Inland Waterways » He was graceful enough

The Duel in the Desert? Yes, Formula 1 has been here before. Two years ago in fact, when the first exclusive battle for the world title between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg came down to a final-race shootout in the opulent surroundings of Abu Dhabis Yas Marina Circuit.Whens the Abu Dhabi GP on Sky F1? On that occasion it was Hamilton in the box seat - the Briton led Rosberg by 17 points following a spurt of five wins in the previous six races. Leaving Spa, and the Mercedes team-mates acrimonious collision, in late August, Rosberg had been as many as 29 points ahead but Hamilton reeled him in relentlessly thereafter.However, Hamiltons challenge in Abu Dhabi was made tougher by what turned out to be the one-off, and highly controversial, advent of double points for the season finale. The title picture going to Abu Dhabi 2014 1. Lewis Hamilton 334 points 2. Nico Rosberg 317 points +17 points The fact there were 50, rather than the usual 25, points up for grabs for the race winner meant Hamilton needed to finish at least second to secure the crown. Under the points system in place for the previous 18 races, and every one since Abu Double, sixth would have got the job done.It wasnt quite winner takes all, but the unusual permutations still meant nothing could be taken for granted heading into the decider. WIN! VIP Silverstone Experience for 2 Motorsport Manager are offering Sky Sports fans the chance to win a VIP trip for 2 to Silverstone What happened in Qualifying?Mercedes front-row lockouts have rarely been in doubt this season, and that was certainly the case in 2014 when the Silver Arrows were almost untouchable in the first year of F1s new hybrid engine era.Abu Dhabi represented their eighth successive qualifying one-two although, in the twist the title battle needed for the neutral, it was Rosberg who beat an error-strewn Hamilton to pole position.Hamilton had led the way in the first two stages of qualifying but lost out to his team-mate by 0.386 seconds when the pressure cranked up in the final shootout. Lock-ups under braking on each of his Q3 timed laps meant he ended up closer to the Williams cars directly behind than Rosberg ahead. Abu Dhabi 2014 Qualifying 1. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:40.480 2. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes +0.386 3. Valtteri Bottas Williams +0.545 4. Felipe Massa Williams +0.639 It was a scruffy qualifying from Lewis and he could have been just fifth, said Sky F1s Martin Brundle in commentary at the time. He just over-drives the final part of qualifying - which isnt what he used to do. It will have hurt his pride to be out-qualified so comprehensively.It was Rosbergs 11th pole of the year, but he wasnt getting carried away: This weekend is about the championship and not about pole position. It would have been great if somehow a Williams could have got between the two of us but that can always happen tomorrow.As it turned out, the polesitter was right to be cautious.What happened in the Race?The start was like a rocket and probably the best Ive ever had, Hamilton later reflected.Its more often the case that a race can be lost at the first corner, rather than won, but for Hamilton the latter essentially proved true as he made the most electric of getaways to overtake polesitter Rosberg well before the first corner.His second world title was effectively clinched right there and then. Enjoying a small, but comfortable, two-second lead over his team-mate in the races opening 20 laps, Hamilton was already well on course for the title when Rosbergs W05 developed what would turn into a crippling energy-recovery failure just before half distance.The Formula 1 Gossip ColumnDown on power, and increasingly in trouble with his over-worked brakes, Rosbergs race turned into an agonising slide down the order as he attempted to get to the finish in the fifth place that would still see him become champion if Hamilton himself hit terminal car trouble.But with seven laps to go Rosberg was seventh and, with his car problems only worsening, he was asked by his race engineer if he wanted to retire. Despite the hopelessness of the situation, and the fact he was lapped by his team-mate, Rosberg manfully soldiered to the finish and came home 14th.It was a cruel end to a championship battle he had led for so long, but the German still sought out Hamilton afterwards to personally congratulate the newly-crowned double world champion. Its been so intense between us all year long, said Hamilton. Theres been good moments and bad moments. Without a doubt weve had a friendship or a relationship that we built a long, long, long time ago, so that will always be there. He was a very, very fierce competitor this year, he did an exceptional job. Hes going to be quick for a long time.Perhaps things naturally will ease up a little now. He was graceful enough to come up to me and see me after, which I really appreciated. It was really big of him to be able to do that. Its very, very tough, I know what its like losing a championship so, for sure, well keep working at it.Two years on the rivalry on track remains just as intense, with another world championship crown on the line in the Duel in the Desert...Part Two this weekend.Dont miss the #DuelintheDesert live on Sky Sports as the F1 title race goes to the wire. Watch the entire Abu Dhabi GP weekend on Sky Sports F1 on November 25-27. Watch the whole race weekend with a NOW TV week pass - £10.99, no contract Also See: When is the Abu Dhabi GP on Sky F1? Abu Dhabi title permutations Watch the title decider on NOW TV The F1 Gossip Column Adidas Shoes Discount Sale . Only it wasnt the extended right pad of his old teammate Jonathan Bernier early in the final frame, it was James Reimer, who stole a night that was supposed to belong to the former King. Adidas Shoes Online Sale .C. -- Glenn Howard needed an extra end to move into the Masters Grand Slam of Curling final. http://www.cheapadidassale.com/ .com) - Marc Gasol and the Grizzlies withstood 18 Dallas 3-pointers, as Memphis took control in the third quarter and fended off a Mavericks rally en route to a 114-105 win in a Southwest Division showdown. Cheap Adidas Shoes Online . When the Dallas Mavericks needed to stop a Golden State rally in the fourth quarter, they looked for defensive help from the rookie point guard playing in just his sixth game. Cheap Discount Adidas Shoes . - While he appreciates suggestions from Packers fans of remedies for his sore left calf, Aaron Rodgers is not necessarily going to listen to the advice.SUNRISE, Fla. -- Ryan OReilly is on a roll. OReilly had a goal and an assist to lift the Colorado Avalanche over the Florida Panthers 3-2 on Friday night. OReilly wasted little time in making his presence felt. His goal came at 1:34 in. Matt Duchene missed a wraparound shot but OReilly grabbed the rebound and sneaked it past Thomas in the corner of the net to make it 1-0. The goal was OReillys team-leading 19th, a new career high, and his fifth in the past six games. "If you put doubt in their minds, thats a huge thing. Getting a couple early is always going to set them back," OReilly said. "We started good and that start won it for us." Jamie McGinn and Paul Stastny also scored for Colorado and Semyon Varlamov made 34 saves. Colorado won for the fifth time in six games. Scottie Upshall scored twice for Florida. Tim Thomas stopped 22 shots. The Panthers lost for the first time in three games. Trailing 3-0, the Panthers scored twice in the third to make it interesting. The Panthers made it 3-1 on Upshalls goal at 5:18 of the third. Tomas Fleischmann swept the puck from behind the net to Upshall in the crease. Upshall pushed the puck past Varlamovs right leg and into the net for his 100th career goal. Tom Gilberts slap shot with 1:43 left in the game from the point deflected off Upshalls foot and past Varlamov, who was screened on the play, and made the score 3-2. "We were playing desperate. I thought we picked up our pace. We were kind of carrying the momentum," Upshall said. The Panthers outsshot Colorado 20-6 in the final period, including 15-0 in the last 13:13.dddddddddddd. "We certainly had urgency in the third. We had a ton of chances to tie it up and it didnt happen," Panthers coach Peter Horachek said. Colorado stretched its lead to 3-0 in the second. OReilly passed from behind the net to McGinn in front and he fired it past Thomas on the stick side with 7:00 left in the period. "Hes been outstanding," McGinn said of OReilly. "Hes been consistent every game. He works hard, on and off the ice and its paying off." Colorado is 26-0-2 when leading after two periods. "We were outstanding in the first two periods.Unfortunately the third was not as good and this is something we have to be better at," Avalanche coach Patrick Roy said. Colorado took a 2-0 lead on Stastnys goal. Gabriel Landeskog passed from the left boards to Stastny in front and he backhanded it past Thomas at 16:13 of the first. In the third period, the Panthers set a dubious franchise record of 38 power play attempts without a power play goal, dating to Nov. 10-Dec. 1, 2010. Its the leagues longest drought since Vancouver went 36 straight during the 2012-13 season. NOTES: Avalanche forward Alex Tanguay returned to the lineup after missing 36 games due to knee and hip injuries. ... The Avalanche played the first of three road games in four days. They are at Tampa Bay on Saturday and Dallas on Monday. ... Panthers rookie Aleksander Barkov missed the game with a lower body injury suffered in Tuesdays game at Buffalo. 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