Rosberg on pole, Hamilton to start from back after fire

2014 Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying

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Nico Rosberg secured his third successive pole position at Hungary after Lewis Hamilton failed to set a single timed lap due to a fiery engine failure in Q1.

Sebastian Vettel will line up alongside the championship leader on the front row, with Valtteri Bottas and Daniel Ricciardo behind them on the second row of the grid.

Q1

Qualifying began with a dry track, but with the threat of rain hanging in the air as thick dark clouds gathered overhead.

Pastor Maldonado was the first car on circuit, but almost immediately there were problems with the Lotus which slowed to a crawl exiting Turn 15 and was forced off the circuit just before the entry to pit lane.

But then, there was even greater drama as Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes was suddenly ablaze. With flames shooting out of the rear of the car, Hamilton was forced to stop in the entrance to pit lane, his session over just as soon as it had begun.

With his championship rival doomed to a back row start, Nico Rosberg set the fastest time of the session, a 1’25.227 on the Medium tyres. Jean-Eric Vergne then lowered the fastest time with a 1’24.941.

With two cars eliminated, there was an opportunity for one of the ‘back four’ drivers to steal a place into Q2. As the chequered flag flew, Nico Hulkenberg was on the cusp of dropping out of qualifying in P16, but the Force India driver was able to improve to 12th with the help of the Soft tyres.

That left Kimi Raikkonen vulnerable with the Ferrari driver now in P16 and with the Finn in the pits, Jules Bianchi stunned the thousands of Finnish fans in attendance by knocking the former world champion out.

Kamui Kobayashi, Max Chilton and Marcus Ericsson were also duly eliminated, leaving Lewis Hamilton and Pastor Maldonado to start from the final row of the grid for tomorrow’s race.

Drivers eliminated in Q1

Row 917. Kimi Raikkonen 1’26.792
Ferrari
18. Kamui Kobayashi 1’27.139
Caterham
Row 1019. Max Chilton 1’27.819
Marussia
20. Marcus Ericsson 1’28.643
Caterham
Row 1121. Lewis Hamilton No time
Mercedes
22. Pastor Maldonado No time
Lotus

Q2

The second session started in slightly warmer and brighter conditions than the first as the threat of rain appeared to be subsiding.

The two Force India drivers were the first drivers on track, but their initial lap times were quickly eclipsed by Daniil Kvyat’s Toro Rosso.

With all the top teams now on Soft tyres, Nico Rosberg set the quickest time of the weekend with a 1’23.310, almost seven tenths quicker than Valtteri Bottas’s first attempt in the Williams.

Red Bull’s first efforts proved better than the Williams’, but both Sebastian Vettel and Daniel Ricciardo were three tenths adrift of the Mercedes.

With six minutes remaining,Sergio Perez’s session was ended by a hydraulic leak – a problem that had hit his team mate Nico Hulkenberg in third practice.

The track fell silent until just over three minutes remaining, with both Force Indias, Saubers, Romain Grojean’s Lotus and Bianchi’s Marussia all set to be eliminated, with Vergne, Jenson Button and Daniil Kvyat occupying the final spots for Q3.

Felipe Massa improved his best time to help guarantee his place in the final session, as Nico Hulkenberg jumped into Q3 with a 1’24.647.

With the chequered flag out, Daniil Kvyat spun his Toro Rosso on the entry to Turn 12, leaving his car stranded on the outside of the corner and forcing double yellow flags, ruining any chances of last minute improvement.

Hulkenberg’s gain was Kvyat’s loss as the Force India only just held on to tenth. Vergne and Magnussen also secured a place into Q3, while Sutil, Perez, Gutierrez, Grosjean and Bianchi were all eliminated.

Drivers eliminated in Q2

Row 611. Daniil Kvyat 1’24.706
Toro Rosso
12. Adrian Sutil 1’25.136
Sauber
Row 713. Sergio Perez 1’25.211
Force India
14. Esteban Gutierrez 1’25.260
Sauber
Row 815. Romain Grosjean 1’25.337
Lotus
16. Jules Bianchi 1’27.419
Marussia

Q3

Ahead of the crucial final session, the umbrellas began to appear in the grandstands as rain drops began to fall around the circuit.

With the circuit not due to stay dry for very long, the was an immediate rush out on to the track as the session began with all drivers looking to try and set a time on Soft tyres before the circuit became too wet to improve.

Nico Rosberg was the first man across the line and arrived at the braking zone of Turn 1 to find that the rain was now streaming onto the track, causing him to miss the first corner entirely and creep around the tarmac run-off on his Soft tyres.

Behind him, however, Kevin Magnussen was not so lucky. The McLaren rookie found no traction into the now wet braking zone on his dry tyres and speared straight into the barriers, putting him out of the session and causing the session to be stopped. Magnussen climbed out of the car uninjured.

While the teams waited for the session to be resumed with ten minutes remaining, the rain stopped. Rosberg ventured out first once more with another set of Soft dry tyres and posted a very cautious 1’26.488 with his first banker lap, which was immediately beaten by Daniel Ricciardo, who was then eclipsed by over a second by Valtteri Bottas’s 1’24.259.

With just under five minutes to go and with no more threat of any further rain, Sebastian Vettel stormed to provisional pole by over eight tenths with a 1’23.415. But that did not last long as Nico Rosberg snatched back the top spot by just under two tenths with his first truly flying lap of the session.

As all nine remaining cars set out for their final attempts, the battle for pole looked to be a straight fight between Rosberg and Vettel, but Valtteri Bottas suddenly leapt up into second by just under a tenth in the Williams.

Sebastian Vettel’s final effort was good enough to take provisional pole as the chequered flag fell, but it was not to be for the reigning champion as Nico Rosberg’s final lap was good enough to secure him his third successive pole at the death.

Valtteri Bottas and Daniel Ricciardo will share the second row of the grid, with former team mates Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa behind them. Jenson Button will line up seventh, ahead of Jean-Eric Vergne and Nico Hulkenberg in ninth.

Top ten in Q3

Row 11. Nico Rosberg 1’22.715
Mercedes
2. Sebastian Vettel 1’23.201
Red Bull
Row 23. Valtteri Bottas 1’23.354
Williams
4. Daniel Ricciardo 1’23.391
Red Bull
Row 35. Fernando Alonso 1’23.909
Ferrari
6. Felipe Massa 1’24.223
Williams
Row 47.
Jenson Button 1’24.294
McLaren

8. Jean-Eric Vergne 1’24.720
Toro Rosso
Row 59. Nico Hulkenberg 1’24.775
Force India
10. Kevin Magnussen No time
McLaren

2014 Hungarian Grand Prix

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Author information

Will Wood
Will has been a RaceFans contributor since 2012 during which time he has covered F1 test sessions, launch events and interviewed drivers. He mainly...

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257 comments on “Rosberg on pole, Hamilton to start from back after fire”

  1. I wonder what you’re response to this is Robbie, all year you defended Nico saying he is not lucky, Laughable it is.

    1. boo hoo hoo – woo woo woo for you Dan. Rosberg has done an excellent job no matter what. will you hate Rosberg for getting pole today? he did the best he could. Maybe in the next race he will have a failure like Hamilton, but don’t judge ability on luck.

      1. OMG dude atleast be gracious, you admitted Ham is having all the bad luck. Ham should be lading WC.

        1. should? If you’re a true champion, you either lead or not lead the WDC. If not, then hand the WDC of 2008 to Massa, he surely SHOULD be champion, right? As always, HAM is a hell of a driver, i’ll not argue that, but the same is true to Nico, and if he’s leading the championship, it’s well deserved.

          1. Michael (@freelittlebirds)
            27th July 2014, 5:51

            Do you mean that if I never could pass my teammate and I won because my teammate was beset by qualifying/race issues, I would deserve the WDC? Because I think I would make an excellent teammate for Alonso whenever he gets a winning car. I can already smell the Championship:-) Come Alonso, bring me your fast unreliable car and I’ll show you who the better racer is!

      2. @kpcart, yeah an excellent job of collecting gifts. It’s not about “hate.”

        What’s more likely? He cruises to checkers or he DNFs?

    2. This has nothing to do with Rosberg. He’s been unlucky two times this year, in Austria and at Silverstone. He’s lost 32 points in races due to mechanical failures.
      At this point of the season Hamilton has lost about 43 points in races due to mechanical failure (doubt he would have passed Rosberg in Austria if both cars were ok).
      Hamilton has had some bad luck in qualifying lately. There’s no doubt about it. But cheer up folks as in some strange way he’s been lucky too. He’s been lucky it happened in qualifying and not in the races. His second lucky charm is the huge advantage Mercedes has. That has made it possible for Hamilton to limit the damage. Every single time except last time in Germany he was able to get second quite easily. So it hasn’ damaged him too much in the Championship yet. Tomorrow will be more difficult though! I doubt he’ll be able to get on the podium, Red Bull and Williams are too fast. But 5th or 6th is definitely possible.
      I’m more concerned about what damage the fire did to his engine components. I hope this will not be the cause of a grid penalty later this season.
      There are several other drivers on the grid that have been more unlucky than Hamilton this year. Just to mention a few: Vettel, Grosjean, Maldonado, Vergne..

      1. Hamilton has lost way more than 42 points through mechanical failure.

        25 points at Australia
        25 points at Canada
        10 points at Germany
        Probably 10-20 points here in Hungary.

        That could be as many as 80 points, quite a bit more than your estimation.

        Rosberg has lost 32 points though yes.

        Basically if neither car had had a mechanical failure hamilton would currently be 24 points ahead and looking to make it 31 tomorrow, instead he is 11 behind and will be lucky if he leaves hungary with it being less than 30.

        1. That’s with you being pessimistic for Nico. If you remain neutral the deficit is reduced to 0.

          1. Michael (@freelittlebirds)
            26th July 2014, 19:36

            @vettel1 I’m sure if Vettel was in Lewis’s car, he’d be 8th in the driver standings:-) I guess the reliability of the RB has propelled him to P6 but still behind Daniel who is in P3 and lost so many points in Australia.

          2. You really need to improve your comedy…

        2. I said he had lost 43 points in the races and that is correct. What you are doing is calculating as if Hamilton would have won all these races. You can’t do that as we simply don’t know. Nobody knows what the result would have been without mechanical problems. If we start calculating like that many seasons in F1-history would have seen another Champion. It’s part of the game and has always been part of the game.
          What I was trying to say however is that there’s no reason to despair. You never know in F1, the situation changes from day to day and race to race. Tomorrow we might discuss how lucky Hamilton was in the race and how unfortunate others were.
          The next 3 or 4 races are critical to Hamilton now. He has to beat Rosberg and that is no easy. Rosberg is very methodic in his approach and is able to understand the car better and better as the season moves on. Remember last year? Rosberg had all the bad luck in the first half of the season. Hamilton was way ahead on points. In the second half of the 2013-season Rosberg was the strongest!

          1. +1. Actually, HAM was somehow lucky in Germany because Massa and Magnussen took themselves out, so HAM gained 2 positions instantly. If Massa and Magnussen would have been in that race, probably HAM wouldn’t have even made it to P3.

    3. what happened to hamilton, makes me wanna puke

    4. Let’s not forget Rosberg had more mechanical issues last year.

    5. @Dan I haven’t ‘defended’ Nico. His own actions speak for themselves and do not need defending, and he has no control over what happens to LH. He is there and doing a stellar job. Of course LH’s problems have made life easier for NR, but that doesn’t mean it is easy. I support Nico because he has shown he is worthy. NR would likely rather have to have earned his stuff more than be helped this way, and how a WDC wins colours how he is remembered and goes toward legendary status or not. LH now has an even better opportunity to pull off a legendary WDC win, given his woes, and NR could also win a WDC and he truly will have won it in spite of circumstances, be handed the trophy, get huge accolades and further fame and fortune, because that’s just how the cookie crumbled. For every LH issue, a notch of legend comes out of NR’s prize in a way, but nothing will ever take it all away from any WDC winner. He’ll have always had to be there doing the job he and the team set out to do.

  2. The bad luck Hamilton has is insane.

    The good luck Rosberg has is insane.

    I hate it when championships are decided by massive luck contrasts, kills it.

    1. Agree. It’s painful to watch. There’s zero pressure on Rosberg under these circumstances. Maybe in 2015 it’ll work out differently.

      1. It must be so hard for Hamilton to keep faith in his team at the moment…

        1. oh come on, he is 14 ponts away, that is about 5 points in the old system, it is less then one race result. even after tomorrow it will likely be less then one race result between whoever of the 2 merc drivers wins, with many races left.

          1. Yes, things can become worse tomorrow but it’s way too soon to write off the championship.

          2. Michael (@freelittlebirds)
            27th July 2014, 0:04

            @kpcart Yes but he’s starting from the back of the grid tomorrow and the lead will most likely be a full race. Not to mention that Lewis is wondering whether he’ll manage to finish another qualifying round in 2014 at this point and how many DNFs he’s guaranteed along with slow pitstops when he needs them. God forbid, he actually makes a mistake during the race while overtaking 200 cars over the season…

    2. It might still even out though, even if it is annoying at the moment.

      1. like the british gp showed, it is very likely, even highly probable. it is only annoying for Hamilton fans like yourself. for the rest of us, and fans of other f1 drivers beside Merc GP drivers who have an unfair advatange over the rest of the field, this makes it more interesting to watch this season.

        1. Trevor (@stiggyraycyrus)
          26th July 2014, 15:19

          How is their advantage unfair?

        2. I must be a bit thick as I’m not sure how this kind of thing makes the season more interesting? I though most people liked to see Hamilton & Rosberg battling it out, but apparently, according to you, it’s more interesting to see Rosberg ride off into the sunset completely unchallenged. I guess we have different ideas on what is interesting.

        3. It’s annoying because it means the fight for the title is a bit lop-sided, with the title likely to be decided by who is least unlucky rather than who performs best. That should be a bit of a shame for anybody who enjoys good sport rather than being a fan of a particular driver. It isn’t even as though the amount of bad luck is giving the others a shot at either title anyway.

          Also, what about their advantage is unfair?

        4. Ken (@myxomatosis)
          27th July 2014, 10:40

          So one team having a faster car than another is now classed as unfair? What are you, a child?

    3. I feel a heap of pressure to be on Nico,
      wondering if his Merc will break ?

      1. I think Mr. Dennis could be on the phone to Lewis tonight! Apparently he left the circuit straight after giving his press interviews, therefore no qualifying debrief for him. I would imagine he is very disillusioned with life at Mercedes at the moment.

        Rosberg couldn’t be a more lucky man. His gearbox issue at Silverstone aside, I can’t think of a single incident this season that hasn’t gone his way. Here’s hoping Lewis can stay within 50 points going into Abu Dhabi and Nico gets all of his bad luck at once!

    4. Rosberg’s good luck is Hamilton’s bad luck really, so it’s moot. It’s just two ways to look at the same thing. Rosberg has had bad luck too, like Shanghai quali, Montreal, Silverstone..

      1. @wrsgo Nico was lucky his car was not destroyed in China he had a massive hit with Bottas not just a tap a huge hit.

    5. Lewis Hamilton luck has hit a new low. But this trend tells me it can go even lower. He has done a very solid season so far but the machine (team) has let him down amount of times. Australia, Canada and now this…

      I don’t if it’s Nico’s luck, but one cannot deny that he has been the greatest benefactor of Lewis’ bad luck. In Australia Lewis was on pole and had to retire after 3 laps. In Canada Lewis jumped him through the pits but could not stay ahead because his brakes failed and then came the brake disc failure in Germany after his first weekend collecting the fruits of Nico’s unfortunate Sunday in England.

      Lewis has the skills and math on his side to mount a spectacular come back to win this WDC, but if lady Luck doesn’t make her part, I’m afraid he will not make it. However, I wish him good luck.

    6. And after 2010 people hate Vettel?

      1. +1
        LH has been unlucky, but NR has been there to pick up the pieces. So from here it’s up to Rosberg to either win the title, or prove himself no better than Webber was in 2010 (assuming the unreliability doesn’t even itself out).

    7. You cannot blame Rosberg for Hamiltons failures, he has shown he is
      more than capable of beating Hamilton. I do accept hanilton is having
      a really ban run but this can happen to any driver and it usually affects
      one team mate more than the other. But Rosberg is doing a fine job.

      1. When? He’s never beaten Hamilton in a straight fight. It’s easy to do a fine job when your team-mate is starting 23 places further down the grid. Rosberg is good but he’s so lucky it’s unreal. He makes driving errors and suffers zero repurcussions, e.g. Monaco quali, Canada chicane, Hungary quali.

        I’m kind of making peace with it. Rosberg can win the WDC but anyone paying attention knows he rode his luck.

        1. Michael (@freelittlebirds)
          27th July 2014, 6:00

          +1

    8. Remember that of late Hamilton’s bad luck has largely come in qualifying, not races. That in a sense is fortunate because it doesn’t cost him the chance at points (and since he is driving a Mercedes, that is usually a podium).

    9. LOL, tell that to Alonso !

  3. It’s shameful for Mercedes. They need to make that car bulletproof for both DRIVERS. Otherwise, Nico might win this just because of reliability. But, give credit to Vettel there, he was best of the rest and outqualifying his teammate.

    1. You realize that each driver has a separate team of mechanics right? Maybe if Lewis didn’t blame his team for everything that goes wrong(like when he drives like crap), they would put more effort into it.

      1. You are not wathcing this season, right? Otherwise you are just a complete idiot.

        1. Yeah, I’ve watched every race. The only time HAM has taken responsibility for doing something stupid was at Silverstone.

      2. @l-ciamp, are you implying Hamilton is not getting 100% from the team out of spite? Careful, you’re starting to sound like those “conspiracy theorist.” BTW, can you point to where Hamilton blames the team for everything. You kinda have to support your claims otherwise people see you as just a ….._________.

        1. @sudd
          Up until Silverstone, everything that went wrong for HAM was the teams or the new cars fault. If you have some free time google the interviews from the first half of the season.

      3. @l-ciamp this absolutely unfair for Lewis and for his team. Implying that the guys are not putting enough effort because Lewis is bad to them is far from reality. Did you watch the British GP? After that slow pit Lewis was very polite telling the crew “it’s OK, next time it will be better”.

        1. @jcost
          What about the rest of the season where he does nothing but question his team and imply their strategy is favoring ROS?

          1. @l-ciamp c’mon! Did you remeber Germany? After the brake disc failure? He said: “I’m sorry for the guys, because they worked till late to get the car ready” he didn’t blame nobody but luck. I understand it’s hard for many people, but Lewis Hamilton doesn’t seem to be the demon some of you report.

  4. I think there’s a silver (no pun) lining in Hamilton’s bad luck. If Mercedes can rebuild the car, Hamilton’s not in that bad of a shape. If it rains, then I’m quite confident that he can plough through the field quite quickly; if it doesn’t rain, he can start on the mediums, hope for a safety car and switch for the softs, of which he’s got a lot. Kudos to Rosberg for a great lap, anyway.

    1. Plough through to get a superb 3rd place while Nico gets an unbeaten victory to extend his lead . How different , oh wait .

      But atleast Hamilton ploughing, so to speak, through the field ought to be interesting as long as it is not a fiery drive .

      1. The fun thing is, I can’t remember a single Rosberg win where he actually overtook someone to win the race ^^

        1. @paeschli

          So? It’s not Rosberg’s fault he qualifies on pole. Besides, overtaking any other car than a Mercedes isn’t really an achievement so the only thing that would be worthy of praise is one of them overtaking the other on track. Which both haven’t been able to do so far.

          1. Cough cough . Bahrain .

          2. Also, cough cough . Canada where Hamilton overtook Rosberg just before his brakes failed.

          3. Canada where Hamilton overtook Rosberg just before his brakes failed.

            He temporarily passed Rosberg BECAUSE his brakes failed. That’s why he also went too deep and immediately lost the place.

          4. @hamilfan

            Hamilton was in front, and stayed in front. Neither of them has succesfully overtaken the other yet.

            @patrickl

            Ah yes, Hamilton overtook Rosberg because of Rosberg’s slow pitstop. Massive achievement there.

          5. @David-A, Nope, Hamilton already got past on the straight and couldn’t stop at the end when his brakes failed under braking.

            @Eric, If by “slow pitstop” you mean Rosberg had a terribly slow inlap and outlap while Hamilton put in a blindingly fast lap, then yes. Even with Rosberg’s undercut he managed to geat ahead. That’s indeed quite an achievement.

          6. @baron-2 Lewis started 2nd in Bahrain and finished 1st . I hope that counts as an overtake . An overtake is an overtake . Whether it’s a first lap one or a last lap one or a different strategy one .

            I think what you meant to say is neither has hunted down the other and overtaken .

        2. The closest thing to it was in Austria, when Lewis started 8th (or 7th) but other wins where very easy, the funny thing is, the race that could be more difficult never happened because it was Rosberg who retired…

        3. I remember the exact same comment but talking about Vettel, for the last four years. And he’s a 4 time WDC…

        4. Michael (@freelittlebirds)
          27th July 2014, 5:58

          That’s been my biggest issue with Rosberg. In fact, I have labeled Rosberg as a driver not a racer. Everytime I’ve seen him, he’s just driving, never racing, never passing.
          Lewis on the other hand is the only driver who would be the same with or without DRS and probably has been weakened relatively by the introduction of DRS.

    2. It’s asking too much to replicate the last recovery drive from Mercedes incompetence. Hungary is much more difficult to overtake, Red Bull and Williams look strong, Alonso is there. The chances of Hamilton colliding and losing any points has to be high, while Rosberg drives tranquilly to victory and then (this is the truly annoying bit for me) tells us how his own consistency will ensure he wins the title. Unless it rains, it looks bleak for Hamilton this race.

  5. Call me a nut but I’m starting to believe the conspiracy theories.

    1. Ok. You’re a nut.

    2. Definitely a nut.

    3. Mercedes would never handicap Lewis’ car but is it so far fetched to think that an individual acting on his/her own with an axe to grind could be sabotaging him?

      1. nutcase …

        (jokes)

        1. It definitely sounds crazy!

      2. Even if you’re going down the ‘individual’ route, this assumes that this hypothetical person has some desire to see Hamilton lose (as Rosberg is still not a guarantee for the championship), and has managed to get away with it since Hockenheim, potentially since Australia if you want to backdate it..

      3. Was this person involved in faking the moon landing?

        1. Ken (@myxomatosis)
          27th July 2014, 10:45

          This person is Stanley Kubrick man.

    4. Not quite yet convinced of conspiracy, but if this was Alonso 2007, FIA stewards would be sat 24/7 in the Mercedes garage by now.

      1. Funny someone remembers that the FIA were sat in McL garage through 2007 to ensure equality. And funny no one thought it was nuts then.

        1. The relaitionship went sour in USA, Ham matched him from start.

    5. yep, you’re a nut.

  6. — I got fire, guys.
    — Okay Lewis. Okay, park up where you can find a marshal.
    — Roger. [turns into pit lane entry]
    — There’s– the marshal’s just there. So pull up there. Pull up there. Stop. Stop. Stop. Marshal with fire extinguisher right behind you.
    — But the car won’t stop.
    — Okay, just keep pi– easy ro– easy ro– okay, marshal’s behind you, jump out, jump out.
    [Hamilton keeps rolling into pit area]

    1. I’m sure you’re better under pressure sitting on your couch.
      You conveniently ignored the part where Hamilton said he couldn’t stop the car.

      1. @trublu maybe you could read that again and tell us all why “But the car won’t stop” conveniently slipped your mind when you replied?

      2. @trublu
        Um…

        – But the car won’t stop.

        I give full credit to Lewis for being so calm after another frustrating situation.

        1. Yeah, I saw it but I suppose I misconstrued the point he was making (which I still don’t get). My mistake then. Apologies

          1. I just thought it was funny. Not making any points.

  7. Don’t know what Ferrari were thinking. I am not sure Kimi is getting the support he needs and today it looks like he was set up. I think they are giving him subtle hints that he is not welcome. Shame.

    1. It is not too difficult to fathom what Ferrari is going to start thinking soon though: “2:9 in qualifying, over 0.7s off Alonso’s pace, less than 20% of Alonso’s points. Are we sure Massa couldn’t have done this job? And for a lot less…” It is rather unlikely that Raikkonen will see his contract through if he continues to perform like this (wanted to say underperform but recently it has been increasingly looking as if he is incapable of doing more).

    2. Kimi said he was ready to go out again, but the team decided not to give him the green light. Even after this he asked once if they’re sure about it.

      Terrible, terrible decision by Ferrari.

      1. i remember last race Kimi yelling at the pit “i need to come in!!” it’s sad to see him struggle with a car wich don’t fit his style of driving, and a team who doesn’t support him..

    3. As a Kimi fan, this year has been very frustrating. Ferrari are basically using him as a testing donkey.

      1. Perhaps because he constantly is and was slower than Fernando from the first day.
        The “rubbish” qualifier Alonso is 9-2 on saturday.
        And 10-0 in race day, of course.

        1. @cuesta
          I can’t argue with you. Kimi can’t drive the new cars and it’s sad to watch.

        2. Also, Kimi was faster in Monaco and P1 on friday.

          1. I just love it when the Alonso fans jump to hate on Kimi. Every. Single. Time.

            Fernando is faster than Kimi right now, but slower than Mercedes, Red Bull, Williams, and Force India, so i think this argument is pointless. If you Nando fans want to argue with someone, argue with Ferrari because they’re letting both drivers down every week.

  8. So annoying !!!!
    Again Lewis gets all the bad luck, and Nico none, he is being gift wrapped the World Championship, when it is clear that Lewis is the far superior driver of the two.

    1. In what way is it clear Hamilton is “far superior”? He hasn’t demonstrated that to be the case at any point this season. Even if you factor in reliability issues, Rosberg has still comfortably been a match for Hamilton this season.

      1. no im sorry China, Malaysia ring a bell. Look at last races man. Nico as been infront of Hamilton for 2 wins. Ham has had way more bad luck, you do know in a car for 1st and 2nd the gap should be in Ham’s favour?. Rememeber we do not know how many he lost in Hockenheim, you cant say he lost 10 points it could have been a 17 point swing if Ham won the race. And then this again. Ham has 2 wins over 15 seconds. Ros has one win above 10 because of eye in Monaco

        1. Ham has 2 wins over 15 seconds. Ros has one win above 10 because of eye in Monaco

          All of this indicating that Hamilton is overworking the car, taking wins by far greater margins that are needed, and therefore stressing the car out more as he is pushing when he doesn’t need to.. This appears to be what is returning to haunt him.

          1. @keeleyobsessed do you have data to support that? Until Lewis had the new brake disc failure that damaged his gear box and this engine fire they where even in terms of gear boxes, engines, electronics and so o. Plus, the one who’s usually easier on fuel and tyres is Lewis…

          2. @jcost If you are winning races by huge margins, especially over your team-mate, you are obviously extracting more from the car than what is needed. In Malaysia and China Hamilton won by over 20 seconds, whereas he only needed to win by 2 or 3 (as he did in Bahrain and Spain). I don’t have specific data to hand, but by using a reasonable amount of deduction one could come to the conclusion I’ve described above.

          3. @keeleyobsessed you can go faster by braking less (better at lift and coasting) and save fuel and tyres by doing this. You can go faster by finding grip where you’re team-mate can’t and optimizing you’re racing line. Being quicker is not all down to going full power.

            I don’t think Bahrain and Spain where close because Lewis was saving the car, actually it has emerged that both drivers rev’d up their engines! It was close because Rosberg was good enough to match Lewis. I really can’t find reason to blame the driver in all 4 major mechanical issues Lewis had this year.

            His early retirement in Melbourne cannot be justified by his “driving style”. In Cananda both drivers reported loss of power and brake problems but one of them has been all race exposed to higher temperatures for being behind the leader driving in clean air. In Germany his new brake disc collapsed and nobody seems to know why. Today it has been reported that a fuel leak triggered the fire, how can you blame his driving style my friend? Again, I really can’t blame Nico’s driving style for his failure at Silverstone.

          4. @jcost You can also go faster by going faster into the corners (later and harder on the brakes, which is what I understand is what’s happening under lift and coast), which will put more stress through parts such as the brakes, suspension and power units. I am unaware of which method Hamilton is using, but he has been known to be more agressive in his racing style (which shows up fantastic racing moves, but comes at the risk of car failures/mistakes)

            Now Hamilton’s 4 mechanical issues: Granted, my theory doesn’t explain Australia, but we can probably chuck that up to genuine bad luck. This would probably be countered with Rosberg’s gearbox problem in Silverstone, forcing him to retire aswell. In Canada, he admitted himself that he was behind Rosberg, so his brakes were heating up due to the compounding effects of braking later in overtaking attempts, and the hot air coming off the back of Rosberg’s car.

            As for the 2 qualifying issues in Germany and Hungary, the brake failure was a shock, but there was enough knowledge out there available suggesting that the Brembo brakes were marginal (including data from Rosberg’s failure in testing). There, again with a driver who was pushing at that particular point, these things are increasingly likely to happen. In the case of today’s, I can’t say much as I’m unaware of the full facts much like most of us here are, but an issue like this is one that could potentially be brought up more often when paired with a more agressive driving style. These cars are designed to be marginal on reliability when speed is available, designers will always choose speed over reliability (or even safety, given a free choice).

            All I am saying is that Hamilton’s well-known aggressive style may have it’s part to play, potentially exacerbating the issues in a car which is built to be marginal on reliability..

          5. Also, I don’t mean to say Hamilton was saving his car in Bahrain and Spain, more that he was unnecessarily overworking it in Malaysia and China..

          6. @keeleyobsessed the aggressive driver is actually easier on tyres and fuel tha Rosberg. Part of it is related to Lewis excelling on lifting-and-costing (it actually is good for late braking because you carry less speed into the corner).

            Mercedes has apologized to Lewis for today, it was not his fault. How hard is it for some people to understand that not every problem in F1 is created by the driver? (even when we’re not talking about you’re fave driver).

          7. @jcost

            Mercedes have apologised to Lewis, but that is not an admission of fault.

            Please don’t make remarks about who my favourite driver may or may not be. I started watching F1 in 2002 when people were switching off, and thoroughly enjoy the sport. I saw the good in Maldonado and Grosjean and I saw the bad in Webber and Kovaleinen. I don’t support any particular driver, I support F1. If any driver is my favourite, then it’s Michael Schumacher, who first made me realise how great the sport is.

      2. @vettel1, What you wish to be the case and what is, are totally two different things. More like Rosberg has not been a match for Hamilton without something going wrong on Hamilton’s car.

        1. @sudd What I wish to be the case doesn’t come into it – I’m completely apathetic over Mercedes’ driver situation. I’m simply taking it at face value, which is that even though Hamilton has suffered from unreliability, in the races where both have had largely trouble-free weekends Rosberg has been incredibly close by-and-large.

          Also, if you refer to the assessments of those below you can quite clearly see that even considering reliability issues the championship would be incredibly close.

          1. @vettel1, that is simply not true. You want to see Rosberg as a close match to Hamilton, so you concoct a scenario where he is. Hamilton is at most just a few tenths faster than Rosberg, but that’s all it takes in F1 to have dominance over your teammate. Dominance comes in the form of pace and also points difference.

            Reliability and luck are part of the sport. You can never remove it completely, it’s impossible. However, if you were to adjust the points so far for reliability alone, Hamilton would have 229 points and Rosberg 201.

            That is a 28 point advantage for Hamilton if things went normally. Here’s the kicker, I gave Rosberg 25pts for Silverstone although the argument could be made that Hamilton was going to win regardless. I also gave Rosberg 25pts in Monaco even though he prevented Hamilton for completing a lap that would have been pole. That’s not a reliability issue so I gave him the win even though we know he would have finish 2nd. The other major blow is Rosberg’s first win would not have come until Monaco! Six races into the season! Imagine the momentum Hamilton would have been carrying and the pressure on Rosberg??

            Rosberg got a major boost of confidence by being ahead in points even though it was under special circumstances and reliability issues for Hamilton. Although on merit he is not that close.

            Give Hamilton 25pts for Silverstone and Monaco and Rosberg drops 56pts! behind Hamilton. And his first win of the season would not have come until Austria. Ouch! Anyway, that’s an exercise in what could of been. If only the car was more reliable.

          2. @sudd The “scenario I concocted” is what is happening on the track. You’re the one arguing about what might have been.

      3. True. If I calculate out every mechanical factor.

        AUS: Rosberg -7, Hamilton +25
        MAL, BAH, CHI, SPA, MON: –
        KAN: Rosberg -7, Hamilton -18
        ÖST: –
        ENG: Rosberg +18
        DEU: Hamilton +3

        By that Rosberg has lost 4 points so far, whilst Hamilton should have 10 points more. Even then Rosberg would have been ahead of Hamilton in the standings. I would most certainly consider that quite a match for Hamilton.

        1. lol what? no way Ham has 2 retirements to 1 that alone puts him ahead of Ros. Plus all the qually problems @xenomorph91

          1. Look at the calculation above. I don’t think Hamilton would have won Canada or Germany.

          2. In fairness, the quali problems (bar today and Germany) have been of Hamilton’s doing.

            The point he’s making still stands, though… There isn’t an awful lot between either driver.

          3. Also with all bad pitstops Ham as had(recently), you do know Ros was behind Lewis in Canada? You do know Ham was faster in Silverstone stopped doing a lap, Ham lost a the chance of a 17 point swing in Hockenheim because of qually. So don’t give me he is ahead and learn maths. All thogether Nico is 14 ahead and is very lucky.

          4. One of Hamilton’s retirements was potentially a Rosberg retirement…but one of the two drivers managed to drive the car to the finish. Say what you will but one of the Merc drivers can keep the car alive and the other is less capable of doing that.

            Lucky? When we saw the same issue in the same team side by side and one car finished… I dunno if I call that lucky or if I say someone is better at finishing.

          5. @xenomorph91
            Wasn’t he ahead in Canada when he retired ? And Nico was cutting the chicane under pressure.

          6. @neiana one driver was in clean air the other wasn’t. I suppose by your flawed argument Nico is at fault for his Silverstone retirement

          7. @ Dan

            Hamilton was ahead of Rosberg in Canada because of Rosberg’s slow pitstop.

          8. Ham was ahead in Canada because of a slow stop dude, he had no chance to win Hockenheim(never got chance to find out)?. He wins Hokenheim he is 3 ahead going here, all because of a failure he is 14 behind. You honestly saying Nico is not lucky compared to Hamilton? Perish the thought of Nico having to start from the back.

            Again re do you’re calculations, Ham was ahead in Aus and Canada. Could been 50 points for all we know. Just say Ham gets 45 points and Ros wins Silverstone, Ham be 4 points ahead and that is with the bad luck in Hockenheim and today. Ham has had 4 car failures to Ros 1 and a half

          9. Dan, how can you possibly make the claim that Hamilton would have finished ahead in Australia? Qualifying was wet, and they weren’t exactly given much opportunity to show their relative pace in the race.

            Also, bear in mind Hamilton’s car broke down in practice, which meant more prep time for Rosberg.

        2. Of course you’re calculations are quite incorrect. With the proper calculations Lewis should have at least an extra 39 points, with Rosberg at most another 15. That would give Hamilton at least a 10 point lead, even assuming Rosberg won in Silverstone.

          1. @jleigh

            Rosberg lost at least 18 points at Silverstone alone. 7 points in Canada as well.
            So no, I think his calculations are quite correct. You can’t just add points for every problem Hamilton has had and ignore every one of Rosberg’s problems.

          2. @jileigh: I want to see your calculations.

            @tifoso1989: Yes, he has been thanks to a slower stop of Rosberg. And he had put quite a stress on the brakes to catch Rosberg. It is likely that he might have needed to preserve the brakes at the end to make it to the finish.

            Generally I find these statements: “Hamilton would be 50 points ahead of Rosberg” quite amusing. Hamilton isn’t wiping the floor with Rosberg, even though some still believe that by now.

          3. @jleigh You are just wrong. It’s that simple. Rosberg would have finished at least 2nd in Britain.

          4. @baron-2 @xenomorph91 @vettel1 let me explain.

            Hamilton gains 25 points in Aus
            Rosberg loses 7 in Aus

            Hamilton gains 18 in Canada (he was ahead of Rosberg when he had problems, might have won but I’m doing worst case for Hamilton so we’ll say 2nd)
            Rosberg loses 3 in Canada

            Rosberg gains 25 in Britain
            Hamilton loses 7 in Britain

            Hamilton gains 3 in Germany.

            So in total, Hamilton gains 39 points
            Rosberg gains 15.

            This leaves Hamilton with 215 points, Rosberg on 205. I hope that’s cleared it up!

          5. @jleigh Why is Rosberg losing three in Canda? He’d have won assuming no unreliability…

          6. @vettel1 as both Mercs had the same engine problem I didn’t disregard that. I therefore moved Rosberg down one position to 3rd as Hamilton was ahead when his brakes failed. As I’m doing worst case for Hamilton I gave him 2nd, although, as the safety car was out by the next time Ricciardo got to the DRS zone after he passed Rosberg, Hamilton probably would have won.

          7. @vettel1 my guess it’s the assumption that Hamilton had successfully passed Rosberg on track and then both cars managed their issue to the end, Ricciardo jumping both.

        3. @neiana one driver was in clean air the other wasn’t. I suppose by your flawed argument Nico is at fault for his Silverstone retirement.

          1. @trublu right.. that could be a factor. A factor. As in.. singular and not the defining factor. My logic may be flawed in that I didn’t consider other factors but it’s equally as flawed as yours.

            And why was Nico in the lead, anyway? Hm?

            But be that as it may, if Hamilton hadn’t DNF then it still would have been a race between the two if we’re considering no mechanical failures. And as you pointed out —– Nico was in the lead.

          2. The difference is I don’t take anything away from Nico. You’re the one blaming Hamilton for the retirement.

          3. @trublu

            Let’s come to an understanding, shall we? I’m not blaming Hamilton for the retirement the same way I didn’t blame Webber for his mechanical issues. We could make the case that Mercedes should build the car so that Hamilton’s driving style does not consistently produce an issue however we should not say that they are intentionally creating the problem.

            You don’t need to put words in my mouth. What I should have said was that one driver is potentially better at finishing the current era of F1 car. That’s not to say Hamilton is a bad driver, just that his driving style may not be appreciated by the car.

          4. @neiana my friend, what does Lewis driving style has to do with his failure is Australia? Does his driving style explains the brake failure and loss of power in Canada? As far as I know both drivers reported the same issues around the same time, too bad for Lewis he was more marginal on brakes because he was chasing Rosberg and exposed to higher temperatures. His driving styles collapsed the brakes disc?

            Stealing a page of your engineering book, one can only blame Nico Rosberg for his gear box problems in England…

          5. @jcost I don’t think it’s possible to say that any one thing can cover every single failure but it’s not unreasonable to accept that certain driving styles can be harder on the equipment.

          6. @neiana sure different driving styles can put different level of stress on the equipment, but it doesn’t seem to be the case.

        4. @xenomorph91 Completely incorrect. Canada should be a + for both, as they both lost points. Either you counted that they both should’ve retired or neither had problems. If neither had problems, with Lewis 2nd and Nico 1st, Nico would have 208 points, Lewis would have 222. If both retired, then why deduct 18 points from Lewis, considering he retired and therefore, did not get any points. Do your math again.

          1. @gicu: You are right, my fault! Thanks for mentioning it at least.

            Anyway, it would be a 14 advantage for Hamilton. It’s not a major advantage, compared to some comments that insist Hamilton accumulated the complete bad luck of the world.

        5. “KAN” should be +18 or +25 for Hamilton, you’ve listed it as -18. Also Rosberg in “KAN” should be +0 or +7.

        6. lol, good thing the people at F1 do math better than you. Also, remember to stretch before reaching that far.

        7. Kyle (@hammerheadgb)
          26th July 2014, 16:28

          I think the adjustments for mechanical trouble should look like this instead:

          AUS: Rosberg -7, Hamilton +25
          MAL, BAH, CHI, SPA, MON: –
          CAN: Rosberg +7, Hamilton +18
          AUT: –
          GBR: Rosberg +25, Hamilton -7
          GER: Hamilton +3
          HUN: To be discovered

          Totals: Rosberg +25
          Hamilton +39

          Swing of 14 to Hamilton so far, bringing the championship level.

          The changes are as conservative as possible, taking the result as it stood at the moment of mechanical trouble. If no order is clear, a Mercedes 1-2 is assumed in favour of the real life winner.

          This method means there is no partisan guessing about what could have gone on to happen. But it does mean that Rosberg in Australia, and Hamilton in Canada, Britain and Germany, did not get the opportunity to contest the (adjusted) victory. Take that into account when drawing your conclusions.

        8. @xenomorph91, Check my math in my other post. How can you say Hamilton was not going to win Canada and Germany? In Canada he retired after having gone past Rosberg and in Germany he was quicker than Rosberg and would have taken pole.

          If things had played out normally and both cars never failed and Rosberg did not impede Hamilton in Monaco, Rosberg would have only one win in Austria. You can make the case Rosberg would have won Silverstone but the argument could be made for Hamilton also.

    2. Who is doing the alleged gift-wrapping, in your opinion?

      1. The secret saboteur at merc.

        1. Would that be the same person who had the secret handshake with Vettel earlier this year?

        2. Same guy who prepared Toto’s bike.

      2. Bernie’s overpaid lawyers ;-)

    3. Yes ” far superior ” is a bit too much. But Rosberg has had better luck , otherwise it would be close between the two , but in Lewis’ favour, I’m sure.

      1. @hamilfan, No it would not be close between the two. Without the reliability issues and DNFs, Hamilton would be close to a 50 point advantage over Rosberg. He would be in the position to win the title before Abu Dhabi, hence negating the double points finish.

        Instead of extending the lead he would have without the DNFs, he has been fighting just to stay in touch.

      2. The “Rosberg luck/hate” is starting to reach Vettle levels. ROS is the better driver. He clearly can get under HAM’s skin and make him drive like he’s backed into a corner. Which ends up with a broken car.

  9. I just do not get 2 failures in Q1 in a row, it actually makes me feel sick. How unlucky can one driver be?.

    1. Abu Dhabi 2012 , singapore 2012 , silverstone 2013 , australia 2014 , Canada 2014 , Hockenheim quali 2014. Now this . Yuck . Feels so bitter .

      ( Looooooooong sigh ) But , that’s racing ….um…..I guess .

    2. oh yes i definable saw one of the mechanics put a fire cracker in hams car to make sure it caught on fire!!! yes it sucks but this is part of f1. webber got close to the win in 2010 but people tend to forget that vets car expired from the lead quite often! i still really think that ham will win the championship this year. Rosberg will be close but law of averages says he have some more failures too! but stop being funny about it, ros has been driving amazingly and its not his fault hams car keeps breaking down. would you complain about it if your in ros’s situation?????? i highly doubt it. merc have produced one of the most dominant cars of the last 30 years but that doesn’t mean that it immune to failures

      1. This!!! I can’t understand why most F1 fans act like every season is the first one they have watched.

        1. @l-ciamp

          For me every year is the first year because each new season brings more stupid gimmicky crap. I have to forget the previous years in order to find this year worthwhile ;)

          1. @neiana
            What??? You’re telling me that you aren’t looking forward to random pieces of metal under the care just to make sparks and server no other purpose??? :)

          2. @l-ciamp

            Of course I am! That’s the greatest idea since sliced bread! And since this is the first year I’ve ever watched F1, I’m kind of excited to see it ;)

  10. Seriously good driving from Vettel, for perhaps the first time this year in a qualifying session!

    1. @vettel1

      Don’t forget Malaysia. More than a second ahead of Ricciardo and almost on pole with just 0.055 behind Hamilton.

      1. I hadn’t forgotten about Malaysia, but I found this to be more impressive personally because it was dry towards the end ;)

    2. What about Malaysia? Closer to pole and he out qualified Rosberg by a lot there.

      But yes, he was strong today too.

  11. It was unthinkable. I saw a lot of people on forums saying that his car would break again (or make a mistake), and I was thinking nah wont happen again he’s going to have his shot at pole today….. then this happened. Just one massive sigh. 4-1 on the reliability. It just feeds the conspiracy doesn’t it, don’t agree with it personally though.

    1. @addimaf1 so Rosberg’s ERS failure in Canada, his mistake in China qualifying or in Austria qualifying, do they count? That makes it 4:4. Agree that the conspiracy theories make no sense (as per usual), but twisting the stats feeds it even more…
      Rosberg makes the most of his problems, Hamilton can’t seem to be able to..

      1. lol Ham has had 4 failures were he has to stop lol, not comparable. Ros has 1. You miss Ros huge shunt with Bottas in China? Ham also has won more races than Nico. You telling me Q1 two times in a row is not unlcuky? He is giving Nico 7 points by default atleast for 2 races now. Not Hamilton’s fault.

      2. @keeleyobsessed Alright then count the ERS problem for both cars in Canada. That still makes it 5-2, Hamilton had a further brake problem. Mistakes that you mentioned are not mechanical failures beside Hamilton made the mistake in Austria. But you are right, they don’t count.

  12. Hamilton on fire all the session suddenly when practice starts car in fire ?. This has nothing to do with bad luck anymore mate.

    1. Then what? Aliens putting fire pills into the exhaust? People seeking to define themselves using arbitrary groupings of an ethical or geographical nature?

  13. The advantage Mercedes have on their rivals is absolutely scaring, I thought Vettel done it and got the pole but even on this circuit Nico was ahead by half a second. Bottas is confirming himself race after race, Daniel you cannot beat Vettel in every race, Alonso on the usual P5 which was due to circumstances this time (Hamilton bad luck and Massa under performing)

  14. “Well, internet’s gonna blow up with conspiracies then”, I thought to myself.
    Wasn’t wrong.

    Also, if current situation doesn’t change after the summer break, Rosberg may soon become the new German boy to hate after Vettel.

    1. Fair play to Rosberg though, he is making sure to take advantage of any bad luck to Lewis. Plus I don’t see how people can bring up a conspiracy, I’m sure Mercedes wouldn’t pay 20+million just to sabotage his car.

      Hopefully it rains tomorrow and Lewis has a chance or some bad luck to Rosberg soon, otherwise the points gap could be quite scary after the race.

      1. Plus I don’t see how people can bring up a conspiracy, I’m sure Mercedes wouldn’t pay 20+million just to sabotage his car.

        Oh they will. Just like some Alonso fans still believe McLaren sabotaged him in 2007.

        1. Well, AFAIK Toto hasn’t told Nico “we’re racing Hamilton” yet.

          1. Not Toto, but his race engineer actually did several times and vice versa.

    2. He’s not braking Lewis car, he just makes sure he collects all the points. Reliability issues are really robbing us good battles for P1. ROsberg has been the close pursuer in 2 occasions (Bahrain and Spain) and Lewis in one (Austria) but in Australia, Canada, Germany and Hungary Lewis car failed and in England Rosberg car failed, we need another show down.

    3. I’ve never understood the mentality which thinks that a driver deserves “hate” merely because he finishes ahead of some other driver.

      1. Ken (@myxomatosis)
        27th July 2014, 10:52

        The majority of human beings are irrational. It’s just that most of these irrationalities are benign thus go under the radar.

  15. To those spouting the nonsence conspiracy theories about Hamilton/Mercedes….

    Why would Mercedes bother to work hard to convince Lewis to move to there team, Paying him a significant amount of money in the process, Go through 2013 working hard to make the car better suited to Lewis only to then mess with the car to ensure Nico gets an advantage?

    And on the ‘German team wants a German champion’ comments. The team are based in the UK, The cars & engines are designed & built in the UK & Most of the mechanics & engineer’s are British. Its a British team in all but name.

    1. Why would Mercedes bother to work hard to convince Lewis to move to there team, Paying him a significant amount of money in the process, Go through 2013 working hard to make the car better suited to Lewis only to then mess with the car to ensure Nico gets an advantage?

      They wouldn’t. And they haven’t.

      The problem is Hamilton is a popular driver and people need excuses. Just like with Webber the past couple of years and Alonso in 2007.

      1. ok lets look at the bad luck this season that has affected the race results.
        AUS ham dnf(unlucky)
        CAN both had issue HAM retired due to luck or driving Rosberg got 10 less points.
        GB(rosberg unlucky)
        so basicly rosberg has only gained 10 points to due luck over hamilton in races(im not talking about bad qualis for hamilton/rosberg) yes lewis has had bad luck in quali but the car is so good he can easily get on the podium as shown in austria,germany,silverstone after quali issues(hungary more difficult)

        i think its time we start talking about the awsome battle between williams,ferrari and red bull in the race tomoro i.

    2. Err, maybe because they didn’t expect to have such a car advantage in 2014!

      The car is that dominant the team can pick and choose who they want to be champion, the constructors is basically wrapped up already.

      If it’s not sabotage then it’s gross incompetence, either way someone needs firing!!

      1. Err, maybe because they didn’t expect to have such a car advantage in 2014!

        They convinced Lewis to join them in part because everyone was expecting Mercedes to have a dominant car this year due to how closely linked the Chassis/Engine programs are.

        If it’s not sabotage then it’s gross incompetence, either way someone needs firing!!

        If it was the same issue every time then perhaps that would be the case, However its been totally different things that have failed caused by totally different things each time.

        Melbourne was simply bad luck, A rubber seal around the spark plug split.
        Montreal was more down to Lewis not managing the ERS problem as well as Nico so you could actually argue that Lewis contributed to his retirement.
        The German brake failure was in part due to Lewis going with Brembo, Nico had suffered a similar Brembo brake failure in the Silverstone test which was a part of why he went for the carbon industry brakes.

        Today who knows what the root cause of the failure was.

  16. Hamilton to Ferrari for 2015. Limy to Redbull vetted to merc !
    It is not a conspiracy but something has to be wrong with Hamilton car preparation. Maybe they use mercedes apprentices? But in the long run terrible pressure for Hamilton & it better he look for a team that supports him

    1. Michael Brown (@)
      26th July 2014, 14:55

      Vetted?

      Limy?

    2. I seriously doubt Hamilton is even considering Ferrari at this moment. The only thing they’ve got going for them is reliability…

      Oh wait.

      Seriously though. Hamilton wants to win WDC’s. It’s not looking likely that Ferrari will be able to provide him with a chance to win one. McLaren might just get lucky with a Honda engine. So if he goes and changes teams again he’ll more likely go back to McLaren.
      But I doubt it. The Mercedes is class of the field by a considerable margin on every track. The car is more dominant than the Red Bull has ever been in the past four years. And with aero as restricted as it currently is and engine development as good as frozen I don’t see any other team being class of the field for the next couple of years.

      1. If he goes back to Mclaren we’ve already had the conspiracy theories there when Jenson was beating him.Seems like Hammy fans are going to have conspiracy theories where ever he drives if he gets beat by his team mate. Maybe it’s Gods will that he’s only to win 1 WC lol

        1. @sonia54

          It does seem like it. If Hamilton wins the general response is that he’s the second coming of Senna. If he looses, it’s because the team is obviously sabotaging him…

  17. The conspiracy theorists will love this. Honestly though, Hamilton has been incredibly unlucky, but then I look back over the years and Jean-Eric Vergne has always had far more mechanical failures than his team mates, but no one ever said Torro Rosso were sabotaging his car. If we compare Vergne and Hamilton, they both have quite aggressive driving styles, whilst the likes of Ricciardo and Rosberg may be less demanding on the car. I’m purely speculating, for all I know it may just be bad luck, but to get bad luck consistently could be due to an underlying cause.

    1. This is my argument and belief. Hamilton is simply more aggressive. Was Webber more aggressive, as well?

      1. Something that people always ignored when looking at Mark Webber’s unreliability at Red Bull & insisting the team were sabotaging his car was that Mark had always had more reliability issues than his team mates regardless of what team he raced for.

        It was the same for Rubens Barrichello, Everyone complained Ferrari were sabotaging Rubens races, Yet this again ignored that Rubens suffered from a lot of unreliability at Jordan & Stewart before joining Ferrari & it was the same after he left Ferrari.

        1. Well, Webber didn’t really have worse relaibilty. Vettel had more race-ending failures, and they coincidentally proved far more costly.

      2. I wouldn’t say Webber was, I think the issue with Webber was that he was relatively large so I think it was more to do with tighter packaging causing overheating issues and KERS failures.

      3. The funny thing is most people that are constantly making fun of the “conspiracy theorists,” as they have come to be known would not accept this sort of thing in their personal lives. I’m not accusing Mercedes of anything, but only a fool would brush off so many incidences as “bad luck” or coincidences. Crazier things have happened in the history of F1.

        When you start to invent alternative reasons for why failures occur like blaming the driver for being hard on his equipment, you’re just searching for a scapegoat.

        1. @sudd You literally just said that looking for a realistic answer is looking for a scapegoat. This is why our world is so ridiculous!

          If someone goes out and drives angry on the highways they are more likely to end up using more fuel (petrol?) and being involved in an accident. So if we decided to take 21 calm drivers and 1 angry driver you end up with Maldonado often causing accidents. Well.. why should we blame the driver for how he drives? You just said that was searching for a scapegoat…

          because saying someone in the garage is messing with Hamilton’s car is clearly not searching for a scapegoat.

        2. only a fool would brush off so many incidences as “bad luck” or coincidences

          Yeah, because 4 whole issues in a season, compared to 2 for his team mate, is a big number. That’s a huge 2 more reliability problems- such a vast number clearly means something has to be going on. There’s no way that could logically be down to luck or coincidence. None whatsoever. But of course, you aren’t accusing Mercedes of anything, and neither am I. So I guess that only leaves Cthulhu.

      4. Yes he is so agressive his brakes failed in Q1 last race, and today it starts a fire… You’re argument makes sense for 1 race, which is Canada

        1. @Dan, and even if we cut him some slack and attribute the Canada failure to the driver being harder on his equipment, we still have a more logical explanation: Cooling! Even if Hamilton pushed his equipment to EXACTLY the same level as Rosberg, he would get hit harder because he is trailing in hotter/dirtier air. And we all know both cars allegedly had the same failure. What I couldn’t understand was how Mercedes could not see what was around the corner with all the sensors on the car. Rosberg’s engineers were managing his temps long before the failure to MGU occurred.

      5. So, if Hamilton is more aggressive then how come he always uses less fuel than Rosberg ? And how come Hamilton tends to be able to make his tyres last longer than Rosberg ?

      6. Webber did not have more car problems than Vettel.

  18. I was supporting Rosberg over Hamilton but with all the bad luck the latter’s been getting, I honestly won’t be too unhappy if Hamilton wins by virtue of Abu Double… that is unless Rosberg gets his share of bad luck as well.

    1. @woshidavid95

      It’s not Rosberg’s fault that Hamilton is having bad luck.

      1. @baron-2

        Nope, but not the point… I’m just saying that should such a scenario occur, it would almost be poetic justice because if you take out reliability issues, Hamilton would be the one ahead.

        1. @woshidavid95

          Maybe he would but we won’t know. And even if he would be ahead he wouldn’t be ahead by much. Both of them deserve the championship equally.

          1. @baron-2

            Maybe he would but we won’t know.

            Do I really have to explain why this is false… anyway the point is Rosberg has by far been the luckier of the two Mercedes drivers and given the slender lead he has over Hamilton despite that, it goes without saying that up to this point, Hamilton has been the better driver… I may have to amend my opinion on this if Rosberg does start beating Hamilton on equal footing more often in the upcoming Grand Prixes but as of now I’m slightly miffed even though I prefer Rosberg over Hamilton.

  19. Ham should change his mechanics, he really should. Bruno thinks cold be a mechanic fault

    1. Bruno who?

  20. Bianchi in Q1 had both McClaren and Massa within the reach of 1.5 tenths, and (again) was 1.1 seconds faster than his teammate. So Raikkonen out in Q1 was not only a Ferrari-mistake, but also a very good lap by Bianchi, capitalising on that.

    Hopefully a good portion of mixed weather gives people the chance to fight with Rosberg. Also looking forward to Maldonado and Hamilton starting from the same row.

  21. Michael Brown (@)
    26th July 2014, 14:36

    Bianchi: I’ll be taking that Ferrari seat, if you don’t mind

    I had a dream this morning about the race. It’s raining, Magnussen leads from Button and Kobayashi, and the two Ferraris crashed into each other at the chicane.

    1. Was that a dream for this year? How did Kobayashi take third?

      1. Michael Brown (@)
        26th July 2014, 14:59

        I don’t know how Kobayashi managed to do it. I only saw maybe 5 seconds. Magnussen was leading the group through the chicane, and then both Ferraris collided there. Alonso managed to keep going, but Raikkonen did not.

    2. I had a dream about the race as well! It started raining in the last few laps and Maldonado won, I don’t remember second place, third was Vettel. Only 8 cars crossed the finishing line.

  22. Loved the spectators cheering at Seb as he set provisional pole.

    What a difference a year makes.

  23. Mercedes is doing a bang up job destroying Hamilton’s chances for a championship….great job guys. The rate of failure on his car this year is completely unacceptable. Rosberg may win the championship by default, without really having to earn it, much the way Button did in the Brawn.

    1. Rosberg may win the championship by default, without really having to earn it, much the way Button did in the Brawn.

      Do you mean Button wasn´t better than Barrichello that year, or do you think always bringing home the points (even in the cold late-sommer races that year, when the Brawn wasn´t working and couldn´t bring tyres near the operating temperature) isn´t a feature that earns you something? Would it have been better if he threw in a couple of blunders and mistakes to make the championship more entertaining?

    2. How can you possibly compare JB’s championship with Rosbergs?

      Button demolished Barrichello on track. I am Brazilian and I really cheered for RB but Jenson was way superior.

      1. JB’s championship was well-earned. He outclassed Barrichello when it mattered and with parity in machinery he defended his lead and drove the race of his life in Brazil.

        Rosberg, on the other hand, is coasting while the other car in garage gets ****ed at every turn.

    3. Michael Brown (@)
      26th July 2014, 15:02

      You mustn’t have seen 2009. Button had to resort to damage limitation to win the title, while Red Bull were charging in the second half. Barrichello had his chance in the Brawn and he finished third.

    4. @medman, it would feel very hollow. Winning the championship because the guy that was going to beat you kept suffering DNFs and reliability problems does not seem very satisfying.

      This is very different from the Vettel vs Webber battle. I know people keep bringing it up, but even on level playing field, we all know Webber was no match for Vettel. The year Vettel was suffering devastating DNFs, Webber still couldn’t win the title. Even though Webber was having more issues, the majority of us knew it wasn’t going to change the outcome if his car was more reliable. I’m not a RB fan nor a fan of Helmut Marko, but he was right in that Webber was good for two or three fantastic wins a year, then would fall off.

  24. Standings when car was ahead this is upto Hockenheim before the qually incident.

    Hamilton 25 25 25 25 25 18 25 18

    Ros 18 18 18 18 18 25 18 25 25

    Gap will not look big because guys are top 2 all the time. But that table with cars ahead at time of ret, then last 2 Ham potentially loses a 17 point swing so no bad luck retirements Ham has been the better driver it is facts. We have not seen a merc overtake in race with drs and make it stick so woulda been good bet this would have happend.

    1. “Ham has been the better driver it is facts”

      Why don’t you show us these facts?

      1. 4 failures to 1, Ham has as many wins as Ros and is behind. I rest my case. It is 2 race retirement’s to 1 and 2 were he is out of Q1 on a track he is majestic at, a 7 point lead would look alot better than 20 plus don’t you agree?. You’re comment is wierd though you must know Ham deserves to be leading WC. Infact Hamilton as more wins than Nico.

        1. Wins count for nothing if you are not consistent.
          Look at the 1982 Season. Keke ROSBERG won only ONE race and took the title.

          Nobody but Nico deserves to be leading the championship. Unfortunately that is how F1 is.
          Many “deserved” to have won championships, but they haven’t because they were not consistent

          1. Keke is a weak WDC also. Keke himself can hardly believe he was the class of the field in ’82.

      2. It’s plain to see. Hamilton is better than Rosberg. Take out reliability and he’s way out in front. Rosberg is so lucky it must be embarrassing for him.

        1. @f1bobby

          Take out reliability and he’s way out in front.

          No he isn’t.

  25. I never really liked Hamilton. It started from way back when he was a rookie and essentially acted like he was the best driver on the grid. Very flippant, arrogant and pretentious and that’s why.

    Last qual I found myself happy that Hamilton crashed out of Q1. This week I find myself feeling sorry for him. At some point, everyone should feel for the guy. What was he thinking as he stood there and watched his car burn? Is this the first time in his F1 career where Lewis has had a good home life (or “outside of driving”) and it’s his car that fails him rather than his emotions?

    1. Nice comment from you it is truly sad to see, im sure he as a good life but he deserves a car that wont break many agree he is talented to be multiple champion. He looked broke watching his car burn must be frustrating, can you imagine what we be like i be cursing my team lol.

      1. I still prefer Nico over Hamilton but it’s so difficult to see this kind of result. Yes that image of him looking back at the car was a sad thing. If this was a few years ago , coupled with troubled relationships, who knows where he would be now? I think this year has really given him the opportunity to mature incredibly and I think he’s handling it much better now than even earlier in the season.
        He’s gone a long ways to help my opinion and some day I may cheer for him as a favorite, as well.

  26. Driving styles are proven to cause mechanical failures.

    Why can you guys not think Hamilton could be causing SOME of these failures?

    1. Michael Brown (@)
      26th July 2014, 15:03

      I remember 2012, when he had lots of problems. Is it too much of a stretch to say that his driving might have caused these problems?

      1. lol a fire without setting a lap lol, and his brakes failing in Q1. No laps in Australia. Man one race is all you can bring up and it is Canada

    2. HAHAHA, yeah it’s all his fault. Ludicrous.

      1. I know right he even pushes hard in Q1 for his car to go on fire, his team knew in formation lap in Aus their was a problem, but he pushes too hard…

    3. I honestly hope Hamilton doesn’t have anymore failures. This site is turning for the worse with all the conspiracy theorist taking it over.

      1. @evered7, I prefer the so called “conspiracy theorist” than gullible people who don’t question anything. Or people who would under normal circumstances question something but ignore it when its not convenient because they like the way things are playing out at the moment.

        1. Or people who would under normal circumstances question something but ignore it when its not convenient because they like the way things are playing out at the moment.

          @sudd I could say the same about you. I don’t think you will be harping about it if Rosberg was the one having the issues.

          1. @evered7, then say it! I don’t have time for pussyfooting. Are we in second grade? Repeating what someone else said is not a valid argument.

          2. @evered7, No I wouldn’t be harping on about Rosberg. Rosberg fans would be the ones doing it. Just like Senna fans, Alonso fans, Webber fans, and Hamilton fans all suspected something. And I would understand their curiosity or suspicion. I would not be so dismissive.

            Many of things we take to be facts in science or history started off as theories. The people who posit those theories were ridiculed and labeled as “loonies” before they could be proven they were actually right. So think about that before you ridicule.

          3. @sudd, come back when you have some ‘facts’. Until then it is simply Hamilton fans crying that the world is dark because their eyes are shut.

            Just because you have an alternate theory doesn’t mean you are necessarily right.

    4. Well said Bruno

    5. It could have caused him to retire in Canada whilst Rosberg was able to conserve the brakes, yes. Otherwise, not so much. Perhaps at a stretch Hockenheim but I wouldn’t say so.

  27. lewis pace in germany looked good enough to win,his pace in aus too,and his pace in hungary.if it was 1 dnf each,lewis would be leading the championship for sure.if nico wins the wdc this way,it wont be deserved imo.

    1. I like how you all say Lewis would have won this race or that race where he’s had DNFs . How do you know, have you all got crystal balls ?

  28. Bring Stefano Domenicali back, I don’t think that guy Marco should be there at all! Did you see how he just stomped off from Ted ‘no comment’, definitely not a team principle role he can handle, rather rude! Stefano would’ve answered with a smile that they made a mistake and take the criticism.

    Poor Lewis, what else is there to say. So let’s watch him cut through the field tomorrow, hopefully with no problem to his car.

    1. I agree. This Mattiacci guy is the new Luca di Montezemolo!

    2. If he did stomp off, then he is the best man for the job. It is not his duty to please the media. He is there to run the team which Stefano failed miserably. I don’t think he cares that he hurt the media’s feelings.

  29. Already seeing some jumping to defend Rosberg as worthy of his position. You know, Hamilton coming from 20th to 3rd is nothing because he’s got the fastest car, but Rosberg is a genius by always capitalizing os his teammate unfortunes. Well isn’t his car the fastest, or this only goes when we are talking about Hamilton?

    Ludicrous, it’s the 4th big falilure on Hamilton’s car.

  30. Hamilton fans are having a meltdown again. Don’t worry he’ll probably finish in the top 3 again.

    1. @Mike, that’s not good enough for us. P1 is all that matters to us. The word you are looking for is “unsatisfied” not meltdown. I know some people would be over the moon with 3rd. Not us!

  31. If this season has proved anything it’s that Rosberg and Hamilton are a match for each other and the eventual victor will probably win by a small margin. So, arguing over who should be leading the championship after a qualifying session is utterly ridiculous. At the end of the championship it will become clear who had the more bad luck. For now Hamilton is up against it but for all we know Rosberg could retire tomorrow and crash at Spa and everything changes.

    Also, anyone even suggesting that Mercedes are intentionally damaging one of their cars should be removed from this site. Absolutely sick of reading it.

  32. Trying to avoid the whole Lewis debacle (quite literally), what a great job by Bottas and Vettel. One of the first times Vettel has straight up out qualified Ricciardo, and he did it with no excuses. I would love it if Vettel had rediscovered his ‘mojo’ after a little hiatus after winning his titles. Bottas on the other hand has just got his mojo, putting that Williams in 3rd on perhaps the worst track of the season for that low downforce car is incredible, comfortably beating the ferrari’s too. If only Williams had a pair if Bottas’, they may have been second in the constructors by now.

    1. The qualifying battle between Seb and Daniel is 7-4 in DR’s favor. But on at least four of the times Daniel came out ahead he won by default because Seb’s car was crippled by engine problems. With equal reliability it might well be 8-3 in Vettels favor. Counting Australia or Spain as DR beating SV in qualifying is the same as counting Germany and Hungary as examples of NR beating LH in qualifying.

  33. For those being annoyed by Lewis’ starting position: As a Vettel fan I remember Korea 2010 (he should’ve taken the championship lead there), and how after 2010 a lot of people hated him, said the title was only because of the car (which failed many times that year), etc, etc.

  34. Hamilton starting from pitlabe with nsw chassis engine and gearbox.

    1. @tino852 I’m confused, his new chassis, engine and gear box is “Not Safe for Work??? :)

      1. @sudd they have fire damage, they have to build a whole new car for the race.

  35. Just three questions:
    1. How many times have you heard of a brand new spark plug developing a ‘crack’?
    2. How easy is for someone to loosen a fuel pipe connection?
    3. Why are Hamilton’s pit stops slower than Rosbergs?

  36. Hamilon will not reach podium. He shall also have a 10s stop n go penalty for breaking park ferme. Eriksson get dual penalties for breaking park ferme from last position. As hamilton he suffered from a (hydralic) problem in fp3 and got no time in q. (He will probably not get dual penalties because hi is more famous and drives for mercedes – money still rules)

    1. I mean Ericsson got dual penalties last race in hockenheim.

  37. William Jack
    27th July 2014, 21:57

    Starting from the back, Hamilton nearly wins again. This supports my long held view that F1 needs a radical rethink on its starting order. The best drivers as shown by their Championship standings should start at the rear. This would eliminate the boring processional aspect and make for a much more interesting race. Cheers.

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