2015 Pre-season Testing

[Vasconia]

During the Schumi era his teammates weren't allowed to race him like we saw Nico and Lewis do last year. Ferrari was really dominant in those days, in 2002 they won 15 out of 17 races and in 2004 15 of 18.
We don't know if the Mercs will continue to be as dominant as in 2014, there's no reason to give up on the sport just yet.

I am fed up with the comments about ferrari or redbull not allowing Rubens or Webber to race with their teammates. If we remember Schumacher's time with Ferrari in 2000s, when schumacher won the race, did Rubens come second? No he didn't. He sometimes couldn't be even at the podium. There were often mclarens or williams between them. When schumacher got the pole, Rubens couldn't get the other front row like in the case of Mercedes drivers. Therefore, I think people shouldn't try to blame Rubens' or Webber's incompetence to Ferrari or Redbull. Schumacher was way better driver than Rubens and he won those races and championships fair and square

=D> =D> =D>

Only when the car was absolutely dominant we saw Rubens being in the front row with Michael or even beating him, but when the car was not so dominant Michal was still able to get the pole/win the race while Rubens struggled to be in the top5.

We know that Ferrari´s strategy was not fair and it prevented Barrichelo from winning more races, but even with an open and clean battle between them, Schumacher would have won a vast majority of the races.

It was rather different with RB where Webber matched and even beated Vettel in 2010 and 2012, until he made some stupid mistakes in 2010 and the post-summer development helped Vettel to beat him in 2012.

[Vasconia]

Rosberg probably also need to get used to this kind of competition. In the past generally his raw speed kept him ahead of his teammate. Now that he needs to battle someone who is able to match that speed, he finds himself in a new situation.

2014 has been a good learning year for Rosberg. He'll be fiercer this year.

Yes, and he needs to try his best when things go wrong as Lewis did. I hope he can do it because we need Nico if we want to see an interesting WC.

[Phil]

I think Rosberg will be very strong this year - again. And I also think Hamilton will have to drive at his absolute best to beat him. Personally, I think the cage is rattled - not due to what happened during races where Lewis usually prevailed, but in qualifying, where Hamilton has rarely been beaten by a team-mate. If Rosberg is able to maintain the qualifying pace he has so impressively shown in 2014, I think the races will be close and hard fought.

On the other hand, Lewis last year was pretty much on the backfoot from the first race as he was fighting not only his team-mate but technical issues as well. If he has even only half the amount of bad-luck he had last year, he might run off with it. I think part of the reason why the WDC went down to the last race last year is precisely because Lewis had those DNFs throughout the year, giving Rosberg a lot of confidence as he was leading the race. If the tables were turned and Lewis were to run off with it - as he might have it wasn't for that DNF in Melbourne - Rosberg might have gone a bit into that phase where he isn't quite driving at his absolute best. It will be very interesting to see how 2015 shapes up. I for one hope that DNFs or technical gremlins will not play a part.

[WaikeCU]

I believe Mercedes won't let them race first things first. I think they want to guarantee a 1-2 finish at the first race just to see how much the gap is between them and the competition. I think from a management point of view I think they want to guarantee no harm for Mercedes brand first things first. Seal the constructors championship, then let them race.

[turbof1]

There's a big difference between what the team wants and what the drivers want. Lewis pretty much made the precedence in Hungary by ignoring team orders. Nico will not obey orders either when it comes down to a battle between him and Lewis.

The team will realise that. Ultimately they aren't driving the cars and the ones behind the wheel have the final say. Toto is better of letting them race to avoid frustrations which could lead an explosive situation.

[WaikeCU]

There's a big difference between what the team wants and what the drivers want. Lewis pretty much made the precedence in Hungary by ignoring team orders. Nico will not obey orders either when it comes down to a battle between him and Lewis.

The team will realise that. Ultimately they aren't driving the cars and the ones behind the wheel have the final say. Toto is better of letting them race to avoid frustrations which could lead an explosive situation.

Worst case is a repeat of Spa '14 in the first race of '15. By the end of the season you would look back and think why didn't we bring those cars home at the beginning of the season?

It's just like in football where the manager wants to park the bus in the last 10 minutes of the game, but one player just ignores everything and just wants to score. Worst case, the other team scores an equalizer late in the game.

[turbof1]

I get the comparison, but F1 just isn't a team sport like soccer. The team effort is mostly behind the car, the ones behind the wheel are by nature of the sport a lot more individualistic. Soccer also has little emphasis on individual performance. F1 simply has the WDC for one single driver.

Imo, the Spa accident was a cause of what happened before. Making all sorts of deals with drivers like not using the highest engine setting or letting your teammate through when he is on a different strategy, was not a good idea. It brought one to the boiling point which is what caused the accident.

A team which does not have 2 teammates fighting for the WDC will have a much easier time to hand out orders. After all, on a individual level there is less at risk.

There should only be one rule in the case of merc: do as you please, but if you compromise yours and/or teammate's car, you will have to suffer the consequences. Plain simple, no rules to break and no dubious situations afterwards.

[CevertF1]

I believe Mercedes won't let them race first things first. I think they want to guarantee a 1-2 finish at the first race just to see how much the gap is between them and the competition. I think from a management point of view I think they want to guarantee no harm for Mercedes brand first things first. Seal the constructors championship, then let them race.

I think this too. Merc won't really let them battle it out. Which is a huge shame when that car could be so vastly dominant. It means we'll have a season of boring cruises rather than a Senna/Prost battle.

[dren]

I highly doubt that. I expect to see just what we did last year. Race but don't crash, if you do, it's your ass.

[SiLo]

There's a big difference between what the team wants and what the drivers want. Lewis pretty much made the precedence in Hungary by ignoring team orders. Nico will not obey orders either when it comes down to a battle between him and Lewis.

The team will realise that. Ultimately they aren't driving the cars and the ones behind the wheel have the final say. Toto is better of letting them race to avoid frustrations which could lead an explosive situation.

Tbf - Rosberg wasn't anywhere near close enough to Hamilton to effect a pass at that stage, it looked like he just sat there saying "Well?"

I was a combination of Hamiltons defiance and Rosbergs unwillingness to push it through.

[Jonnycraig]

There's a big difference between what the team wants and what the drivers want. Lewis pretty much made the precedence in Hungary by ignoring team orders. Nico will not obey orders either when it comes down to a battle between him and Lewis.

The team will realise that. Ultimately they aren't driving the cars and the ones behind the wheel have the final say. Toto is better of letting them race to avoid frustrations which could lead an explosive situation.

Rosberg has followed every team order asked of him. He knows which side his bread is buttered and that should he find himself jettisoned by Merc, he will never again in a situation like this to full his trophy cabinet with momentos.

[turbof1]

There's a big difference between what the team wants and what the drivers want. Lewis pretty much made the precedence in Hungary by ignoring team orders. Nico will not obey orders either when it comes down to a battle between him and Lewis.

The team will realise that. Ultimately they aren't driving the cars and the ones behind the wheel have the final say. Toto is better of letting them race to avoid frustrations which could lead an explosive situation.

Rosberg has followed every team order asked of him. He knows which side his bread is buttered and that should he find himself jettisoned by Merc, he will never again in a situation like this to full his trophy cabinet with momentos.

He did not actually. Just like Hamilton, Rosberg did used a higher PU setting that was explicitly forbidden by the team. Toto confirmed this.

Agreed that he followed orders more then Hamilton, but that will have changed ever since Hungary. The team stating they accepted Hamilton's point of view, means they can't demand without hypocrity that Rosberg on his turn needs to obey in a similar situation. That never flings with any driver able to potentionally go toe to toe with his team mate, especially not in WDC winning position.

I think Mercedes their position is clear too: do not crash or damage the cars. For the rest they are only concerned staying ahead of the other teams.

[SiLo]

There's a big difference between what the team wants and what the drivers want. Lewis pretty much made the precedence in Hungary by ignoring team orders. Nico will not obey orders either when it comes down to a battle between him and Lewis.

The team will realise that. Ultimately they aren't driving the cars and the ones behind the wheel have the final say. Toto is better of letting them race to avoid frustrations which could lead an explosive situation.

Rosberg has followed every team order asked of him. He knows which side his bread is buttered and that should he find himself jettisoned by Merc, he will never again in a situation like this to full his trophy cabinet with momentos.

He did not actually. Just like Hamilton, Rosberg did used a higher PU setting that was explicitly forbidden by the team. Toto confirmed this.

Agreed that he followed orders more then Hamilton, but that will have changed ever since Hungary. The team stating they accepted Hamilton's point of view, means they can't demand without hypocrity that Rosberg on his turn needs to obey in a similar situation. That never flings with any driver able to potentionally go toe to toe with his team mate, especially not in WDC winning position.

I think Mercedes their position is clear too: do not crash or damage the cars. For the rest they are only concerned staying ahead of the other teams.

Agreed, in Hungary they both had a chance to win. They didn't really need to throw their eggs into one basket at that point.

[Vasconia]

I highly doubt that. I expect to see just what we did last year. Race but don't crash, if you do, it's your ass.

Perhaps we will see this in the second half of the championship. Firstly, secure some 1-2 and then when the gap is big you can battle but dont crash.

Anyway I would like to see a free battle from the very first race.

[SectorOne]

It will be a free battle just like last year. I loved it when Ted came on the radio in Bahrain "clear as day, team orders, paddy don´t come on the radio otherwise" only to get a masterclass in wheel to wheel racing for ten laps by several drivers up and down the field.