Mercedes driver wraps up season on a high note

Nico Rosberg may get around to sending Lewis Hamilton a Christmas card but can expect nothing in return from the triple Formula One champion after Sunday's season-ender in Abu Dhabi.

The triumphant German and his Mercedes teammate, who together secured a record 12th one-two on the campaign, sat side by side at the post-race media conference with little in the way of bonhomie.

Asked whether they would send each other Christmas presents now that the racing was over, the happy winner tried not to sound churlish.

"Maybe a Christmas card," ventured Rosberg, who is a Monaco neighbor of the Briton and has known Hamilton since they were teenage rivals in karting.

"I don't think we've ever done either so there's no reason to change," said Hamilton.

The Briton could equally have made the point that he has already received his present after Rosberg gifted him a third world title in Texas with the mistake that allowed Hamilton to win the race.

But Rosberg has been miserly since then, and goes into the European winter more determined than ever to take the one thing that Hamilton is never going to give him without a fight.

The battle lines, as their body language made clear, remain firmly drawn.

"Unfortunately 2016 is so far away," said Rosberg. "At the moment I'm just enjoying now, enjoying the wins. I'm going to party tonight, I'm enjoying the fun, enjoying that I progressed also a lot in the end of the season.

"It's too late for the championship of course, but so great now to have it (the win) and that's it. I can't tell you about next year unfortunately, but I'll give it everything."

Never before had the German won three races in a row, or ended a season so strongly. His haul of six wins for the campaign was one better than 2014 and his career tally of 14 Formula One victories leaves him two behind British great Stirling Moss as the most successful driver without a title.

"Next year can come any moment. It could start tomorrow if it were for me, no problem, I don't need any holidays," said Rosberg.

For Hamilton, unable to make a different tire strategy work to his advantage, there was the knowledge he had what really mattered.

He could not savor the desired 44th win on the 44th anniversary of the founding of the United Arab Emirates, and his 50th pole must wait, but that was incidental.

"I think being world champion sounds a lot better than winning the race, so that's good," he said.

Vettel backs Ferrari

Sebastian Vettel finished 2015 with an eye-catching drive from 15th on the grid to finish fourth on Sunday and then forecast that Ferrari can overcome "beatable" Mercedes next year.

The four-time champion German, who has enjoyed an impressive maiden season with the Italian team after moving from former champions Red Bull, said he was confident Ferrari was ready to dominate again.

Vettel recovered from a bad qualifying session that left him 15th on the grid to finish behind his teammate, Finn Kimi Raikkonen, at the Yas Marina circuit.

"We know there is still an awful lot to do and that Mercedes is very strong," he said. "But we can be better than them, they are beatable.

"We are very fired up about next year. In the end, we don't want to play chaser any more - we want to turn it around and be the dominant force.

"It's been an upward curve all year. At the start we were probably around 1.5 seconds behind, but now we're 10 to 15 seconds behind over a Grand Prix distance.

"We know we can improve the car and the power unit and on the drivers' side we can do better.

"If we put this together, we can be very strong next season."

(China Daily 12/02/2015 page23)