The 2014 title fight – Hamilton v Rosberg

A look back at how the battle between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg has ebbed and flowed at each race this season.

Australia - Albert Park, Melbourne; March 16

Nico Rosberg stormed into a 25-point advantage with victory in Australia after Lewis Hamilton’s race lasted just two laps before he was forced to retire when his car malfunctioned. Hamilton's demise allowed the German to cruise to an unchallenged victory as the dominance of the Mercedes W05 instantly became apparent. Having been the only non-Mercedes driver to get within 1.5 seconds of Hamilton in qualifying, Daniel Ricciardo, who was later excluded from the results, finished nearly 25 seconds behind Rosberg, a vast deficit which underlined Mercedes' substantial pace advantage.

Hamtilon: 0; Rosberg: 25. Rosberg leads by 25.

Malaysia - Sepang International Circuit, Kuala Lumpur; March 30

After the frustration of Albert Park, Hamilton hit back in Malaysia with a formidable victory of 17 seconds over Rosberg to cut the gap at the top by seven points. The 2008 World Champion qualified on pole and beat his team-mate to the flag by a commanding 17.3 seconds. Rosberg had only started third after being out-qualified by Sebastian Vettel, but passed the German on the opening lap to set up the first one-two finish of the season for Mercedes.

Hamilton: 25; Rosberg: 43. Rosberg leads by: 18.

Bahrain - Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir; April 6

Under the floodlights in the desert, the Mercedes team-mates went head-to-head for the first time with a riveting race-long battle. Hamilton overtook pole-sitter Rosberg into Turn One and then fended him off around the outside of Turn Three on the opening lap. The German struck back at the same corner on lap 19, but Hamilton got back ahead almost immediately at Turn Four. They came together again on lap 52, but Hamilton was able to fend off his team-mate. Just. His second win of the season saw Hamilton cut the gap by another seven points.

Hamilton: 50; Rosberg: 61. Rosberg leads by: 11.

China - Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai; April 20

Hamilton made it a hat-trick of victories for the first time in his career as he cruised to another easy win. Starting from pole and with Rosberg having to fight his way through from fourth, Hamilton led from start to finish without the need to check his mirrors once. Rosberg trailed home 18 seconds adrift, but it was the third consecutive one-two for Mercedes to once again underline their dominance over the rest of the field.

Hamilton: 75; Rosberg: 79. Rosberg leads by: 4.

Spain - Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona; May 11

Hamilton was on pole again at the Circuit de Catalunya, but this was a much more closely-fought affair with the Englishman having to fend off a late charge from Rosberg. The German opted for a different tyre strategy to Hamilton for the middle stint of the race, giving him the faster medium tyre at the end of the grand prix. He quickly closed