Racing | Formula 1 | 2016 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix — Rosberg Secures His First Championship at Yas Marina

On 27 November 2016, Nico Rosberg finished second in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at Yas Marina Circuit and secured his first Formula 1 Drivers’ Championship in the season’s twenty-first and final round.

Lewis Hamilton started from pole for Mercedes after a 1:38.755 qualifying lap, with team-mate Rosberg second. Rosberg entered the race twelve points ahead, so a podium would guarantee the title regardless of Hamilton’s result.

Hamilton led from the start and deliberately managed the pace, compressing the leading group to give Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen a chance to challenge Rosberg. Mercedes repeatedly asked Hamilton to increase his speed, but he continued to control the race while remaining within the rules.

Rosberg’s most exposed moment came after the first pit stops, when he rejoined behind Verstappen. He passed the Red Bull through Turns 8 and 9 and completed the move toward Turn 11, restoring the second place he needed.

Vettel closed rapidly on supersoft tyres in the final laps, with Verstappen close behind. Rosberg held position as all four leaders crossed the line within 1.685 seconds.

After 55 laps, Hamilton won in 1:38:04.013. Rosberg finished 0.439 seconds behind, Vettel was third at 0.843 seconds, and Verstappen placed fourth at 1.685 seconds.

Those eighteen points left Rosberg champion by five points, 385–380 over Hamilton. It was Rosberg’s first and only Formula 1 world title, achieved thirty-four years after his father Keke Rosberg won the 1982 championship.

Jolyon Palmer received a five-second penalty and two penalty points for causing a collision with Carlos Sainz under braking at Turn 17. Palmer’s adjusted result was seventeenth, and the penalty did not alter the podium or championship outcome.

The race used Yas Marina’s original Grand Prix configuration: a counter-clockwise, 21-turn circuit measuring 5.554 kilometres. The 55-lap event covered 305.470 kilometres on the layout used from the circuit’s 2009 Formula 1 debut until its later redesign.

The pin marks Yas Marina Circuit on Yas Island at 24.4672, 54.6031 rather than central Abu Dhabi. The circuit diagram by Arz is licensed CC BY-SA 3.0; its transparent background was flattened onto white for legibility, and that modification is disclosed.

Sources: [Formula 1 race classification](https://www.formula1.com/en/results/2016/races/958/abu-dhabi/race-result), [Formula 1 starting grid](https://www.formula1.com/en/results/2016/races/958/abu-dhabi/starting-grid), [Formula 1 2016 standings](https://www.formula1.com/en/results/2016/drivers), [independent Motor Sport race report](https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/articles/single-seaters/f1/2016-abu-dhabi-grand-prix/), [Autosport penalty report](https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/sainz-criticises-inconsistent-penalties-after-palmer-abu-dhabi-clash-5027990/5027990/), [GeoNames circuit record](https://www.geonames.org/8394014/yas-marina-circuit.html), and [Wikimedia Commons image record](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Circuit_Yas-Island.svg).