Lewis Hamilton's 2015 title triumph will be remembered as the most routine of the three currently to his name. Having ended his six-year wait for a title at the 2014 Abu Dhabi finale, Hamilton has made light work of Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg in a way he was unable to last season and wrapped up the championship with three races to spare.
Picking up where he left off
From the first time a V6 turbo engine was fired up in Jerez this winter it was clear Mercedes had retained much of its advantage from 2014. Though Ferrari's pace was encouraging the sheer dominance of the Hamilton-led Mercedes one-two in Melbourne led to fears an even more one-sided season was in store. Hamilton's form was so impressive throughout the weekend Rosberg was left to concede his team-mate "drove like a champion". Unlike in 2014, where retirement in Australia saw Hamilton play catch-up for much of the year, it put the world champion in control of the title race from the outset.
Hamilton - 25 Rosberg - 18 Vettel - 15
Seeing off a new contender
Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari tore up the negative post-Australian Grand Prix narrative in thrilling fashion in Malyasia, seizing on an early safety car period to beat both Mercedes drivers to the podium. Hamilton managed to beat Rosberg into second place to minimise the damage but Vettel's win got everyone talking about whether Ferrari could genuinely contend for the season. Hamilton steadied the ship for the world champions in China and Bahrain, with pole position and a dominant race win at both. At the former, he earned the ire of team-mate Rosberg for apparently backing him into the attacking Ferraris behind.
Hamilton - 93 Rosberg - 66 Vettel - 65
Second in Spain and Monaco madness
Nico Rosberg recorded an overdue victory at the Spanish Grand Prix on a weekend which saw Hamilton struggle. The world champion recovered from a slow start to claim second on the grid, and bounced back by claiming a dominant pole in Monaco, where Rosberg had won two years in a row. For 64 laps of the race Hamilton was in complete control and appeared set to avenge Rosberg's controversial qualifying mistake in 2014, which he felt cost him that race.
A late safety car period, triggered by a collision between Max Verstappen and Romain Grosjean, changed everything. Mercedes, misjudging the advantage Hamilton had in hand over Rosberg and Vettel, called the race leader into the pits and he emerged behind his two main rivals for the title. Hamilton was clearly upset after the race but refused to throw his team under the bus, showing once again the maturity he has gained since his first championship win in 2008. Though it seemed like a significant championship flashpoint at the time, Rosberg would never get closer to Hamilton in the title race again.
Hamilton - 126 Rosberg - 116 Vettel - 98
Mid-season stability
Many were curious to see how Hamilton responded to the events of Monaco, with some suggesting it could swing the championship in Rosberg's favour. It did no such thing. The world champion responded with three consecutive pole positions and two victories, Canada and Britain either side of an Austrian Grand Prix more or less decided by Rosberg's better start off the line. Hamilton still finished second in Spielberg to minimise the damage caused by Rosberg's win and followed that up with a brilliant win at Silverstone. The world champion had to overcome a poor start and rain showers to claim his second consecutive home win, which he secured after a perfectly timed switch to intermediate tyres.
Hamilton - 194 Rosberg - 177 Vettel - 135
Hungary blip
The one anomaly of Hamilton's title-winning season so far is the Hungarian Grand Prix. A poor start saw him fourth after two corners, before an off-track excursion dropped him to tenth by the end of lap one. He had battled back to fourth by the late restart but immediately came to blows with Daniel Ricciardo, earning him a drive-through penalty. At one stage in the closing laps Hamilton faced the prospect of going into the summer break behind Rosberg in the championship before more late drama -- Rosberg sustaining a puncture in a collision with Ricciardo and dropping to eighth. Vettel claimed Ferrari's second win of the year but Hamilton's sixth place was two places above Rosberg, who left Spielberg with his two main rivals 21 points either side of him.
Hamilton - 202 Rosberg - 181 Vettel - 160
As you were
If Rosberg wasn't in crisis mode after Hungary, he certainly was after the Italian Grand Prix. Hamilton swept to consecutive pole positions (wrapping up the Pole Trophy in the process) and dominant victories in the two races after the summer break. Rosberg finished second to the world champion in Belgium but engine-related drama would set him back further in Monza. First, a forced switch from a Mercedes upgrade to an old engine on Saturday left him fourth on the grid, before that very same power unit failed three laps from the finish as he pressed Vettel for second. The result was only confirmed after a lengthy investigation into Mercedes' tyre pressures -- which were below the minimum required on the grid but, crucially, not when they were fitted to the car. The confirmation of Hamilton's win meant he left Monza with 53 points in hand over Rosberg.
Hamilton - 252 Rosberg - 199 Vettel - 178
Singapore slump
Mercedes' slump at the Singapore Grand Prix was as dramatic as it was surprising. A combination of the softest tyres in Pirelli's tyre range and the unique layout of the Marina Bay street circuit culminated in the team's worst performance of the season. Ferrari and Red Bull beat Mercedes in qualifying and Sebastian Vettel's win, coupled with Hamilton's retirement from engine trouble, briefly raised hopes there could be a grandstand finish to 2015.
Hamilton - 252 Rosberg - 211 Vettel - 203
Three wins, three-time champion
As it turned out, Singapore would be an anomaly on an otherwise dominant season for Mercedes and Hamilton. He muscled past Nico Rosberg at Turn 1 in Suzuka before an assured drive to victory, re-establishing some normality, before a slice of fortune from his team-mate's throttle failure in Russia gave him a massive championship lead as Rosberg dropped behind Vettel. Hamilton, perhaps the most Hollywood of the current grid, wrapped the title up in a blockbuster race in America, coming through a frenetic 56 laps to secure the points he needed to secure the championship with three races to spare.