What simply bothers me is certain posters coming on here having a rant about certain drivers and their fans, without even bothering to read any other part of the thread/forum, then have to back-track and try and jusitfy their rant by saying 'oh it's what always happens when so-and-so wins', even though it doesn't! Seems some still think we're in old 606 and assume all teh WUMmery that went on there still happens here. Reality check boys - it doesn't!
I would rather just get on with it that Lewis and Nico are going to win the WDC and enjoy the battle for 3rd. It will take some kind of 1 second miracle by Red Bull or Ferrari in Spain to put those 2 guys under any form of stress. Nico or Lewis will very likely win the title, accept it and move on I say and accept the rest are just fighting for 3rd place = 1st place for LMP2 lol! We have no control over that and no matter how much moaning or bitching is going to change that while the other designers, engineers and drivers are staying quietly focused and not losing their marbles like the fans are.
Hopefully the battle between Ham and Ros will be like 1988 Prost/Senna, so at least their fans/detractors will have something to keep them interested through the season. If it becomes totally one sided, aka 2011 and 2nd half 2013, then it will be a turn-off again for the majority of casual F1 fans. No one wants to see that.
He could've lost a lap in that car and still got 2nd, I think he performed exactly as I thought he would, he was fast when there was nothing in front of him but had to wait for either the pit or the DRS to manage to overtake cars 2 seconds slower than his, he's not a racing driver, I think he would make a fairly decent rally driver though, as he wouldn't have to overtake anyone, which seems to suit him. only if Keke wanders around the MB garage the night before a race with a spanner that goes missing somewhere.
To be fair he has been the first Mercedes driver this year that has had to overtake a car for position on track. maybe the car is not very good behind dirty air?
Me and sarge noticed his DRS wasn't working properly, that or he knew he wouldn't need it so I don't think they struggle in dirty air that much. Nico also sounded like he was just managing the car to catch and pass Alonso in due time, he also kept asking how his pace was with Alonso and asking if he should push yet etc...
Good post Cosicave. I do always look out for your posts. Whilst mostly just observe I do occasionally throw my 2-pence worth into the mix and this post is about Mercedes. It's clear that certain people have their favourites and some are still able to be objective whilst others are completely blind. Most are reasonable though. I'm not surprised Mercedes is the best car but am at the level of domination... I thought this would happen last year in an old thread saying that Hamilton would win some races in 2013 (only 1 in the end) but he was waiting for this year to go for the title. Also the reason he signed with them, with a bedding in year to know the team and then this year to challenge. (Can't remember who said that Bernie suggested to him the Mercedes move but thanks I didn't know that and that was interesting). But I'd rather talk about this year. Bahrain was a crucial race. Nico had a better set up, option tyres (and was Lewis' engine down by some power? He was 20 kph slower in the speed traps all race!? Not sure), and simply had to win a race which is `one of his'. If Lewis had lost it wouldn't have been too bad (for reasons just stated), but for Nico to lose, psychologically would have been worse considering this was one of his tracks and the advantage he had. He was disappointed. Fast forward to China and Nico again lost, but the body language on the podium was even worse than in Bahrain and says it all. He is dejected, he says he'll win in Spain (just like he said about China) but I wonder whether he genuinely believes it. Despite still leading the championship he is down in confidence. The one thing about Lewis this season is that psychologically he is in a `zen' place. Even after going down 25 points in the first race to his closest rival for the title, he was not phased in the slightest. During this last year instead of moaning he'll say "that's motor racing!". He `believes' he can beat Nico in every race, and now he knows it. This mental edge he has now (I think) will see him to the title over Nico... I thought China would be good for Nico but didn't realise Lewis has some wins there as well. Monaco is the only one I'd be betting on Nico at the moment for the win. But he will win more races, but will he win more races than Lewis? I don't think so... An interesting point is now (correct me if I'm wrong) Lewis has 4 wins for Merc and Nico 3 (since 2013 with Lewis as a team mate). But if you look at Nico's win record, the Silverstone 2013 win was when Lewis' tyres exploded (and was leading comfortably), and Australia 2014 win was when Lewis' engine packed up (after qualifying on pole). Leaving his Monaco win (which was impressive) as his only win where he beat Lewis `fair and square' and won. Although he beat Lewis in other races, but not also for the race win. Anyway ramblings over...
Nice post A-C So maybe the only way Nico can win is if he bursts Lewis's bubble of 'Zen'. Maybe he should have an affair with Nicole that should do it . In all seriousness though I think Lewis has the upper hand on Nico and looking at the remaining races he is very strong at almost all of them. Nico has to do something extra if he wants to win. As Silver would say, its Lewis's championship to lose
^ He's not a racing driver, he has no balls, Bahrain is a typical example of Rosberg, any other driver (with the possible exception of Chilton) would've got passed Hamilton, Rosberg just rolled over and had his tummy tickled
he needs Kobayashi banzai balls. The trouble is, if he gets them he won't know what to do with them, he'll get so confused he'll probably end up doing a romain 2012.
Yeah Nico has to fight him on track properly or Lewis will walk over him and I wont feel sorry for him. Lewis was bossing him about in Bahrain where Nico should of stuck his foot out and punished him or made contact to scare Lewis into submission. Lewis stared him down and Nico blinked multiple times during that scuffle.
no, he ran for his comfort blanket, stuck his thumb in his mouth and cried for mummy. Rosberg is beaten already, his only hope is for the others to catch up or lewis implode.
I must have been watching another race, because Rosberg was trying to find a way around but Hamilton was making it bloody hard for him. I'd hardly say Rosberg rolled over. The only times that Rosberg was really poor in that battle was when Hamilton invited him on, and he was suckered in. You'd expect him to be wise to that move.
Guys what do you think of this? Seems like Red Bull is sounding the battle cry...I wonder if Newey can get them the ammunition they need this year and quickly? And if they get the ammunition will Vettel be up to speed with this years car? But would you say Mercedes is "Rattled and Sweating"? lol.... or is Red Bull playing a bluff? Red Bull hit back at Mercedes as fallout from 'Fuelgate' controversy continues 'Red Bull Spy' argues title rivals 'rattled and sweating' By Sky Sports Online. Last Updated: 22/04/14 11:44am Share: 3 20 Sky Bet 2014 Drivers' Championship Lewis Hamilton 8/15 Nico Rosberg 15/8 Sebastian Vettel 6/1 2014 Constructors' Championship Bet with Sky Bet Red Bull have taken a swipe at Mercedes over their rivals' attempts to get their punishment for Daniel Ricciardo's Australian GP disqualification increased, accusing the championship leaders of being 'rattled'. The release of the International Court of Appeal's full verdict into last week's hearing, which upheld Red Bull's exclusion for infringing fuel-flow rates, detailed that in their written submissions Mercedes had called for "a more severe sanction of a ban of no less than three races, plus a disqualification for a further six months, suspended for a year" to be imposed on the World Champions. Mercedes, however, stressed during the course of the Chinese GP weekend that by the time their lawyer delivered their views to the court in Paris they had toned down their stance and instead called for a suspended sentence only, which took precedence. Red Bull's FIA battle Nevertheless, Mercedes' active appearance at the hearing has been viewed in many quarters as essentially the Brackley team's 'payback' for the strong opposition Red Bull took against them in their 'secret' tyre test hearing last season. Delivered through the acerbic, and anonymous, mouthpiece of their 'Red Bull spy' in a post on the team's official website, the World Champions have now had their say on why they reckon Mercedes got involved. 'The big news we're digesting is that the playful scamps at Merc decided to have a good old sticky-beak at our appeal and requested we receive a three-race ban,' the post read. 'There's a few pursed lips from our management at that but they've decided to rise above it and not comment - but down here at the coalface you can be sure we're telling out mates in the next garage along where they can shove that three-pointed star. 'Actually it's quite reassuring: it means we're getting close enough to get them rattled and sweating a bit. Back in February that looked pretty unlikely. At least that's what Spy thinks: it seems we've undergone a change in the last couple of weeks. On Sky Sports F1 Midweek Report 23rd April April 23, 2014 8:30pm Get a Sky Sports Day PassUpgrade to Sky Sports 'It's going to be a long time before we completely understand this car but we've gone past the stage of just trying to get it to work and are now into the stage of trying to make it go faster.' In addition to tension with Mercedes, Red Bull also become involved in a public war-of-words over the course of the Chinese GP with McLaren over the services of leading aerodynamist Dan Fallows. Mercedes' fourth consecutive victory in last Sunday's Chinese GP has increased their Constructors' Championship lead over holders Red Bull to 97 points.
sorry but Rosberg did the same half hearted moves each lap, didn't try to vary his attack, fake anything at all and pulled out of each move early, he's an apalling racer imo and I've never seen anything from him to change my mind. The only thing I can think of to say in his defence is maybe the radio messages prior to the restart were team orders.
It's clear teams like Red Bull and Ferrari are starting to put together their car to an equal degree of what Mercedes have been this season. Renault are continuing to increase the hp of the power unit and still have 50 more to give I hear, plus more stability and understanding of how to setup the car properly after hardly any testing. Red Bull should be closer come Spain that's when Marko said the RB10 should be about ready to fight for the WDC or forget beating Mercedes, so I guess Newey might of been busy all those months after pre-season testing with him "going back to the drawing board", we might even see a B-spec car if on the extreme level if they want to close 2 second gap to Mercedes. Spain will make or break Vettel's title defence in my opinion and considering Newey wasn't in China he must be very busy for this upgrade to work as much as possible.
