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all I can say is that you have to (begrudgingly) give Rosberg credit for the win (and the qualifying lap)
[quote=holst ]LH driving like a granny
And by 'like a granny' you mean driving around an overheating brake issue?
Yes Nico had the same fault but he was in clean air so it was less of an issue.
Hamilton's only real fault on Sunday I think was the lock-up which allowed Kimi to pass him a couple of corners later.
I think it might have something to do with LH driving like a granny. NR just nailed that one, LH needs to get his s#$% together if he wants to defend his title.
There's been some interesting quips from Nicole on X Factor, maybe he's going through some ups & downs with her again. I can't blame him really.
His head is definitely elsewhere. FFS if it is Nicole, she messed his head up last time. It's Nico's title I'm afraid.
If it's Nicole he needs to go drive for Renault. Papa?
Interesting reports that Mr Pringle has been meeting the teams without Bernie
LH missed a lot of free practice in Singapore, so a possible reason for not being up with NR. Started last at Spa, so not really expected to win. Poor start (he took the blame for this) at Monza otherwise he would have won, so I don't think it's over yet.
the-muffin-man: i remember Willam Toet when he used to campaign his 2.8 turbo Gould single seater in the british hillclimb champs - used to fly back from switzerland to compete when there was a F1 race on.
Yep, this season is lacking something for me too.
It's starting to look like Rosberg could really win this!!
He'll win the last six races.
Yep pretty dull race. As above, real shame Ricciardo didn't have a couple more laps. I've been a die hard fan the past 5 years or so, watching practice sessions and qually where I can but I'm seriously considering getting sky sports taken out, saving myself some lowy and 3 hours of a Sunday. Properly dull but Monza was worse still!
Have noticed that I don't have any real drive to make time to watch the races 'live'* at the moment. Can't say exactly why but it seems there's nothing to grab me currently. Even Ricciardo didn't get me excited at the end, just knew the tyres would drop off and traffic would hamper him. Maybe the knowledge that it'll all be on Sky-only after next year is playing on my mind. Why invest in something when you'll have to let it go in the near-future.
* don't have Sky so C4 live or highlights. Did watch Singapore with my dad, who has Sky F1, but even then we both found it very boring.
I dunno - I thought that was quite an exciting finish actually. 0.5 second lead at the end and Rosberg's medium's were way older. I think one more lap and Ric could have got him or at least in a position to try and pass.
I'm bored of seeing LH win - I think I'd like to see Nico to take the title this year! I definitely think its been a better season than last year where LH had it all sewn up way before the end. The rise of Max V has certainly been good to watch.
[url= http://www.pitpass.com/57331/Liberty-eyeing-gambling-as-one-future-growth-area-for-F1 ]Pitpass[/url] is reporting on comments made by a Liberty media exec.
1 - Increase pay per view coverage
2 - Bring in more sponsors
3 - More races (no, not bringing back the classics either)
4 - Monetise their digital content
5 - Gambling
Meet the new boss, same as the old boss...
So one vision of F1 2021 is Sky only, highlights only available via your $250/year 'F1.com subscription, sponsored by Hotels.com' to watch the 35 race calender for the 'Barclays F1 Driver of the Year, in association with CocaCola Championship'. Can't wait.
It's been a steady decline for me. Haven't watched a live race in a couple of years, but for the first half of last season I would always watch the highlights sometime in the following couple of days. Started to let that go in the second half of the season and this year I've probably only watched highlights for 3 or 4.
Strangely though I'm still interested in the ins and outs of it and keep up with the BBC F1 page, it's just the actual races that I'm losing interest in. What's up with that?
Looks like more of the wrong direction all round then.
Q: What has F1 plenty of?
A: Money
Q: What is F1 running out of?
A: Viewers
Obvious solution: More paywall! Of course!!!!
I'm with you Mr Salmon - hardly watch the races any more but love the politics and whats going on - way better than the racing!!
Looks like more of the wrong direction all round then.Q: What has F1 plenty of?
A: MoneyQ: What is F1 running out of?
A: ViewersObvious solution: More paywall! Of course!!!!
all these sport look enviously at the money football gets from tv rights and want the same thing. But they don't have the numbers of fans that football has and the fans they do have don't have the same money blind loyalty of a football fan.
There's no surprise, F1 hasn't been bought because its new owners love the sport. It's been bought because it's an investment opportunity.
Ecclestone et al knew that people would pay to watch, but haven't grasped the social media potential yet. The new owners will quickly remedy that.
If F1 falls behind a paywall, then I'll not bother watching it. Even now I only watch the highlights of certain races - Monaco, Spa, Silverstone etc and I couldn't really give two hoots about the circuits which seem to be designed around the pit facilities and gimmicks. I imagine that the F1 overlords know this and will seek out a different market for people who will be prepared to pay for the new stuff.
So qualifying has passed and no posts lol. I just watched it on 4OD. I was secretly hoping that Rosberg stayed back at 6th, because with Hamilton's recent history of poor starts we might have had an exciting race on our hands! Especially with Red Bull and Ferrari looking so surprisingly close at the front. Oh well, roll on tomorrow, there may be some surprises still! 🙂
Oh dear, that's another race killed then.
How far up will he get?
Think of the positives nico
Wdc for Nico? Or will the stewards look at another example of nicos overtaking talent?
#groan
what's that football chant,
Mercedes Benz is terified, Hamilton's on fire
No, no, no!
Bother.
Down to the wire this season I think
Looking like a grandstand finish for the bully boys though, as long as they're allowed to race.
Excellent.
If he did not have bad luck he would have no luck
Its almost like Mercedes have decided to make a race of it by constantly sabotaging his car#tinfoilhat
I can't help think that nico is only leading the wdc by default though. A few engine fails his way should even it up again
Rosberg penalised for spicing up F1.
"We'll have none of that racing malarkey going on here, young man!" 👿
You know what - the whole thing will come down to Ab Drab - and probably mechanical failures will decide this one.
Rosberg penalised for spicing up F1
More penalised for driving like I do on the PlayStation.
More penalised for driving like I do on the PlayStation.
Kimi wasn't calling him a dangerous idiot, or at least they didn't broadcast the little Fins entertaining warblings.
It was a clumsy pass, I expect his peers would have made a better job of it. You can't just barge someone out of the way.
It appears that I'm in agreement with the commentator, it was more of a kiss than a barge and a good hard racing pass that didn't warrant a penalty. Kimi didn't complain and I'd like to see some good challenges just like in the good ol' days.
Good Karma payback for ricciardo though, but hope the stewards threaten a race ban for a "shoe-ey"
Pathetic to give a penalty for Rosbergs pass. It was only a tap that didn't result in any issues fit either of them. The 10s penalty didn't help Kimi either so all a bit stupid.
I wouldn't say pathetic, 10s was harsh though. Maybe they calculated it to mean he had to stay on his toes with Räikkönen behind.
[quote=Pook ]I can't help think that nico is only leading the wdc by default though. A few engine fails his way should even it up again
THIS is essentially true if you take away all the car failing then Lewis would be miles ahead
Nico is not that far behind him in talent terms in general and better than him at some courses but overall he has required a massive dollop of bad luck to be delivered to his rival on a regular basis to only just be staying ahead of him
How long will it be before the world picks up on Rosberg calling every race the best event where the fans make it incredible?
"I just can't believe that there's eight Mercedes cars and only my engines are the ones that have gone this way," he said. "Something just doesn't feel right.
any spare tinfoil, junky ?
I said it first Coulthard!
[i] Junkyard - lazarus
Its almost like Mercedes have decided to make a race of it by constantly sabotaging his car#tinfoilhat[/i]
I agree, but I'm not reaching for the tinfoil just yet. Although something isn't right and we're not the only ones to think so....
[i] 'It doesn't sit right with me'
Hamilton seeks answers from Mercedes
Posted at09:59
My question is to Mercedes. We have so many engines made for drivers, but mine are the only ones failing this year. Someone need to give me some answers because this is not acceptable. We are fighting for the championship and only my engines are failing. It does not sit right with me. I will try and recollect myself and try to get myself together for the race next week. There are many decisive races but this is one of those. Someone doesn't want me to win this year but I won't give up. I will keep pushing.[/i]
I'm sure some statistical whizz, could crunch the numbers on NR and LH's 2016 campaign. I wouldn't be surprized to learn the odds of one side of the garage having so many engine failures is not within normal odds.
Weren't the garage crews swapped for 2016?
Weren't the garage crews swapped for 2016?
Yes - against Lewis's wishes.
I have but it is , as noted, statistically unlikely and either he is very unlucky or there is something else going on hereany spare tinfoil, junky ?
Given the swapping of teams and his immense "bad luck" you would need to be pretty naive to not consider this.
No proof obviously but it is unusual that only one side of the team is getting the bad luck
Oh, I sort of agree
Can't quite work out Mercedes' motivation, or rather the balance of it:
Good:
German driver wins in German car. Yay - but only really for German driver if car was going to win anyway.
Car is seen to be a winner for different drivers, so it's "a great car" rather than a dog being dragged around by saint Lewis. (Then again, as above, a one-two is pretty much the same as a two-one AFAIC)
Bad:
Car looks unreliable, possibly jeopardising sales on engines to other teams (do Mercedes care; is it a way of fiddling the books for investment levels?) (of course, if all the other teams realise this is nobbling Lewis they'll ignore the apparent "fault")
Car looks unreliable to the wider public - could that jeopardise sales or is "world champ" enough even if it's "fast but flaky world champ" ?
Team looks shady; would, for example, Verstappen go there if Rosberg stayed and he thought that he might get nobbled too ?
Maybe, given the margins, Hamilton pushing just that bit harder is finding the limit of the engine
Very exciting race, one of the best of the season, so much going on!
Hamilton is definitely getting more than his fair share of engine problems. I find it hard to believe that it is intentional, unless there is some very dodgy goings on involving a mafia betting syndicate! I suspect that Williams, Manor and Force India aren't pushing their engines as much, either by choice or by (Mercedes') design, and that Rosberg is having a pretty phenomenal run of luck!
Is Hamilton just pushing his engines harder? More aggressive driver perhaps? He certainly doesn't seem to get starts right as often as others, but that doesn't necessarily mean a (relative) lack of mechanical sympathy.
I certainly remember talking to one of Mansell's old team bosses (preF1) and he had Mansell down as very fast, very aggressive but hard on parts to the extent that they had to over-engineer bits for his car. And in a lower formula he still went faster.
Some of the same with Hamilton but they can't change the parts and still get the performance as easily at this level?
I know this was only one race but I can't see how Hamilton (off the front and pretty much in control) could have been running his engine harder than Rosberg (mid-pack so disturbed air with potential poor handling and overheating, lots of overtaking'n'shit).
Unless you mean in qualifying - could Hamilton have used a higher setting for his qualifying runs ?
He was pushing hard at the time to open up a 24 second gap to cover Verstappen, who everyone thought at the time would be able to make one less pit stop 🙂
Something isn't right. Eight times this season Lewis has had 'bad luck'. Luck doesn't come into it in a highly engineered environment.
He's been nobbled. Subtly at first but the frequency says it's becoming blatantly now. One more mechanical and I bet he drops the H bomb on the team. Wouldn't blame him either and he should tell them this.
He was pushing hard at the time to open up a 24 second gap to cover Verstappen, who everyone thought at the time would be able to make one less pit stop
I didn't get that, he would have passed the red bulls with ease on fresh tires and those long straights.
When Hamilton wins the championship it will be all the sweeter. However the championship is certainly in Rosberg's favour. I think having Vettel run into you and spinning you to the back should constitute to bad luck too. Reminds me of Hamiltons drive back from last on the grid to third.
I wish Danny Ric would stop drinking out of his shoe as its going to send him to the Docs one day!
That's external factors on Nico. Lewis seems to suffer (internal factors) mechanicals
Nobbling an F1 car in a manner that allows it to pole, win some races, and breakdown in others? Not an easy thing to do. Probably far easier to do something to the chassis, suspension or engine settings that just gently reduces the performance.
It's either luck, or something about Hamilton's driving style.
I certainly remember talking to one of Mansell's old team bosses (preF1) and he had Mansell down as very fast, very aggressive but hard on parts to the extent that they had to over-engineer bits for his car.
Indeed and he was constantly whining about his car letting him down. Apparently it's harder these days to damage one of these engines with all the computery stuff but I can't believe it's impossible.
Oh and as for that Rosberg pass, this is motor racing:
I remember watching that live. Epic stuff, but massively dangerous banging wheels due to the risk of flipping. I wonder what Gilles could have done given the chance.
Oh and as for that Rosberg pass, this is motor racing:
Quite! If the marshalls from last Saturday had been judging that one then Arnoux and Villeneuve would have had about 30 seconds of penalties each lol
Rest assured, with having to make up so many places. Rosberg drove his car as hard as possible (in dirty air). Then, notwithstanding, to set lap times so similar to Lewis, as Rosberg could. Rosberg has used his engine just as hard as he can.
I'm no LH fan, by any stretch of the imagination. But even I now struggle to dismiss his results as "bad luck".
As others have said. Events are now accumulating to such a level that exceeds normal statistics.
imo, LH has every right to call out Mercedes and to now publically hold Merc's feet to the flame, for the remainder of the season.
I can't see the team making LH's engine fail on purpose. It was at one of the main sponsors home GP. Not to get a win there is a huge failure. As is pictures of flames coming out of the back of a Mercedes Benz.
Oh and as for that Rosberg pass, this is motor racing:
Motor racing - yes.
Dodgems - no.
Rosberg is no racer - Rosberg couldn't have done what Ricciardo and Verstappen did - side by side for several corners in a row and leaving each other just enough room.
Rosberg's idea of racing is to hit your competitor and hope they come of worse.
Rosberg is no racer - Rosberg couldn't have done what Ricciardo and Verstappen did - side by side for several corners in a row and leaving each other just enough room.
He used to be.
He seems to have forgotten that skill!
How about Vettels bell endery? He really isn't that good without a significantly better car.
From memory Hamilton only used that engine in practice 3, quali and the race so it was effectively brand new.
Add to the fact he will take a grid penalty for the engine swap and possibly for any other element that needs replacing it's a double/triple/quadruple whammy.
I'm not a Britney hater but he is a proper smug bastard.
Yep, the season is a write-off for Hamilton unless Rosberg suddenly starts blowing things up or crashing. Lewis' paranoia is funny to watch though, as if dark forces are capable of having his engine perform brilliantly then let go completely at lap 40.
Having a series of mechanicals while the other bloke has virtually none is improbable, but improbable stuff happens, just not very often.
Why a grid penalty? He stockpiled engines using a loophole that's closed for next year, so as long as he fits one of those they're now part of his allocation for the year and there's no problem.
As above there are better ways of nobbling a race than detonating the engine - bad luck is just that.
a grid penalty? He stockpiled engines using a loophole that's closed for next year, so as long as he fits one of those they're now part
Good news if that's the case.
And from the onboard I watched during yesterday's race Hamilton was cruising it, he was hardly giving it the beans.
Hamilton's poor reliability could be explained by the switch in team mechanics at the beginning of the year.
Ham's not happy so the mechanics are slightly nervous, leading to one instance of finger trouble.
This makes them more nervous and more likely to make mistakes.
They see the other side of the garage is doing fine so this adds to the pressure.
They make more mistakes.
And when I say mistakes, we're talking tiny amounts in F1. An oil feed hose routed slightly tight so it restricts flow to the turbo, a bolt slightly over/undertorqued etc.
Judging from Toto's reaction I'd say it's not a team conspiracy, just down to minor changes that are having a big effect. I say that as not a Hamilton fan but as an anti-Rosberg fan. He seems far too fake and cocky for someone that is no better than a lot of the grid.
Has anyone else spotted how close in the championship Ricciardo is in a year when Merc have apparently "dominated"?
Not a real surprise; Ricc has outscored Hamilton 89 to 73 over the last 5 races.
Rosberg is dangerously close to getting a sense of humour; his comments that he hoped Danni Ricc didn't win again due to the shoe drinking antics were quite comic.
I should imagine he would be quite pleased if Dan did win some more - taking away the big points.
LH is paid tens of millions per year. If the team really wanted NR to win, wouldn't it have been easier to refuse LH's salary demands and let him leave? Seriously, why on earth would anyone believe MB would hire him if they didn't want him to have a fair shot at winning?
Indeed.
Why would a German car manufacturer want a German to be World Champ? It's a complete mystery.
Just employ 2 german drivers then.
This idea that Merc are out to nobble Hamilton is rediculous, no manufacturer wants a rep for unreliable cars.
So of Hamiltons problems have been down to luck and others his own making, these things happen. He can still win the championship so he needs to quit moaning and get on with working with his team for them all to get better.
I don't think LH is unreasonable to, at least, say it seems a bit odd, and it does. But it is just bad luck. I'm sure he realises that now. He can still win it.