D-day looms for Hami, Rosberg

Both are being disingenuous, of course. Hamilton knows he still has a real chance and Rosberg is well aware just how much is at stake. While Rosberg is the favourite to win the ‘Duel in the Desert’, needing only to finish on the Yas Marina podium to become Germany’s third world champion after Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel, he will still be on tenterhooks. “I will give it everything to end the season with a win,” said Rosberg, the son of Finland’s 1982 champion Keke, even if cynics suspect he would be happy enough to settle for a fourth successive second place. “I’ve had a great week, relaxing and catching up with my family and friends, so I feel like I’m in a good place. 

“In Brazil ... I was joking that I would still be taking things one race at a time. But, the more I think about it, the more that’s actually not as crazy as it sounds. I have to treat this like any other race.” That has become Rosberg’s mantra, his increasingly-implausible mechanism for dealing with the pressure as the title talk grows louder. That stress will be greater than ever on Sunday, a lifetime’s ambition within reach after years of being beaten by Hamilton. How he handles it in the day-to-night race could be crucial. Hamilton, who started the year tipped to become Britain’s first four times world champion but goes into the season-ender 12 points adrift, has less pressure. He must finish in the top three to have any hope but, in his mind, has nothing to lose and everything to gain.