2016 Austrian Grand Prix - Spielberg, Fri 01 – Sun 03 Jul 2016

[henra]

Well they have set a bad precedent with a harmless 10s penalty.
Now drivers can start punting other cars off the track purposely once they know the other guy gets zero points and they only get 10 seconds added on to their race time.

I wouldn't bet any money (and much less risk a good result) on that assumption!
In case of a similar incident between cars from different teams and/or with inverse outcome (In this case Karma had a sense of justice -which is unfortunately not always the case or rather in most cases it is not) might bring different results.

Nico needs to get his emotions under control. Lewis is doing these things much more subtle and clever. If Nico tries it it always looks desperate and clumsy. And he doesn't know when to retreat from a move or brings himself in a position where he doesn't leave himself the option to do so. That is the difference to the top guys like Lewis or Seb. They drive hard, but their moves are predictable and tend to leave the other and themselves time to retreat and the option to do so. Nicos moves are always sudden and surprising and in most cases leave no options for either side. That is why they end in tears so often. They are emotive and committed moves and not purposeful tactical bullying (what Lewis and Seb are doing an where Schumi was a real master in). Nico definitely needs a psycho- trainer.

[RZS10]

So they've basically given him the second mildest penalty possible.

[Jolle]

I fail to understand how you can get away with a 10-second time penalty for deliberately driving off track.
These tactics are identical to what Michael Schumacher has pulled off with Villeneuve in 1997, and the only difference there is that it was a championship deciding race.

I think this one, even though the consequences are less, is a far worse issue than what we had at Barcelona. He could claim to be surprised there, but here, it was a simple, deliberate move.
Given the explanation of the stewards, I would think of more severe penalty would be more appropriate.

The big difference between Rosberg and Schumacher is that Schumacher did it on purpose, Rosberg doesn't know better for some reason. He does stuff like this impulsively, his history of forcing fellow drivers off track is getting longer and longer.

I can imagine that his "almost done 2 year deal" is a bit further from the table now. This is the second time this season now.

[GrizzleBoy]

Decisions regarding Rosberg.

Its kind of crazy how this point wasn't immediately apparent to everyone, including Nico and the rest of the Merc team.

The stewards have clearly dismissed the 'brake failure' excuse and that will not be lost on Merc management who have blown another chunk of credibility defending the chosen one.

Well, they'd have had to explain how they thought they were allowed to notify Lewis of "critical suspension" but believed they were not allowed to notify Rosberg of a critical braking issue?

Its increasingly impossible to respect the management of the team the more time passes.

I do not believe a single word they say anymore.

"Both cars were affected."

"We almost didn't finish."

"X driver was critical on the brakes."

Sure. Okay.

Also, Nico in his own words to sky stated that his placement in the corner was completely intended:

I went deep because that was the best way at the time to try and defend my corner, to keep him on the outside.

So did he have a brake by wire issue, or did he go deep to keep Lewis on the outside?

Of course I need to leave him room on the track, which I was doing, and then Lewis completely caught me by surprise and turned in.

"Ok, so he said in an interview that I was in his blind spot so he couldn't see where I was, so maybe that might be the reason, but it just completely caught me by surprise that he turned in before we got near to the edge of the track even though I was there.

I think we can conclude from this, the lack of any steering lock even past the apex and the fact that no warning was issued about critical brakes, that Nicos placement was very much intentional, brakes had nothing to do with it.

[Sonador]

So when Hamilton forces somebody off track it is his right to do so, but when Rosberg attempts to do the same he gets penalized and burnt down to the ground by Hamilton Fans .....
Not a Rosberg fan, not a Hamilton fan either, but this is a bit stange to me.

Can the guy catch a break (or brake, pun intended)?

Rosberg was awesome all race long, he just messed up on the final lap.
He had a knif between the teeth, you guys should laud that he does put up a fight.
He used to be without balls, now he has grown a pair everybody hates him even more.

This article comes to mind:
http://www.formula1blog.com/editorial/l ... u-blunder/

[ringo]

The big difference between Rosberg and Schumacher is that Schumacher did it on purpose, Rosberg doesn't know better for some reason. He does stuff like this impulsively, his history of forcing fellow drivers off track is getting longer and longer.

I can imagine that his "almost done 2 year deal" is a bit further from the table now. This is the second time this season now.

I don't see how that makes sense.
Nico is known for his precision, and you are going to say that all these incidents of his, he has no control over?
If i were to excuse Nico for all the times he had cuased a collision or running off another driver, this one would be the exception. There is no way today's move was not intended to collide with his teammate.

Also why a heavier punishment should be dealt, is the fact that he rammed his teammate. How ruthless do you have to be to do that to someone on the same team? It's worse than hitting another team's car!!
The intent to use one's car as a weapon and cause an accident is what i think should be penalized heavily. The circumstances shouldn't matter once this is established. Safety of all drivers on track is important; and for all we know Hamilton's car could have flipped upon impact.

[ringo]

So when Hamilton forces somebody off track it is his right to do so, but when Rosberg attempts to do the same he gets penalized and burnt down to the ground by Hamilton Fans .....
Not a Rosberg fan, not a Hamilton fan either, but this is a bit stange to me.

Can the guy catch a break (or brake, pun intended)?

Rosberg was awesome all race long, he just messed up on the final lap.
He had a knif between the teeth, you guys should laud that he does put up a fight.
He used to be without balls, now he has grown a pair everybody hates him even more.

This article comes to mind:
http://www.formula1blog.com/editorial/l ... u-blunder/

There is a difference with knife between the teeth and a baby running with scissors.

[RZS10]

So Toto Wolff is blaming both drivers even though the stewards solely blame Rosberg

translation:
"You need two to have contact. I don't think you can see it in black and white. Nico tried to brake late with a handicapped car. Maybe he wasn't on the normal racing line. And Lewis came from the outside when the first contact happened. Each time you watch the video you get new info. You can't clearly say who's more to blame than the other."

original:
"Es braucht zwei, um einen Kontakt zustande zu bringen. Ich glaube nicht, dass man es schwarz und weiß sehen kann. Nico hat mit einem Auto, das ein Handicap hatte, versucht, spät zu bremsen. Dabei war er vielleicht nicht auf der normalen Ideallinie. Und Lewis kam von außen, als der erste Kontakt entstand. Jedes Mal, wenn man sich die Videos anschaut, gibt es neue Informationen. Man kann nicht klar sagen, wer mehr Schuld hat als der andere."

[Restomaniac]

They seem to have just ignored Rosberg driving around with a barge board half hanging off for 25 laps as well.

[GPR-A duplicate2]

So Toto Wolff is blaming both drivers even though the stewards solely blame Rosberg

translation:
"You need two to have contact. I don't think you can see it in black and white. Nico tried to brake late with a handicapped car. Maybe he wasn't on the normal racing line. And Lewis came from the outside when the first contact happened. Each time you watch the video you get new info. You can't clearly say who's more to blame than the other."

original:
"Es braucht zwei, um einen Kontakt zustande zu bringen. Ich glaube nicht, dass man es schwarz und weiß sehen kann. Nico hat mit einem Auto, das ein Handicap hatte, versucht, spät zu bremsen. Dabei war er vielleicht nicht auf der normalen Ideallinie. Und Lewis kam von außen, als der erste Kontakt entstand. Jedes Mal, wenn man sich die Videos anschaut, gibt es neue Informationen. Man kann nicht klar sagen, wer mehr Schuld hat als der andere."

He clearly lied about break by wire failure, as there was no evidence to prove it in front of stewards. One of the most idiotic team mamagement guys I have seen. Ross Brawn must be laughing his a** off.

[sosic2121]

Any how, Herbert, brundle, Davidson all have stated not only was it Rosberg's fault, it was intentional to punt Lewis.
If all can draw such a damning conclusion i am no longer arguing why Nico is wrong, i am now wondering if he deserves grid penalties or a race ban for such dirty driving. I haven't seen such dastardly driving since shumacher.

For those of you who are supporting nico on this, you have no grounds and don't understand how proper overtaking is done. Nico simply doesn't know how to defend legally, we have seen too many examples with this guy defending and crashing.
You only screen a driver before the braking zone, or on exiting the turn.
You don't push or punt out a car on the outside in the braking zone or in the middle of the turn on the apex.
It's these simple steps Nico fails to understand.
Hamilton in USA and Canada was a steady out sweep, in plain vision by both drivers and before or after the apex of the turn. No drama there and no intention to cause a collision.
Nico wanted to collide in this instance.

dude. no one is defending Nico for driving like idiot. problem is that Lewis is driving like this since day one and Nico is just reacting.
at least Nico is not turning into another car. I haven't seen such move since Schumacher...

[GrizzleBoy]

So when Hamilton forces somebody off track it is his right to do so, but when Rosberg attempts to do the same he gets penalized and burnt down to the ground by Hamilton Fans .....
Not a Rosberg fan, not a Hamilton fan either, but this is a bit stange to me.

Can the guy catch a break (or brake, pun intended)?

Rosberg was awesome all race long, he just messed up on the final lap.
He had a knif between the teeth, you guys should laud that he does put up a fight.
He used to be without balls, now he has grown a pair everybody hates him even more.

This article comes to mind:
http://www.formula1blog.com/editorial/l ... u-blunder/

Squeezing someone on the EXIT of a corner after actually making an effort to make the turn (Lewis' tactic), is vastly different from placing your vehicle so that the car IN FRONT cannot proceed without you going into the side of them.

Given that Rosberg was not the car in front, his actions essentially boil up to driving into another car ahead of him. Which is precisely what he did.

He couldn't squeeze Hamilton, because he was not ahead of Hamilton. He instead chose to take a racing line that was occupied by Lewis' car, in front of him.

[GrandAxe]

Its kind of crazy how this point wasn't immediately apparent to everyone, including Nico and the rest of the Merc team.

The stewards have clearly dismissed the 'brake failure' excuse and that will not be lost on Merc management who have blown another chunk of credibility defending the chosen one.

Well, they'd have had to explain how they thought they were allowed to notify Lewis of "critical suspension" but believed they were not allowed to notify Rosberg of a critical braking issue?

Its increasingly impossible to respect the management of the team the more time passes.

I do not believe a single word they say anymore.

"Both cars were affected."

"We almost didn't finish."

"X driver was critical on the brakes."

Sure. Okay.

Exactly. The Mercedes teams funny tales make it seem that they view the sport with contempt and see F1 fans as mush brained. It is just ridiculous. They are clearly trying to subvert a racing championship by gifting races to an undeserving driver.

Mercedes wouldn't try these stunts if their car wasn't so superior to others that they can manipulate things however they like and still win. Going forwards and for the health of the sport, the FIA must now allow any team to be so far ahead of the pack. If the FIA can't persuade an arrogant team back on the straight and narrow, then the fans should have a go.

[Jolle]

The big difference between Rosberg and Schumacher is that Schumacher did it on purpose, Rosberg doesn't know better for some reason. He does stuff like this impulsively, his history of forcing fellow drivers off track is getting longer and longer.

I can imagine that his "almost done 2 year deal" is a bit further from the table now. This is the second time this season now.

I don't see how that makes sense.
Nico is known for his precision, and you are going to say that all these incidents of his, he has no control over?
If i were to excuse Nico for all the times he had cuased a collision or running off another driver, this one would be the exception. There is no way today's move was not intended to collide with his teammate.

Also why a heavier punishment should be dealt, is the fact that he rammed his teammate. How ruthless do you have to be to do that to someone on the same team? It's worse than hitting another team's car!!
The intent to use one's car as a weapon and cause an accident is what i think should be penalized heavily. The circumstances shouldn't matter once this is established. Safety of all drivers on track is important; and for all we know Hamilton's car could have flipped upon impact.

Rosberg is indeed a very precise driver, calculated and takes a methodical approach to the car on the track. But, when someone is trying to overtake him (from memory, Alonso few years ago in Bahrain, Hamilton in England somewhere in 2011 or 2012 and of course Barcelona) he doesn't know what to do (you can't calculate it in advance) and he pushes the opponent off track in some (unintended) desperate action. It's the same reason why he's less excellent in changing circumstances then someone like Hamilton (like a sudden change of wind or a wet track)
He is as fast as most top drivers (I believe they all are within almost nothing) but the big difference comes when you have to take quick actions. It's almost like Rosberg needs all his talent/brainpower to go fast, while guys like Hamilton, Vettel and Alonso have some to spare to race each other.

[pob]

I am confused about which regulation Rosberg is supposed to have broken... there was still room on the outside of the track, so Hamilton was not forced off the track; nothing in the rules say you have to take the apex of the corner. From reading the report, the significant thing is Hamilton is slightly ahead?