2014 Belgian Grand Prix

Fantastic win for Ricciardo.

This thread's gotten too personal. I don't like when I see two guys going back and forth psychoanalyzing every single sentence that each other wrote, but that's just me. As for the racing incident, it's just that. Something small that's been blown way out of proportion due to who was involved and what was at stake.
I personally would like to think that two world-class drivers could go into a string of corners side by side and come out fighting. Yielding from the line isn't the same as yielding the corner. Everyone makes it sound like the leading driver would become a sitting duck. Hamilton is not a sitting duck. Leaving space wouldn't guarantee Rosberg the spot.
Also, it's easy to watch replays and think "well he should have done this or that," and "there were a couple inches of space," but these guys are making split-second decisions at high speeds with loads of information feeding in from all directions about what's around them and what's coming up.
I do concede that Rosberg put the two of them into a very tricky situation that could have been avoided, but I don't think any different about him than before. That's my view thrown out there and it's where I stand. It's an opinion and I won't be baited into a pointless argument. You guys, not all of you, need to relax some. If not, then I'll be here reading further for entertainment.
 
Hamilton has followed up on Rosberg's apology with a statement of his own in which he acknowledges that both drivers have made mistakes.

It's pretty obvious that at this point, Mercedes hold Rosberg responsible for the Spa tangle - but when viewed in the context of the whole season, they evidently feel that this is the product of tensions that have been brewing for some time. Whatever they did in the aftermath of Monaco was not enough.
 
Swagger897
Ask the same question about Hamilton V. Maldonado..
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The one in which Hamilton was in the same position as he was last weekend and Maldonado was meted a 20 second penalty?

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Hardly the same. As said... this is mostly a racing incident, although it could have been avoid.

Nico Rosberg
I wish to go a step further and describe it as an error of judgement on my part.
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Well, duh.

But it's still mission accomplished. From this point forward, Lewis will think twice before closing the door on him. The question is whether Nico will think twice about attempting to pinch Lewis on the outside of each turn. This might force Hamilton to change his defensive tactics on corner exit. or to hold a wider line at the apex when defending.

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I doubt this will defuse tension all that much. Lewis may still feel hard done by that Nico still only got a slap on the wrist. Nico may resent the public humiliation.

Kind of agree with Maurice Hamilton... Mercedes need a soft voice with a firm hand... and they'll need more control over the messages they send the media. Alternately lashing out at Rosberg and defending him... that doesn't help in this situation.
 
Hamilton's "happy place" media onslaught continues, he's thoroughly burst Nico's post-wedding bubble and I'm not sure that Nico is in any stronger a place against Hamilton after the Events of Spa (as they'll be known throughout time).

Imo they each know that the other represents an immoveable object and that they each face the wrath of the team (really this time) if there's any repeat of the Events of Spa.

That'll make little difference as we reach the end of the season I think.
 
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TenEightyOne
I'm not sure that Nico is in any stronger a place against Hamilton after the Events of Spa (as they'll be known throughout time).
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A thousand years from now, crypto-historians will no doubt be asking "Who were Lewis and Nico, and what were they doing in a spa?", seeing as history tends to change subtly with each retelling. After all, we don't know what the pope said to Atilla the Hun when he invaded Rome only to turn around, or if there really was a second shooter on the grassy knoll, or what role the purple monkey dishwasher played in the teachers' strike.

Personally, I disagree with your interpretation. I don't see this as advantage Hamilton at all. Rosberg has had consistently more composure in handling the media, and a history - 2011 being a prime example - of off-track difficulties affecting his on-track performances. I'm sure that while Mercedes have taken Rosberg to task, they have also given Hamilton a stern warning of his own. Without Hamilton's ruthlessness, I doubt Rosberg would have tagged him at Spa.
 
prisonermonkeys
I don't see this as advantage Hamilton at all. Rosberg has had consistently more composure in handling the media, and a history - 2011 being a prime example - of off-track difficulties affecting his on-track performances. I'm sure that while Mercedes have taken Rosberg to task, they have also given Hamilton a stern warning of his own. Without Hamilton's ruthlessness, I doubt Rosberg would have tagged him at Spa.
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I should have been clearer; I still think it's advantage-Rosberg. Clearly so in the championship, the only place he's actually at a real disadvantage is in the British press. As the "sly young German .vs. the plucky Brit" it's a gift that our papers re-open as often as possible.

That said there's no doubt that Mercedes have had to frown on him, at least publicly, there's bound to have been some hesitation in his stride after The Events of Spa. I also think we're seeing Hamilton's PR gurus doing what they're good at, he's so studiously passive/submissive at the moment that he's irritating me even more than ever. But I'm not seeing the same on track, I think he's driving as well as I've ever seen if not better. Rosberg has always been very good (imo) but I just don't see the same raw instinct. As things stand if Rosberg wins the WDC he'll thoroughly deserve it but if he loses then it'll be to a completely differing opponent.
 
prisonermonkeys
Hamilton has followed up on Rosberg's apology with a statement of his own in which he acknowledges that both drivers have made mistakes.

It's pretty obvious that at this point, Mercedes hold Rosberg responsible for the Spa tangle - but when viewed in the context of the whole season, they evidently feel that this is the product of tensions that have been brewing for some time. Whatever they did in the aftermath of Monaco was not enough.
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I just hope Mercedes gave both drivers a slap to the wrist. I don't want to see the team and all those people who worked so hard to make the W05 to be one of the greatest F1 cars ever to lose.

My inner fanboy advises the Merc Board to fire both of them and get Alonso/Massa :P
 
Hamilton can't judge Rosberg's pace anymore. With someone like Button, he could drive at merely 100% and still come out with a comfortable margin. With Rosberg last year, Hamilton won their qualifying battle, but not quite as one-sidedly.

This year, Rosberg is gunning for it, and Hamilton is on the back foot, being forced to do his entire 110% every single time in Q3, just to make sure he's got the edge... which means he's making more mistakes... which plays back into Rosberg's hands. The times when he's not genuinely faster, he's fast enough that he can push Lewis into an error.

In terms of racecraft, I think Lewis still wins that by a mile. Only now, he's found out he can't use his entire arsenal against Nico... again... mission accomplished. :D

Merc may just keep Nico. I think if it's anybody else in the other seat, he... might... behave. :lol:
 
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Don't know if this has been posted here:

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niky
In terms of racecraft, I think Lewis still wins that by a mile. Only now, he's found out he can't use his entire arsenal against Nico... again... mission accomplished. :D
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More true with taking the offense but not so much if Hamilton is in front. What does he have to lose aggressively defending his position at this point? He's well behind Rosberg in the standings, Hamilton has already won a WDC and at this rate, these two cannot continue to be on the same team anyways. Besides, as I've said earlier, just imagine the consequences if there's another "racing incident", especially if Rosberg is the instigator. Taking out your closest competitor in the WDC twice (unintentionally or otherwise) may force FIA to take action and in the past, the results were devastating.
 

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