With the 2017 Formula One season ready to get under way this weekend in Melbourne, it’s time to look back at what made last year’s season both spectacular as well as dramatic, up to the very end.
As the 2016 F1 season drew closer to the Abu Dhabi season finale, it all came down to Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg battling it out amidst controversial team orders and last-resort on track strategies.
In the end, it was Rosberg who held on to claim his first, and apparently last Drivers title, though there were still plenty of other spectacular races and mind-boggling incidents worth remembering – such as Red Bull blowing a winnable race for Daniel Ricciardo in Monaco, or both Mercedes drivers colliding in Spain.
Other notable moments include Fernando Alonso’s huge crash in Australia, Max Verstappen claiming a victory in his first-ever race for Red Bull, Hamilton struggling with getting off the line on multiple occasions, or Kimi Raikkonen’s resurgence.
This Sunday, the 2017 Formula One season is set to begin in Australia, except unlike last year, there are a lot more question marks surrounding the grid, as the cars are set to perform significantly better than in years past.
Currently, the consensus is that Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull will have the fastest cars on the grid (probably in that order), with tier 2 teams such as Williams, Force India, Renault, Haas and Toro Rosso trying to close the gap.