Hamilton vows to emulate Senna in Rosberg rivalry

F1 Fanatic Round-up

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In the round-up: Lewis Hamilton says he considers approaching his rivalry with team mate Nico Rosberg in a similar fashion to how Ayrton Senna dealt with his famously heated rivalry with Alain Prost.

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Lewis Hamilton to deal with Rosberg spat like Senna (Autosport)

Hamilton: “I don’t know if Senna and Prost talked about it but I quite liked the way Senna dealt with that so I’ll take a page out of his book.”

Nico Rosberg Q&A: Incident not a repeat of Schumacher 2006 (Formula1.com)

Rosberg: “That I do understand these kind of theories; Monaco is the perfect backdrop for these kind of things. But I have to disappoint: the data is clear, as the stewards have also confirmed.”

If Nico wins in Monaco tomorrow, the scales may tip back in his favour (NBC Sports)

“Hamilton might have had the momentum coming into the race weekend, but if Nico can indeed win tomorrow, the scales will tip back in his favour. Not only will he regain the lead of the drivers’ championship, but he would also have beaten Hamilton in spite of his mind games.”

ERS issue slows Vettel (ESPNF1)

Vettel: “Basically, I lost the ability to discharge at the maximum rate and initially halfway down the straight I was just relying on the ICE [Internal Combustion Engine], but it was a bit hit and miss to be honest, sometimes it was working, sometimes it wasn’t working on the same straight.”

Alonso celebrates “best lap of year” (Racer)

Alonso: “The two laps were good; I was really happy with the laps and the balance of the car. We were only one or two tenths away from [Sebastian] Vettel, which is a good surprise.”

Adrian Newey’s future still the subject of speculation despite Red Bull statement (SkyF1)

Christian Horner: “The details of any contract with any employee are private between the employee and the team and not something to be discussed with media. What I can tell you is that he has pledged his future with Red Bull for the foreseeable future.”

Behind the scenes at a controversy (ESPN F1)

“There’s nothing quite like the smell of a story brewing, with all and sundry scampering around the paddock trying to track down information, or making whispered phone calls to contacts in race control, hoping to get a jump on the competition.”

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Comment of the day

Following the controversy in qualifying after Rosberg’s off on his final lap helped to cement his pole position, Max Jacobson is satisfied that the stewards decided to investigate the matter.

I’m glad the FIA conducted a thorough investigation on this one: had they not bothered to do so, I could imagine the media would have completely overblown the whole situation and Hamilton’s discontent may have been aggravated, with some fairly nasty consequences for their relationship within the team.

And I do believe their conclusion was the correct one. Had they found him even partially guilty, surely their only option would be disqualification (unless they had ruled it as simple impeding), which would be a ludicrously harsh punishment for what barely compares in malevolence to the infamous Schumacher incident of 2006, which was quite clearly deliberate.
Max Jacobson

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On this day in F1

Niki Lauda took pole position for the Monaco Grand Prix 40 years ago today. Ferrari team mate Clay Regazzoni join him on the front row of the grid.

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92 comments on “Hamilton vows to emulate Senna in Rosberg rivalry”

  1. davey (@djdaveyp87)
    25th May 2014, 0:44

    COTD is spot on.

  2. I hope he emulates Senna’s overtaking moves, not first corner incidents!

    1. I really don’t get all HAM’s comments about him emulating Senna. He very often tried to compare himself to the legend and honestly I think that he’s not even close and never would be. To be honest for me Alonso or Vettel are much closer to him. He even slept over for FP1… a feat that would never be seen from Senna. Ayrton was a king of Monaco and there are many other drivers that were racing against Hamilton on this circuit that were much more impressive than him around these streets.

      1. Karthik Mohan
        25th May 2014, 3:05

        Have you never had an idol you look up to? Have you never looked at someone and thought “That’s how I want to be!”? Lewis Hamilton is an F1 driver, and I am a nobody, but even I get inspired by Senna in many walks of life. To me, he is a moral boost. At any point of my life, if I am in trouble I think of Senna and it somehow gives me more strength to go on. Of course, it isn’t a quantifiable thing, and I may be merely getting strong mentally, but is it such a crime to actually say things like I want to try to be more like my idol? Have you never thought “I want to be more like my dad and mom” or anything along those lines?

        Lewis did not say he was exactly like Senna, nor did he say he was as great as Senna. Lewis is a bigger Senna fan than any of us, and I think he will know more about respecting the great man than we do. It is actually more annoying to read comments like yours where Lewis’ words are taken totally out of context and given new meanings that don’t even exist, just like the “I am hungrier than Nico” thing. Lewis never said anything about him being hungrier than Nico.

        All Lewis ever says is that he is inspired by Senna, and what exactly is wrong in that? Senna had a way of dealing with moments, and Lewis merely said he would try to act more like him. Everyone tries to be more like their idol, and is that news to you?

        1. I think that is a very fair comment, but I also think it is fair to ponder what LH means considering that in the tensest moments Senna had contact with his teammate. Look at your last sentence. “Everyone tries to be more like their idol…”

          But I’m sure LH, as intimate as he is in his admiration for Senna, knows how those incidents ended up, and it wasn’t pretty.

        2. Lewis is a bigger Senna fan than any of us

          Just because he’s a racing driver and there are some resemblances between him an Senna, it doesn’t make him a bigger Senna fan than any of us…

          1. “Just because he’s a racing driver and there are some resemblances between him an Senna, it doesn’t make him a bigger Senna fan than any of us…”

            Your comment doesn’t make any sense??

        3. Your comment has made my day…mainly by the fact that I can’t stop laughing.

        4. James Dunning
          6th June 2014, 11:02

          You can have an idol like Senna but actually comparing yourself to someone like Senna is just plain arrogant

      2. @toxic, Alonso and Vettel closer to Senna then Hamilton ?, you mean Alonso who needs No1 status and team mates to receive penalties so he can win ?. And Vettel ?, just name one epic battle Vettel has won, just one mate. The closest driver to Senna is Hamilton, try to live with it.

    2. Hold your horses HAM:….. NICO is NOT Alain Prost (that had already 2 championships (’85 and ’86) when Senna joined McLaren in ’88).
      If he was on the same team with VET then maybe….

      1. @lucho19
        I don’t think that Hamilton-Rosberg is as good as Senna-Prost either, but they are probably as good as Piquet-Mansell.

    3. Also, I hope he doesn’t become a drama queen, which may already be the case. He had the nerve of saying that Rosberg is more privileged than himself, the one that had no need to seek sponsorship ever since age 13, potentially the most marketable face in motorsport. Just go for poles and race wins.

  3. What does Hamilton imply here, will he crash into Rosberg in turn 1?

    1. davey (@djdaveyp87)
      25th May 2014, 0:52

      Senna responded to Prosts tactics by defeating him on the race track. Incidents between them were actually few and far between, just big and hyped!

      1. I am a Prost fan and no, Prost won both ’88 and ’89 inter team rivalry. Senna became ’88 champion because of the stupid 10 best finish rule which was the ‘double points’ of that era. Who needs that rule ? MP4/4 was bulletproof!

        On Hamilton, I am bored with his comments about Senna, about his GF, about GOD, about backgrounds etc. But I guess is better than the 2011 monaco comments, so…. this Hamilton is as good as it gets. But, boy he is fast…..

        1. Senna became ’88 champion because of the stupid 10 best finish rule

          And Senna was better in ’89 but unluckier. So that evens out nicely.

    2. That didn’t happen when they were team mates.

      1. @matt90 Yes they were because Prost was annoyed his own team was appealing for senna.

        1. @matt90 sorry im wrong i got mixed up was the incident as teammates after 130’r ?

          1. ‘Turn 1’ as in the comment I replied to refers to ’90 when Prost was with Ferrari and Senna was on pole for McLaren but annoyed at pole being on the wrong side of the grid.

    3. I Hope he uses Senna racing philosophy “we are racing to win, not to come 3th, 4th, 5th or six”. and not what happen in Susuka 90. What worries me though is that this happened after he was screwed in qualifying.

  4. With the Senna comment, I think Hamilton is just saying he wants his driving to do the talking. I know this maybe be obvious but here come the comments in 5,4,3,2…

    1. davey (@djdaveyp87)
      25th May 2014, 0:54

      Exactly what he is saying. But, you know, everything is a conspiracy theory!

  5. The context is missing out of that comment from HAM. So, I’ll give him benefit of the doubt and suggest he was just annoyed with not being on pole, at a race where pole is critical.
    Although HAM should be careful with his words, because if there is any contact during the race, not suggesting that he is going to do it deliberately, he’ll now have a barrage of questions to answer about “is that what you meant by being more like Senna?”.

  6. Lets be honest, anyone who seriously thinks Hamilton is looking to take Rosberg out is seriously deluded. There are many ways he can emulate Senna without relating to a first corner or any incident. Senna was a great driver, who went out with the intention of not only winning, but winning my as much as possible, lets not forget that.

    1. Yeah, but I guess that conspiracy and twisting the facts are easier to swallow.

  7. I don’t know what LH means, but he is no Senna…nobody is…so depending on what he means or will do, I will reserve judgement on LH for now.

  8. OmarR-Pepper (@)
    25th May 2014, 1:05

    Ans as I posted before, safety is now so important because of Imola 94,so crashing another driver deliberately as Senna did would be a serious case to get DSQd for the whole season. I hope Hamilton refers to Senna’s skills, and not to his most infamous action.

    1. “crashing another driver deliberately”

      Maldonado does it every race

    2. Seeing as that action didn’t happen when Senna and Prost were team mates, of course he isn’t referring to that.

  9. For me personally, I’m dissapointed with both Mercedes drivers after today. Rosberg for making that mistake on purpose (just my opinion!) and his post qualifying celebrations. Hamilton for his demeanour and comments after qualifying. Both I felt were unsporting and uncalled for. But in a way, I’m not surpised that things are getting a bit tense between both drivers. Mainly because of the constant unneccesary hype the media have managed to dish out, implying that we’ll see another Webber/Vettel or Prost/Senna. So many headlines I’ve seen and questions given to both drivers has had the hallmarks of wanting to drive a wedge between both drivers. It’s gotten tiresome now..

    1. It’s gotten tiresome now

      That’s your opinion and I don’t share it. All this controversy and media-hyped drama is something that defines a great rivalry in F1 and spices up the entire season. I hope it continues all the way until Abu Dhabi. By that time people might call 2014 a ‘classic F1-season’ with drama, intrigue, controversy and, of course, proper racing!

  10. An unfortunate occurrence for Hamilton for sure, but I would hope that he’s smart enough not to respond by doing something daft. He’ll be much better served by driving a clean race tomorrow, and could well wind up on the top step anyway. If he doesn’t, a podium and a good haul of points is still very likely, and there are plenty of races left to determine who’s the boss.

  11. petebaldwin (@)
    25th May 2014, 1:25

    What is it with everyone trying to make a big deal about everything saying things like “After what happened in qualifying, there is no doubt that the Monaco GP result is going to be critical. Perhaps defining race of year”?

    Why will it be the defining race of the year? Because one will score a few more points than the other? This battle will carry on all year!

    1. Exactly a few points more when theres 50 at the final race… I think thats the defining race of the year

      1. Sure, in terms of points, but I’ll assume those who call this defining are thinking of NR’s psyche. And LH’s momentum. Some think if LH wins this and many tip him for Canada it will be game over for NR. If NR wins this weekend the see-saw battle continues.

        But I tend to agree more with the points aspect rather than the psyche angle. These drivers are going to push each other hard….exactly what F1 needs, and each race may color the next for each driver so it is not a static thing….but it is electric.

  12. Alonso’s twitter pic explains why he was too busy to grant the Bieber an audience. lol

    1. @schooner :D . Baby baby …ooooh ,

  13. NataliePinkham is the worst stirrer(hope i have spelt that right), she was goading LH. I no it is their jobs but Lee Mckenzie who i listend to on the BBCC highlights was much more fair.

    The Hamilton fan in me wanted Ros to get dropped but i just dont think it is fair on the incident he was underinvestigation for, the reversing on the other hand… It should not be allowed tor everse from a slip road when session is running. It is dangerous different on a circuit but in a street track no way. Glad it stayed same though i think Ham can get to 1st at start.

    1. Its not only her but the most of the Sky F1 clowns. I honestly do feel sorry for UK fans that have to watch Sky

      1. This
        SkyF1 Team almost did Trolling job in Monaco Post Q

    2. He could have been given a mild reprimand for the reversing .. A penalty would have been too harsh .

  14. Wouldn’t it be fun if someone took a page from Senna’s book on teammates, but rather from the Gerhard Berger chapter?

    Wouldn’t someone like Gerhard Berger be fun in F1 in general?

    1. Yep. The Senna fan-boy should learn to laugh at himself a bit – at the moment he reminds me more of Mansell.

    2. Wouldn’t someone like Gerhard Berger be fun in F1 in general?

      Yes, absolutely. He is a real fun guy. Berger/Alesi was my favourite driver-pairing ever, not the fastest/best, but the one I liked most.

  15. I don’t think that Lewis Hamilton is irresponsible to the point that he will risk someone’s life even if he considers him as the ultimate devil. I think he’s just clashing Roseberg after wharhe did in qualifying.

    but if Nico can indeed win tomorrow, the scales will tip back in his favor. Not only will he regain the lead of the drivers’ championship, but he would also have beaten Hamilton in spite of his mind games

    I don’t know if the man who wrote this crap was watching the GP’s since the start of the season, on what momentum he is talking about, Hamilton trashed Roseberg so far,the only time he finished behind him was due to a car failure. I don’t think that Roseberg has the win in his bag, i mean if he is going to win tomorrow he has to work for it, there are so many variables in Monaco like the safety car, even the rain could remix all the cards

    1. If you read NR’s quotes above from the Formula1.com interview, he knows the whole picture, and he knows how crucial a good start will be and he has had a few less than stellar ones, so much is going to hinge on how NR gets away. That’s going to be huge for him…so also huge pressure to nail it.

      I think an LH that comes across as he has in the last few days with his remarks, as well as some of his remarks after qualifying, would hit NR if NR bobbles the start and they end up side by side. But an LH that should be professional and calm and cool and focused will not.

      Also, I don’t see where the author of this quote claims momentum will switch to NR….just the scales tipping as in points wise. I think most would say that a win at Monaco where pole is more key than all other venues would have to be backed up by another win soon, for NR to stall LH’s momentum…but an LH win? Big momentum for him going forward.

    2. I think it is the usual thing of “you are as good as your last race” – or in this case, as good as your last session.

  16. Hamilton: “I don’t know if Senna and Prost talked about it but I quite liked the way Senna dealt with that so I’ll take a page out of his book.”

    Ohhhh the mind games, Lewis. You were raising the bar every day with your comments and now you’re on the back foot ! Bring it on !

  17. I think Hamilton means he is just going to win the race ,not take out rosberg in a first corner crash,
    although I have consulted the “Runes” and a crash is coming, ;)

  18. When watching it live it seemed like a genuine mistake, not the first or last in that corner this weekend, one he dealt with seemingly cleverly by putting his car well out of harms way in a run-off save from any high speed danger. Great. Except firstly – considering the tight layout of Monaco – should not have resulted in yellow flags during qualifying. Secondly, the drivers should have been informed about this, and not reverse back into harms way and remain there until qualifying was over.

    Rosberg made an embarrassing driver error that anywhere else would have been unlikely to interfere with the result – which for all we know might have been the same. A better protocol might have prevented this, if not an exception for dealing with situations like this during Monaco qualifying.

    Either way… this ‘incident’ made me look more forward to a race that has all the ingredients of being a boring parade. Let’s hope it delivers. :)

    1. I remember Hamilton crashing in the same turn in qualifying a few years ago when he should have got pole. Hamilton leading up to this race said there was no excuse not to get pole this year, and he hasn’t got it so is fuming at Rosberg who he probably sees as interfering with a legacy he wants that he couldn’t do at McLaren. Hamilton has the chance to get the most wins in a row with the engine advantage he has. Rosberg might end that today.

  19. I am getting the feeling, through his comments from the past week leading up to Monaco, and now after the incident, that Hamilton wants to create a rivalry emulating the Senna v Prost battle. It feels like he’s the one trying to pick the fight. Anyone else?

    Maybe I missed something but I don’t know where their relationship exactly turned for the worse.

    1. I think it was after Bahrain . China , I guess . When they did not even exchange words in the cool down room before the podium.

      1. I don’t think it would be a good mind-game to make the dispute remind Senna vs Prost, because it would give Rosberg the idea that he is Prost, if anything he should convince him he is Barrichelo.

  20. Hamilton has to stop trying to compare himself to Senna, the amount of errors he has done, and never dominating the sport shows he is nothing compared to Senna. This kind of talk by him is ridiculous, – on a drivers circuit, he should have been faster then Rosberg even on the first timed lap of q3, but he wasn’t because is no Ayrton Senna. in the last few races, Hamilton has relied on pitting first to win from Rosberg, which again shows he has not got the abitily to dominate Rosberg.

    1. He never said he IS LIKE senna

    2. the amount of errors he has done, and never dominating the sport shows he is nothing compared to Senna

      To be fair Senna himself was many times involved in controversial crashes and he made many silly mistakes, he also has never dominated the sport (when i said domination i mean à la Shumacher or à la Vettel) he won all his 3 titles before the final round in the WDC in Suzuka. That takes nothing from Ayrton but these are facts.

  21. As a Hamilton fan, I wouldn’t have minded a 3-place grid penalty for reversing onto the track. I think this is no less dangerous than having your DRS open when there is a yellow, for instance. In GP2, isn’t there (or wasn’t there) a rule that drivers get a grid penalty if they create a yellow flag during qualifying? Ridiculous, of course, but it would have been somewhat appropriate for Rosberg’s incident, because, even if it was an honest mistake, couldn’t he really have made the corner if he had tried? Slowing down and taking a wider line would have been riskier, so he chose to take the run-off to save his car; fine, but that also eliminated the qualifying laps of the drivers behind him.

    As for the mistake itself, I thought it looked very weird, especially coming from a Monaco specialist. I also agree with Massa: it’s a very strange place for such a mistake.

    1. Or…NR did something all driver’s have done often…braked a little later at that spot to try to put in a faster lap. Reversing was obviously not an issue. NR has been cleared of any wrongdoing other than he himself made a mistake of overdriving and thought he had ruined it for himself. Also, did FM say it was a strange place before or after he found out that the stewards confirmed NR was innocent? I’m sure any place on any track where braking is required is the normal place for a bloke to potentially brake too late.

      If anyone including LH has an issue, it should be with the marshals for throwing the yellow when NR was clearly out of the way and there was so little time left and so few cars remaining to go by that spot that the odds were there would have been no issues with another car going off at the same spot and somehow hitting NR.

  22. The 500 is 5pm in what zone? If not GMT what is it? :)

    1. Todd (@braketurnaccelerate)
      25th May 2014, 8:15

      @sigman1998 – The green flag for the Indy 500 drops at 12:12pm EST, so that should be 5:12pm GMT, I believe…

      1. Thank you! :)

  23. Hamilton may be an amazing driver, but one thing where he falls desperately short when emulating Senna, is actually not the driving, but the character. While Senna was probably one of the most enigmatic, charismatic and intelligent drivers, I can’t give Hamilton neither of those three.
    His persona is so fabricated, he’s a poser, his mystique/spirituality or however you wanna call it, is completely nonexistent, save for a few quasi-deep tweets and his intelligence either isn’t coming through or is so far off of Senna’s that I don’t really see how it will even figure.
    That’s probably why many insiders say Alonso is much closer to Senna when it comes to personality. He is very intelligent and has much more charisma.

    For me personally, from a Senna fan-boy from the beginning of the 90s, as I got older, I found myself being more of a Prost’s fan with every passing year. You realize some things, have a different, less childish/teenage outlook on life, and start valuing some things more, while realizing the immaturity of others.

    These days, I find that I respect the both drivers pretty much equally, and am able to appreciate them both for what they were – two mesmerizing drivers and personalities, completely different, yet a perfect match for each other.

    Respect to both Senna and Prost and thank you both for what you brought to the sport and the limits you brought out of each other.

    1. I think that is a very fair comment even if a little bit harsh on LH. I do know this…LH admitted in 2011 to off-track non-F1 related distractions hurting his performance on the track, which I personally think was the start of the end for him at Mac, and Senna and Prost never let that happen.

  24. A couple of days ago Nico signed a new contract with Mercedes, then this nonsensical piece of driving.. Co-incidence? Love to have been a fly on the wall at the Mercedes discussions of the event, wonder if they really agreed with the stewards?

    1. maybe that is why Hamilton is upset, maybe Rosberg got a contract which makes him equal in payment and status in the team to Hamilton. previous he was told not to pass Hamilton and was earning less money. maybe Hamiltons comments about Nico being privileged growing up (coming from the most privileged of them all) were because of the contract extension too. maybe the contract means quite a lot in this spat that Hamilton is creating, Hamilton obviously wants number 1 status, and maybe he hasn’t got it and that is why he is saying all these things about beating and dominating rosberg.

    2. I think it is nonsense to call braking a bit late to try to ensure pole, a nonsensical piece of driving. At Mercedes they knew immediately and well before the stewards that that is all NR did. They have two drivers going for the WDC this year. Of course this type of mistake is going to happen. To immediately jump to the conclusion that NR is suddenly MS is what is nonsensical.

  25. Wow, Vettel has had terrible luck in qualifying this year. I think he’s had one or two clean qualifying so far.

    1. Malaysia and ???

    2. @yobo01 Yes, he has had car problems but his racecraft has improved over the years, as demonstrated most recently in Spain. If the car holds together well today I expect he will have positive results.

  26. So youre planning to emulate him by being a petulant little man child are you? Good job buddy, though you were already ahead of the curve on that one werent you

  27. Hamilton continues to perpetuate a child when things don’t go his way. Yet he wonders why he gives of a sour impression to the world.

    1. Malaysia and ??? Lol.

  28. Callum two l's
    25th May 2014, 9:55

    Really until this whole thing I didn’t think nico had it in him to be world champ… It appears I was wrong

  29. Even adjusting for British media often blowing Hamilton’s words out of proportion, this time he has really done it. I have lost what little respect for the guy I had. He’s pusjing 30 for Pete’s sake, and still behaves like a 13 year old. (13 goes on 30 gets a new meaning). Has he never ever caused a yellow in qualy or race, screwing up other peoples attempts? Isn’t this the same guy who hit Raikkonen in Canada in the pits, and that was A LOT more suspicious accident than Rosberg’s. Wasn’t it Hamilton who blatantly lied and cheated Trulli out of his finish position? Not even touching the whole 2007 business, and his lesser antics like posting McLaren’s telemetry on the net. So this is the guy who suddenly feels cheated because his teammate who has never done anything controversial in his whole career, and showed more respect to Hamilton on and off track than he deserves? With his stupid pouting and childish posturing, it is he who should apologise to Rosberg for even suggesting any foul play. And will he stop about emulating Senna already? The only way in which he can emulate Senna would be going to the stewards and demand for pole position to be moved. There is no other aspect of racing in which he is remotely close to Ayrton.

      1. Hard to argue that.

  30. For all Lewis’s supposedly clever mind games over the last few weeks, feeding the media careful comments designed to infer that not only was Rosberg slower but that Hamilton has speed in hand, Rosberg has never looked like being vaguely flustered by anything Lewis has said.

    Lewis looked destroyed getting out of the car and in the media interviews though. Maybe by reverting to “I’ll be like Senna” he’s acknowleding that up to this point he’s been like Prost?

    1. Valid point @hairs talks the talk but can’t walk the walk

    2. @hairs He looked destroyed because he thought he could have cracked pole . Not because he finished the lap and didn’t . As someone said earlier Q3 isn’t over until SV and LH park their cars .

      1. He could, would, but hadn’t…

      2. The point is that Rosberg hasn’t cracked when things didn’t go his way, or he got beaten, or Lewis was trying to get inside his head.

        Lewis definitely cracked this weekend. He’s always been psychologically weak, which is why I’ve been surprised to see him attempt mind games on someone like Rosberg, who clearly isn’t. He’s projecting his own weaknesses onto others and assuming things which would work when used against him would work on someone else.

  31. Well I don’t think that he means to emulate Senna in terms of his antics at the Japanese GP. He only means to emulate Senna by letting his driving very fast and do the talking on track. Unfortunately, Lewis has done the most talking off track yet.

  32. I think Hamilton had a right response if he mented to make a Senna defending his place on the track.
    But, Nico is not a Prost neither Hamilton a Senna, i hope for the beauty of F1 it was that, if he meant crasing at the first corner, that’s just wrong…

  33. Alonso is a Real Madrid fan too?

    We are a match made in heaven.

  34. Alonso is a Real Madrid fan too?

    We are a match made in heaven.

  35. I know crashing Rosberg in turn one definitely springs to mind as Hamilton said this but I in fact, I think he means he will take a page of Senna´s book by doing what Senna did on the Toleman or just humiliate him like he did Prost before he crashed in the McLaren…
    He would be screwed for the season if he actually crashes into Nico in turn one. Hamilton might act dumb sometimes but he is not that idiotic.

  36. one race Lewis, shake it off cuz u got this. starting with Montreal will begin the domination – again…of Rosberg. he simply does not have your talent skill. Nico is a smart dude, he knows its not likely he can beat out Lewis for the title and will need massive amounts of luck.

    I am glad Lewis is in this team, give Nico a champions drive. u deserve it Lewis

  37. Several years ago when Michael Schumacher came out of retirement to drive for Mercedes, many predicted that he would destroy Nico Rosberg. After all, this was Schumacher, the most successful driver in F1 history. The man who between 1994 and 2004 won seven drivers championships, a man who in his career had won a mind blowing ninety one grands prix.
    The numbers are astounding. The consensus among many was that even an ageing Schumacher, a Michael at half speed, would make mincemeat of Nico.
    The reality was quite different. Mercedes back then were not the team they are now in terms of performance, but Rosberg was not fazed by his legendary team mate. To think about it, Schumacher in the sister car must have been a huge gauge for Nico in so many ways. A means to measure his skills, and learn from one of the very best in the business.
    Some may argue that the events of Saturday morning prove that Nico may have learned some of Schumacher’s bad habits. After all when it concerns sharp minded drivers, then there were few sharper than Schumacher.
    The main learning curve for Rosberg without doubt must have been the ability to deal with pressure. This for me was the big risk Hamilton took in deploying mind games in the build up to Monaco. Less experienced drivers may have been affected by this, but Rosberg is no rookie, and he certainly can deal with the pressure.
    Today’s victory was a massive boost for Nico Rosberg in that he made Hamilton eat his words, despite the dubious acts the day before that split opinion so greatly on this site and others. He has proved he can beat Hamilton at his own game and on the biggest stage on F1, the Monaco Grands Prix.
    How Hamilton reacts in Canada in two weeks is the question we should be asking? He won’t forget this weekend in a hurry, but then nor will Nico Rosberg.

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