Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team 2014

[Kiril Varbanov]

Merc F1 surely need to engage some PR consultant to help them handle the situation.

They surely don't need to. I mean, they have excellent experts, but they don't have to - it's so much more entertaining

For me the big question remains: was it intentional or not. This has huge impact on the issue. It may end up being THE deciding WDC action.
Looks like, however, that Mercedes will bury that corpse.

[alexx_88]

Before Spa, Hamilton always expected Rosberg to back out in these situations (see Hungary and Bahrain more than anything). The way he defended in those instances is tougher than in any teammate battle in the past years. Even Webber conceded easier in Malaysia 2013. Because of lack of leadership in the Mercedes team, everything escalated to the point where both Hamilton and Rosberg take justice into their own hands. Don't worry, Hamilton will pay him back.

For me, this is just the perfect outcome knowing how Ross Brawn was removed from an organization he built. It really is hard to screw up entirely when you have a 1.5s advantage over your first challenger and how the engine rules stop them from really catching you, but Toto and Paddy found a way. Every action that the Merc bosses took since Bahrain has just fueled the fire and created even more incidents, starting from their leniency towards Ham's defensive driving and culminating with the almost fanboy-attitude that they had at the end of the race on Sunday. A calmer, "we'll discuss it between us first" is a much more professional attitude than screaming "this is unacceptable" on TV without even talking to the drivers first.

[SunsAnvil]

I really don't get why this discussion rumbles on. Even the news articles are just rehashing the same old comments. There is nothing new here. A couple of years back it was Vettel and Webber. Now it is Lewis and Hamilton. When cars are so far ahead of the field and the drivers are at this level they will do anything to win. A few races back Lewis was bumping into others as he clawed his way through the field. We should all move along.

And btw, I support McLaren and also Alonso so I have no vested interest in which of these 2 is right or wrong or even if the wrong man profits from the other guys problem. That's motor racing. I remember being gutted for Damon Hill after some "dirty tricks" from another German. We should all just get over it. One thing is for sure. Bernie will be laughing as no one is focused on his shady dealings right now!

[Just_a_fan]

I think that the Merc guys will spend the rest of the season watching each other and Ricciardo will sneak through for the title. I can see Hamilton "paying back" Nico in the final race if he can't win the title. Sort of "if not me then also not you".

Looks like the Prost/Senna comparison might come to fruition. The media will be rubbing its hands with glee.

[CBeck113]

Very true, Just_a_fan - this is starting to look a bit like 2007...

[SectorOne]

People talked about Button in the race thread etc. Here´s his take on it.

“There was nothing there,” Button said of Rosberg’s attempted move. “All he could do was go off the circuit. There was no move. I think any driver would look at it now, and I am sure Nico would look at it and say ‘What was I thinking?’”

“I’ve always said the person who wins the World Championship is the person who does the best job on the circuit, but that does not seem the way it is at the moment,” added Button pointedly to The Times.

http://www1.skysports.com/f1/report/124 ... vable8217-

And still, in this universe people are still thinking Hamilton was fully or partly at blame here.
The only logical conclusion is that you don´t know jack about F1 overtaking and how it works.


And just for kicks, the always politically correct Coulthard now sings another tune as opposed to during the race.

The collision between the two was messy and responsibility lies with Rosberg.

Hamilton did nothing wrong at all and was entirely blameless. He took the normal racing line, as he was entitled to do; that was all. He did not even try to squeeze Rosberg at all.

And the nail on the head thinking.

Rosberg wanted to prove a point about being more robust with Hamilton. This was his first opportunity and he was a bit ham-fisted about it and got it wrong. Why? Because he is just not as good a wheel-to-wheel racer as Lewis Hamilton.

[Waywardism]

For me the big question remains: was it intentional or not. This has huge impact on the issue. It may end up being THE deciding WDC action.

I agree totally, it is of utmost importance.

Interestingly, Rosberg posted a vlog yesterday in response to what Hamilton has said and he failed to deny it. That's pretty damning for me when paired with the fact that Mercedes said that Hamilton's comments were "broadly accurate".

Now I'm just waiting to see what Nico says at Monza when pressed on the matter by journalists.

[SiLo]

Hamilton right now thinking "Jeez, those double points in Abu Dhabi could come in very handy"

[i70q7m7ghw]

For those claiming Rosberg had 2 meters to his left: you have clearly never been even close to a racing line. It is entirely impossible to go to the left side of the track there while still making the following left hand corner. You simply cannot make a left hand corner at racing speed from left to left on a track.

There are plenty of experienced professional racing drivers who completely disagree with you on that point, I wonder who is right?

To say it's "entirely impossible" to make that corner on the line he was shows a complete lack of understanding of how cars work, let alone how racing works. He would have made the left hander (and did), just on a compromised line which would have cost him a small amount of lap time. Believe it or not, the racing line is not the only way around a race track, most of the time it just happens to be the quickest way around a race track.

[deterherligt]

For those claiming Rosberg had 2 meters to his left: you have clearly never been even close to a racing line. It is entirely impossible to go to the left side of the track there while still making the following left hand corner. You simply cannot make a left hand corner at racing speed from left to left on a track.

There are plenty of experienced professional racing drivers who completely disagree with you on that point, I wonder who is right?

To say it's "entirely impossible" to make that corner on the line he was shows a complete lack of understanding of how cars work, let alone how racing works. He would have made the left hander (and did), just on a compromised line which would have cost him a small amount of lap time. Believe it or not, the racing line is not the only way around a race track, most of the time it just happens to be the quickest way around a race track.

Actually, i havn't seen any racedriver or commentator blame this on Hamilton at all. Everyone is saying it was Rosbergs fault. Have anyone blamed Hamilton then please enlighten me

I really don't know what Mercedes is gonna do now. However i don't think Paddy or Toto have done a bad job. In fact i think if Brawn was still around the exact same thing would have happened at some point, and would have been handled the exact same way.

[WaikeCU]

Rosberg wanted to prove a point about being more robust with Hamilton. This was his first opportunity and he was a bit ham-fisted about it and got it wrong. Why? Because he is just not as good a wheel-to-wheel racer as Lewis Hamilton.

I second that. I also remembered Nico attempting to pass Vettel at the busstop chicane, but he simply outbraked himself and heavily flatspotted his tires, which let Bottas to appear right on his back and overtaking him on Kemmel with the active DRS. Lewis would have handled it better. We've seen how Lewis cuts through the field in no time in Hungary and Germany. Hungary is a pretty hard track to overtake, not for Lewis I guess.

[arahman_93]

I don't know how Mercedes going to get through this now. Do they let rosberg off or give some sort of punishment to make a stament (to both) that the team still comes first. If they had a reserve driver (don't know if sam bird still is) they could have put him in rosberg car for monza the team wouldn't lose out as they'll still be getting some constructors points.

[miguelalvesreis]

....
Either way, LH should have been more carefull. He should have spotted NR. I believe that if it was any other Top driver there in the fight with LH he would have spotted it and avoided contact. He was, probably, too confident that NR would back off, like he have done inumerous times.

Any top driver? Like Vettel on lap 1 who was sensible enough to know he wasn't going to make it without contact and bailed? That's sensible driving.

Rosberg knew what he was doing, the same as he did in Monaco.

Not saving that there is any responsability on the contact that should lay on LH. Still think that NR should have backed off. Thought that I had made myself clear on that point.
Please don't take sentences Out of context to try to make your point.

[KeiKo403]

I don't know how Mercedes going to get through this now. Do they let rosberg off or give some sort of punishment to make a stament (to both) that the team still comes first. If they had a reserve driver (don't know if sam bird still is) they could have put him in rosberg car for monza the team wouldn't lose out as they'll still be getting some constructors points.

I actually tweeted that after the race and joked that maybe Toto could pop his lovely wife in the car. However, if Hamilton was to win Monza and then take the title by less than 25 points would he maybe see it as a shallow title given that Rosberg then had to sit out a race?

I'd just like to say too that most of the people who design, build, fix, setup etc etc his race car are also British fans! I didn't mind Rosberg beating Hamilton but to be so disrespectful to British fans is disgusting!

[deterherligt]

I was thinking, would Mercedes now stop the datasharing between Nico and Lewis? Would that meen that the fight would become more fair or even benefit Lewis as a punishment for Nico?

Just a thought, would this be feasible as a solution?