Vettel might not be getting the most out of these new cars, but a sub-par driver doesn't win 4 titles back-to-back. I wouldn't write him off just yet!
They couldn't get the tape off. Hamilton still had his on at the end and in both his and Rosberg's pit stop one of the pit crew almost lost his hand trying to pull off the tape.
I hope they pay those pit crew plenty...it's certainly a risk putting your hand between those wheels and the team trying to make a quick pit stop. It looked really frightening.
I used to have a link to a site that allowed you to view side by side driver lap time comparisons but can't seem to find it, and my history is just jam packed and can't seem to find it there either. Anyone know of a site like that?
Why was Hamilton put on the primes? Alonso went further on options. He wouldn't have been stuck behind alsonso for so bloody long. I wonder if it was the team or Hamiltons choice?
It might have paid off had Hamilton been able to get around Alonso. It was a good strategy, but Alonso spoiled the party.
He just didn't have the grip on the primes, I feel the two tyres looked even in longevity but the speed was hugely different. If Lewis had put on the options I feel he would have won.
Realistically everyone in the top 3 would have snapped your arm off if you offered them this before the race.
You know what they say about hindsight. They expected Alonso to pit and failing that, Hamilton to clear him. Neither happened.
Thanks, not the one I'm looking for though. The one I'm looking for allows you to choose two drivers and see a lap by lap list of times and gaps.
Watching the highlights, it is clear there is nothing wrong with the current crop of F1 cars, once they get themselves evened out, which will hopefully happen next year. The downforce, grip, power levels etc all seem about right to allow the drivers to go side-by-side, slingshot, dive and just bang into each other! Interesting that the Mercedes just don't seem to cope well in mixed conditions. Maybe Bernie will bring back his sprinkler idea on this basis
Paddy Lowe said neither mercedes driver would have won today...question then is why ask Hamilton to let Rosberg go by? Neither mercedes driver would have won Neither Mercedes driver was in a position to win the Hungarian Grand Prix due to the interference of the Safety Car on their strategies, according to executive director for technical Paddy Lowe. Lewis Hamilton’s refusal to obey an instruction from Mercedes to let his team mate past earlier in the race raised questions over whether he has cost Nico Rosberg victory. Rosbreg’s race had already been disrupted by the early appearance of the Safety Car. “We opened up a healthy lead from the start in tricky conditions until the race was overturned by a Safety Car,” Lowe explained. “For reasons we don’t yet understand, the safety car split the pack and Nico got stuck behind it because he had been unable to pit before it was called out.” Mercedes ran different strategies for Rosberg, who started from pole position, and Hamilton, whose raced began in the pit lane. “We put Nico on a three-stop strategy and Lewis on a two-stop,” said Low. “This caused an interaction which we explained as best we could to each driver.” At this point Hamilton, on medium tyres and not due to stop again, rebuffed a request to let Rosberg past, as his team mate was on softs and had another stop to make. “In the event, neither strategy was capable of recovering the win given the impact of the safety car periods,” said Lowe. Hamilton said he didn’t let Rosberg past because, although they were on different strategies, “I was in the same race as him”. He added he was “shocked” to get the instruction. “Just because he had one more stop than me doesn’t mean I wasn’t in the same race as him. And naturally if I’d have let him past, he would have had the opportunity to pull away and when he does pit, he’s going to come back and overtake me, so I was very, very shocked that the team would ask me to do that, to be able to better his position. “But to be honest, he didn’t get close enough to overtake but I was never going to lift off and lost ground to Fernando [Alonso] or Daniel [Ricciardo] to enable him to have a better race. So that was a bit strange.”
Rosberg seemed a bit upset at the end. Did he really think Hamilton would just move over and let him drive by, when they were racing for overall position in the race and were on strategies that would also bring them together towards the end? I don't think Hamilton would necessarily have blocked him had he tried to make a move, Rosberg was never close enough to even have a go. Bit more tension in the Merc team will spice the remaining races up nicely!
From a drivers point of view it doesn't make sense, but from the teams point of view it makes perfect sense to stop one car interfering with the other cars strategy. I'm just not entirety convinced Rosberg was being held back, and once he started to drop off, he may have then began to hold up Hamilton. That's why I'm looking for the handy dandy lap time web-app.
And Nikki Lauda agrees with Hamilton Niki Lauda says he believes Lewis Hamilton was right to ignore team orders during the Hungarian Grand Prix. Hamilton was told to move over to allow Rosberg through as his team-mate was on a different strategy. However, with both drivers fighting for the world championship and ultimately battling each other until the end of the race, Lauda said he understood Hamilton's decision to defy the team and stay ahead. “I have to defend the team,” Lauda said. “The team was under enormous stress today because the race was a very difficult one, there is no question. Mercedes has been used to being in the lead and racing against each other. This race, with the safety car at the beginning and the wet conditions, was a completely different race. So every minute, six seconds, you had to decide something different. “In this stress the team told Lewis he should let Nico by because he was on softer tyres and has to come in anyway. But in Lewis's position he was clear that if he had been in the DRS position, Nico one second behind, for sure he would have let him by. But Nico never got that close. Therefore I do understand that Lewis said 'why? Why should I stop now in the middle of the circuit to let my team colleague by.' He is fighting for the championship anyway. “So from my point of view Lewis was right. And why the call came, this happened out of the panic and we had to make up for what we were losing. Ricciardo was the best today. Unbelievable drive. Red Bull – enormous car performance under these conditions. Alonso did the perfect job to go with the right strategy for second place, and Mercedes was fighting all that. “Therefore the call was unnecessary, afterwards, but it was made. Lewis ignored it and finished third, so looking backwards nothing wrong from my point of view.” And Lauda said it was natural for Rosberg to be unhappy about the situation but was pleased with the racing between the two. “It is completely normal between drivers that they want to be in front of the other. So the reaction of the drivers is completely normal. Nico was not happy with the passing at the end of the straight, where Lewis stayed on his line, which is normal. This happened in Bahrain, ten times one way or the other. When everything comes down there is nothing wrong. It was good racing, which for me is the most important thing.”
