Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2015 - Race Schedule and Countdown

Nico Rosberg completed a commanding hat-trick of victories at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix season finale, defeating already-crowned champion Lewis Hamilton to end 2015 with crucial momentum heading into his championship-winning 2016 campaign. Starting from pole position with a lap of 1:40.237, Rosberg controlled the race under Yas Marina's spectacular twilight-to-darkness transition, securing his sixth victory of the season and sending a clear warning to his Mercedes teammate that 2016's title fight would be fiercely contested. Kimi Raikkonen completed the podium for Ferrari as the curtain fell on a season dominated by Mercedes' Silver Arrows, though Hamilton's third world championship had been secured three races earlier in Austin with a commanding 381-322 points margin.

Rosberg's victory represented the perfect conclusion to his late-season resurgence - three consecutive wins at Mexico, Brazil, and Abu Dhabi that demonstrated he had found the pace and consistency to match Hamilton when both drivers had equal machinery and fortune. The German dominated proceedings from start to finish at Yas Marina, never giving his teammate any realistic opportunity to challenge for the lead. Hamilton, having wrapped up his third world title with dominant victories at the United States, Mexico, and Brazilian grands prix still fresh in memory, settled for a comfortable second place. The reigning champion set the fastest lap of 1:44.517 but appeared content to collect the points without unnecessary risk, knowing the championship trophy was already his. The Mercedes one-two finish capped another season of utter dominance by the Silver Arrows, with the team winning 16 of 19 races and securing their second consecutive drivers' and constructors' championship double.

Raikkonen's third place for Ferrari concluded a season where the Scuderia had re-established themselves as the clear second-fastest team in Formula 1, winning three races through Sebastian Vettel and regularly challenging for podiums, though Mercedes' superiority meant championship challenges remained beyond reach. Rosberg's Abu Dhabi victory was significant beyond mere statistics - his late-season surge, winning the final three races of 2015, provided the German with genuine belief that he could defeat Hamilton over a full season. While Hamilton had dominated 2015 with 10 victories to Rosberg's 6, the momentum shift in the closing races foreshadowed the intense 2016 battle to come. The victory gave Rosberg crucial psychological confidence heading into the winter, setting the stage for what would become the most intense and controversial Mercedes-versus-Mercedes season, culminating in Rosberg's shock 2016 championship triumph and immediate retirement. The 2015 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix marked not just the end of a season, but the beginning of Rosberg's transformation from perennial challenger to world champion.