Lewis Hamilton produced an exceptional performance to secure his fourth – and what he admitted was his most challenging and most rewarding – title. With competition from Sebastian Vettel in a Ferrari that was at least on a par with the Mercedes and at certain circuits the better car, the British driver had to be at his best and successfully bring together every facet of his craft. Hamilton had to cope with a demanding car, struggling to find set-up and with the pressure of being behind until the 13th round. Major errors were notable only for their absence and when dominant he was ruthless – as at Silverstone. His qualifying was as good as he has ever produced, especially at Canada, Silverstone, Spa – where track position proved crucial – and of course Monza in the wet. He accepted setbacks and made the best he could out of them, as shown with a controlled but aggressive drive in Austria to take fourth from eighth on the grid, then exploited any chances offered by his rival, all but ending the fight through Singapore, Malaysia and Japan. Finally, there was maturity and skilful on-track judgment to ensure he closed it out, rather than taking risks. A consummate season from a now formidably complete driver.
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