Ive read several stories and interviews from Lewis Hamilton where he mentions he is struggling getting used to the car and not up to his best yet. But this has all come about now after losing to his team mate in the last few races. Lewis is know for being a Qualifying specialist but has been outpaced in the last 3 grand prixs to pole position at a time Mercedes have come to the forefront. So is he making excuses? He has been getting a lot of criticism from people recently mostly due to his dog and star of the paddock, Roscoe. But he reminds me of a young Jenson button who once he left Williams on loan to Bennetton became a playboy and had the freedom to do what he wanted. After a few years down the road I think Jenson matured and realised what he really wanted, And that is F1 glory and so he worked harder than ever to get there (maybe by luck in the end). In fact most drivers go through this phase. so maybe Hamilton will get this kick up the bum soon enough too.
It's a difficult one. Rosberg has had the better of him in the last 2 races and by some way. The car will be a lot different to last years McLaren so doubtless there is some adjustment needed. It may be that as Lewis has a more relaxed atmosphere at Mercedes, he is not doing so much analytical work so if he is not getting to grips with the car, is he spending enough time at the factory trying to find the solution? He's not been a million miles off Rosberg, but most people were expecting him to be ahead. Aside from Spain, his results have been pretty solid though and much more than Mercedes were expected to get so between him and Rosberg they are getting more out of the Mercedes than Rosberg/Schuey combo did.
I think the tyres have taken a bit of confidence away from Lewis in his performance Give him a decent set of wheels and he will outpace anybody in the same car over a lap
I think we should wait and see for another few races, Rosberg has been excellent but it can take drivers time to settle in a new team when they have been used to a certain system for so long remember Raikkonen went through a phase at this precise point last year where Grosjean outperformed him for 3-4 race weekends as Kimi was still getting used to the team and the steering. Also aside from his dismal race in Barcelona the margins have been very small In Bahrain he still convincingly outraced Nico and there was barely anything between them in Monaco Qualifying. (Q3) I don't think it's the time for him to press the panic button It's hardly what Button went through last year when against Lewis from Spain through to Germany. But he now knows how much of a formidable opponent Nico will be.
It could be a bit of both really. Rosberg has had longer in the team and had more time to come to terms with the tyre chewing nature of the Merc. On the other hand, I think Hamilton is letting Rosberg beat him mentally somewhat. Rosberg seems to be getting to him recently and I'm not sure whether this will affect Hamilton positively or negatively. Canada might give a better answer... but they seem to be fairly evenly matched. Rosberg has had the slight edge recently though for sure.
This is a valid thread/question, Bando. The first thing I'd like to say is that some time ago I mentioned that Hamilton would not be properly up to speed in this car until around about his 'home' Grand Prix: Silverstone. Secondly, during his career so far, Rosberg has done a solid job but suffered the unenviable label of F1's greatest enigma, which became even more difficult to remove when teamed with Schumacher. Thirdly, Rosberg has always had a very good reputation for his qualifying; and of course, he's well established in the team and knows the car very well. That said, the pressure is now on Hamilton to address the situation. Even though it is his first season with the team, if he does not finish the end of the season with more points than Rosberg and at least an equal qualifying tally, his reputation will be bound to suffer.
Rosberg is fast on an empty track, when he has to mix it he often loses out, whereas Lewis is built for racing rather than going around fast, he also wants to push the car further than the tyres will let him, another reason why the tyres are ****ing up the racing, I don;t think it'll be long before Hamilton is beating Rosberg fairly comfortably.
if you have seen the car comparisons of qualifying between Hamilton and Rosberg that has been shown by the BBC and SKY before the race you can see a clear difference. And that difference is set up. It will be interesting to see what happens this weekend at montreal which is where Lewis won his first race.
I think historically Rosberg has been quite strong in this period, now the season enters Lewis' area; Canada, Great Britain, Nurburgring and Spa.
Took the words out of my keyboard.. he's been a strong starter and tends to fade... however he may have more motivation this year to keep going till the end, esp. if Merc. continue to improve, I can see him giving Hamilton trouble all season!
Well if Rosberg beats Hamilton at Canada in both quali and the race then he's being struggling but I cant see it happening and Rosberg is just beating him I think
Rosberg is an old mate of Hamilton and they get along fine, I think that Nico is exploiting his better understanding of the Merc and this has naturally caused Lewis to slightly lose his confidence, Lewis has already stated his lack of faith in the Merc's ability to brake, I am confident that when he regain's his full confidence once again, the old Hamilton magic will reappear and like Miggins say's what we really need is some fit for purpose ****ing racing tyres to re-ignite Hammy's fire.
Yeah... I don't think it's anything to be too concerned about. I worry more about Hamilton letting it get to him than anything else. He just needs to keep on plugging away.
I think he's fishing for excuses. He went to Mercedes, obviously expected to trounce Britney, and it just isn't happening the way he thought it would, so he's doing what british drivers do best, when the chips are down, make boring excuses.
Vettel would make a story up LITERALLY! Journalist: "Sebastian what happend out there?" Vettel: "Well you see..." *10 mins later* Vettel: "All in all it was a **** day."
