J0rd4n wrote:It still deserves to be on the list since he topped FP1, FP2, FP3, Q1, Q2, Q3, fastest lap, and won by 25 seconds. Unheard of in the history of Formula One. Lowe said Rosberg's engine was down a tenth or so on Hamilton. If we believe him, then Rosberg simply did a poor job on Saturday and his race was ruined by being stuck in traffic. The fact Ham only got pole by 3 tenths to the Ferrari on his new engine shows this. If we apply the pace gaps between the two Mercs we saw in practise, then Rosberg's grid position was representative once Ferrari got their act together. It was still a stunning performance and he would have won for sure. Many said at the time no one would have beaten him that weekend, new engine or not.
There's no way the old engine was only down by 0.1 seconds. Sky did a side-by-side comparison between Hamilton and Rosberg, and Hamilton gained significantly more than 0.1 seconds down the straight. Rosberg gained through corners, and even they believed that Rosberg would have been on pole with equal engines.
Here's a comparison between Hamilton and Raikkonen, and it shows that Hamilton's final lap in Q3 was rather scruffy poor. He should have been much more than 0.2 seconds in front of that Ferrari, IMO.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZI1qeaBvq9Y
Yes, Lewis did top FP1 and FP2, as if that means anything. He also topped FP3 and each qualifying session, probably because his teammate was in a very old engine, and he had a very dominant car over the rest of the field.
Absolutely no reason to count Monza in favor of Lewis. At best it was a non-score, like Russia.
I would say that so far this season, Rosberg has been faster than Hamilton on 5 or 6 weekends. Spain, Austria and Mexico are the obvious ones. In Russia, he tonked Lewis in qualifying but never got a fair chance in the race. USA he was clearly faster but messed up and the SC gifted the race to Hamilton. I'm also inclined to say he was faster in Silverstone, although Lewis did win fair and square.