Hamilton doesn’t want a repeat of Bahrain

F1 Fanatic Round-up

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In the round-up: Lewis Hamilton says he wants to have a more comfortable margin over team mate Nico Rosberg than he had during their close battle in Bahrain.

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Hamilton: I don’t want Rosberg battles (Autosport)

“I was determined to make sure that in China we were not close, like we were at the last race [in Bahrain]. It was definitely feeling a bit more like it was in Malaysia.”

Nico Rosberg selfie video: driving Fangio´s W196 silver arrow from 1954 (Nico Rosberg via YouTube)

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Snapshot

Mercedes’ DTM cars carry the same messages of tribute to Michael Schumacher that their F1 cars do.

Comment of the day

The FIA’s plan for a budget cap has been scrapped for the second time in four years. Here’s @TimothyKatz on one of the problems with the idea:

If a team overspends this year, their accounts will not be finalised until next year and presented even later than that.

So a team that has overspent will not necessarily be found to have overspent until late the following season or even later than that. Are the FIA to alter the results of previous seasons or would they impose sanctions (whatever they are) on the team this season or even next season? What if the team no longer exists in the Virgin-to-Marussia mode?

You would also have to consider how prior and post season spending would work. Team Haas are spending this year for next year. Is that expenditure to be counted in with next season, or is it to be ignored as it pertains to a year when Haas did not have not have a FIA entry?

I can foresee some very rich accountants at the end of this – and no benefit at all to to F1 racing.
@TimothyKatz

From the forum

Happy birthday!

Happy birthday to Sush Meerkat, Daniel Dumlao and Aimal!

If you want a birthday shout-out tell us when yours is by emailling me, using Twitter or adding to the list here.

On this day in F1

Ayrton Senna’s funeral was held 20 years ago today following his fatal accident during the San Marino Grand Prix.

Up to three million Brazilians are believed to have stood in the streets of Sao Paulo to watch as Senna’s body was taken to its final resting place.

Among the drivers in attendance were Alain Prost, Jackie Stewart, Emerson, Christian and Wilson Fittipaldi, Gerhard Berger, Derek Warwick, Johnny Herbert, Mauricio Gugelmin, Roberto Moreno, Raul Boesel, Michele Alboreto, Thierry Boutsen, Pedro Lamy and Hans Stuck Jnr.

Images © Daimler/Hoch Zwei

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Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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90 comments on “Hamilton doesn’t want a repeat of Bahrain”

  1. And I hope Rosberg stifles his ambition. Not out of any apathy towards Hamilton, but just because I know very well as a fan of Vettel’s that it can be boring if one driver goes unchallenged in a team.

    1. I imagine almost every single fan agrees with me on that. A few dominant displays of course are a showcase of the driver but it can get monotonous.

      1. Chris (@tophercheese21)
        5th May 2014, 0:43

        Nope. Lol, as a Hamilton fan I’d like nothing more than for him to run away with every race :)

        But as a racing fan, I’d like a close battle for the lead haha

        1. This.

          Lewis can clean up this year ala Vettel in 2011/2013 if he likes, I have no issue with that. Like many drivers on the grid, he is due a good season – though perhaps not as much as Alonso :/

          Next year though I wouldn’t mind seeing some close racing (unless Alonso finally gets a winning car) – which it would very very amusing if it was not a Ferrari…

      2. @vettel1

        I suppose it is easy saying that when Vet has 4 titles in his pocket we Ham fans think he deserves another so we dont care how it happens.

        1. True Dan, I already have the comfort of knowing he has established himself well up the statistic records :P

    2. I just hope for good, close, unpredictable racing – kind of like what happened at the start of 2012. If someone runs away at the start, it is not good for anyone other than the fans of that one driver.

    3. @vettel1 – It’s quite funny though – I remember him saying last year that he wouldn’t want to win like Vettel. That he wants the challenge and wants the wheel to wheel fight – funny how fast things change :).

      1. Yep! I was coming in here to post this, too. Of course every driver wants to run away with it!

      2. Good point, I had forgotten he said that @tmf42! ;)

        1. Yes, I remember that like yesterday. If there is one drivers who clearly contradicts itself regarding every issue and the declarations he makes is Hamilton. I remember like yesterday when he declared something along the lines that he did not wanted to win races like the ones won by vettel, yet he wants to have more races like the one he won in the second race of this championship. The fact that this cars are running way slower than those in the previous years because they have the heavy fuel loads, the smaller engines,that they have to take care of the tyres and that they have to be careful saving fuel, has done it for me. I don’t longer wake up early to watch the races or the qualifying or the training sections. I just read what happened in the race on the Internet.
          And all that plus the fact that there is one dominant team with a team that has a prepotent,egocentric driver and his annoying fans who think he is better or even at the same level as Alonso or that he resembles senna-it is quite frustrating. The worst thing is to read that he deserved to have a car like this one or that because of him, mercedez came up with a car as dominant as this one and there are some fans even claiming that they don’t care how Hamilton wins this championship as long as he does it. Even though they were the same ones who questioned and critiziced Vettel for winning the way he did and for having a car with a second faster than the other drivers-even though Hamilton currently has a car 2.5 seconds faster than the rest.

          1. Ha ha enjoythat ill let the fact Hamilton was as quick in his rookie year than Alo to the bank thank you. Ham would smoke Alo in the Merc.

  2. From a “being a Hamilton fan” point of view, more Malaysia, less Bahrain.

    From a “being a motor racing fan” point of view, more Bahrain, less Malaysia.

    You see my dilemma here…

    1. Even though I am a massive Hamilton fan . I like his victories to be won hard . In fact I like any victory to be won after an on track battle which is why most of my ratings for the races are low if there isn’t a battle for the lead.

      I don’t know why . It gives a sense of supreme satisfaction and silences all the haters . For example ,to watch the US GP 2012 , I stayed up till 3 am , but was very satisfied as Lewis managed to somehow wrestle the victory from Sebastian.

    2. Simple as that.

    3. The interesting battle of this year is firstly how dominant Hamilton can be over Rosberg, while behind them there is a tasty battle developing for 3rd place, between Alonso, Vettel and Ricciardo.

      1. …and then whether Hulkenberg can hold off the rest of the Mercedes runners and Raikkonen for 6th place in the standings.

  3. Great way to show everyone using your phone behind the weel of a car is a bad idea, Nico.

    1. “Professional driver on a closed course” Don’t try this at home!

      1. @hohum If only it worked that way.

      2. I daresay a professional driver could knock back a few drinks and drive round a closed course just fine too… It’s just not a very responsible thing to glamourise that sort of action when doing that very thing on public roads kills thousands every year.

      3. What do you mean don’t try at home? ;)

    2. +1
      “…let me just take a #SELFIE”
      *shudders*

    3. Driving while using a phone isn’t dangerous. Driving while using a phone on public roads is dangerous.

      *waits for the inevitable overreaction*

    4. I mainly don’t understand why everything involving any camera of sorts pointed at oneself is called a selfie these days. If I film myself playing guitar for YouTube, is it a selfie? If I film myself riding bike, is it a selfie?

      I’m only 23 but don’t even understand these trends..

      1. I think it’s just called that because it has gotten to ‘public consciousness’ i.e. 80% of people are aware of the phenomenon, as with most trends.

    5. Fangio’s car does not have seatbelts, yet nobody is critisising that.
      He is driving slowly on an empty track. I think we can relax.

  4. Mercedes had another secret Pirelli tyre test!! I am outraged!!

    I know it was a slightly older car and slightly different tyres but outrage!!

    1. Just slightly older lol.

  5. Surprised by Hamilton fans saying they’d rather see him walk away with it actually. I always preferred the races where Vettel had to fight for it – if not just for the tv coverage (as the cameras barely pointed to him if he was 20s in the lead).

    1. Just to be as much of a pedant as some others; I’m a Hamilton and I don’t want to see him waltz away with it either.

      It’ll be very dull.

      So it would be “Surprised by Hamilton fans minus jason101 (plus unnamed others potentially) saying they’d rather see him walk away with it…” rather than including/assuming all Hamilton fans by default.

      Thanks!

    2. @vettel1

      Come on mate we have been in hard times compared to you its easy saying you would like Vet to have a fight when he has 4 World titles in his pocket. Ham needs another title it is crucial for him. If he wins this year and finishes on 2 his carear will be complete for me far better than Alonso anyway as he would have hd a huge gap between titles and two diferenct cars. This is Hamilton’s time to prove he will be a top 5 legend. Im not a fanboy(maybe i am) but Ham will probably be in top 5 categories in every stat when he is finshed their is good odds on more wins than anyone bar Vettel and Schumi. imo. And is probably a dead cert for at least 4th on the poles list. Hamitlon is already the best 1xWC ever imo you could say he is up their with the 2xwc aswell.

      1. Come on mate we have been in hard times compared to you its easy saying you would like Vet to have a fight when he has 4 World titles in his pocket. Ham needs another title it is crucial for him. If he wins this year and finishes on 2 his carear will be complete for me far better than Alonso anyway as he would have had a huge gap between titles and two different cars. This is Hamilton’s time to prove he will be a top 5 legend. Im not a fanboy(maybe i am) but Ham will probably be in top 5 categories in every stat when he is finshed their is good odds on more wins than anyone bar Vettel and Schumi. imo. And is probably a dead cert for at least 4th on the poles list. Hamilton is already the best 1xWC ever imo you could say he is up their with the 2xWC aswell.

    3. @vettel1, I’m a bit conflicted on the matter. I think after seeing Hamilton lose (or throw away, if you would want to argue such) so many opportunities of a title, or not having any opportunity at all, it would be quite painful for me to watch Rosberg win the title now that Lewis finally has his hands on a dominant car (so far). So for the moment, I would be quite happy to see Hamilton dominate for a while, at least until the title is ‘safe’, and currently it certainly is not.

      Sure, if he would win two or three titles on the trot than I would rather see a battle than another dominant display. Anyway, I doubt Lewis will get his wish. He was faster than Nico in Malaysia, Nico was faster in Bahrain, and in China we don’t really know. Also, the next two races will be very difficult to overtake, so if Rosberg reaches the first corner first, there will be no discussion for a while on how easy Hamilton is going to win the championship.

      Finally, Hamilton himself of course acknowledged that winning in Bahrain-style is the most satisfying, but the thing about a close battle is that you don’t know who is going to come out on top, so naturally he would prefer to be out of reach of Rosberg instead of battling with him.

      1. I suppose it is just that @adrianmorse: Hamilton fans understandably want to see him wrap this one up due to previous occasions where he has failed to win out of not holding enough of an advantage.

        I can completely understand it from a driver’s perspective, but that was never really the question ;)

    4. Renault and Ferrari are keys to make battles for P1 more exciting. Ferrari is keeping their profile low but Renault has promised a major PU upgrade for Spanish GP; maybe Red Bull can close the gap at Montmeló and go for the win in Monte Carlo…

      1. I would think Monaco presents RBR or Ferrari’s best opportunity; like what Mercedes did last year, if they can get in front and control the pace, a win is very possible.

        That said, I’d still be surprised if RBR does manage a pole position, given the advantage Mercedes has at the moment.

    5. I must say that is surprised me a bit too (not too much, people are still people) @vettel1. But I am watching from the easy perspective of an F1 fan rather than a fan of a specific driver.

      Actually I find it disappointing if Hamilton really feels that way (not surprising though, he wants to win as easy as possible, like Alonso, Vettel, Schumacher and no doubt Prost, Senna, Fangio and all greats before them).

      1. @bascb of course I understand from the perspective of a fan of a past dominant driver myself that the comfort of knowing they are likely to win the next race is satisfying – but I wouldn’t say it’s exciting. The only time I have truly enjoyed Vettel’s dominance in recent times was in Singapore and perhaps India: the former simply because it was so emphatic, seeing 2s per lap stretched was pretty amazing to watch. The latter because it was of course the championship race, and I just wanted him to secure it there and then in the most comfortable way possible.

        Beside that, Germany 2013 was the last really exciting race win I think.

      2. I think that LH is paying NR a compliment by implying that he (NR) is a threat and therefore better for him (LH) if he ‘simply’ stays out front and avoids the battles. I think there is probably a bit of tongue in cheek going on there, and in fact LH probably expects not to just walk away from the field and especially NR in every race.

        I guess it sounds almost silly to suggest any driver wouldn’t prefer to have the equipment to just run away from the field at will, especially from his teammate in the same equipment.

        @bascb You cite Senna amongst those who no doubt wanted to win as easily as possible, which may be true, but I was thrilled to read on this site on April 26 in the round-up titled ‘Force India…’ a link to an article with quotes from Cesare Fiorio as to a letter of intent for Senna to finish his F1 career at Ferrari after his Williams stint. When asked if Senna insisted on a certain teammate the answer was…’the best one possible’ ie. Senna wanted to be pushed and was not afraid of a challenge from a top teammate. That’s not to say Senna wouldn’t have wanted to utterly dominate him anyway, but what an amazing attitude to begin with. So sad we got robbed with the complete opposite with a one-rooster Ferrari that contracted the subservient to not compete, something obviously Senna would never have agreed to.

        1. @robbie @bascb I thought of that Senna article as well. I think many drivers say these sorts of things to make themselves appear brave to the media, etc. but the fact that Senna supposedly said this behind closed doors in private to his potential future boss certainly makes it sound like he truly meant it, and given what we know of him as a racer I’m inclined to believe it.

    6. Funny you say you ‘preferred’ like it’s already a thing of the past

      1. @palmerstoneroad that was very much intentional – I am trying to keep my expectations very low incase the gap to Mercedes proves insurmountable ;)

  6. As much as we all liked the fantastic Bahrain battle, none of us want a driver performing at less than 100%. And if that means Hamilton streaks away into the lead again we just have to accept it and credit his performance because he’s only taking his opportunities.

    1. And he has to this year… he could dominate 2/3 of the races and still lose the title with another plastic spark plug pipe failure at Abu Double (a la Melbourne).

      1. Is that really what caused the failure in Melbourne?

        P.S. +1000 points for “Abu Double” (my first time hearing this pun, I don’t know if it’s been around for awhile)

  7. Perhaps they should cap in season, current car development. Its still bad, I think, but should be easier to maintain.

    1. Nope, I completely disagree with that @austus. All that does is lock the competitive order for the entire season which would make the racing deadly boring if somebody held a huge advantage.

    2. @austus
      And it the teams would just move all their resources into development for next year. So it wouldn’t save them a dime.

    3. Bad idea.

    4. In hindsight, in season testing is very limited, so disregard what i said.

  8. GB (@bgp001ruled)
    5th May 2014, 2:59

    lotus are just so cool!!!! promoting the exhibition and gor free!!!! way cool!!!
    I just wonder why? I mean, what is the conection, obviously not counting the fact that the race is in spain. is there a sponsor conected to the exhibition or something?

    1. I think team principal Gerard Lopez is Spanish.

      1. I hope they’ll do well this weekend. However, I’ve noticed Lotus team have a new accountant clerk working for them! Here is his comment on El Greco livery from twiter: “For free? That’s real nice of them. Bet they could have used the money though… Don’t they still owe Kimi money?” I didn’t know that Mr. Vettel takes care of other peoples account’s even if he’s having hard time in calculating the trajectory around his team mate. That’s so nice of him ’cause he’s doing that for free. Way to go Seb!

      2. @mantresx Er..no, he’s from Luxembourg.

  9. I’d have thought that winning a race like we witnessed in Bahrain would be about as fulfilling and exciting as it gets for a driver, and it sure makes for some great viewing for us fans as well. I suppose I get it that Hamilton would just as soon run off into the distance every time like in China, but I’m pulling for a close fought campaign. I’d actually like to see Rosberg take this years WDC, but as good as he is, I think Lewis probably has the edge.

  10. I remember seeing an interview with Fangio where he said that Mercedes’ seats were as comfortable as an “armchair”, looking at that video of Nico it seems like it actually is an armchair hehe.

    1. Michael (@freelittlebirds)
      5th May 2014, 6:32

      Lol, I think he was talking about other constructors being able to compete. Well, in Lewis’ case he took a huge gamble to go to Mercedes back when they didn’t score a point for half the season.

      We all thought he was out of his mind but look where he is now and he’s somehow 2nd in points despite a clinical performance.

      Unlike Vettel, Lewis has earned a faster car and the championship just based on the gamble he took. When you get it so right, there’s gotta be some reward, right? Let’s hope things go well and he wins another one.

      1. Unlike Vettel, Lewis has earned a faster car and the championship just based on the gamble he took.

        Lewis was never not in a top team. Vettel was and won. Red Bull never won a race until Vettel arrived. How soon some forget.

      2. Personally, I never thought LH was taking a big gamble going to Merc. He needed to leave Mac for various reasons that started imho in 2011 or before, with off-track distractions costing LH and the team on the track and some hard feelings as a result, and they weren’t winning anyway. And I always agreed with Brawn when he said that ideally where a driver would want to be in 2014 was with a manufacturer based team, so I thought LH was making exactly the right decision. Yet even if it was a big gamble, those do not guarantee rewards.

        1. Lauda must have laid the options flat on the table for Lewis. Join Mercedes, who have now invested fully on 2014 domination onwards, with an engine advantage, or stay at a now midfield McLaren who will struggle to beat much smaller outfits Force India and Williams, without the help of Mercedes.

          Lewis knew McLaren were losing a 2012 title that should have been his, and wasting time trying to back Button, so it was then an easy choice to jump ship from a falling top team to a new rising top team. There’s only 3 top teams in F1 right now…. the 3 works teams…

          1. Michael (@freelittlebirds)
            5th May 2014, 20:15

            Yes but it did not look that way back at the end of 2012. Everyone thought he was out of his mind.

            Now, in retrospect everything’s obvious but at the time Mercedes had won only a single race since their return and were atrocious around the time that Lewis signed. They just couldn’t look any worse than they had.

            It took crazy guts to do that. Just as in his driving, Lewis’s decision was immaculate and he should win the WDC for that decision alone.

            Brawn got Button and Barrichello but the choice seemed a little more obvious at the time for those 2 I think as they somehow knew they’d win as evidenced by the paycuts that Button was wiiling to accept to race for that team.

            Lewis’ move to Mercedes is as impressive as his ability to hold off Rosberg at Bahrain. The guy’s just amazing, just when you think you’ve seen his best, he does something crazy.

            We are incredibly lucky to have him in F1 and I think that luck should go both ways.

          2. Everyone thought he was out of his mind.

            Did they? Everybody thought that Mercedes would be a good proposition for 2014, with a good team being built up to go with the new regulations. The only way people seemed to think it was mad was that Merc were going to be unknown quantity in 2013 (although myself and others suspected they had convinced Hamilton that they had something reasonable in the pipelines, as the thought of a winless season might annoy him) and McLaren were assumed to be a good title bet if they fixed their reliability and operational issues- people weren’t sure it was wise to pass up a reasonable chance of a title one year just to have another shot the following year (although that ignored that if Merc were as good as some predicted, that advantage might make it a good place to be for a few years after too).

            Also, Merc’s only win had at least come that season- it was a recent memory and suggested that they were beginning to face an upswing, along with the first pole and Schumacher’s sort-of-but-not-really pole in Monaco (followed by a 2nd place for Rosberg).

          3. Michael (@freelittlebirds)
            6th May 2014, 15:30

            @Matt90 – Yes, the focus was 2014 but no one really thought that Merc would pull it off and for Lewis to stake his career over 3 years with them was a big, big gamble. If anything, Red Bull and Ferrari were the favorites based on past performance.

            I don’t recall anyone saying that 2014 was going to be dominated by Mercedes ever in any coverage on any website, anywhere… In fact, they seemed to have unclear leadership with 2 many chiefs and not enough indians.

            We have to give credit to Lewis for doing that. It took balls the size of the moon and he got it right when he had a 15-20% (3 constructors weighted for past performance) chance of getting it right.

            It’d be akin to Messi going to Atletico Madrid last year to win the La Liga or the Champions League title. We’d be all be rolling on the floor and checking his temperature…

          4. but no one really thought that Merc would pull it off

            Not to this extent, but I definitely heard a lot of speculation as soon as the new engine formula was announced that Mercedes had a good chance of coming out on top. What about Ferrari’s past performance painted them as favourites?

          5. Michael (@freelittlebirds)
            7th May 2014, 6:23

            @matt90 – Speculation is usually just that, speculation. Nonetheless, did you hear that back when Lewis was signing in September of 2012?

            About Ferrari, just the fact that they are winningest constructor in F1 led me to believe that. If Ferrari can’t make a fast F1 car, then F1 will change to make the Ferrari car fast – just kidding:-)

          6. Yes, and before he signed. Given Ferrari’s recent form I definitely don’t remember hearing anybody expecting them to be favourites this year- just Merc thanks to being able to design a car around the engine and because of their success during the last major change when they were Brawn, and Red Bull for the same second reason.

  11. Michael (@freelittlebirds)
    5th May 2014, 6:24

    I definitely don’t want the “sister car” close to Hamilton. Nico is out there to prove himself against Lewis and that makes him very dangerous. It’s too much pressure in the back of a driver’s mind and in the old days Senna and Prost didn’t have to deal with DRS which makes the sister car capable of passing in many spots.

    I really think that Lewis has earned himself a break and should not have to fight with his own teammate every single year and especially for the championship. I think he has shown that he is faster than Nico even when the car was made for Nico last year.

    1. @freelittlebirds I think it is rubbish to suggest the car was made for Nico last year, and I also think it is rubbish to suggest any driver should not have to fight with his own teammate, especially for the championship. This is supposed to be the pinnacle of racing and the WDC something difficult to achieve. He has not always shown himself to be faster than Nico, and now that Nico finally has something that LH has had way more often in his career, namely a WDC capable car, I think Nico deserves a fair shot to answer to LH’s speed and abilities.

      What are you suggesting if you say LH deserves a break? That they order NR to be subservient? Is that the quality of person you see LH as? Someone who would rather his success be handed to him on a silver platter? And is that what NR deserves? In your thinking there was a timeline for when NR had to prove his worthiness vs. LH, and that time has already passed?

      Personally I think much of F1 and what separates the men from the boys is how they handle pressure when it is at it’s greatest, and yet you think having a bloke in the same car being competitive is too much pressure? Do you have that little faith in LH being able to handle the pressure?

      1. Michael (@freelittlebirds)
        5th May 2014, 20:39

        Yes, you’re right. It was made for Alonso and Hakkinen.

        Well, imo, Lewis has crushed Nico as soundly as any driver has crushed another good driver in the past 4 races and he outqualified him massively last year. Look at the results, though. Lewis is behind Nico in terms of points. It’s akin to Messi scoring 20 goals and Sanchez scores 10 and he’s leading in goals scored by some ludicrous set of circumstances.

        Sadly in F1 silly things like that can happen… So to answer your question. NO, Nico should not be racing with Lewis because Nico could accidentally win the WDC… There’s NO way that Lewis can accidentally win…

        If you want an example. Look at the last race. Nico lost telemetry and he came 2nd, the best outcome possible in the situation. Have you seen Lewis have such small issues? When Nico lost his front wing last year, Lewis was slowed down by several seconds and could have been out of the race…

  12. I was thinking that all the rumours saying Nico will be mentally put to pressure with the Hamilton battle.
    But now I believe them .
    Nico ! Have you gone crazy ! what was that selfie video about ?

  13. A bit surprised to see these words come out of the mouth of a true bred racer like Hamilton.

    Although, this could effectively be a call to his team to slow Rosberg down. If Schumacher or Vettel had said this, I can just imagine the outrage on this site and elsewhere.

    1. Same here . I think the pressure of the championship is getting to him . He isn’t good at handling the championship pressure but here’s hoping he gets it this year.

    2. If anything I can’t help but think it’s Rosberg slowing Rosberg down right now, under the pressure of a title battle, while Hamilton seems to be getting better and better.

      1. I don’t think NR has slowed down at all. I think he has many opportunities yet to carry on the battle with LH. But for sure, to me it comes down to handling pressure. We know both drivers are bloody good. We know LH has basically never not had a top 3 car, or thereabouts, on a top team, and having the capable equipment is new for NR. We also know LH has squandered some chances in said top cars, so he may have pressure to not do that again. And NR showed he wasn’t phased by having MS as a teammate, and is doing fine vs. LH, and since this is his first time having the capable car he might have new pressures but he might also just be totally stoked to have the car and the opportunity for the first time. On the surface one might think LH’s experience should give him the nod, but they run every race for a reason so we’ll just have to see how things evolve as each race plays itself out.

        1. And then you woke up @robbie

          3-1 in poles and wins to Hamilton who lets not kid ourselves if Ham as won three what would the odds on Nico winning Aus? You lot forget that like the smug Ros getting crushed i hate losing to Lewis he guaranteedto win in China rotfl can you remember Bahrain podium? I cant stand it he thinks he is so good o im still leading the championship? Yeah why Nico why?

    3. If this is effectively a call for his team to slow NR down, then he is no purebred racer. And I will be outraged. But I don’t think that is what LH is saying at all. If the pressure is already getting to him, then I say again, he is no purebred racer.

  14. That’s probably the worst thing about Nico: selfies (as well as ads, fashion pictures,.. ). More work, less fashion crap

    1. This is work – promotion for Mercedes is very much part of the job @spoutnik.

    2. Fulfilling your contractual obligations is proof Rosberg is evil.

      (Apologies for any broken sarcasm meters)

      1. I wish Rosberg would fulfill my contractual obligations!

  15. Maybe Nico should buy a Gopro cam, for the sake of safety.

    1. The one Schumi had while skiing?

  16. I can’t think of many people who would be allowed to drive a priceless ex-Fangio f1 Mercedes one handed while rarely looking in the right direction. If one of us had tried that we would probably be shot…

  17. Lewis Hamilton says he is doing everything he can to ensure there is no repeat of the kind of close-racing between himself and Nico Rosberg

    If Lewis is going to drive the wheels off his car to ensure a gap between himself and Nico, that’s racing and I have no problem with it.

  18. Something I have just recalled: Sebastian Vettel has allegedly said he feel the current generation of cars are not powerful enough, and would prefer “1000bhp V10’s”. Though I do not agree on the note of them being V10’s – they are just pointlessly inefficient – I think the FIA should allow higher fuel flow rates and boost pressures. How awesome would it be to see 1000bhp qualifying runs again?

  19. Goodness me, COTD and I didn’t even notice until this evening. Sorry, Keith.
    And as usual, it’s a rather negative comment. So I’m sorry if my inbuilt pessimism and cynicism just seeps out on the forum. But I’m the kind of person who expects that enthusiastic cries of “Best Foot Forward” are immediately followed by a rather unpleasant squelching sound.

  20. I would hope that this season (if we are to assume that the WDC will be solely down to Rosberg v. Hamilton) would look something like 2008, though I’m sure that’s unlikely.

    Yes, I’m aware that Massa v. Hamilton was incredibly different because their respective teams had more-or-less adopted each to be their clear 2008 #1 and Mercedes will have a difficult time trying NOT to espouse a #1 driver if both drivers remain in the hunt for the WDC. But, that season was, to me, the most fun. We had a lot of different teams winning. BMW at Canada. Renault at Singapore and (impressively, legitimately) at Japan. Toro Rosso in a drenching wet weekend qual/race performance from Vettel.

    Sure, the title was clearly between Massa and Hamilton (and that was an entertaining, if mistake-filled fight) but the tier below them was just as exciting, and not just because so many different cars and drivers could win a given GP.

    I remember so many great rounds from that Championship – Monaco, Montreal, Silverstone, Hockenheim, Budapest, Spa, Monza, Singapore, Fuji, São Paulo.

    I don’t think 2014 will reach anything like 2008 (nine of the ten teams, excluding Aguri’s withdrawal after the fourth round, scored a podium that year) but it would be a nice supplement to the Rosberg v. Hamilton slugfest at the top.

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