2014 United States Grand Prix - Austin

[Phil]

Actually, he can afford 3rd in Brazil and 2nd in Abu Dhabi to still clinch the WDC...

Point difference is 24pt currently. If he finishes 3rd in Brazil while Nico wins, the difference comes down to 14pt and a 2nd place in Abu Dhabi to Nico's win would put them on equal points, which will hand the WDC to Lewis, as he has more wins. Nico only clinches the title if he finishes with more than 1 point more than Lewis by the end of the last race.

[i70q7m7ghw]

Yup, but even with a win at Brazil, a DNF in Abu Dhabi will most certainly cost Hamilton the championship. I'm not sure how double points is "good for F1" in this scenario?

A WDC with less than half the amount of race victories as the runner up? A WDC who never actually beat the runner up on track?

It's just bizarre double points ever made it in to the rules. How could they not anticipate an outcome like this? Or maybe this is what they wanted? An artificial championship showdown?

[WaikeCU]

Yup, but even with a win at Brazil, a DNF in Abu Dhabi will most certainly cost Hamilton the championship. I'm not sure how double points is "good for F1" in this scenario?

Because we were expecting a certain Red Bull in the hands of Vettel kind of dominance yet again. Similar to this season, but at least there's still an inter team battle going this season, unlike with Vettel and Webber back in the days.

[dren]

10 wins and only ahead by 24 points. Crazy.

An actual exciting race. There was an on track pass for the lead. The mix-up in the middle was pretty great. Button vs Alonso was good. Lotus was actually fighting for points.

[Moose]

10 wins and only ahead by 24 points. Crazy.

An actual exciting race. There was an on track pass for the lead. The mix-up in the middle was pretty great. Button vs Alonso was good. Lotus was actually fighting for points.

Yep, HAM's won more races in a row than ROS has won races. It's insane that the title battle ended up so close after that.

[Richard]

Fanboy posts and consequential bickering in the last couple of pages has been deleted. Life's too short to go back further.

Take a look and see the posts that remain on this page and the previous one if you have any doubt about what is appropriate on this forum.

[MONEYR]

I read that Rosberg was using an ERS setting that made him go slower. (he realised it too late, then he later on switched it back and got in his "rythme")

[therealjustin]

I thought the race was alright but definitely better near the end. The large open space of COTA really showcased just how awful the 2014 cars sound. They were barely audible on television and I suspect it was just as bad in person. When the cars were on the opposite side of the circuit you could probably hear a mouse fart

[Hobbs04]

I thought the race was alright but definitely better near the end. The large open space of COTA really showcased just how awful the 2014 cars sound. They were barely audible on television and I suspect it was just as bad in person. When the cars were on the opposite side of the circuit you could probably hear a mouse fart

I was in turn 5 and could hear them around the whole circuit. I can say they are awful on tv compared to in person.

[PlatinumZealot]

I read that Rosberg was using an ERS setting that made him go slower. (he realised it too late, then he later on switched it back and got in his "rythme")

His mistake. And it was not an ERS setting change. Rosberg used the wrong switch to activate the high power map while he was being DRSed by Lewis. He said when you use the dial instead of the push button there is a small delay before the engine map changes.
I honestly don't think it would have made a difference to the finam result though, Rosberg was like a limping water buffalo i being chased by a lion.

[ringo]

What I don't understand is how Rosberg consistently match or beat Hamilton in qualifying, yet for whatever reason, time and time again get beat in the race. He is mighty fast over one lap. Logically speaking, there should be no reason to he can't maintain this pace across a race distance.

Maybe if they were still using Bridgestone tyres, Rosberg would be able to pump in consistent qualifying laps without having to worry about tyre wear. Fuel saving also likely has something to do with it. Lewis has Nico beat in both of these categories, he simply understands the hard tyres better.

It's simple, in qually Britney has access to Lewis's data every time he pits during qually, in the race he is on his own and the driver with natural talent shines through.

Data flow is a 2-way street, and gaving access to Lewis's data should not equate to out-qualifying him 10 times in a season. The guy can clearly drive very fast over one lap, but for whatever reason can't maintain this pace across 305 kilometers.

Hamilton is simply not going berserk in qualifying like he used. He knows he can beat Nico in the race. So why risk it?
If hamilton was as desperate as Nico you would see more banzai qualifying laps.
Hamilton is simply faster overall. In Q3 for this race Hamilton had the brake issue, so it's not like both had clean laps and Nico came out on top.
As for the stints explanation, its endurance and focus. I believe Alonso is best in this regard and Hamilton. These guys simply can go hammer and tongs for the whole race and they are not affected by pressure from other drivers. I knew Rosberg was going to crack, it was only a matter of time. No way he was going to keep back hamilton for 56 laps. He simply can't handle the pressure of doing everything 1 inch better than Lewis for that long, this can be seen in the lap times. In fact in the first stint Rosberg was not able to increase his gap to more than 2.5 seconds if memory serves, even with the help of a safety car. From there he was a dead man; Hamilton had the upper hand.

[dans79]

I thought the race was alright but definitely better near the end. The large open space of COTA really showcased just how awful the 2014 cars sound. They were barely audible on television and I suspect it was just as bad in person. When the cars were on the opposite side of the circuit you could probably hear a mouse fart

I was in turn 5 and could hear them around the whole circuit. I can say they are awful on tv compared to in person.

I was in turn one, and it was fine as well. I could still here them coming down the back stretch. It was actually nice to be able to have a conversation with someone without having to yell. It was also nice to not need headphones or earplugs.

[MONEYR]

I read that Rosberg was using an ERS setting that made him go slower. (he realised it too late, then he later on switched it back and got in his "rythme")

His mistake. And it was not an ERS setting change. Rosberg used the wrong switch to activate the high power map while he was being DRSed by Lewis. He said when you use the dial instead of the push button there is a small delay before the engine map changes.
I honestly don't think it would have made a difference to the finam result though, Rosberg was like a limping water buffalo i being chased by a lion.

Well, I read that it is an ERS-related setting. As far as I remember they're not allowed to use different (higher) engine maps compared to their teammates.

[Richard]

An actual exciting race. There was an on track pass for the lead. The mix-up in the middle was pretty great. Button vs Alonso was good. Lotus was actually fighting for points.

Yup, there were some great battles in the race.

[ian_s]

Well, I read that it is an ERS-related setting. As far as I remember they're not allowed to use different (higher) engine maps compared to their teammates.

the teams arent allowed to coach them over the engine modes now, so the situation they had before where one driver was using a different mode than the one they were instructed to use wont happen. its now all down to the driver to decide and Rosberg decided wrong. instead of hitting the 'overtake' button which is instant, he changed to a high output map on a dial, which understandably takes time. if you have to change a dial through 3 positions, you dont want it instantly changing to the 3 different maps.
even if he had done the right thing, it was only a matter of time until Hamilton would have been able to jump him.