Feature

Hamilton v Rosberg: 2016 F1 drivers' title permutations

All of the permutations which could result in either Nico Rosberg or Lewis Hamilton winning the 2016 F1 Drivers' Championship this weekend at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

The title race comes down to the final round in Abu Dhabi this weekend, with the two Mercedes drivers fighting it out to win the 2016 F1 Drivers' World Championship.

Nico Rosberg has been the heavy favourite since Lewis Hamilton's retirement in Malaysia, with the German having been able to win the championship in both Mexico and Brazil. However, Hamilton won both races to ensure the title goes down to the wire this weekend.

Both drivers can win the title, but the scenario is much more simple for Rosberg. A top three finish will see him champion courtesy of his 12-point advantage. Anything below third place and Hamilton has a chance, but if the triple world champion fails to finish on the podium the title is Rosberg's regardless.

With Rosberg starting the final race on 367 points and Hamilton on 355, the full permutations for who needs to finish where are below:

IF ROSBERG FINISHES	HAMILTON MUST FINISH
1st	Can't be champion
2nd	Can't be champion
3rd	Can't be champion
4th	1st
5th	1st
6th	1st
7th	2nd
8th	2nd
9th	3rd
10th	3rd

If Rosberg fails to score at all, Hamilton still needs to finish at least third. If Rosberg does not score a point and Hamilton is fourth, the pair will be tied on 367 points and nine victories each but Rosberg will win the title by virtue of having more second place finishes (four) than Hamilton (three).

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.