With just 17 points separating Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosber, the final race of the season was sure going to be an epic one. To make matters a little more interesting, Rosberg secured pole position for the race in Abu Dhabi. As the lights went out, Hamilton was off to a flying start. He immediately passed his team-mate to take the lead and controlled the race well from, there on. It wasn't a great outing for Rosberg though. After starting off from pole he suffered from a failed ERS on lap 24 and to makes things worse, his brakes gave way too. At the end of it all, the German took the chequered flag in 14th place. Thanks to Hamilton's win, Mercedes secured the constructors' as well as the drivers' championship. This is the three-pointed star's first ever constructors' title and their second drivers' champioonship since Juan Manuel Fangio's victory in 1955.
Double podium for Williams
For Williams it was a perfect way to end the season with a second place for Felipe Massa and third for Valtteri Bottas. The duo started from third and fourth on the grid and were able to put on a better performance than Daniel Ricciardo and Jenson Button. Massa was right up there at the front and although he wasn't quite in a position to challenge Hamilton he crossed the finish like just 2.5 seconds after the race winner. Bottas on the other hand, despite not having a good start and being stuck in traffic for a while, was able to push hard for the rest of the race to bring the team an impressive 2-3 finish.
Ricciardo takes fourth
Both the Red Bull drivers started the race from the pit-lane after being excluded from qualifying because of an illegal front wing. Starting from 20th place on the grid, the Daniel Ricciardo had a very impressive finish in fourth. A perfect blend of good driving and a we'll planned pit-stop strategy saw him gradually make his way up the order. Sebastian Vettel on the other hand could only bring eight point in his final race with Red Bull. The reigning champion was stuck behind Kevin Magnussen which consumed a lot of his time. Vettel finally finished in eighth place.
Force India impresses
After a not so impressive run in qualifying, both the Force India drivers did well to bring home points for the team in the last race of the season, albeit a bit too late. Starting from 12th place on the grid, Nico Hulkenberg could find the right balance and keep good pace to finish in sixth place. Sergio Perez on the other hand, followed his team-mate in seventh, which allowed him to finish 10th overall in the season. Perez had the pace to finish a little higher up on the result table had he pitted a little earlier for supersofts. The team finished in sixth place after some disappointing last few races.
The End
Although, with 16 race wins in the season, Mercedes stole the limelight in 2014 without actually facing any stiff competition from any of the teams, the fight for the title between Hamilton and Rosberg was pretty intense. With 11 out of the 16 wins, Hamilton sure deserved the championship but fans would have love to see the two drivers fight harder on the track for the grand prize. The battle for place in the middle order was what actually kept things interesting in 2014. Now, with the curtains down on the 2014 season, it's time for the silly season to begin.
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