2014 Abu Dhabi GP - Yas Marina

[astracrazy]

it's a non story. it makes no difference now. lewis and nico won't be fighting each other, so they will use it as normal if one drops to the midfield. theres no gain for it to be used at the front. nico can use it and win by 30secs if he wants it will make no difference if lewis comes 2nd. and i really don't think lewis will be turning the wick up on his engine to then go and fight nico - only he will be the loser from that whole situation.

[lebesset]

presumably mercedes will tell the drivers to use the same setting ...enough to win the race
but correct me if I am wrong , but I thought the drivers could actually not be stopped from using whatever setting they wanted , in the event wouldn't anyone disobey team orders to be WDC ?

[De Jokke]

and once more: http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/formula1/30082188

[tranquility2k4]

Even if Hamilton did suffer a car problem that prevented him becoming champion for the first time since 2008, Wolff said he expected him to be in title contention again.

"As much as we in the team don't want that to happen, it wouldn't be the end of the world," added Wolff.

"Lewis will hopefully have many more opportunities to win another championship or more championships than this one."

[astracrazy]

Even if Hamilton did suffer a car problem that prevented him becoming champion for the first time since 2008, Wolff said he expected him to be in title contention again.

"As much as we in the team don't want that to happen, it wouldn't be the end of the world," added Wolff.

"Lewis will hopefully have many more opportunities to win another championship or more championships than this one."

I doubt he would have the same opinion

[PlatinumZealot]

I have no problem with Wolff preferring Nico. In most people's view Nico is the "weaker sibling" after all, and usually the weaker sibling gets more love and pampering from the parents. Hamilton can fend for himself. He has had a rougher F1 upbringing through the on-track and political battles he has faced over the years. He doesn't need the affection and encouragement.

[Manoah2u]

"Lewis will hopefully have many more opportunities to win another championship or more championships than this one."

Yes, but if he loses his WDC to Rosberg he'll be having these opportunities to win other championships with either Mclaren or Ferrari, and Wolff knows that. That's why they are so keen for Lewis to have it, especially this year.

Lewis losing out to Rosberg in the final race would explode things, and all can be said about Lewis being happy @ Merc,
he's only happy now because he's in the position to win the championship and he has won the past ones bar the last one Rosberg. He was in a different mood when Rosberg double-crossed him and if im correct, that sparked the entire Alonso-sillyseason saga.

If Lewis flips the finger to merc if things go haywire, Alonso will be ready to capitalize and grab that Merc seat.
Lewis will then have the choice of going back to Mclaren-Honda or even to Ferrari [ surely nobody remotely believes Ferrari wouldn't ditch Kimi for Lewis? ].

This weekend holds key to an amazing end to the 2014 season.

[bdr529]

Even if Hamilton did suffer a car problem that prevented him becoming champion for the first time since 2008, Wolff said he expected him to be in title contention again.

"As much as we in the team don't want that to happen, it wouldn't be the end of the world," added Wolff.

"Lewis will hopefully have many more opportunities to win another championship or more championships than this one."

I think you left out this quote from the same article

"Clearly Lewis breaking down would be a nightmare," said Wolff.
"We want the championship to end in a straight and fair battle and not by one of them breaking down."

[MercedesAMGSpy]

Speculation, speculation, speculation.

Lewis knows how strong Mercedes will be next year and has no reason to leave such a dominant car and team. Some people have forgotten what kind of messages Lewis received after his move to Mercedes (following the money, wrong decision blabla). He knows what he is doing.

[Manoah2u]

There has been a most genuine threat of Lewis indeed leaving Mercedes during the mid-season debacle with Nico.
Lewis has ditched XIX management to decide for himself, on his own, what he will or will not do. If anything, that
leaves lewis dangerously dependable to his own emotions. If the Merc team wasn't worried, they wouldn't have put
so much emphasis on contract talks. Contract talks were to take place after the race, on monday - yet they have
commenced already.

Not without reason. Perhaps lewis started the talks, perhaps Mercedes. Merc will be scared losing their top-tier driver.
Lewis doesn't want to lose this championship.
Lewis left MCL for MERC with the idea and promise to become 2014 WDC. It's the pivotal part
for any decision Lewis might make. And it's hardly like Lewis didn't benefit on his paycheck going to Merc.

As for 'lewis being happy' at Mercedes and showing all the signs he's inteding to stay; i'll summerize that in the words
of another driver;

"I am staying with Ferrari." "I am loyal to Ferrari". "I will end my career with Ferrari" - Fernando Alonso.
Does anybody still remotely believe 'Nando will be driving for Ferrari in 2015??

In other words, words mean squat. It's about what happens, not what is being said.

And i have the feeling Rosberg is going to win this weekend. That will be a bomb to explode.
What does make a huge difference, is HOW.

But the same could go for lewis: The winner takes it all. Lewis is in front of the standings. A Senna-Prost move
would guarantee him of his championship. Take both out in a first-corner collision. It holds 2 risks:
getting a DNF yourself and Rosberg managing to limp back to the pits to fix the car so he can drive the car home
5th and still be WDC, or the risk of getting DSQ from the entire season as a punishment for running delibarately
into your teammate ala schumacher-style.

The race can be epic, it can also be boring as f*ck if Rosberg manages to crash his car into somebody else or if
Rosberg gets a DNF.

[Jonnycraig]

Lewis left MCL for MERC with the idea and promise to become 2014 WDC.

, he left McLaren because his gearbox went in Singapore.

A Senna-Prost move would guarantee him of his championship.

, it would guarantee him the total opposite.

[Just_a_fan]

The biggest risk for both Rosberg and Hamilton is a coming-together with a back marker. Those guys will be doing everything they can to put in a good final showing of the season - if they're fighting hard then they might just mistake a lapping leader for another back marker. That sort of situation could decide the title.

The pressure is off Rosberg - all he has to do is win. No different to any other race really. He can do no more. If Hamilton gets ahead of him then it's all over anyway.

Hamilton has the pressure - he has to come second and stay out of trouble. I think most people expect Hamilton to take the title; that's the sort of pressure we've seen him struggle with in the past. If he falls out of the strong mindset he's had in the last few races then he'll struggle to press home his points advantage and take the title.

[Unc1eM0nty]

Win, loose, crash or breakdown Lewis isn't going anywhere !

He knows what it's like to drive a top car and to drive a dog, this season they are head and shoulders above everyone, Mercedes will go into next season with a strong advantage, you can't take anything for granted but they will be there or there about's the season after that too.

Time is not on his side, he knows he needs to make the next 2 or 3 seasons count.

[F1NAC]

Only problem I can see for Hamilton is possibility of messing his lap in Q3 and maybe drop behind one williams which could be set up really fast on the straights

[Chase3009]

Only problem I can see for Hamilton is possibility of messing his lap in Q3 and maybe drop behind one williams which could be set up really fast on the straights

I don't really see this being an issue as the Mercs have shown time and time again this year that nobody can touch them unless they break or wreck. The drivers championship is really down to reliability at this point. If both cars make it to the end with no issues Hamilton will be champion as nobody is going to beat them in a fair fight.