British Grand Prix

[airshifter]

First, just in case anyone sees this thread while there is still time.....

http://www.motorsportforums.com/listpickem.php?series=f1&round=9

...click the above and enter the Pickems! You win nothing but potential bragging rights, bringing your armchair opinion to the reality of a scoring system! :laugh:


I haven't even watched practice. It looks like the weather has potential to stay clear, and I always enjoy the Silverstone circuit!

[journeyman racer]

What's the go with the infringement from Rosberg?

[kfzmeister]

What's the go with the infringement from Rosberg?

Just a warning for the team for not showing underside of car.

Btw, STR showing great pace, especially on full tanks. Keep an eye on Max.
Temps supposed to hover in the very low 70s on raceday, so i expect Merc to pull away again, since Ferrari has issues with getting tires up to temp in cooler weather. They're writing that SEb is on their heals, but .367 is a mile away!

ROS for the win. Max in the top 5

[Nitrodaze]

Something odd going on with Mercedes and Hamilton's car. I don't understand it, he pits, gets out of the car, wanders off for a bit. The mechanics do not touch the car, then he jumps back in it for a last gasp go before the close of the practise hour.

The car seem to be unbalanced in the Silverstone blusters. Are they in more trouble than they are letting on?

[steveaki13]

Amazing the change around at Mercedes. 4 rounds ago, it looked like Lewis would waltz his second consecutive championship.

However he has done a typical Lewis and begun to take his eye off the ball. Making errors and thinking about a celeb lifestyle.

Rosberg has a chance here to win a few more races while Lewis wobbles and get himself a real grasp of the title.

[Nitrodaze]

Amazing the change around at Mercedes. 4 rounds ago, it looked like Lewis would waltz his second consecutive championship.

However he has done a typical Lewis and begun to take his eye off the ball. Making errors and thinking about a celeb lifestyle.

Rosberg has a chance here to win a few more races while Lewis wobbles and get himself a real grasp of the title.

Changes to clutch not working well for Lewis. This is not "typical Lewis" thing as you put it. Get your facts straight

[Nitrodaze]

The Force India car looks great, l love it

[steveaki13]

This is not "typical Lewis" thing as you put it. Get your facts straight

Plus taking his eye off the ball. ;)

[kfzmeister]

The car seem to be unbalanced in the Silverstone blusters. Are they in more trouble than they are letting on?

Nope! Still close to a second clear. Williams surprised me, thought!

[Mia 01]

Well, from my Point, I´m quiet pleased.

[Nitrodaze]

Nope! Still close to a second clear. Williams surprised me, thought!
Yeah, it is great to see the two Williams cars ahead of the Ferrari cars. I was nervous that they were slipping behind without a fight in the last few races since Monaco, but this is a great effort, l am chuffed.

[steveaki13]

Tough one to call today, Nico has looked a match for Lewis and maybe more consistant, but when it mattered Hamilton was faster.

Now Siilverstone is a great circuit and tests drivers out, but is not always a classic is it. However F1 could really do with a classic Silverstone race today. Not many great races this season.

[steveaki13]

Ron Dennis calling Eddie Jordan the local village idiot. :p

Then saying Mclaren is as almost a match for Mercedes around the corners???? Didnt I see the Macca's back ends all over the place.

Anyway Ron being his usual self.

[steveaki13]

Nasr has broken down on his way to the grid. 19 starters by the looks of it.

[steveaki13]

Any point in saying morning dawggs....... :( Very quiet.

[steveaki13]

Great first lap.

Williams 1-2 for a second. Great to see a Williams leading the race and lots of side by side action.

Lotus taking each other out and Alonso smashing Button off. lol

Shocking start for Macca again.

16 cars left.

[truefan72]

my goodness what a super fast start from massa. good for him.
now the 2 lotus got together so thats the end of my FGP
and the 2 mclarens got together SMH
and now its taking the guys forever to change the nose on alonso's car.
it just gets worse

[pino]

What a crazy start !!!

[henners88]

Classic Hamilton making things hard, but hopefully he'll fight back from this one. Nobody can deny his passion at his and the teams home race!

[pino]

And what a race so far !!!

[steveaki13]

Hamilton silly over ambitious restart and it is a Williams 1-2.

Max Verstappen out?

Crazy action so far.

[steveaki13]

Absolutely great for the race and F1 to have a Williams 1-2.

Hamilton may have ruined his tyres.

[longisland]

Yeah! Felipe baby!!

[henners88]

Felipe looks like he's stayed 'cool' for this one.

[pino]

Can Williams win this ???

[pino]

Braking problem for Kimi

[truefan72]

bottas wants a piece of massa.

[henners88]

I would actually love to see Williams win the British GP. I have conflicting emotions and the only thing that would make it better was if Hamilton was in one of the Williams! What a sight it would be to see them on the top step at Silverstone. :)

[truefan72]

team orders!
useless. williams again are going to ruin their race. Bottas is faster than massa and if anything they should release him SMH

[pino]

Why is bottas not allowed to pass ?

[henners88]

The faster driver should be ahead or the Mercs will reap the rewards. They need to release Bottas sooner rather than later.

[truefan72]

williams are screwing it up. bottas needs to pass massa if they want to do team orders because all it is doing is pulling in the 2 mercedes.
williams engineers are idiots

[pino]

Stupid Williams !!!

[truefan72]

The faster driver should be ahead or the Mercs will reap the rewards. They need to release Bottas sooner rather than later.

exactly!

I appreciate massa's great start,but now he is holding up bottas severely

[steveaki13]

Great race so far. Williams trying to employ team orders, with Mercedes just behind. Exciting

[henners88]

Patrick Head now confirming they are allowed to race after an earlier order.

[steveaki13]

They need team orders to allow Bottas through.

[truefan72]

well massa picked up the pace now. or bottas wants out of the dirty air for a minute

[longisland]

Here comes the undercut by Hamilton.

[donKey jote]

Williams lost it :mad:

[truefan72]

Williams lost it :mad:

indeed. they needed to box before the mercs
just like austria 2014 SMH

but they still got 2nd & 3rd

[truefan72]

good williams told their drivers they are racing each other. let's see a show!

turns out that the williams has overtaken the ferrari and keeping up with the merc...in this race

[pino]

Rain on its way...

[steveaki13]

Be cool to see some rain.

[donKey jote]

Great... Masa will be even slower! :p

[truefan72]

stupid sainz he couldn't park his car somewhere else???

[donKey jote]

Nooo Carlitos :(

[truefan72]

virtual safety car. come on marshals, push that car back already!

[pino]

Box box box


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[truefan72]

rain!

[donKey jote]

Kimi chickens out :p

[truefan72]

what are ferrari and kimi doing?

track is drying

[truefan72]

oh dear bottas

[donKey jote]

Gamble time :p

[donKey jote]

Nico time :D

[truefan72]

williams drivers really letting their team down. with piss poor wet driving
very dissapointing

[Koz]

Oh no! Nico is on the way!! :D

[donKey jote]

From massa I expected it, but I'm a bit disappointed in bottas :/

[donKey jote]

Ham does a Kimi?

[gm99]

Hamilton changing to inters?

[donKey jote]

Or was it just the right time?

[truefan72]

vettel jumped massa, massive undercut, or massa off?

[donKey jote]

Looks like ham saved the 1-2 for merc with that spot on timing :bandit:

[truefan72]

Or was it just the right time?

perfect timing. for once the pit got it spot on

[gm99]

Williams totally lost it, from a potential race winner to not even a podium finish within a couple of laps...

[truefan72]

poor kimi, ferrari called him in like 6 laps too soon and he cooked those inters

[truefan72]

Williams totally lost it, from a potential race winner to not even a podium finish within a couple of laps...

even worse than austria 2014. combination poor race control and poor drivers in the wet.
If they had released bottas early, he might have darted away

[donKey jote]

Poor Kimi, lapped and with vet in third...

[truefan72]

kimi has been let down by his garage

[truefan72]

but the big story is how williams blew it.
I'm still trying to wrap my head around that

[donKey jote]

Bejaysus Alo's car sounds sick !

[steveaki13]

Better race than of late. At least Williams got involved. Makes a change.

Blew it though really.

[truefan72]

how on earth did vettel get 3rd
but good for him

[dj_bytedisaster]

how on earth did vettel get 3rd
but good for him

Flawless race? The Ferrari looked really lacklustre, but he kept it going as good as possible.

[donKey jote]

Nice banana suits, remind me of Billy's missus' :bandit:

[donKey jote]

Susie speaks a mean German ! :up: :D

[dj_bytedisaster]

Susie speaks a mean German ! :up: :D

Indeed she does. I like her German with that Scottish twang :D

[kfzmeister]

Flawless race? The Ferrari looked really lacklustre, but he kept it going as good as possible.

Of course it was all down to his skill, right?

[steveaki13]

Flawless race? The Ferrari looked really lacklustre, but he kept it going as good as possible.

Good race Dj. Flawless would not include his cars poor start

[journeyman racer]

That was a remarkable few laps from Rosberg, til Hamilton pitted. There was no explanation for that. I'd be interested to see if he could produce a similar performance, relative to Hamilton, in similar circumstances. The problem is is that it's highly unlikely you get that degree of precipitation on the track for any serious length of time.

[dj_bytedisaster]

Of course it was all down to his skill, right?

Well, the Ferrari wasn't really up to scratch this weekend, and extracting the max out of it is a sign of a driver's skill, isn't it?

[N. Jones]

Yeah but not Kimi's. I know he loves racing but I wonder if the motivation for F1 just isn't there.

[veeten]

... and Nico, looking at the now-clearing sky, saying "... you hate me, don't you?..."

[Nitrodaze]

how on earth did vettel get 3rd
but good for him

Ferrari and Vettel were thinking on their feet in the changing conditions of the race. They stole 3rd by outwitting Williams.

Dynamic strategic thinking during the race has been a noticeable weakness at the Williams pitwall all of this season. They have not been able to maximize their race potential and that reflects the point difference between them and Ferrari whom have consistently outwitted the William's pit wall; and making a step forward as well in previous races ofcourse.

That said, Williams nearly pulled a Heather Watson today. They can be very please with their performance today. They definitely put on a ballsy fight and gave the Mercedes pitwall a real fright. On the whole, Williams was impressive. But they have to make some changes to their pit wall as their drivers are paying the price for their lack lustre strategies on race sundays.

[Nitrodaze]

It was unbelievable to see Kimi's race fall apart with the wrong tyre choice. He drove very well today, beating Vettel all weekend but somehow pulling the short straw on race day. Some drivers have all the luck and Vettel made his by using his astute head to beat his team mate and both Williams. That was a drive of a Four times World Champion, even when the odds were against him. wow from 7th to 3rd

[Nitrodaze]

Seeing the Winner's gold trophy next to the trophy for 2nd and 3rd, it occurred to me that Hamilton was right about how poor trophies have become recently. The trophys for 2nd and 3rd looked really ordinary compared to the gold trophy. I hope they improve them for next year. I wonder which track has the worst trophy this season.

[The Black Knight]

Well, the Ferrari wasn't really up to scratch this weekend, and extracting the max out of it is a sign of a driver's skill, isn't it?

Yup and Vettel had a fantastic race. To me it was one of his best drives because he performed when the car didn't which is the first time I can really remember seeing that from him. He out drove the car, especially in the last 20 laps of the race!

I think it's about time for Kimi Raikkonen to retire. It's just going from bad to worse for him and it's just getting embarrassing now. Terrible today!

Great British GP - Silverstone always throws up some fantastic excitement!

[zako85]

It seems like Williams chassis was not setup to do well in the wet conditions. They would have lost podiums with or without better strategy and pit stops.

[steveaki13]

It seems like Williams chassis was not setup to do well in the wet conditions. They would have lost podiums with or without better strategy and pit stops.

I agree really. Ultimately they ruined there chances of an unlikely win with a poor strategy call, but after the rain came, the car was no where. Drivers or strategy calls then couldn't help them. :p

[AndyL]

Ferrari and Vettel were thinking on their feet in the changing conditions of the race. They stole 3rd by outwitting Williams.

They were a little bit fortunate too. Vettel was something around 10 seconds behind the Williams pair, and that extra 10 seconds to decide whether to pit was quite beneficial since it was just when the weather was turning.

[kfzmeister]

They were a little bit fortunate too. Vettel was something around 10 seconds behind the Williams pair, and that extra 10 seconds to decide whether to pit was quite beneficial since it was just when the weather was turning.

I had heard that fact as well by an F1 Analyst after the race. Ferrari was actually in a good situation by being behind and watching what the front runners were doing. Turns out that one call they made did not work out well at all, and another one happened to do the trick. It would not have taken much and a Russian in a RB very likely should have been on the podium!

[Nitrodaze]

They were a little bit fortunate too. Vettel was something around 10 seconds behind the Williams pair, and that extra 10 seconds to decide whether to pit was quite beneficial since it was just when the weather was turning.

The 10 seconds deficit of Vettel really underline how Williams dropped the ball, even with a car not set up for the wet, they could have tried taking some risks by splitting the strategies by pitting Bottas when Hamilton pitted to release him from Massa. Chance are that the Ferrari would have overtaken the Williams cars anyway as the Ferrari of Vettel was working brilliantly in the wet compared to the Williams. Nonetheless, they would have made it harder for Vettel and may have had one of their cars ahead at the end of the race.

[AndyL]

The 10 seconds deficit of Vettel really underline how Williams dropped the ball, even with a car not set up for the wet, they could have tried taking some risks by splitting the strategies by pitting Bottas when Hamilton pitted to release him from Massa.

I agree, they should have split strategies at that point. Of the various strategy mistakes that can be seen in retrospect, that's the one that they should have avoided I think. Splitting strategies means one driver will end up feeling hard-done-by though, and they seem fixated on avoiding anything that might be seen as unfair treatment.

[Bagwan]

I agree, they should have split strategies at that point. Of the various strategy mistakes that can be seen in retrospect, that's the one that they should have avoided I think. Splitting strategies means one driver will end up feeling hard-done-by though, and they seem fixated on avoiding anything that might be seen as unfair treatment.

Yup .
Felipe will implode if he sniffs any favouritism for his team mate .

"Felipe , Valteri is faster than you ." would be all fragile "Felipe baby" hears .

[Nitrodaze]

Yup .
Felipe will implode if he sniffs any favouritism for his team mate .

"Felipe , Valteri is faster than you ." would be all fragile "Felipe baby" hears .


Yup .
Felipe will implode if he sniffs any favouritism for his team mate .

"Felipe , Valteri is faster than you ." would be all fragile "Felipe baby" hears .
I was sure l heard Rod Smedley choking at the thought of that [Felipe, Bottas is faster than you]. Ferrari split theirs and it paid off handsomely, but did Kimi no favours. It is a hard call, but that is racing. You just have to take chances sometimes and see what the dice turns up.
Of Course, if they got it horribly wrong, they would be heavily criticized as usual for taking risk. There is no easy decision, just luck and a stiff upper lip.

[journeyman racer]

That was a remarkable few laps from Rosberg, til Hamilton pitted. There was no explanation for that. I'd be interested to see if he could produce a similar performance, relative to Hamilton, in similar circumstances. The problem is is that it's highly unlikely you get that degree of precipitation on the track for any serious length of time.
Does anybody have any explanation of Rosberg's speed prior to Hamilton's stop? Those were the exact conditions where a driver's supposed ability comes to the fore.

[Nitrodaze]

Does anybody have any explanation of Rosberg's speed prior to Hamilton's stop? Those were the exact conditions where a driver's supposed ability comes to the fore.
Actually, Rosberg was disappointing at the Silverstone. His charge was belated. He didn't take the fight to Lewis at all. He could have prevented the gap from existing in the first place by sticking with Lewis as he forged his way forward past Bottas and Massa. He had a sniff at passing Bottas and he could not pull it off in a similar situation to lewis who pulled his off. He was only able to pass the williams when they had problems in the wet. Not by pure race determination to break through. He drove a race of waiting for opportunities to come to him rather than make it happen which is a mark of a true champion. That is why Vettel is special, making a disadvantage of 8th position into a podium of 3rd.That is why Hamilton is special, making 3rd into 1st.

[journeyman racer]

Vettel benefittd from a fortunately timed stop. Rosberg caught up 1.5-2 seconds a lap when the conditions were at their most compromising. That explanation is a fail.

[Nitrodaze]

Vettel benefittd from a fortunately timed stop.
Being able to read the race and take the sort of actions that is a game changer that exploits the changing situation and redefine what is attainable is a mark of a true champion. That is what separates Vettel, Hamilton and Alonso from the rest of the grid.
Vettels moving from 8th to 3rd was not simply fortuitous, it was calculated and executed with determination. Not something to be belittled. I like Rosberg, but to be objective, he did not bring about a worthy challenge which most of us were hoping to see.

[journeyman racer]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I just wanted to know why Rosberg was able to catch up to Hamilton at an abnormal rate, when conditions meant the driver contributed most to performance. Not everything other than that.

[Nitrodaze]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I just wanted to know why Rosberg was able to catch up to Hamilton at an abnormal rate, when conditions meant the driver contributed most to performance. Not everything other than that.
I that case, l suppose the wetter part of track where Hamilton was, was 2 seconds a lap slower than the drier part of the track that Rosberg was. Same car, different track conditions. Nothing particularly spectacular going on buddy.

[Jag_Warrior]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I just wanted to know why Rosberg was able to catch up to Hamilton at an abnormal rate, when conditions meant the driver contributed most to performance. Not everything other than that.

Cause he's magic like that.

[journeyman racer]

I that case, l suppose the wetter part of track where Hamilton was, was 2 seconds a lap slower than the drier part of the track that Rosberg was. Same car, different track conditions. Nothing particularly spectacular going on buddy.
If you've got no idea. then don't bother trying.


Cause he's magic like that.
More plausible than what Nitrodaze has said.

[Nitrodaze]

If you've got no idea. then don't bother trying.

Oh Rosberg, How sublime he drove. Like a magic carpet, he floated across the wet tracks of Silverstone like nothing since Fangio. Blinding drive wasn't it. With a bit of luck he would have won the race, don't you think.

hmm

[The Black Knight]

Oh Rosberg, How sublime he drove. Like a magic carpet, he floated across the wet tracks of Silverstone like nothing since Fangio. Blinding drive wasn't it. With a bit of luck he would have won the race, don't you think.

hmm

The tire pressures on Hamilton's car had gone down and due to this his tires were finished. That's why Rosberg was so much faster.

[rjbetty]

The tire pressures on Hamilton's car had gone down and due to this his tires were finished. That's why Rosberg was so much faster.


NO! Everyone should just admit that this proves Nico Rosberg is much better than Lewis and always was. :D

[journeyman racer]

Oh Rosberg, How sublime he drove. Like a magic carpet, he floated across the wet tracks of Silverstone like nothing since Fangio. Blinding drive wasn't it. With a bit of luck he would have won the race, don't you think.

hmm
Like I said. If you've got no idea, don't bother trying.


The tire pressures on Hamilton's car had gone down and due to this his tires were finished. That's why Rosberg was so much faster.
Hamilton's tyres may've been finished, and the pressures may've gone down. But Hamilton stopped on lap 20, and Rosberg stopped on lap 21. Rosberg had the disadvantage of being stuck in the dirty air of both Williams, effects the tyres even more that the clear air Hamilton was in. Whatever Hamilton suffered. In theory, Rosberg should've suffered as well.

Can you explain why Hamilton's tyres were shot and pressures fell because of it, and Rosberg's car didn't suffer?


NO! Everyone should just admit that this proves Nico Rosberg is much better than Lewis and always was. :D
Even with the smilie. It's a bit of an exaggeration, isn't it?

[The Black Knight]

Hamilton's tyres may've been finished, and the pressures may've gone down. But Hamilton stopped on lap 20, and Rosberg stopped on lap 21. Rosberg had the disadvantage of being stuck in the dirty air of both Williams, effects the tyres even more that the clear air Hamilton was in. Whatever Hamilton suffered. In theory, Rosberg should've suffered as well.

Can you explain why Hamilton's tyres were shot and pressures fell because of it, and Rosberg's car didn't suffer?

Well, the likelihood, is that he simply managed his tires better on this occasion. It's not the first time we've seen Rosberg be faster than Hamilton in those conditions due to better tire management. I think this area is probably Hamilton's greatest and, possibly only, weakness as a driver right now. It's an area he needs to improve on. If he can do that, I think he would be the quickest and most complete driver on the grid, even surpassing Alonso.

[AndyL]

Here's my guess at why it happened like that. When rain starts to fall, it often results in gaps closing up. There is a psychological effect of the current leader feeling they have more to lose in the treacherous conditions, and a practical one in that the leader is the pathfinder who has to guess the grip on each part of the track, while the follower can gauge the leader's pace. The effect becomes self-reinforcing as the follower pushes harder, and keeps more heat in their tyres, while the leader drives a little more conservatively and as a result loses tyre temperature sooner.

[journeyman racer]

Well, at least that gives me something to think about.

My guess is that in the position of desperation. Rosberg just smoked him, and Hamilton had no answer on the track. If Rosberg was annoyed. I suspect he'd be ruing the fact he had Hamilton's number, but his advantage was negated by a fortunately timed stop and rain tyres.

[journeyman racer]

Well, at least that gives me something to think about.

My guess is that in the position of desperation. Rosberg just smoked him, and Hamilton had no answer on the track. If Rosberg was annoyed. I suspect he'd be ruing the fact he had Hamilton's number, but his advantage was negated by a fortunately timed stop and rain tyres.

[jens]

As long as I have followed F1, even during a race there are fluctuations. Sometimes driver A is lapping faster, sometimes Driver B. There is no reason to overanalyze one specific part where Rosberg was faster. Hamilton beat him fair and square by the chequered flag.

It reminds me some of the early season arguments that Räikkönen was "faster" than Vettel, just because in some parts of the race he seemed to have better lap-times. This despite Vettel finishing well ahead at the chequered flag. Let's not start clutching at straws.

[The Black Knight]

As long as I have followed F1, even during a race there are fluctuations. Sometimes driver A is lapping faster, sometimes Driver B. There is no reason to overanalyze one specific part where Rosberg was faster. Hamilton beat him fair and square by the chequered flag.

It reminds me some of the early season arguments that Räikkönen was "faster" than Vettel, just because in some parts of the race he seemed to have better lap-times. This despite Vettel finishing well ahead at the chequered flag. Let's not start clutching at straws.

Yup, exactly. No one driver can get it right all the time. It's the ones that get it right the most that distinguish the good from the great. For example, take how Hamilton has pretty much obliterated Rosberg last and especially this year. Rosberg is a very lucky boy to be so close to Hamilton in this years championship indeed. There should realistically be a net 34 points between them. It's only due to the Monaco fiasco he's less than a race win to him but I'm sure that will all balance itself out throughout the year, either through reliability or another Mercedes blunder. But with a 5-3 win ratio (should be 6-2) and 8-1 in qualifying, all in Hamilton's favor, those statistics speak for themselves. But, as I said, I'm sure it will all even out even though there may be one or two further races where Rosberg has 5-10 minutes duration of being fast than Hamilton.

[journeyman racer]

As long as I have followed F1, even during a race there are fluctuations. Sometimes driver A is lapping faster, sometimes Driver B. There is no reason to overanalyze one specific part where Rosberg was faster. Hamilton beat him fair and square by the chequered flag.

It reminds me some of the early season arguments that Räikkönen was "faster" than Vettel, just because in some parts of the race he seemed to have better lap-times. This despite Vettel finishing well ahead at the chequered flag. Let's not start clutching at straws.
I asked a specific question.

I could ask about any moment in the race (anyone could ask any question), like why the Williams beat the MB off the line? But I specifically asked about Rosberg's pace, because if was a remarkable gain and an unexpected performance.

Do you understand?

[jens]

I asked a specific question.

I could ask about any moment in the race (anyone could ask any question), like why the Williams beat the MB off the line? But I specifically asked about Rosberg's pace, because if was a remarkable gain and an unexpected performance.

Do you understand?

Ok :)

[rjbetty]

I think the general feeling/consensus was that Hamilton's lack of pace in that little portion of race owed a lot to a setup mistake - too much understeer, which caused problems heating up the tyres. This is basically what I heard. Just happens I guess. He didn't get it right that time.

I think that's probably true as form doesn't show Hamilton struggles too much in the wet. There was Japan last year for example, where Rosberg was overtaken around the outside in Japan last year in the rain - with Hamilton faster by such a margin (and for longer) it had dj on here screaming and spluttering that it was SO unfair! :p

EDIT: Not to do Rosberg down though. He did a fine job I think. I have always rated him highly as has TBK IIRC... or was it truefan, now I cant remember. I certainly think he's pushed Hamilton more than Jenson did.

[jens]

EDIT: Not to do Rosberg down though. He did a fine job I think. I have always rated him highly as has TBK IIRC... or was it truefan, now I cant remember. I certainly think he's pushed Hamilton more than Jenson did.

It is certainly an interesting claim. While Rosberg and Button have pretty different strengths, their net result compared to Hamilton has basically been the same. Obviously there was one season, where Hamilton fell apart and Button beat him (2011). Other than that it has been LH ahead most of the time with his team-mate occasionally also getting a better result, but usually finishing 5-10-20 seconds down the road.

So if NR and JB were driving in the same team, I think they'd basically even in points. Would be a fantastic battle.:p:

[rjbetty]

I forgot to mention though that since Jenson tends to drive better the better the car is, he would probably do very well in the Mercedes, while Rosberg's racecraft is a little suspect, something I noticed back in the MS days, and he might have suffered more if he was driving the McLaren instead of Jenson, being much more in the pack than he is with the Mercedes.

[The Black Knight]

I think the general feeling/consensus was that Hamilton's lack of pace in that little portion of race owed a lot to a setup mistake - too much understeer, which caused problems heating up the tyres. This is basically what I heard. Just happens I guess. He didn't get it right that time.

I think that's probably true as form doesn't show Hamilton struggles too much in the wet. There was Japan last year for example, where Rosberg was overtaken around the outside in Japan last year in the rain - with Hamilton faster by such a margin (and for longer) it had dj on here screaming and spluttering that it was SO unfair! :p

EDIT: Not to do Rosberg down though. He did a fine job I think. I have always rated him highly as has TBK IIRC... or was it truefan, now I cant remember. I certainly think he's pushed Hamilton more than Jenson did.

I don't know about true fan but I have always rated Rosberg's driving ability extremely high and I stated before Hamilton went to Mercedes that I didn't think he would be as easy to surmount as Button. I was right!

It's only when he cheats (especially when he gets away with it twice) that I have had an issue with him. If he beats Hamilton in a straight fair fight then I'll always be totally fine with that!

[rjbetty]

I have always rated Rosberg's driving ability extremely high. It's only when he cheats (especially when he gets away with it twice) that I have had an issue with him. If he beats Hamilton in a straight fair fight then I'll always be totally fine with that!

Aha so it was you, thought so. Yup that's how I feel. As for cheating I wasn't happy with Monaco, cos nothing was acknowleged but what really got me was that somehow, Hamilton was the one who came out that episode as the bad guy and it was left at that! Especially by that, and sorry for this, but that pr1ck Warwick (I didn't care so much about Stewart since I expect nothing less). The way I've always understood things, that's messed up.

I too was very disappointed in Nico as I also thought he was better than that.

Any bitterness over that is maybe justified, it sure beats being bitter because my favourite driver was 'smoked' by Ricciardo (oh I'm being naughty).

I know you have always congratulated Rosberg when he wins fairly. That's why I'm not sure why JR says we're a stain on motorsport :confused: ??

Especially when M.Schumacher comes in for so much disdain for cheating, but then Nico does the same thing and it's nothing to see here and no-one should be unhappy about it.

Just like Keke actually.

[The Black Knight]

Aha so it was you, thought so. Yup that's how I feel. As for cheating I wasn't happy with Monaco, cos nothing was acknowleged but what really got me was that somehow, Hamilton was the one who came out that episode as the bad guy and it was left at that! Especially by that, and sorry for this, but that pr1ck Warwick (I didn't care so much about Stewart since I expect nothing less). The way I've always understood things, that's messed up.

I too was very disappointed in Nico as I also thought he was better than that.

Any bitterness over that is maybe justified, it sure beats being bitter because my favourite driver was 'smoked' by Ricciardo (oh I'm being naughty).

I know you have always congratulated Rosberg when he wins fairly. That's why I'm not sure why JR says we're a stain on motorsport :confused: ??

Especially when M.Schumacher comes in for so much disdain for cheating, but then Nico does the same thing and it's nothing to see here and no-one should be unhappy about it.

Just like Keke actually.

Well, he's clearly not better than that. However, he may have learned his lesson although, from his intentionally trying to delay Hamilton in Malaysia qualifying this year I have my doubts, though time will tell. I'll always give a driver his due for winning a race as long as it's won fairly on the track. Yeah, the same people that dis Michael Schumacher defend Rosberg. What gives, eh? It all comes down to whom they have a personal gripe with, for whatever reason, in the end.