knocking on what door? McLaren? the team at least 2 seconds a lap slower than the leaders (using the same engine)? i don't know what kind of engine people think Honda are going to come up with, but it's not going to magically put them on the front row. They ruined the McLaren when they decided to abandon having one of the best cars on the grid just because they didn't think it could be developed any more, and now have a car which doesn't look like it can be developed at all, seemingly designed under a lets just try all these new things together and see what happens mentality. Red Bull are the only team that can get close and it's entirely dependant on how promptly Renault can copy and catch up with what Mercedes are doing, and i very much doubt they will of done so by next year. I don't think Ferrari will challenge again until they either ban FRICs or Ferrari actually make some developments on that front, as i think it's becoming just as important as Aero now, especially on the tighter tracks where the Mercedes has been beating the Red Bull for a couple years despite their supposed dominance, and the fact they've reduced down force as well now.
Just the 3 minor issues he needs to sort which makes the difference between 1st and 2nd, which all together make a big difference. I just like the fact that some posters on here know more about the workings inside of the Merc F1 team to know that they are 200% positive Rosberg appears to be under team orders to let Hamilton win....... Nothing to do with the fact this new chap has come in and is beating his team-mate, when a previous incumbent couldn't (not speaking ill of the great man, but facts are facts). Must be team orders...........
To be fair to Button though, it wasn't his fault that McLaren built a car in 2013 that was desperately fundamentally flawed from the off, that was something no driver could have made work. This year it seems they went super conservative on the design because of last years car, which paid off for them in the first race when everyone was still getting up to speed. But now people are they just don't seem to have the ability to develop the car at the same rate as others and have been caught on their heels. Button gets lost on setup so easily whilst looking for balance, it's scary. Hard to tell whether it's him lost setup or if the car just isn't developing.. or both. How can that be a good thing for development when it's hard to tell what is working, and unless the car "feels" to his liking and is able to get heat into the tyres, he can't seem to tell either? Think Button is a superb driver when given the right car, but he's just not the man McLaren need to drag the team forwards from where they are.
Pretty much seems to be the general concensus these days. May end up being a Coulthard or Barrichello for his remaining years.
On his day, when the car is fast and the setup is right, Button can be unstoppable. Unfortunately for him those days are rare. Button seems to struggle with setup easily and sometimes needs an experienced team mate to give him a helping hand.
Vettel insists chassis change improved his performance: http://www.auto-motor-und-sport.de/...xklusiv-das-fragezeichen-war-weg-8361909.html
I never seem to remember Lewis getting grief for the 2009 car - he was fighting at the back up until mid season of that year and yet everyone called him a Lion Heart? The car quite frankly is dog ****, as it was last year and whilst their will be arguments for and against that there may be other drivers (speculative and an opinion) who MAY extract more, but we are talking a point here and a point there - not race wins! Before anyone else suggest that Lewsi single handedly picked Mclaren up and developed and dragged the car to a race winning car by the end of the season, they were 1 of only 2 teams who had KERS, a significant advantage come the latter stages of the season. This is in no way intended as a slight on Lewis, just a comparison of when a car is bad even the greatest, fastest, best drivers drive round at the back!
I think it's more a growing feeling that Jenson's driving style is the issue, in that he can only extract the maximum from a car when it's exactly how he wants it. He can't seem to drive around setup issues in the same way as others can who seem to still get a decent result (Alonso been doing this for years) and he just gets stuck as to what to do. I see your point about 2009, but Hamilton was still only in his 3rd year so was hard to initially judge how he handled having a less than decent car. Button has been around a lot longer and the signs of this have always been there.
Does tis sound like a team who is employing team orders? Lauda says gloves can come off for Hamilton/Rosberg once rivals out of title Ex-champion says his drivers "can drive over each other if they want to" once all other rivals eliminated from the championship fight By James Galloway. Last Updated: 12/05/14 2:19pm Share: 6 3 Mercedes chief Niki Lauda has given the green light for Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg's title fight to turn to "warfare" if and when they have conclusively seen off all other championship pretenders. Despite the 19-round 2014 campaign being just five races old, the Mercedes drivers are already a long way clear in the standings, with nearest challenger Fernando Alonso 51 points behind new points leader Hamilton following Sunday's Spanish GP. With Mercedes boasting a 100% pole and victory record at the start of F1's new rules era, and their drivers having finished one-two in every race when both cars have finished, the battle for the Drivers' Championship is increasingly looking likely to remain a private affair between Hamilton and Rosberg. Hamilton's heated radio exchanges And while Lauda, non-executive director at Mercedes, is demanding the pair continue to keep their duels clean for now, as in Bahrain and Barcelona, he is predicting that the gloves will come off once the championship mathematically distills into a straight battle between them. "My strategy is very simple. So far, my drivers have not clashed in any way and I want that to go on until there is no third driver challenging for the title," the former triple World Champion was quoted as saying by The Times. "Then they can drive over each other if they want to - and whoever survives is the world champion. I want them to see everybody else off and then, when there is no other enemy, it is really going to be warfare." Although separated at the summit of the standings by just three points heading to next week's showpiece event in Monaco, it is Hamilton who undoubtedly holds the intra-Mercedes momentum following a fourth straight victory in Barcelona. The Briton may have claimed afterwards, for the second time in his winning streak, that Rosberg had been the quicker of the two in race conditions - the German finished just 0.6s behind at the chequered flag - but Lauda insists that the 2008 title winner is currently invincible. On Sky Sports F1 Midweek Report 14th May May 14, 2014 8:30pm Get a Sky Sports Day PassUpgrade to Sky Sports "Lewis Hamilton is unbeatable," Lauda was quoted as saying by The Guardian. "It's very simple to say. Because he's getting better and better every race, he makes no bloody mistake whatsoever and he's very focused. You can't beat the guy. "Nico tried every trick today to get him. And he did a good job, but he couldn't pass him. Lewis is outstanding at this moment." Lauda argued that Hamilton's supreme form would push Rosberg on to greater heights in turn as the German attempts to regain the title lead. "Nico is aware at what level Lewis is driving at because they both drive the same car. And Nico will continue to bite, which for me is most important," the Austrian added. "Because if Nico keeps on pushing himself to beat Lewis, both cars will go quicker."
To be honest 2012 could of been a 1 off for Jenson and these cars are really as bad as they look and other drivers wouldn't be doing any better.
I know Button has his issues and maybe certain drivers would drive around certain problems and gain a few tenths in quali or be a further 10 seconds up the road in a race (the usual suspects) but lets be honest that will make no difference to where Mclaren currently stand. What I will say, is that I think he has lost the fight for it and that is probably what frustrates or irratates fans, and is no different to other drivers who have had a hissy fit and thrown their dummies out of the cockpit - its all preceptions. I can understand his frustration, he won a WDC, went to Mclaren and held his own (*) against a driver who is viewed as one of the best and what did he end up with? The 2013 and then 2014 cars. I think anybody would have been dejected at that. (*) I use this phrase because some may argue that he beat him on paper (more points over the 3 years) and some may say that Lewis was unfortuante with reliability and was probably frozen out when he decided to leave. Anyway, I agree with most that Mclaren need someone to pick them up and drag them on and I dont believe for one minute that KM can do that.
I'm sorry as a Schumacher fan you can have no comment about a scripted season. The cheek to say that. Don't watch if you don't like! Simple.
Nonsense. After all these years, EMSC, I'd have thought by now that you might be able to differentiate a real race from a fix. As alluded to by LewisF12014, you have given the impression, over the years, that you studied Schumacher's drives thoroughly; but your statement here in this thread once again begs the question that perhaps you genuinely never knew the difference then either! As for "scripted season", try to take a fresh look at what happened when Ferrari, the FIA, F1 ownership, and Schumacher all got into bed together, which pushed the 'sport' of F1 so close to the brink of self-destruction that they had to invent new rules to prove that there wasn't any fixing which didn't work because they undermined themselves as soon as their new rule (about team orders) was found to be flawed due to their own inability to police it â in turn a consequence of years and years of distortion â such that they, seemingly like you, were unable to see the effects of gravity on a severely tilted playing field where, after winning the toss of a doubled-headed coin, the in-crowd always kicked downhill with the sun and wind behind. Please don't fly into a rage, EMSC. I am not trying to make fun at your expense and fully accept that you are entitled to your opinion. I'm just surprised that whilst juvenile idolisation (as admitted long ago by yourself) may have coloured your perception at the time, I'd have thought you might be seeing the subtleties of real racing by now.
Hi Bando. Just seen this. I also read ASC's pretty reasonable response suggesting these three factors are at least part of what might be making a difference. I'm not sure if I can help much with your complimentary invitation to analyse how Rosberg might win the drivers' Championship; but I'll try to give some perspective. At the same time, I find myself wondering if what I'm about to say might also seem harsh? If so, I can assure you it is not intentional. Rosberg is a very very good qualifier. It is actually one of his greatest strengths. He is also very very quick. And he can fight hard. And he can overtake. For years, he was F1's most enigmatic driver: teamed with others clearly 'categorised' by their own history, his own ability was somewhat masked by their reputation rather than his own. He was expected to beat those perceived as weaker and predictably, doing so raised few eyebrows. It was not until he was teamed with Schumacher that a far wider audience began to take notice, but even in this case, Rosberg on the radar was pretty much by default. And even when people started watching him more closely, the 'Schumacher is past his best' type of view offered convenient justification/excuses for the latter's defeats. Once again, through no fault of his own, Rosberg's contribution was rendered enigmatic. What more could he do? He was beating everyone but somehow was considered nothing special. But clearly he was a top driver. No-one I've ever spoken to has ever questioned his speed. Neither have they questioned his intelligence or his feedback or his work-ethic or his fitness or his commitment, determination or goal-mindedness. Put simply, he pretty much ticks all the boxes. The only question I see as possibly valid has been over his ability to defend in the heat of battle. Surely though, this is insufficient to offer solid reason for currently coming off second-best to Hamilton? They have had only one (admittedly immense) battle where this might have been a factor. In my opinion, this is not enough to point a finger at in terms of being beaten; it just doesn't happen often enough to offer a reasonable explanation (to me) for being second despite his team-mate scoring no points at all in one of the races. Rosberg needs to keep on doing what he's doing, in the hope that Hamilton will break (not brake ) first. Rosberg is mentally strong, whereas Hamilton has (long ago) shown some mental weakness. Therefore Rosberg can only hope that in keeping up the most intense pressure, he will reveal and perhaps unleash any gremlins which may still lurk within his adversary. The reason is that whilst Rosberg ticks every box, so does Hamilton. And I find it difficult to disagree with those who suggest Hamilton might tick them all just a little bit better. Remember that at the top level of any competition, differences are very very small indeed; so small that they can sometimes be difficult for the untrained eye to spot. If those gremlins have truly been banished, it is my opinion that Hamilton will out-perform Rosberg often enough to secure his second World Drivers' Championship this season – unless mechanical failures intervene… But the recipe for a season long, tantalising battle, is there to be made. And let's not forget that the final race will have double value*. If anyone can stick to the necessary strategic thinking required, it's Rosberg.- - -o0o- - - *Whilst I understand the thinking behind such a cheap idea, I do not agree with it at all.
Cosicave -I agree with some of your sentiments but disagree with some of your arguments. The mercedes duel is not scripted, I think we can all agree on that. My disagreement is regarding your view of Schumacher. Firstly, I never liked Schumacher but I recognised his driving ability. To me he was Senna and Prost rolled into one. I agree with your comments regarding FIA, Ferrari and F1 control. BE never had the right to control the sport, he just bluffed his way to his billion empire with the full backing of Ferrari. Schumacher went to Ferrari for a lot of money and realised what everyone knew that they were hopeless. He showed leadership qualities and a desire to win at all costs to transform the team from losers to serial winners. Rubens was asked by the media if he would be happy playing second fiddle to MS. He replied that his people, Brazilians, would not accept such a thing. Rubens was a mark one Webber. There to soak up the points. There was no advantage in giving him a script, he simply did not have the qualities to match MS. If Rubens had genuine ability to beat MS but was under orders to fail, then he would have finished every race directly behind and close to MS. Did that happen? MS is despised for the same reasons that Vettel is admired. MS did a lot of things wrong and got punished for them. If he would have behaved himself he would have won more races and more WDCs. His main fault was that he did not have any respect for any other driver. Vettel has the same attitude but none of the ability.
Hi GramP! Nice to meet you! I've not been contributing to this place as much as perhaps I should, and do not believe we've met before (unless it's a case of name change). Consequently I've had little opportunity to sense your opinion about F1 stuff before. I do not see where we disagree. We may or may not have a difference of opinion about Schumacher but there I see nothing in either of our posts which contradicts the other!
Hmmm, interesting. You've made me see something in a different light... I was never a Schumacher fan (all due respect to the guy in his current situation). I disliked what I saw as his cynicism, excessive ruthlessness etc. I disliked what he was prepared to do, to win. At the same time, I know that lots of people see those as the qualities of a born winner. Not only that, my dislike of Schumacher always puzzled me because I've known that the same charges could be levelled at one of my favourite drivers (Senna). I don't know whether Schumacher had no respect for any other driver. I'd like to think he respected some that he raced against (Mika?). But even if he didn't respect anyone, I'm guessing some might argue the same about Senna. So why do I have opposite reactions to two drivers who seem to have a lot in common? I assumed it was a question of degree - Schumacher being more cynical. But that should just mean that I dislike Senna too, perhaps just a bit less than Schumacher. But where I now feel Schumacher was different - it seems to me that he had no respect for the sport. Unfortunately, I think some key power brokers also had no respect for the sport. People who should have levelled the playing field were actually part of skewing it. Present day - do I see any drivers that have no respect for the sport? No, I don't. Do I see power brokers who have no respect for the sport? Yes, I believe I do. With huge dollars at stake, I guess it's inevitable that the sport will include some people that don't respect it for anything other than the money it can bring. Hopefully they'll always be outweighed by people who love the sport, and those people (who love the sport) can be in positions that elevate the sport. We're not there today. Hopefully one day...
Thanks Cosi, I agree, Rosberg needs to crack Hamilton and stop being nicey nicey. Lewis is way to comfortable at the moment and Nico is proping him up. Time to turn the tables and make this season more interesting! If I was Nicos mind coach!!!.....
A very astute contribution, Mr.B, if I may say so. [Edit] Bando: you must have posted that as I was responding to Mr.B. You're very welcome of course, and I am flattered that you asked me. It is also a bit of a fluke that I looked in and saw your question! (I must try to get here more often. It seems not606 has gained some quality members).
