The race has run and the winner sprayed his champagne. After the long summer break, Formula One has returned with the 2014 Belgian Grand Prix. How would you rate the race? Please vote and let let us know why you voted the way you did in the comments section.
Ricciardo for me. Again.
Observations of the weekend:
Lewis Qualifying:
Brake glazing is on Lewis. He lost in qualifying, not the brakes. A driver has to prepare the brakes, in all racing. Spa is not even a massively brake dependant track. Nico did the job, Lewis didn’t. Nico prepared well, Lewis didn’t. And again, I thought wet qualifying was his speciality? Mental win for Nico.
Lewis Closing the Door:
Next time he wants to try to bully and close the door, he’ll think twice. Nico was upside enough to assume Lewis would leave a car width space. Replays show it clearly. It’s a regulation since about 2012 and Nico had more than enough upside Lewis rear to be given a car width. Lewis simply tried the bully boy BS and did the swift chop and lost. Nico simply acted like, “hey turn in, see what happens”. Lewis will be more careful next time. Another mental win to Nico.
If anything, Lewis deserved a penalty for not leaving a space, like other drivers got, and ultimately he cost Mercedes their second chance at winning in as many races.
#whatawastedarrow
Lewis acting like a child:
The continuous begging to stop ( multiple times) really made me lose respect for him and his motivation. So what, if it’s not perfect for him or going his way so he throws his hands up? Like Britain qualifying? Pathetic. Really childish and shortsighted. Keep going Lewis FFS, you get paid enough. Maybe “God” would help eh?. Absolutely unprofessional. Totally amateur.
Mercedes contract extension:
No wonder it’s not forthcoming.
Ricciardo the emerging Champ:
What a drive. This kid is really superb this season. This kid is really outstanding. Great mentality. Great fighting attitude. Hamilton could learn a thing or two from this bloke. In fact I’d prefer Hamilton learn nothing, because every time he sabotages his team, Ricciardo makes em pay big time.
Hamilfosi:
I’m not even bracing for the barrage. Frankly Idgaf. If you can’t see the sh|t performance overall from him, in each above parameter, it really makes no diff. Lewis is clearly not as good as he thinks and his mentality is fu^*ed in my opinion. He’s not even able to say, “well I am the fastest still even if I don’t win”. He’s not. Qualifying this year proves it. He is a fragile child in a mans body, unable to cope with any pressure and when his own bullying turns on him, toys get thrown out. Costing the team another opportunity at winning is indefensible.
In the end, like at Monaco with his talk, Lewis reset the tone of how they’ll fight in Hungary (disobeying orders), and Nico responded and is clearly fine with it. At least everyone is on the same page, unlike Hungary. Lewis can’t pull any tricks now.
And an 8 by the way.
so, the australian likes the australian driver, and has a chip on his shoulder about a pom. still you don’t surprise me.
Sorry mate… Couldn’t stand Webber, or Stoner for that matter. Better luck next time.
Imagine if Ricciardo was in the 2013 Red Bull instead of Webber… Vettel might not have won X in a row!
He did not close the door. And asking to stop was fully justified, because of those stupid rules…
Yes he did. He could have held the close line, left a car width, but chose not to like in Bahrain. This time, Nico just kept the nose in. Simple.
He chose to drive the racing line. As he should do. Nico wasn’t close enough up for him to back off in any way. And nico hit lewis. And that is a fact. Neither vettel nor alonso nor any other true racer would have done anything else as lewis did.
Didn’t Vettel also try to pass Lewis at the exact same point of the track and when he realised he wasn’t going to make it, backed out and ran over the rumble strip? It’s interesting that he didn’t make reference to that. But Vettel is WDC, so he knows how to race cleanly.
I guess Rosberg was pissed he got jumped by both Lewis and Seb.
Erm, so leaving a car space is applicable to all but Lewis?
Charlie has confirmed, when asked how far a car being upside another counts as being “next to” another and this requiring a car width respect, he said if the front wing is next to the rear tyres it’s deemed next to another car. Clearly this was the case. It has to be, given Lewis got a puncture. Lewis chose not to adhere to rules, and I think only didn’t get penalised because he paid a bigger price anyway.
@SiS, the car’s width is only on a straight, and only when a defending car is moving back towards the racing line. If you think that Hamilton closed the door on Nico, I have to question your racing background. Why was Nico’s steering wheel turned fully in towards Lewis at contact? Seems Nico was hoping that Lewis would close the door, but when he didn’t, he initiated contact himself.
http://www.lepoint.fr/images/2014/08/24/2798041-choc-debut-png_2425490.png
Far more than just one car’s width there for Nico to have used. On initial turn in, Lewis was hugging the line on the right hand side of the track!
Plus again, the car’s width rule is only for on the straights, as the defending driver moves back to take the racing line.
Considering both Still and I have raced a lot at quite a high level (real or virtual), I have to say I agree with him. It always takes two to tangle (hence you should avoid Pastor like the plague).
But neither of you made to F1, so pointless comment
I.e. he could have left slightly more room, but probably thought Nico would not misjudge it – he just nicked his tyre, which was enough for a puncture. Inches in it. Vettel by contrast survived a big hit by Alonso on the last lap.
@Fortis96 Well, that was never realistic anyway was it? Nowadays it can take £20m… but what it gives us is more realistic insight. I had a similar incident in my race yesterday, and the driver who had Nico’s role was very apologetic about it, and thought I would be very angry.
@f1esty….
So did anyone blame you for the incident? Were you accused of not giving the guy behind you enough space? Did you dry the normal racing line when you got hit?
Well at least the guy was apologetic, can’t say the same for Nico
@Fortis96 Not really, the guy tried to duck in behind (which was similar to the Rosberg hit), but I expected him to be on the outside line, as there were cars behind (like the K-Mag train at the end, although this was L1T1). Track was Kyalami ’67, so I’d have been ahead anyway by the exit of Crowthorne.
But, in the pre-Q practice start, there was a pileup going two wide down towards T2, so that might have influenced his thinking. Keeping tight inside on cold tyres/full tanks also meant I lost 5mph touching the kerb, which also arguably set it off – if not for that, I might have gassed it slightly to give us more room at the apex, once I saw him tuck in behind in the mirrors.
So, there’s always two sides to an incident, and how you could have avoided it. But, I didn’t want to go deep into T1 of a 60 min race and take him out, either. No asphalt run-offs here like that which Vettel could escape outside at Les Combes on.
Generally, racing online is much more like pre-Senna racing, i.e. room is always given. Lag will exacerbate any incident, much like how contact pre-Senna was very dangerous indeed. Only rFactor I think has a small collision box, allowing wheel-to-wheel racing with less chance of race ending incidents from lag contact.
This ‘I’ll drive the racing line, irrespective of hitting someone who is alongside’ mentality has only crept in over the last 25 years I’d say (but I’m only 24 myself).
Watching the post race analysis on Sky F1 they have a virtual tool and Rosberg at his furthest point up the side of Hamilton only had his front wheel just level with Hamilton’s rear. That is not along side I’m afraid, Lewis had every right to take the racing line, if you hit someone from behind in law it is your fault not the person in front. Looking at other moves up and down the grid, Lewis did nothing wrong, and I’m no member of the “Ham-fosi”. I think Nico was at best, over enthusiastic, at worst clumsy, but I didn’t think it was done out of spite or malice. It was a real shame for the championship, but there was some great wheel to wheel action up and down the field.
Is anyone surprised that SIS would’ve said that this was all Lewis’s doing? I’m not.
See what I did there. I’ve defended lewis. But you probably won’t notice because it isn’t negative enough… 😆😈
I’ve clearly seen that you’ve defended him and our conversation was about the stewards not handing out a penalty.
Can you imagine what he would’ve written had it been Lewis who hit Nico from behind?
Yes I can. But can you image what it would have been if it was vettel who’d hit either of those two mercedes. .. that’s the way it works on (critical) f1 sites.
Probably as surprised as all your tripe in your comments in the previous post.
Like I said, idgaf. His whole weekend was sh|t. He needs to grow up.
Quick, quick… Reply.
Both risked alot in lap 2. Rosberg could have, should have cut the corner. Hamilton should have given more spave. It was karma for what happened in Bahrain.
Hamilton said his car lacked downforce and could not even take Eau Rouge flatout. He was outpaced by Grosjean (his words). Hamilton is already on the back foot engines and hybrid systems wise, therefore he wanted to quit.
There you have it, as objective an opionion can be (at this time as I dont know if Hamilton’s car was in fact as damaged as he says).
His rear floor was badly damaged by the delaminating rear tyre, which then got stuck on Massa and Rosberg’s cars mid-race.
Sure he disappointed a little in Q3, with a small and big mistake costing pole. But as we saw on Lap 1, Rosberg was 3rd – the start is quite important here for position on Lap 2.
Only Vettel’s push for the lead at Les Combes gave Rosberg the chance on Lap 2, not to mention probably damaged Vettel’s underfloor.
Both of the Red Bulls took to the run-off area on lap 1. Definitely would’ve made it easier for Lewis if Seb had held position there. Seb had that other mistake which allowed Dan through later on … those are some key mistakes, but at this moment no one cares what Seb’s doing.
For sure.. he would have been able to escape DRS by the time Nico got past Seb. After that, it’s just managing the gap…
I believe Vettel damaged his car while going off on Lap 1, as after that, he was really down on pace compared to Ricciardo, necessitating an extra stop, almost reminiscent of the Webber days. But we’d need a confirmation from the team of any damage (from going over the sleeping policemen IMO).
this was neither ones fault, it was a racing incident. i was suprised though that the team clearly blamed nico for what happened. his facial expression on the podium also suggested that he knew he was in trouble. looks like there was an internal agreement that something like this was not to happen. maybe they weren’t allowed to attack in the first half of the race, as in whoever makes it through the first corner leads until the final stage of the race.
can’t really see the problem with lewis’ moaning. they have restrictions on engine and gearbox use etc., he already had several technical dnf’s and this race was obviously a lost cause. yes, the team speculated on a safety car, but in hindsight, they should have retired him early on.
@SiS
While the tone of your reply is bit ‘hoony’ for the soft hamii. I do agree with your post, except for the retirement point. He is aware that he is likely to take a PU penalty in the later races. “Incident” – 50/50. Booing – ugh!
You have to question Hamilton’s response to the incident. I can’t remember seeing an F1 car with a puncture being driven so quickly back to the pits…
… Result =damaged floor … and suddenly a car 2 seconds quicker than the field is slower than a Sauber…
Well there’s a trade off to that. Drive back slowly to the pits and he will lose a lot more time than he did, probably would’ve been lapped, so it doesn’t matter what approach he adopted, he’s still going to lose.
Wouldn’t the floor still have sustained damage with the tyres flaying like that?
True, but in the event of a safety car, he would need an intact car to rise back through the field.
They didn’t bring out a safety car for the discarded rubber from Lewis car that was all over the racing line,the very same debris that ended up on both Massa and Nico’s car, then there was no chance of a safety car. It would’ve taken an almighty cock up by some before we saw a safety car today.
Another ‘Lewis” failure due to the safety car??? … He destroyed his floor driving back too quickly to the pits….
@Fortis96 True, but it was still possible that someone might have spun off in an awkward position or tangled battling (e.g. Ericsson and Chilton duking it out for last place).
@f1esty….
That’s why I said it would’ve taken an almighty cock up by someone to bring out a safety car. That didn’t look like it was ever going to happen, given how well spaced out the cars were.
Furthermore, going on past history, I doubt even an accident would’ve borough out a safety car.
Then he should have taken more care of it returning to the pits….
@thejudge….
I think you need to step down from behind the bench. Lewis’s race wasn’t ruined because of his eagerness to get back to the pits, but rather by his teammate running into the back of his car.
So had he driven like he was in a funeral procession, would that mean he would’ve been able to score points?
No it wouldn’t…. Plus 2 seconds a lap … 43 laps… Do the maths
You’re making assumptions that if he had done so, he would’ve been able to get into the points.
Did you also assume the amount of time he would’ve lost had he driven at a NYC traffic pace? Exactly how fast should he have driven back?
@Fortis96 It might have been possible, in the end Vettel and those behind him were over 40 seconds back from Ricciardo.
The more I see it, I wonder if Nico was trying to tap wheel on wheel with Hamilton, then tried to back out and tuck in behind.
And why Rosberg didn’t won the race? 2sec per lap, 43 laps, no damaged floor, no puncture…
Didn’t need to
Yes good point Judge. I was very much mouthing the words, WTF as I watched his trek back to the pits. Just short sighted. Definitely a Hamilton trait that is not serving him well. Like I said, toys out the pram and what not.
#whatawastedarrow
At what speed should he have driven the three miles or so back to the pits, then, in your expert opinion?
In my expert opinion it was above the speed cars usually drive on their wheel rims…. Bu some margin…..
Really stupid of Hamilton. Another case of brain fade!
Further, by persistently breaking team protocol, can Lewis really complain when Rosberg toughens up and drives the way he has this season…
… Count the incidents where Hamilton has damaged other cars THIS season whilst overtaking….
But did any of those incidents cost any of those drivers damage that was so severe that they ended up at the back of the field?
Those incidents that you’re talking about, only happened in one race and that was Germany. So it’s not a frequent occurrence is it?
Lewis decision in Hungary damaged Nico
That one must surely be held as a team bungle on Hamilton’s strategy, thus provoking an awkward situation?
Damaged Nico how?
Go back and listen the team radio and Lewis’s reply again…
“I’m not slowing down to let Nico past, if he catches up to me, he can overtake me”
Did he catchup or did he sit back hoping that Lewis would part the Red Sea for him?
Nico’s inability to get past JeV damaged Nico. Had he been able to do so, then the team wouldn’t have pitted him earlier than planned, so as to leapfrog JeV.
How about him running wide at T1 in his attempt to past Alonso and Bottas? Didn’t that ruin his race?
Rosberg made the cardinal error today – he ruined the teams chances of a 1-2. I’ve noticed with Rosberg that when Lewis has the lead he appears to get frustrated and then a little desperate when trying to over take Lewis. I think the main problem here is not one of a conspiracy to ensure Nico is the champion. It’s the fact Mercedes has pretty weak management when it comes to controlling both drivers. I’m conflicted as i like both drivers, they’ve each done some stupid things this season.
Ross Brawn may well have the last laugh on this one. As I doubt he’d have let things spin out of control as they appear to have done at Spa. Though it will make for an interesting finish to the season. Riccardo has been the class act of 2014. Even though his chances of winning the drivers title are very slim to non existent, it would serve Lewis and Nico right if he did win the title if they keep squabbling like a pair of 2 year olds.
It’s one thing to break team protocol judge, but what’s the first rule of racing? Never take out your teammate.
So are you saying what Nico did, was just him toughen up?
You gave Seb an almighty rollicking for his ‘multi 21′ incident, but now giving Nico a pat on the back.
In Hungary you kept on saying that Mercedes priorities are first and foremost the team, then the drivers and due to Lewis’ disobedience, he cost the team vital points and a race win.
So it’s interesting to see you’re talking about ‘team protocol’ and the incidents he has been involved in (one race), but nothing about Nico breaking the biggest protocol of them all.
…. and so the chaos now ensues….
There is a word for that, y’know. 🙂
let’s cut the bull
hamilton, massively talented, but is an arrogant c_nty idiot who loves to self victimise and blame the others
total idiot
Let’s ask the team bosses, shall we ?
“Totally unacceptable.”
“Ridiculous and totally unacceptable.”
Hamilton was racing to make up a huge number of positions in the examples you cite.
Rosberg managed to… remain second. While taking out his teammate, at the beginning of the race.
In the circumstances, it looks to me like a calculated risk, which came off for him.
As Hamilton said, he’ll be flying home happy.
True.. unless Mercedes lay the slap down… but will they I wonder? Brawn – you know it’ll come, and hard. Wolff/Lauda – only words so far.
Mmm… Suggest you analyse the front wing damage incidents as compared to punctures before making such sweeping statements…. Not a clever bet!!!!!!
No one can even have a sensible discussion with you anymore SIS. It’s pretty clear that for whatever reason you have a deep hatred for Lewis and this comes across in your comments.
Agree. It’s ‘motivated’ arguing.
Spanners, original post are my observations. I do genuinely think all points I state. What point in particular in my op do you disagree with and why?
So nothing then Spanners? I thought I’d at least get a reasonable post from you. But you’d prefer to just throw a stone. Np mate. It’s not motivated arguing, it’s a point of view. Sorry it hurt your hamilton sensibilities. I don’t expect much of some of the others, but I thought you’d perhaps want to engage in debate.
I also not Formula didn’t respond to my invitation either.
Formula, my original post are my observations. I do genuinely believe all points I state. What point in particular in my op do you disagree with and why?
I don’t hate Hamilton. I think he had a sh|t weekend, all of which is on him. He’s not driving like a champion. He’s driving like a shortsighted, self entitled, driver who believes his own hype.
On the second half: Lewis retiring the car was smart thinking, given the lack of pace post-damage and parts deficit Lewis has for the remainder of the season.
Ricciardo is really becoming a top driver, and stepping up to the plate – his description of taking the win from Rosberg really underlines his winning mentality.
Hamilton’s mistakes I feel are due to him cutting muscle to lose weight unnecessarily (brought about by Mercedes). Losing muscle loses you spare capacity when really on the limits – I can feel the same effect in my own racing, as I’ve de-toned from when I ran 24.0 for 200m (not that I ever did any weight training in the first place) at age 15/16.
My peak driving performance mostly came at 19/20, like Kvyat now, although I’m starting to manage it again at times – 6-9 months to get muscle memory back post-uni, after a first re-emergent peak period without consistency in the first month or two.. matches up almost perfectly with how Vandoorne adapted to the GP2 car (another top sim-racer!).
—
For comparison purposes – I’m not too far off Norbert Michelisz, who moved from my sim (GPL) to winning in WTCC, while Bottas would be a small step above him again (comparing drivers from a similar pace above in sim-racing that beat Bottas in karts), although that might just be greater experience, i.e. seat-time.
One of the best sim-racers tried to move to F3 this year – Atze Kerkhof, a former national level speed-skater from the Netherlands. He drove with Richie Stanaway for the premier sim-racing team, Redline, and as a physio helped him get back in shape for challenging RB-backed Alex Lynn for the GP3 title this year.
Richie then put him in touch with Fritz Van Amersfoort, and after impressing at Barcelona in his debut car test (they also started testing Verstappen at this time) was told that if he could raise 400,000 Euros sponsorship that the drive would be his.
I have no doubt that Kerhhof would probably start to gain speed as time went on, a bit like how Mardenborough is now doing in GP3. But Kerkhof as far as I know didn’t have any karting experience in his youth – so he would literally have been someone that only found racing through sim-racing in his early twenties, which is much more applicable to the guy on the street.
If it comes out that Rosberg did it on purpose, that also puts Monaco in a different light – and what will Mercedes do to re-establish it’s control? Bench him for a race and put in di Resta? What can they do that’s ‘above a slap on the wrist’? Enforce team orders? How far does that go? 1 win to Hamilton? 2 wins? The title?
since when doing a social observation is racism ?
hamilton must be wortied a lot about your sh_tty despisable existence
so, f_uck you too
now go back to your sh_thole quick
Why don’t you just come out and say…,
F_ck this n!55a?
must be feeling happy now that Mercedes confirmed lewis’ quote
Welcome back manky, was wondering how long before you showed up again
your post was simply one sided and moronic still i surprise, what R/T wrote was racism.
fortis is sick, delusional
I am judging Hamilton’s posture and attitude, not his massive talent and his abilities
but fortis, delusional as he is, tries to spin towards racism
nobody using racism, just doing a social observation
hamilton plays exactly those rappers who come from nothing and then start to mistreat, despise and humiliate people who them consider “under” their status, just like his rapper friend who shot that video inside McLaren box
and he’s just like that, as he came from under he feels entitled to do it and when thing fall out, he pulls the self victimising strategy, like he did with the Ali G quote
because I am not racist, I dislike the guy, not his race
His rapper friend who’s also an actor on an Emmy award winning programme, but let’s leave that out you f_cking racist pr!ck!!!
Who is he despising or mistreating? Who is he humiliating other than racist morons like yourself!
here is the definition of racism from the oxford dictionary:
“The belief that all members of each race possess characteristics, abilities, or qualities specific to that race, especially so as to distinguish it as inferior or superior to another race or races”
your post exactly fits that description. how many of these rappers do you know and observed abusing people to come to the conclusion that ALL poor and black people behave in the same negative way once they get successful? what you wrote is clearly racist, that doesn’t change simply because you don’t consider yourself racist.
I wasn’t trying to insinuate that you are, although I agree on the social part – that’s probably why I relate better to Vettel. Lewis is America facing, Vettel Britain facing, which is more similar to myself.
That said, I absorbed the dominance of American culture via TV when I was little, so I can see why Lewis gravitates towards it as well. His dad’s background and more representation of something like that in the USA may also be another factor, which helps in forming your own identity.
It’s also the culture that you should embrace if you wish to be famous, hence Lewis’ XIX management, and Vettel having none. However, you could also explain it as wise monetary thinking, i.e. maximising your income while you can.
PS. No idea on the acting rapper, but for every badboy, there’s also a Lupe Fiasco. And it’s nice to see some new pop-star faces like Rihanna involved in F1 (it can only be cross-promotional at the end of the day).
And sadly, what backs up my observation is Idris Elba (The Wire) and Chiwetel Ejiofor breaking through in the USA way before breaking through here. Although Elba is now on TV here regularly with Luther (badass detective) and numerous F1 voice-overs (the ‘next race:’ part on Sky?) 🙂
However, this all may be just my perception of TV being wholly dominant in shaping culture.
while we are thrashing each other here they’re with their heads hot but earning millions and flying private jets
so, I will apologise and get back to other things
cheers
8/10. God I love this track. And great racing this year. At almost every moment of the race. And i enjoyed kimi ( first time this year)
did you go?
No this year I didn’t. And I’m glad actually. It’s cold here. And int spa it’s always colder. So i watched on my sofa.. With the heat turned on.
But I am ashamed of the (british) fans. Stop the booing. This isn’t football.
Sure we know Lewis is British, but to say that you’re ashamed of the British fans is a bit unfair to single out one set of people. Just saying.
But it where the British who where booing.
See it’s hard to prove that, so it’s an unfair comment to make. Lewis’s fan base is not only British, so it would’ve been better to say, that the booing by Lewis’s fans, was unacceptable.
Some brazillians too, me included.
Booing is fine… They pay their considerable money… And it’s all part of the pantomime….
No its not. It’s never fine. In any sport.
We’ll agree to disagree…. Hippo and I wrote a series on the boo pandemic last year… Worth a read even if you disagree
I know. I’ve read it. But that’s the thing. We can disagree on something, without one of us being offended. (See f*rtis)
I agree too – is it something that is lost in translation/a different culture? The booing actually made me laugh out loud.
it was funny watching the race on german television, as the commentators tried explaining the booing away and suggested it was actually the politician handing over the trophy who was booed. but then eddie jordan began his interview and as soon as he talked to rosberg, the booing started again.
@Bruznic totally agree about the poor manners of a minority of fans that booed Nico, it was very very poor taste from all involved and I thought EJ made a good point in the podium interview, ” these guys have raced their hearts out to put on a great show”, here here, this is not pantomime, it’s top level sport.
So an other who disagrees with the judge. Yes, I’m not alone anymore 😉
And you must keep doing so’;)
The podium is a pantomime….
The fact that 4 people so far has clicked the like button (and I’m sure more will) for that moronic comment says it all when it comes to Lewis Hamilton, that even when he’s not at fault for something, there are those who will always blame him.
“You have to work twice as hard to get half of what they got”
eye roll…
So Fortis disagrees with a comment, then it must be ‘moronic’ and apparently somehow racially motivated.
What a sad way to veiw the world, constantly looking for racial inequality.
Perhaps those that clicked like simply agree that his performance, and not his colour, is crap.
If indeed Lewis has to work twice as hard to get half, then it’s because he’s probably a little simple. All he had to do is leave a small car width gap, as per the rules. All he had to do was focus on preparing the cars brakes, like Nico. All he has to do is drive to the end of a race, even when it’s not going well. All he has to do is grow up, even if surrounded by yes men.
Talk all you want mate, it won’t change my opinions of the comments made by you and others.
Your comment was moronic and stupid, because you’re blaming someone for something thet didn’t cause. If he’s in front, he is entitled to take the natural racing line, it’s not his job to see to it that Nico doesn’t hit his car. He did the same thing when Seb tried to get past and didn’t get hit by him and Seb was ever further along than Nico.
Bottas past Seb at the same corner and didn’t run into the back of his car not did he drive him off the track. We’ve already seen it, that Nico’s race craft is very poor and this was another example of that.
So like you, ICGF about what you or anyone has to say. So the judge can now go ahead and bar me from comment.
If Seb had braked earlier at Les Combes, he might have been able to overtake Hamilton on Lap 1 like Bottas did to Seb later on in the race. But, on cold brakes he fluffed it, which is totally understandable – it happened multiple times to people in wet Q.
And arguably, Rosberg lost the race by flat spotting his front left while trying to pass Vettel (same mistake Vettel did in hitting Button there), which compromised his strategy for taking it to Ricciardo late in the race.
I wonder how much the niggle in Australia has changed the title race however. Lewis looks vulnerable when fighting for the title, compared to being consistently in front (2007, although the team dropped it in China). This is because it is mistakes or how little of them you can do that decide titles (Alonso knows this).
If Hamilton wins in Australia (or takes an easy second), then this season would be all about Rosberg recovering/striking back mentally and by any way possible from Monaco onwards, after being practically out of it by race 6. In that context, this incident would then look a lot worse.
Lewis was on the RACING LINE, nico hit him and was incredibly clumsy if he didn’t do it on purpose. If he didn’t do it on purpose, then we can conclude that nico’s racecraft is awful and not worthy to be rated as good as lewis, fernando and now what looks to be, Ricciardo…
Think his duel with Button disproves this
@ still i surprise: “So Fortis disagrees with a comment, then it must be ‘moronic’ and apparently somehow racially motivated.
What a sad way to veiw the world, constantly looking for racial inequality”
let me just leave this quote fro R/T here for you:
“f_ck Lewis, he’s a total a__hole who behaves exactly like any poor or black guy, who raises from an unfavourable background to fame and rchness, acting arrogantly, mistreating anybody who he thinks is “under” his pistion and victimising when things didn’t go his way”
your post was moronic because it laid all the blame on hamilton, when what happened was simply a racing incident. sh_it happens. he did have a bad weekend, but that was down to said incident and not his fault. he messed up in quali but recovered at the start, then rosberg punctured his tyre. if you really believe what you posted, then yes, it is moronic, if not, than you’re provocative trolling is really ruining the debates on this site. you were able to have a civilised discussion when it came to the article you wrote, positively contributing to community here, so why do you feel you have to revert to the abrassive language and onesidedness you displayed before? we already have the fat hippo for that.
You insinuated fortis was a paranoid who was actively looking for racism when there was none. R/T’s post is a clear display of racism, and that was what fortis was referring to. That is what R/T’s post have got to do with you.R/T is a racist, you are just a moron trolling a blog.
Your post consisted of observations articulated in abrasive language, even adressing “Hamilfosi” to cause a reaction. You’re article and comments relating to that article used a completely different tone, so don’t act as if you didn’t know the difference between stating observations and comming to a conclusion and the obvious troll job of your other posts. I don’t really know what you get out of it, but your constant provocations have a negative impact on the culture of debate on this blog. That’s moronic because it ruins an otherwise informative site.
“and that was what fortis was referring to”
Impossible. The comment Fortis made, that I reference, was made before RT’s post. My comment stands.
Also, if I were you, I’d refrain from continually calling me a moron.
I wasn’t able to comment on SiS’s articles re: Hamilton last week. I read them, and I thought they were quite good. Part of me thought that they were perhaps too good to be from SiS’s hand, as many of the words and phrases used just didn’t “sound” like him, if you know what I mean. The general cadence of some of the sentences was just at a higher level than what I’ve come to expect, but then there were some sentences that were of the expected level, that appeared to be tacked on.
Hopefully they are 100% his own thoughts and words. Anyways, the posts since have reverted to type. Anything Hamilton does is seen through a negative prism first and foremost, primarily as a counter-reaction to the “Hamilfosi”. It’s more than a little tiresome.
I think anyone who thought that Hamilton closed the door on Sunday is plain nuts, and is causing their eyes to play tricks on them. It looked to me as though Nico was overly anxious to gain the places lost back, and forgot the “you don’t win the race at the (1st or 7th) corner” adage, so pushed his overtake attempt well past the reasonable limit.
Is it really Rosberg’s team? He certainly acted like it was today.
What a load of bull crap.
So here we are eh…? People don’t like my original comment post Belgium and they struggle to reconcile with what they previously began thinking about me. I’ve had my racing experience undermined here. My intelligence questioned. Insinuations of racism and racial intolerance suggested. And now, I’m a plagiarist. Wow.
So when I am talking good about Hamilton, it’s like.
-“Oh SiS, interesting technical thought” or “Oh SiS, what do you think about this or that”
-“Oh SiS, great pick up, didn’t notice that.”
-“Oh SiS, well written piece or comment.”
_”Oh SiS, interesting insight on racial inequality.”
And when it’s less positive about Hamilton, it’s like.
-“I question whether you even raced”
-“Did you even write that last article”
-“you’re rambling moron” or “you’re a troll” or “you’re an idiot”.
-“Just say you only like the whites”
LIKE – WTF!?
Well Hamilfosi, undermine me all you like. But this is me and I have opinions and they are not always what you Hamilton lovers like. They are based on my experiences and perceptions. I get passionate about F1 during the race weekend. The fact you can’t reconcile one part of me with another is not my problem. Deal with it. I have not attacked any of you. I have attacked points of views and provided many. I try to engage in debate.
I also spent hours in my own time crafting a contribution for this site. I worked had on it and I have two others almost done. How many of you can say the same? Not f*&king many. Oh an there will be a difference is typing away thoughtfully at a PC and posting something quickly off an iPhone. Adam Mac can send you my original script, which you can see unpolished if you like. You know, I am starting to regret I shares that comment here too actually after the past day. It wasn’t taken as I intended. As judge said then, it only served to aggrandize Hamilton further and that was not my intention.
Anyway… some of you Hamilfosi really need to take a good hard look at yourselves. THERE ARE OTHER VIEWS. I’m a pretty resilient dude. I tease somewhat, I know. And I can take it too. But really, collectively Lewis Hamilton fans are idiots on this site.
a hint of ‘chip on the shoulder racism’ there, whatever happened to racing incidents
Indeed, it’s good that the stewards realised they were infringing upon the racing too much, and have started to step back from penalty central a little.
7 because the entire build up was literally deflated by rosberg being an impatient ass. some plus points for ricciardo managing to pull through a win but tv didn’t clearly show how that happened (again stupid tv director not following the right storylines). magnussen investigated for turn 5 incident with Alonso but rosberg running into Hamilton nothing? crazy double standards.
Not only that, but K Mag also got himself a penalty:
Belgian GP: Magnussen handed 20-second penalty for Alonso incident
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/115549
Have to say, as soon as I saw K-Mag edge Alonso onto the grass at full speed, I knew that that penalty was coming – it’s exactly the same situation as Vettel when he got one at Monza for edging Alonso onto the grass.
I’m actually surprised that Ferrari didn’t tell Alonso to simply hold station behind Magnussen, and pick up the place through the penalty being applied to him post-race.
His defending on Jenson also cost them a potential 5-6 finish, but that said, it was nice to see him defending hard against 3 WDCs.
That chrash is clearly the consequence of the decisions by the Mercedes team in the last races.
As they did nothing after all the thing Lewis did, Nico had no other chance than going the hard way.
And i think there was space enough to hold the door open for Lewis.
All the things Lewis did? What, not slow down and let his team mate past at Hungary (although he did say he would if he could get closer) and defend the lead a bit robustly in Bahrain after a safety car robbed him of the advantage he’d built?
Putting aside my personal dissapointment, I’m still not sure it was a brilliant race, 6-7 maybe? Can’t help but feel that Lewis until Monaco was so strong, but since then with a mix bad luck and his own issues, its all going wrong. The result is, at the moment I don’t think he deserves it, but then Nico just seems to be inheiriting it. I am sure that Ricciardo and Alonso deserve the WDC this year more, even Bottas. Here’s to performance gains from the other teams.
Whilst most of you keep harking on about how Nico has “toughened” up, nobody has mentioned his awful racecraft. Locking the front wheels like he did behind Vettel in a desperate attempt to get past meant he totally destroyed his chance of winning the race by ruining his strategy. But that happily goes amiss by people who are loving to berate hamilton at this moment in time. His desperate attempt to get past lewis and consequently ruining both their races on lap 2 just proves that he knows that if he gets stuck behind lewis, he doesn’t have the racecraft in him to get by at a later stage, but never mind, keep banging on about how he has supposedly sent a message to Lewis.
oh and no mention on how nico was stupid enough to lay all the blame on the british fans for the booing? I thought he was meant to be politically astute? If hamilton had come out with that, the knives would be out
Were we picked out when Vettel was booed? Or was that more widespread in it’s agreement post-Malaysia 2013…
The knives are already out, have you noticed? He’s being blamed because some guy ran into the back of his car. Now can you imagine if that was Lewis who did that to Nico?
this website is beginning to fill up with people who like the more politically astute and potentially resort to cheating ways drivers rather than those drivers who are maybe not as politically astute but great in hard but fair wheel to wheel fights.
Wrong, it fills up with people who simply don’t like Hamilton, just like snails after the rain they’ve all come out now
Not necessarily formula. I have never supported Hamilton. I am just glad we are seeing the racing we are seeing this year. We all know on a single lap Hamilton is one of the best (if not the best) out there.
Does not mean I have to support him. I did not see the race so will not comment but look at Hungary, last lap when Hamilton changed his line while Nico was going round the outside. Hamilton gave Nico the choice, move or crash into me. No one said anything then but if Nico did not back out of that move it could have been one or both Mercs out.
Today was payback and to show Lewis he will not give him an inch anymore. Racing will be interesting now. Nico can afford to crash into Lewis at every race and risk taking them both out. He may not win WDC bit neither will Hamilton…
Great season! 🙂
Exactly.. I think he wants to keep the points gap as big as possible, although that’s understandable given how Abu Double could easily swing 14 points into Hamilton’s favour. But I’d also say that Lewis is probably about that amount down on Rosberg via simple accumulated bad luck.
And Lewis spun out all on his own at turn 2 in Hungary….
And still finished ahead of his teammate. So what’s your point?
Whether deliberate or a simple mistake the fact remains that Rosberg ruined Lewis’ race and he’s now 29 points ahead. He probably felt he had nothing to lose since right now the team may be forced to issue team orders for the rest of the season. They say that you can’t have your cale and eat it. Well, Rosberg can. 29 points ahead deapite the fact he caused a collission and the team may be forced to back him in the end. I knew he was a cerebral driver, but not that way…
Amorailty is the most rigourously cerebral solution I guess? Peter Windsor said in his mid season driver run downs that all the engineers at Merc were sure Nico did the Monaco ‘thing’ on purpose. A pretty bold thing to say if there is no basis to it.
the judge, big question for you. Will buxton has reported that lewis said that Nico admitted in debrief he deliberately hit him to prove a point. Any word on this???
Lewis emo response….Get to the media first… I suggest you Wait for the ‘considered’ story….
The same emo that you twitted Jennie Gow about after she confirmed that what he said to the media was true?
In fact it wasn’t… And she was seen to be just like the rest of the media hungry hounds…. Full of one side of the story.
I think that a limit on comments per post might add value to the debates.
Rosberg is ruthless and Lady Luck likes him, good combination to be the WDC. When you can even take chances by taking your opponent out and get away with it without retiring yourself, you’re already the WDC because that’s an unbeatable combination to be the WDC. Who cares whether Toto says it’s Rosberg’s fault, with all the fuss there was in Hungary when Hamilton “cost the team points and defied team orders” I wonder if we’ll see half as many headlines about Rosberg costing the team a net 25 points (with the assumption that this would have been a boring 1-2 and no mechanical failures to either driver). Not that Rosberg will care, he has his nice 29 points cushion. More surprising is how he actually failed to win despite the wing change and having the fastest car on track.
#whatawastedarrow can apply here too
Regarding Hamilton’s reactions, he was stating facts : his team-mate’s car rarely stops and it’s looking good for him. People will still try to turn this into long-winded messages but Hamilton is not even half as cunning as that. Mercedes cannot do anything about team-mates taking each-other out, even if they clearly said they don’t want that to happen. My guess is that Rosberg took his chance, trusted his luck (Hamilton is out and he can carry on) and knows he can get away with it internally (Toto has his back covered). SIS will have his field day, it’s to a point I think he actually scripted the whole thing today :p
It’s severe to call Hamilton out on this one, he overtook cleanly at Turn 1 and Rosberg was obviously massively pissed that he got passed so early and so easily (by his standards at least). For once, it seems Rosberg got nervous and wanted P1 immediately but failed to do it cleanly, today he gets away with it (and he probably will keep getting away with it all this year, he has all the right factors pointing favourably towards him). Regarding Hamilton’s calls for retiring : very surprising on the moment, but in hindsight, his race was effectively over and he has PU penalties looming large on the horizon (larger than Rosberg at least, maybe his Honour can confirm ?). That’s only *speculation* on my part but maybe he was trying to think “big picture” and not run his engine through any “needless” miles when he knows he has zero chances of out-scoring his title rival on the day (given what he did in Hungary last time out, he seems to be able to do this now).
Rosberg supporters can rejoice and celebrate, while Hamilton supporters can only wonder about what could have been. I have stopped getting too emotionally invested, it only hurts my health. Watching from the distance is easier and this year seems to be Rosberg’s year. Ruthless, consistent when fault-less and lucky when he isn’t, that’s more than enough to be a WDC. I’d love Hamilton to win as he was and still is a breath of fresh air in F1 (I still wish he can win, provided he gets some luck going his side AND he takes all his chances as they come), but this year is firmly pointing at Rosberg as the eventual WDC. Deutsch Qualität 🙂
Regarding Hamilton’s calls for retiring : very surprising on the moment, but in hindsight, his race was effectively over and he has PU penalties looming large on the horizon
Not even in hindsight – it was obvious during the race that his car was too compromised to make it back in to the points.
He already has one fewer engines left than Rosberg, so wanting to avoid driving round to absolutely no avail on one of the circuits most taxing on engines was eminently sensible.
Why some of the more Neanderthal seem to think this was (eg) “childish and shortsighted”, given that it was clearly quite the opposite, is beyond logical explanation.
He should have looked after it better….
Lewis taken out by Rosberg yet we have people here blaming Lewis? you clearly are myopic when it comes to Hamilton and it comes to the fore on occasions like this. Rosberg may win the title this year but in my eyes it will be as hollow as Buttons title. His race craft is poor and his tactics underhand. The only reason he has the upperhand is because of poor reliability. No conspiracy just bad luck, yet he still only trail by 29 points. I am eagerly awaiting some humble pie being eaten around here soon.
I wander if a McLaren representative has approached Lewis this evening lol.
Strike while the iron is hot and all that, just how Nikki did after Lewis’s 2012 Singapore retirement from the lead.
You would have to take a punt on that
Lol. Big Ron hates drivers who criticise the team….
I used to love this website, now we have got to the lowest point so far…. just take a look at R/T’s comment above. Sickening
The website has got nothing to do with that comment. 2 different things. The articles here are still top class.
May I kindly remind everyone to debate the topics and not attack each other. Please lets keep in sensible in here.
We should be loving this year. What would we rather have, Vettel storming off into the sunset with WDC number 5? Or for that matter either Hamilton or Rosberg storming off into the sunset? This year is turning out to be one of the best… EVER 🙂
😂😂😂… You’re just happy because you won’t have to wear the t-shirt now that Nico’s name is written on the trophy.
Ha ha! Something like that Fortis 🙂 But a lot can still happen. If the two keep on fighting like they do.. Ricciardo for WDC? Steal it from under there noses?
Here is my question to you though. If Merc had a proper team boss (RB) would we have seen so much rubbish? Merc now has two drivers that do not respect the team bosses or orders. It’s not good for Merc or either driver really..
I said that awhile back that DR could sneak up on them both and nick it.
To be honest, I’m not sure. If they had RB still at the helm, would we have a season like we are having now or would everything be orchestrated and controlled? Would we have seen races like Bahrain or Spain? I don’t think so, everything would’ve been called off.
Upon until today’s incident and Hungary, I was ok with how things have been managed, because the drivers were allowed to race and that’s good for the sport. Given all the negative press it has been getting, this battle is good for the sports image and I’d assume that people will now tune in to see the final outcome.
Could they have handled something’s better? Sure they could, but it’s a learning process for them and they may end up regretting letting RB leave.
I’ve never been interested in TP’s or any of the politics behind the sport, all I want to see is good hard fought races and I think that’s what we are seeing.
AMEN BROTHER!!!!!!! And Neanderthals will be barred!!!!!! I’ve have enough….
No mention of Alonso and his fantastic overtakes?
Usual tiresome tripe around HIM. Unintelligent comments, racist idiots, hysterical defending of HIM, inflammatory comments around HIM and the odd readable comment that is worth mentally chewing over.
@TJ unfortunately my worst fears have come through. The internet is chock full of hair trigger angry fruitcakes. More and more are coming here. So I’m coming here less and less. Terrible pity, this was my favourite site, by some margin, for the first 18 months of its existence.
Ah, for the days of Enzo, Carlo, Danilo, John and the other old regulars. Mannerly disagreements, strong debate and only Danilos occasional swearing to wince at. Good times……
We said good bye to 2 others today… We have 1000!readers for every commentator…. If you can’t engage in the issues and have to do a dummy out… We bid you farewell….
Thanks for that.
Good luck with the project from here on.