Jolle wrote:Phil wrote:Schuttelberg wrote:I know they were racing for position in Hungary, just like they were in Monaco. Rosberg had a chance to win at Hungary in 2014 if Hamilton let him by, but he didn't and he was justified to do so. I understand Mercedes perspective at Monaco this year, I'm just saying that if Rosberg wants to win the WDC, he needs to be ruthless. Saying, 'I'm not letting Lewis past, if he can pass me, well and good,' would have been the right thing to do for his championship chances.
Sorry, I didn't want to come across condescending or as aggressive.
Two points:
Hungary was different, not because Nico had a shot at the win, but because on lap 55 of the Hungarian GP, they could have put either driver on that different strategy. They chose to leave the leading driver (Hamilton) out and pit the other on fresh tires (Rosberg). This is what gave Rosberg the opportunity to win. My point was that given they were both racing each other, they could have simply pitted both drivers and both would have had the chance to fight for the win. It made no sense to put Rosberg on a different, potentially better, strategy and then have Hamilton move aside for it. That is what happened and so before that lap 55 when Rosberg was close to Hamilton and they wanted him to wave past Rosberg, Hamilton second guessed that order, saying that he wouldn't slow down. Watching the race, Rosberg wasn't in a position to attempt a pass himself.
Was it wrong to disobey team-orders? Yes. No driver is bigger than the team. Was it (morally) right to ask Hamilton to let Rosberg by? IMO no, given they could have put either drivers on that strategy and avoided the whole topic together.
2nd point - Monaco - Nico had an issue. It perhaps wasn't of technical nature, but one of confidence. Even so, when one driver is struggling as much as Nico did, there's no way as a team you want him holding up your other driver. To do so would be self destructing for both and the team. As I just posted in the Mercedes team-topic, I actually think Rosberg was relieved once he got the order to let Hamilton by. I think part of the reason of his lack of confidence was how aggressive Hamilton was behaving in Nico's rear. He didn't want to put his car in the wall and risk a DNF at his home race, but he didn't have the confidence under those conditions with the state of his tires.
I actually think Monaco was quite fair. The team gave the order to speed up. Then when failing to do so, they eventually gave the order to let him past. At that point, the situation isn't much different than if you are handicapped by a car issue and that is preventing you from performing at your best. Why destroy the race for the rest of the 600+ employees who worked hard to get both cars on the grid? Fair play if they are both going at it with everything working normal, but when facing issues like Rosberg did in Monaco?
Plus, don't know if you watched the Hungarian race, Rosberg never was close enough for Hamilton to let him pass. He was already asking for Lewis to move aside from 100m distance. Hamiltonian respond then was: "he needs to get closer to pass me" and he didn't.
Ahh! No need to apologize mate, I've debated with you enough to know you didn't mean to be aggressive.
Without going into great detail, I understand where you're coming from and I totally get the 600+ employees working for Mercedes etc.
My only point is that if you want to be a World Driver's Champion, sometimes you must be a rebel, a ruthless selfish individual to prosper and while Rosberg was a complete gentleman in letting Hamilton go and doing the right thing for those 600+ employees, he's handed the momentum back to Hamilton and that's the most dangerous thing to do. Personally, the points gap is never going to be a fuss considering how dominant the Mercedes is and how enormous Lewis' talent is. The fuss is going to be the mindset, the confidence and the morale and I'm convinced that after the qualifying in Monaco, Lewis was very very downbeat. His frustration had begun showing and that's the time to drive him further into the ground.
As for a new Mercedes-Benz contract? I think Nico is a wealthy man, plus I have no doubt that if he were let go by them, Rosberg would be very very attractive to the likes of Ferrari and Renault (both works teams). Also, judging from your posts, you seem to be a veteran who's followed the sport for donkey's years and after three years of being beaten by Lewis, a fourth in progress, a fresh challenge might be just what Rosberg needs! The biggest draw for me to believe he should have said 'no' was the fact that I believe (like most people) that when the Monaco race began, this was probably the year Rosberg could be WDC. I frankly don't see him doing it any more, at least not at Mercedes.
"Sebastian there's very, you're a member of a very select few.. Stewart, Lauda, Piquet, Senna, Prost, Schumacher, Fangio.. VETTEL!"