2013 Indian GP - Buddh

[FoxHound]

Lewis is absolutely mediocre today, unbelievable. He'll even lose out to Perez due to not treating his tires properly.

This wasn't his fault at all. In the 2nd stint he was faster than both Rosberg and Massa (he had fallen 5+ seconds behind because he had to overtake Bottas but closed the gap to under 2 seconds by the pit window), and went 3 laps longer than Rosberg which tells me both his pace and tire conserving was fine. The only chink in the armor was the team trying to be too smart with the 2nd stint. Had they pitted him a lap earlier he'd comfortably come out ahead of Massa, and Grosjean wouldn't be a problem either.

In the end, Hamilton wasted his rear tyres too much in a bid to overtake Massa on the track which- unfortunately for him- was never on. He's a racer and I don't blame him for trying to overtake though. The bulk of the fault was on the team today.

So he did less laps on the tyres in his final stint and he burns them out before Rosberg, and this is the teams fault for bringing him in later?
Did you stop for a moment to think what would happen if he came in earlier? Massa would have blocked him off by coming in too.
There is no fault, tyre degrade quicker when following another car closely. Mercedes did what they could, and so did Hamilton. It's racing.

[Just_a_fan]

No doubt the kill joys in the FIA/stewards will give a penalty for the doughnuts

[1158]

No doubt the kill joys in the FIA/stewards will give a penalty for the doughnuts

So true. He is going to get hammered by FIA for donuts, throwing his gloves into the crowd, not speaking directly with FIA first, and not parking his car in park ferme.

FIA = Fun Isn't Allowed in this case

[langwadt]

No doubt the kill joys in the FIA/stewards will give a penalty for the doughnuts

probably some symbolic fine, But he might lose the win, not because of the donuts but he didn't put the car in park ferme and he didn't get weighted

[Just_a_fan]

Lewis is absolutely mediocre today, unbelievable. He'll even lose out to Perez due to not treating his tires properly.

This wasn't his fault at all. In the 2nd stint he was faster than both Rosberg and Massa (he had fallen 5+ seconds behind because he had to overtake Bottas but closed the gap to under 2 seconds by the pit window), and went 3 laps longer than Rosberg which tells me both his pace and tire conserving was fine. The only chink in the armor was the team trying to be too smart with the 2nd stint. Had they pitted him a lap earlier he'd comfortably come out ahead of Massa, and Grosjean wouldn't be a problem either.

In the end, Hamilton wasted his rear tyres too much in a bid to overtake Massa on the track which- unfortunately for him- was never on. He's a racer and I don't blame him for trying to overtake though. The bulk of the fault was on the team today.

So he did less laps on the tyres in his final stint and he burns them out before Rosberg, and this is the teams fault for bringing him in later?
Did you stop for a moment to think what would happen if he came in earlier? Massa would have blocked him off by coming in too.
There is no fault, tyre degrade quicker when following another car closely. Mercedes did what they could, and so did Hamilton. It's racing.

He was sat behind Massa lap after lap in dirty air in high speed corners - that's what kills tyres as they slide around. The team could have asked Hamilton to drop back a second or two and then say "pit this lap unless Massa does". It would have been possible to get by Massa that way. The fact that Rosberg put several seconds on Massa in three laps shows how much slower Massa was than the Mercedes could run.

[Helios]

Whatever reason it was for Hamilton today, he needs to get his --- together before Rosberg is going to pass him in the standings.

Hamilton has been outperformed by Rosberg for most of the 2nd half so far.

[AnthonyG]

No doubt the kill joys in the FIA/stewards will give a penalty for the doughnuts

probably some symbolic fine, But he might lose the win, not because of the donuts but he didn't put the car in park ferme and he didn't get weighted

He's world champion anyway

[FoxHound]

@JAF
Hamilton knows when to drop back, so do the team. Either way, Massa kept him back and wouldve covered him in the pit stops. Again, this is racing.

[rifrafs2kees]

Hamilton is becoming just an ok driver...His skill behind the wheel is perhaps among the best...but his judgement is always left wanting. His season has usually fallen apart during the second half of just about every season. This is the trend i'm seeing with his new team also. How one pushes until the tires are shot is beyond comprehension when pirelli's buttery nature is well known. And if he hasn't learnt how to have a measured approach all these years, I'm afraid he never will.

[sidmiester]

obviously gutted for hamilton because could have been double podium for merc. but its one of those days that merc make some minor miscalculations, but if they learn from this they could get some very good points. red bulls are example of that. not bad for hamilton because his pace was good, car was good, its just he got stuck behind massa thats one of those days. abu dhabi is even difficult to overtake so best thing would be that both merc qualify in better position and team make good judgement on when to get the cars in good timing in free air. here is hoping that merc makes second in championship!

i dont blame hamilton for any results he has got today, nor nico for any results he has gotten when merc should have done better. both drivers are doing great. team is doing alright but they know they can do better job!

[CHT]

No doubt the kill joys in the FIA/stewards will give a penalty for the doughnuts

So true. He is going to get hammered by FIA for donuts, throwing his gloves into the crowd, not speaking directly with FIA first, and not parking his car in park ferme.

FIA = Fun Isn't Allowed in this case

plus a fine for not remove his property (trophy) from the podium after the celebration.

[Helios]

Hamilton is becoming just an ok driver...His skill behind the wheel is perhaps among the best...but his judgement is always left wanting. His season has usually fallen apart during the second half of just about every season. This is the trend i'm seeing with his new team also. How one pushes until the tires are shot is beyond comprehension when pirelli's buttery nature is well known. And if he hasn't learnt how to have a measured approach all these years, I'm afraid he never will.

As a Hamilton-fan, I have to agree. He's mediocre when it comes to intelligent racing. 1 or 2 highlights per season are not enough if you want to win more than one championship. Consistancy is key and he is lacking exactly that. Understanding the tires and treating them properly is something you have to learn but he seems to be unable to do that.

Probably the best example of how to waste massive talent. I fear he'll end up with that one lucky championship. Gutted.

[rifrafs2kees]

obviously gutted for hamilton because could have been double podium for merc. but its one of those days that merc make some minor miscalculations, but if they learn from this they could get some very good points. red bulls are example of that. not bad for hamilton because his pace was good, car was good, its just he got stuck behind massa thats one of those days. abu dhabi is even difficult to overtake so best thing would be that both merc qualify in better position and team make good judgement on when to get the cars in good timing in free air. here is hoping that merc makes second in championship!

It's his fault. He almost lost the rear trying to take the first corner a hair too fast...that let rosberg past. Ultimately, he chose a more draggy set up compared with his team mate which eventually cost him on the straights(quite often it was the case while button was his team mate also). And if he's doing that just to protect the tires, then h'e's not the best. And his unmeasured approach is what let perez by. I cannot see vettel performing this badly right now in the same machine

[henra]

As a Hamilton-fan, I have to agree. He's mediocre when it comes to intelligent racing. 1 or 2 highlights per season are not enough if you want to win more than one championship.

Don't be so harsh on him. Maybe the new tyre compound simply doesn't suit his driving style so well.
Moreover, bad timing and small setup or strategy mistakes in the tightly packed upper midfield can make you look like a complete idiot in modern F1. Just ask Nico Rosberg or Romain Grosjean throughout this season. Or Fernando Alonso for that matter.
From Hero to Zero can be a small step.

[dominaze]

Weird why Pirelli advised teams to be careful with the length of their stints, the race has just proven the opposite. How come their predictions is that far from reality..