will 2015 be a 2 horse race ?

[PlatinumZealot]

This year, what has been appalling is the fact that, Nico can see all the data of Lewis, but doesn't understand where Lewis is getting that speed from. 11-1 statistic in qualifying is mayhem and murder, with an average gap of over 3 tenths. If not for the Monaco farce this year, Lewis would be leading by 70 points !!! The new start rules are definitely not going to help Nico who doesn't have the same natural feel for the car to find his own clutch bite point and with all the coaching getting banned, mind you next year it would be even more, Nico is losing out significantly. This is increasingly started to resemble Vettel-Webber situation from 2010 to 2013. For the first time in his career, Lewis has shown such consistency last year in races and he has bettered it this year in qualifying too. Unlike last year, either reliability or the double points farce isn't going to keep the title battle alive. Last year, Lewis started his comeback from Monza, but this year, it's almost over at Monza.

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I disagree with this in one way. The keen f1 fan knew then that Webber's old school style of driving did not match the Pirrelli tyres and the blown diffuser. Webber was incompatible; he just could not match his style to this unconventional way of driving that Vettel mastered. Yes he was made solid number 2 at certain points of the season, but when they were allowed to fight, the reason why Webber had no response to Vettel was because of technical reasons. That means there was an answer. See early 2012.

In the case of Nico - as you said - the blonde one found nothing that the dossiers of data can show - nothing about the car! - nothing about the brakes! nothing about the steering, the engine? nope! NOTHING that explains the gap between himself and Lewis in 2015. And that is the big difference. Nico has no answer outside of himself.

I do agree though that we are seeing Lewis ascending to another level of driving.

[Jolle]

Keep telling yourself that Jolle but the rest of us know that Rosberg is a very fast driver and a genuine threat to Lewis on any given day. Rosberg is good enough to beat Michael three years in a row. Be it the old version of Micael not just any driver can do that. And another thing too, why would a number two driver slash the tyres of the No1? And why would the Number two be challenging for wins? And dog fighting? Why denigrate Nico to make Lewis look worse? All of the greats over the years had made their good teammates look average evey now and then. And this is what we are seeing now.

so far in 2015, he's been 3 tenths slower in qualifying, on any given day. He hasn't made an overtake on his stick in the past two seasons.

[giantfan10]

This year, what has been appalling is the fact that, Nico can see all the data of Lewis, but doesn't understand where Lewis is getting that speed from. 11-1 statistic in qualifying is mayhem and murder, with an average gap of over 3 tenths. If not for the Monaco farce this year, Lewis would be leading by 70 points !!! The new start rules are definitely not going to help Nico who doesn't have the same natural feel for the car to find his own clutch bite point and with all the coaching getting banned, mind you next year it would be even more, Nico is losing out significantly. This is increasingly started to resemble Vettel-Webber situation from 2010 to 2013. For the first time in his career, Lewis has shown such consistency last year in races and he has bettered it this year in qualifying too. Unlike last year, either reliability or the double points farce isn't going to keep the title battle alive. Last year, Lewis started his comeback from Monza, but this year, it's almost over at Monza.

.

I disagree with this in one way. The keen f1 fan knew then that Webber's old school style of driving did not match the Pirrelli tyres and the blown diffuser. Webber was incompatible; he just could not match his style to this unconventional way of driving that Vettel mastered. Yes he was made solid number 2 at certain points of the season, but when they were allowed to fight, the reason why Webber had no response to Vettel was because of technical reasons. That means there was an answer. See early 2012.

In the case of Nico - as you said - the blonde one found nothing that the dossiers of data can show - nothing about the car! - nothing about the brakes! nothing about the steering, the engine? nope! NOTHING that explains the gap between himself and Lewis in 2015. And that is the big difference. Nico has no answer outside of himself.

I do agree though that we are seeing Lewis ascending to another level of driving.

i dont really agree.... what exactly have we seen this year to support that fact?
i feel the same way about vettel with redbull and schumaker with Ferrari when they all dominated.. you have a very good driver with the best car on the grid doing EXACTLY what he is expected to do, actually Hamilton should have won every race so far this season based on his skill as a driver and the utter dominance of the car that he drives....he has not so ascending to another level.... nope.....

[Kingshark]

so far in 2015, he's been 3 tenths slower in qualifying, on any given day. He hasn't made an overtake on his stick in the past two seasons.

Why does Austria not count? His nose was still behind Lewis' when braking for turn 1.

in 2013 Hamilton was still adjusting to the team and brakes and in 2014, in the end it was pretty clear that Hamilton was, with ease, the faster driver.

I never actually bought that excuse. Alonso was new to Ferrari in 2010, remember, and tonked Massa right from the start. Vettel is new to Ferrari in 2015 and has been clearly better than Raikkonen right from the beginning.

Either Hamilton's adaptability is poor, or Rosberg was just as fast as him that year.

[TAG]

so far in 2015, he's been 3 tenths slower in qualifying, on any given day. He hasn't made an overtake on his stick in the past two seasons.

Why does Austria not count? His nose was still behind Lewis' when braking for turn 1.

in 2013 Hamilton was still adjusting to the team and brakes and in 2014, in the end it was pretty clear that Hamilton was, with ease, the faster driver.

I never actually bought that excuse. Alonso was new to Ferrari in 2010, remember, and tonked Massa right from the start. Vettel is new to Ferrari in 2015 and has been clearly better than Raikkonen right from the beginning.

Either Hamilton's adaptability is poor, or Rosberg was just as fast as him that year.

As fast as him, perhaps, however the results don't show it as Nico was behind on points despite having an additional win under his belt after inheriting Silverstone. Brakes were an issue, but the bigger issue in 2013 was tires, tires, tires. The Mercedes just could not make them last. Nico had much more experience in the car, and was better able to cope with the degradation. So I'd say Lewis adapted well enough despite it all.

[Kingshark]

I'm not sure if "luck" and "inheritance" is something you want to bring up while discussing 2013. No matter what way you spin it, Rosberg was the unluckier one in 2013. He was easily on par with Hamilton across the entire season. Lewis did a solid job for his first season, but he wasn't stellar like many of his other years.

[Phil]

I do agree though that we are seeing Lewis ascending to another level of driving.

Nah. He's still the same Lewis. The same one who should have won 2007. The same one who had countless of collisions in 2011. The same one who found himself at the bad end of rotten luck in many QF sessions in 2014. And the same one who is now 53 points ahead in the WDC.

The difference? A driver will drive very differently depending on circumstance. In 2011, he was in a car that wasn't quick enough, so he overdrove it because he never wanted to just come 2nd or 3rd. I'm also convinced he never saw Button as a genuine threat, so didn't give a damn that he was beaten that year on points. Most crashes came from ruthlessness (he still is, as we've seen in his battles with Rosberg in 2014) and being out of position and taking too much risk (e.g.: Monaco, not being able to do his lap because of the Perez accident in Q3 and starting 9th I think) etc. In 2014 he drove slightly less consistent because he was under pressure coming off that DNF in Melbourne and various QF struggles, burning engines, brake issues or simply trying too hard in qualifying as a result of pressure and being on the back foot right up the last 3rd of the season when things came around with Rosbergs Singapore DNF and consistently beating him in races.

He's still the same driver. But he's learned to play the long game. And that is for one a result of him having matured a bit, but more precisely because he is at the front and he is leading the WDC in the best car. So he knows that taking risks is not smart. It's no different than a driver being out of position taking gambles on risky strategies etc vs. a driver at the front driving a little too conservative.

[lebesset]

I do agree though that we are seeing Lewis ascending to another level of driving.

Nah. He's still the same Lewis. The same one who should have won 2007. The same one who had countless of collisions in 2011. The same one who found himself at the bad end of rotten luck in many QF sessions in 2014. And the same one who is now 53 points ahead in the WDC.

The difference? A driver will drive very differently depending on circumstance. In 2011, he was in a car that wasn't quick enough, so he overdrove it because he never wanted to just come 2nd or 3rd. I'm also convinced he never saw Button as a genuine threat, so didn't give a damn that he was beaten that year on points. Most crashes came from ruthlessness (he still is, as we've seen in his battles with Rosberg in 2014) and being out of position and taking too much risk (e.g.: Monaco, not being able to do his lap because of the Perez accident in Q3 and starting 9th I think) etc. In 2014 he drove slightly less consistent because he was under pressure coming off that DNF in Melbourne and various QF struggles, burning engines, brake issues or simply trying too hard in qualifying as a result of pressure and being on the back foot right up the last 3rd of the season when things came around with Rosbergs Singapore DNF and consistently beating him in races.

He's still the same driver. But he's learned to play the long game. And that is for one a result of him having matured a bit, but more precisely because he is at the front and he is leading the WDC in the best car. So he knows that taking risks is not smart. It's no different than a driver being out of position taking gambles on risky strategies etc vs. a driver at the front driving a little too conservative.

I agree with almost all of that , but the process of maturing started a little further back as I see it

lewis started off emulating his idol , trying to win every race ; but jenson joined him at big mac and showed him that , to paraphrase a contract bridge expression , it wasn't the winning line ; look at how jenson won the WDC ...when he had the dominant car in the first half of the season he racked up the wins , when that stopped he ignored the ...win like a champion...cries , took the percentage line and racked up some points so that he won the WDC handily [ something webber should have done ]

so when the winning car came along in 2014 he realised that being on the front row was good enough to beat his team mate and he didn't go for broke in qually which is why rosberg out qualified him when he had some bad luck during the season ; this season , with the monkey of a second championship off his back , he feels free to give it large [ as jenson says !] with the inevitable result

[PlatinumZealot]

Rosberg was not Happy today. He did gain 12 points on his rival Hamilton, however his pace was not up to scratch and he knows he will need to up his game to put up a real fight in the coming races. He will be glad to know that the lack of performance Mercedes had in Singapore is very unlikley to happen again so it will be back to mercedes 1-2's and a clear shot at the top step at each of the coming races.