

It's an experience, an emotion,

that you just have to try

and enjoy because you can't really understand it.

CHEERING

Three World Championships, he's in this exclusive club now

-and he deserves to be there.

-He does deserve his three titles.

For some, they'll say there's only Mercedes in the race,

so all he's doing is beating Nico Rosberg.

But let's not forget that he won his first title at McLaren.

He equalled Fernando Alonso in his first-ever year in Formula One.

The talent he has is amazing.

The way he can drive the car, how quick he is,

how strong he is to win,

you know, how good he is on the, like, the mentality to win the race.

I don't think anyone thought he was doing the right thing

to leave McLaren and go to Mercedes.

And to be fair, at that moment in time,

it wasn't the right thing to do.

Lewis is a very quick driver, I'll give him that.

He's probably one of the quickest guys that's ever stood in a Formula One car.

But he did not know when he signed that contact.

I think he was upset with the situation he had at McLaren.

It was off the back of a DNF when he was leading in Singapore.

Hamilton's in trouble.

His world championship hopes are disappearing rapidly with that.

And we're all emotional, so he took that decision, I think, emotionally.

But it's the right decision, it's paid off, and he's just won

two back-to-back world titles, so fair play to him.

Do you worry that Lewis Hamilton might break your record?

No, I think in the end, records are there to be broken.

I don't think it's fair, I don't think it's right to stand up and say

I don't want this guy to win because currently, he's doing the best job.

Congrats.

Cap-gate.

It's our usual games, you know. He passed me the cap, I passed it back.

In my frustration.

He was more consistent during the year.

He had a very consistent year with everything,

he didn't have any problems except for one DNF.

Qualifying, he did a better job than last year.

You haven't had the rub of the green, I guess.

It's not about good fortune in qualifying.

There's no fortune in that, especially when it's 12 times.

It's just not being quick enough,

so I just need to find some more pace,

which I did. I don't know why, though.

Nico Rosberg takes victory in Mexico.

'Yeah!'

Nico Rosberg wins in Brazil.

'Yeah, guys!'

Nico Rosberg comes out of the last corner in Abu Dhabi.

Well, what a different story this season might have been if

Nico Rosberg had begun the season

in the same style that he's finished it.

Sometimes it's very difficult to understand

what goes on in a racing driver's brain.

I don't think that Lewis consciously switched his season off,

but then maybe unconsciously, if you've won the championship,

what else do you want to prove out there?

But then maybe Nico found his strengths back, the edge back,

so we had these discussions and we talked with them.

There is no eureka moment here.

I think there's an insecurity in Nico as an individual.

There's a confidence in Lewis, the way he dresses,

the way he moves, the way he travels around the rest of the world.

It's like - challenge me if you dare.

To be a great champion, you need raw speed,

you need arrogance, you need belief.

Now, if that breeds not a great character,

so be it.

Now, I'm not saying that about Lewis,

but I think he does believe in all of those things.

And is he arrogant? Absolutely.

Is every driver in Formula One arrogant?

If they're not, they shouldn't be there.

Highlight of the season for you, Eddie, this year?

I don't think I have any difficulty in this, because, for me,

he would be the person I would have wanted to sign

right from the beginning - Max Verstappen.

My God, what a revelation, what a joy to watch.

Clean, under control, knowing when to pass,

knowing the right moves, I absolutely love watching him.

That said, it's about the championship

and it's about the championship driver.

The right man in the right car won this.

I think Lewis Hamilton in any car would do exceptional things,

and this year was a textbook case on how to win a world championship.

So, chaps, a dash of Lewis Hamilton, a splash of Nico Rosberg

and a dab of Sebastian Vettel.

Our race winners this year, and the picture for 2015 is complete.

# Knowing that I'd find it on my own

# Cos it's died faintly and nowhere I can go

# I'm standing still with nothing in my way

# Letting me go so I can find myself again

-# I need that

-Ground beneath my feet to feel that

-# Ground beneath my feet

-I need that

-# Ground beneath my feet

-To feel that

# I need that I need that

# Home, I'm coming home I'm coming home

# Cos this life that I've been livin' ain't my own

# Home, I'm coming home I'm coming home

# Cos I'm tired of being out here on my own

# I'm coming home

# Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah

# I'm coming home

# Oh, yeah

# All of this time I've been livin' it up

# All I've got left is rubble and dust

# Oh-oh, I'm coming home. #