Although its harsh on Rosberg the only way this becomes a easy decision is if Rosberg DNFs in Spa and Hamilton gets a good haul. I think Rosberg is very almost the finished product and its a balancing act between mentally breaking him and doing whats best for the team (in the shape of Hamilton). Who knows what Webbers going to be like for the rest of the season and whilst Massa is seemingly getting worse and Grosjean is erratic, it means Mercedes have a very real chance at the WCC if Rosberg and Hamilton keep it up. For reasons I said in my previous post if Hamilton outscores Rosberg by any amount in Spa then the gap vs remaining points situation should make it only sensible to back Hamilton for an attempt at the title. But since Mercedes are closer to Red Bull than Hamilton is to Vettel they should also look at keeping Rosbergs head from dropping to protect that challenge as well.
The question to consider is whether they really consider themselves to be in with a realistic bid for the Driver's Championship. If they are not, all that matters is the teams' standing at the end of the season; with both drivers out for themselves. Whatever the decision, it must be absolutely clear when it is made – and there is no going back! If a team's position in the standings is not already clear at decision time, making a bid for the WDC can result in a team finishing further down the order than it might otherwise have… I really don't know how Brawn is reading this yet; but my guess is that he will postpone any such decision until things become clearer. Of course, as you say, Dhel, this allows the possibility of fewer final points for one's eventual title contender! Nonetheless, I still think it's a little too soon for Mercedes to be seriously considering a bid for either Championship this season. Therefore, at least for the moment, I just don't think it's realistic. Cosicave....while I agree with most of your points in your last post my idea of mercedes march to a strong title contender will obviously depend on Rosberg doing well also. He needs to place as high as he can so as to take as many points off Vettel, Alonso and Kimi as possible and if he and Lewis can finish above those three then the team will get the points needed to finish high in the constructors as well as the drivers championships. So Rosberg must try to qualify as high as possible along with Lewis and if the can do that for the next couple of races then I believe Vettel will start to push the panic button, especially if the lotus and Ferrari make step forward come the next race, because that will mean they will qualify higher and will be biting at Vettel's tail much earlier in the races. My opinion..lol what do you think?
I agree that both driver must do well to challenge Vettel and for the constructors too...and that is why I can see them pushing to lock out the front and pressuring the others from there, but because Hamilton has a good lead on Rosberg right now if he takes points off Hamilton then it will ****** the team's chances of winning the drivers title. How would it look and how would they feel if They lose by the number of points that Rosberg took off Lewis in one of the races? See my point? I really do think they have to make a serious run of it now, if they fail at the end then at least they would have tried their best. Vettel wins because Red Bull puts most of their eggs in one basket for the get go of the first race, mercedes isn't doing that, but they have to look at it now at the halfway stage.
All that said though...all this depends on what package Ferrari and Lotus come with from the next race. I am sure they wouldn't be lying down and playing dead during the break. I will bet they will come with much quicker cars come the next race and don't be surprised to see them qualify much higher in the second half. You can see the spark coming back in kimi's eyes. You could see by his defending that he really wants to do well. Alonso will also be trying to make a comeback after the disappointment of the last race, So watch out for those guys. Vettel too will try to stretch the gap too. But, the question remains, will he play the cautious game to protect his lead or will be play the attack game if he is not in the lead and risk losing points? Those questions will be answered over the next few weeks. What would you do in Vettel's shoes though?
My answer is applicable to every top-level sport: To come out on top as the final winner in anything, one must focus upon one's own strengths and not become diverted by what others are doing. Of course, this is far easier when well out in front, so let's look at the current situation. Vettel's lead is bigger now than at any previous stage this season. In theory at least, he would appear to have already broken the camel's back. If he just keeps doing what he's been doing, he can have no regrets about the outcome. Meanwhile, any would-be challenger needs to become even more focussed because with an ever-declining number of opportunities left, they have a bigger and bigger mountain to climb…
Red Bull had been having issues with kers in the last race, they have had this problem in previous years and haven't been able to fully get on top of this. We all suspect it is because of the bare-bones construction of their cars which is a part of their makeup to help them go faster and perform so well. We have seen this problem raised its head on both cars last race, do you think this will be an issue in the second half of the season? If kers gives a boost especially to aid overtaking how do you see this affecting the Red Bulls?
If Vettel is made to juggle 2 balls (Himself and Lewis/(Alonso or Kimi) ) he will win the WDC by avoiding all contact bar that driver. Mercedes best chance for Lewis to win the WDC and beat Vettel is to allow Nico to fight the good fight until he is mathematically out and give Seb another hurdle to struggle with until that time. Lewis should just focus staying ahead of Nico 24/7 and keep Nico's confidence at the top and hopefully keep him ahead of Seb. But it's only going to work that way if Mercedes treat both drivers equally and until Rosberg cannot win it anymore, if they do it now they would of turned a potential weapon into another Felipe Massa who is unable to act like a buffer to their outside rivals because his confidence is nothing and that he knows for a FACT! that he isn't allowed to win anymore. If you make Vettel juggle 4-5 balls like Alonso had to do in 2010 then Lewis has his chance to gain Vettel, going to the past by using "1 driver teams" and making it a 1 v 1 WDC will not work with Seb and Red Bull I promise you that as the pressure would be off and he will dominate.
One driver team? But Red Bull employs that tactic from the get go..race 1.. And they win. I am not advocating that mercedes do that, what I am saying is now that the season is at half way stage they must now think about making that decision. Vettel is more than 40 points ahead of Hamilton and the mercedes team must now consolidate and make a team decision on how to overhaul those points, and the best way is to give the driver with a bigger points haul who has a better chance to challenge for the title, the go ahead. Rosberg will have a very important part in that drive and his role will be just as important as Lewis'. And while some people think he will be demoralized I personally think he will be more respected as he will also run at the front and make it harder for Vettel, Alonso and Kimi. As I said it is better to assist the team to a championship than fight against you team mate at this stage and lose. If Massa had done better and taken points off Vettel Alonso would have been the champion today right? Massa didn't and Vettel is still champion. Massa is no longer seen as a big threat and is likely to lose his seat at Ferrari next year. I believe if he had taken points off Vettel enough to have pushed Alonso to the title he would have been more respected and for sure his place in the team would have been sure. Rosberg will have his chance as he is a quick driver. The only thing I worry about him is that he doesn't seem to have the same killer instinct as say Vettel, Lewis, Kimi or Alonso. Those guys look for spaces and make their moves decisively, and they wring everything out of their cars to ensure they get the best results. I might be wrong, but I am yet to see that from Rosberg. I really want to see him do well because he is one of my favorite drivers. I like his attitude on and off the track but he needs to be a little more aggressive, that's why I think Lewis will always get the better of him once he is settled in the team. Just my opinion.
Vettel will still be juggling four or five balls but the difference is one of the balls will be a lot smaller and harder to keep in his hands...lol because his lead will keep getting smaller and smaller and more difficult to maintain...lol. I can't wait til they start again and get those questions answered. I think we will see a pattern develop from the first two races after the break.
Lol...you are killing me!. Well we will see if he has the balls to do it when the season restarts...lol
If he doesn't bolt on a new and working kers unit he might just go nuts before the end of the season. Lol
Anyway guys I am going to get ready for work now but we will continue this conversation in a little while. I know some of you are fast asleep right now but we will continue the arguments as to who is the biggest threat and what the strategy will be for the rest of the season..see you in a little while.
Ha! I think this discussion provides a very good example of the fact that strategic thinking is far from simple. Good arguments are being presented from all sides, which surely demonstrates that any decision is far from clear cut and has the potential to be flawed. Ultimately, making such a decision at this juncture is a gamble. Equally, it might be that such a gamble is required. And yes, still equally: any such gamble needs to be well-timed, since is has the potential to back-fire. How will Mercedes play their hand? I think we'll just have to wait and see…
Fully agree cosi, Spa and Monza become two crucial races both for the championship but also for the intra team battles. Who would want to be a team boss in this scenario! Brawn has got an interesting decision to potentially make very soon which could affect the harmony within the team...
See? You are so right! I think it will boil down to who plays the better hand as strategy will play a very important part in the final outcome, so I expect this second have will be filled with unexpected twists and turns. I personally am in favoured of mercedes looking for a basket and start putting in some of the eggs now...lol
1: Nico only cares about his WDC chances, nobody elses. I bet you he would find it very condescending of Mercedes if they came up to him saying, "but don't worry you will be allowed to race for 2nd." He will tell them to stick it because he is measuring VERY well against Lewis in what seems equal equipment and his stock has risen deservedly. Nico should actually be much closer to Lewis in the WDC with about 20-25 pts thrown away through no fault of his own. If anything Mercedes owe Rosberg a podium or 2 for costing him so much this season with rubbish reliability and that Lewis' side doesn't seem to suffer that so it's doubly frustrating for him I bet. 2: Yes he would of if Ferrari hadn't of smashed any confidence he had left, Massa's biggest enemy became his own team in the end just so it could suit Alonso with gear box changing or illegal team orders and that's why I don't want Rosberg to turn into another husk. Trying or not Rosberg's confidence will be destroyed and his performance will plummet and anger will sink in against Lewis and Mercedes for screwing him over *in what he believes* being treated a no 2 driver from that second Lewis walked in by looking at the reliability count. This being promised equality the day Schumacher left and signing that new contract. He would be unable to act the buffer for Lewis because a bad mindset for him will help Seb sneak in ahead of him all the time no matter how good the car is. 3: That's really interesting because I don't think Lewis or Kimi have that killer instinct either like Vettel and Alonso. Webber and Button IMO are more ruthless than Lewis and Kimi, they can just hide it better than their younger peers can but that wasn't really a factor of their careers by getting the knives out when needed, so I don't think that's a factor for Rosberg. Fittipaldi, Fangio, G.Hill, Stewart and Clark are some drivers which I consider non ruthless yet great drivers so for me attitude isn't a factor for success, just an ego problem. If you asked me which drivers I would reckon would drive into a rival for the WDC I would say Alonso and Vettel only, Lewis and Co. would not step over that line IMO.
You might think I am nuts, but the only way to put in spanner in Red Bulls championship and put the brakes on Vettel's march to the title is to clamp him down on him now or he will bolt away with the championship.. And not one man jack in the other teams will be able to do anything about it. Lol
If you asked me which drivers I would reckon would drive into a rival for the WDC I would say Alonso and Vettel only, Lewis and Co. would not step over that line IMO. While I agree with you there you have to admit that Lewis is the kind of guy that says I don't care what this car has in it I will wring everything out of it and stick it on the front row even if it doesn't have the legs to run the race. He did that many times at his former team and I want to see more of that from Rosberg too. Yes he already has a few poles for mercedes but those were quite easy with Lewis his closest challenger, but I was very surprised that he was so far away from Lewis in the last poll shoot out. I am sure if he was on the front row too that mercedes would have knocked the Red Bulls a little further back.
