Hamilton fights back to lead Mercedes one-two

2014 Italian Grand Prix summary

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Lewis Hamilton took his sixth victory of the year in the Italian Grand Prix – despite losing out badly at the start of the race.

A problem with his car ‘start mode’ saw Hamilton slip back to fourth at the start, allowing team mate Nico Rosberg into the lead.

The pair were separated by the fast-starting Kevin Magnussen and Felipe Massa, but Hamilton overtook both of them during the first stint. He then closed down on his team mate, the pair separated by little more than a second before their pit stops.

But soon after they had taken new tyres Hamilton closed on Rosberg, who then went straight on at the Rettifilio chicane. Hamilton seized the opportunity to take the lead and was never headed from that moment on.

Massa claimed his first podium finish of the season, while team mate Valtteri Bottas recovered from a poor start to back him up in fourth.

Daniel Ricciardo impressed again by passing team mate Sebastian Vettel for fifth. Behind the Red Bull were a close string of drivers who had battled hard during the second half of the race.

Kevin Magnussen crossed the line in seventh, but a five-second penalty for forcing Bottas off the track dropped him to tenth. Sergio Perez therefore took seventh, followed by Jenson Button and Kimi Raikkonen.

It was a disappointing day for Ferrari at home, as Fernando Alonso retired with an ERS failure shortly before half-distance.

2014 Italian Grand Prix

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

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125 comments on “Hamilton fights back to lead Mercedes one-two”

  1. I happened to be watching Rosberg’s incar feed just before he made that last mistake & he got very badly held up by a Caterham through both Lesmos & lost a lot of time so I guess the mistake was perhaps a result of him trying to build the gap back especially given how Lewis was then within the range to get the Dumb Racing System.

    1. “Dumb Racing System” – love that one!

    2. he got very badly held up by a Caterham

      They caught Ericsson through the Lesmos and then he let both of them past. Ericsson did nothing wrong, Rosberg probably lost a few tenth up but “very badly held up” is an exaggeration.

      1. sky sports showed that he lost a few tenths, which in turn allowed Hamilton to get DRS on the back straight, thus leading to closing up even more. so I think it was significant.

        1. @sato113
          It looked like Lewis was always closing in regardless of those few tenths.

          1. @jason12 well he was closing in for sure but as soon as he was 1.5 secs behind or so, he couldn’t break into the golden 1 second DRS window. it’s only when Rosberg was delayed by the caterham that hamilton got drs

      2. Anyone got any idea why Hamilton didn’t get a penalty for his blatant and clearly visible jump start?

        1. Because he stopped the car before setting off again, and he had a poor start anyways so penalising him would be harsh and unnecessary.

          1. Ummm, no he didn’t stop the car before setting off again.

            And his poor start is irrelevant. That’s like taking a gun and shooting someone but missing and then saying you shouldnt get in trouble because you missed.

            He jump started and should have been penalized.

          2. And he would be complaining again..

        2. Fair question. Remember Gutierrez did the same last year and was penalized for it.

        3. Should have been penalized in belguim he was way forward of his mark !!!

          1. No he shouldn’t have. He rolled back into position before all cars where in position.

          2. He reversed back

        4. I watched the replays and there was no jump start at all. I know you hate Hamilton but there is no point making up stuff

          1. How is it not a jump start genius?

            If the car is moving in its pit box before the 5 lights go out it is deemed a jump start and the driver should be penalized.

            Watch the footage, it’s on YouTube. He was rolling forward before the lights went out.

            Clear cut penalty.

          2. @Nick, watched it a few times, and he does move very slightly just as the lights start to go off, but the movement is so little that charlie couldn’t see and the sensors couldn’t didn’t pick up. I’d say the movement was more a roll than a jump start. But either way you’re right there was movement.

          3. Looked at it again and he moves just when the lights start to go off. This kind would probably take a review by the stewards to see a jump start cause the naked eye just won’t see it.

  2. Hamilton brilliant; Rosberg choking. In any event I’m sure Toto can sleep well again with a 1-2 and no controversy.

  3. Lewis puts Nico in his place :-)…. Ricciardo is turning into race monster in the mould of Alonso.. Brilliant move to get past his 4 time World champion teammate …

    1. Agreed, @puneethvb Ricciardo made at least 2 amazing “switch-back/dummy” moves going into very quick braking zones. Amazing overtakes

    2. Hamilton will be fine if the car doesn’t quit on him yet again…it would be great if Nico would suffer a failure in one of these races so we could get the points very close again and let these guys really battle to the death for the title…that double points race is looking more interesting as the year goes along..I was against it from the beginning but it does appear like it’s going to play a major role in this years championship, though I’m not sure that’s a good thing. Could you imagine Nico or Lewis suffering a failure in the double points race and losing a championship only because the winner is gifted 50 points in the finale?

      1. the car problem at the start,nearly cost him again.also bono gave him a very bad order which could have cost him the win.

        1. I agree with you regarding Bono. Maybe Lewis should get a new engineer or just follow his guts as he is doing right now.

          1. He desperately needs a new engineer, this Bono is incompetent and can’t read races.

          2. To me it looks like a Merc tactic to avoid fighting and possible colliding. They tell them to keep tyres for the end etc hoping to avoid a fight when is about to start and that by the end they just won’t be able to fight much but even if they do it’s gonna be limited.

    3. Those 2 overtakes by RIC were MASTERFUL– he saw the move well ahead of time, and was mentally one step ahead of his prey, fooled them into thinking he was staying behind and then pouncing for the inside line, in complete control of his car, not a wisp of lockup despite last second flick to the inside, full traction on the way out. I found myself screaming at the screen: “THAT’S the way to do it!!! THAT IS RACE DRIVING!!!”

      1. Ricciardo seems so at ease with the car, even more than the Mercedes drivers. It’s impressing.!

  4. Formula Indonesia (@)
    7th September 2014, 14:39

    Aaanndd… Rosberg booed again

    1. @f1indofans Yeah, in Belgium you could make some arguments for people booing Rosberg. Here, it’s just unfair to Rosberg.

      1. His futile attempt to filibuster the booing in Italian was touching and sad. I like Rosberg but he’s become rather tragic. He got totally owned by Hamilton all weekend.

        1. It’s unfair, but I’m pretty sure it’s not the Italians boo-ing Rosberg. By the amount of British and English flags, it’s probably them, like Rosberg commented in the last race. The Italians appear to be happy no matter who wins, even if it’s not a Ferrari. They are there for the great show.

        2. totally owned? I mean the gap is below 5 seconds…

          1. @adityafakhri
            Yes! I’d say Hamilton recovering a 5 second deficit after his bad start, having to pass cars and then having to overcome the disadvantage of pitting second, yet still finishing comfortably ahead of Nico is indeed, an a** wooping!!

        3. Yes, ROS was tragic all weekend. Hopefully for the sake of all racing fans, he gets his mojo back by next race, and fights clean but HARD. I’d like to see a real FIGHT to the end of this season. And hopefully RIC and BOT can step into the fray to make it interesting. Still would love to see RIC force Merc to pay attention to him.

      2. Trenthamfolk (@)
        7th September 2014, 15:06

        Unfair? He’s been a dirty driver and no-one likes that… perhaps these racing fans have been waiting for an opportunity to express their dislike of his bad attitude?

        1. Formula Indonesia (@)
          7th September 2014, 15:08

          @trenthamfolk Italy fans is such a shame, they also booed Vettel remmember, so They did in consecutively. And this time Rosberg mistakes did not advantage him, there’s no speific reason to boo

          1. @f1indofans
            Maybe the boos were not just for today.
            He’s never really been genuinely sorry for a lot of his actions.

          2. @f1indofans
            Selective memory much? Vettel was booed in Silverstone, Canada, Italy, probably another couple of tracks. Just because people’s favorite drivers were being dominated (again).

      3. I think the booing at belguim was off against rosberg two racing drivers of good standing said it was impossible for rosberg to delibrately puncture hamiltons tyre but that **fing wolff favours hamilton and should be held to account, when hamilton hits rosberg he should be fired, then lauda and wolff…!!!!

        1. Wolff favours HAM?? I must have been in a parallel universe then earlier in the year when it was obvious to all conspiracy theorists that Merc, a GERMAN team, were obviously top-to-bottom favouring the GERMAN driver and sabotaging HAM’s car and strategy! Tot has his hands full managing these two guys, and I’ve been impressed with how fair he has been. Almost too fair and hands off up till now. SMH

          1. There was definitely a wry smile on Toto’s face when Lewis took the lead. When pressed on this Toto sardonically replied that he needs to be more careful with his facial expressions with the worlds media watching his every move.
            What he should have said is that the smile was simply relief that the drivers exchanged places without the risk of losing it all…

          2. Wolff is a *rick sooner he goes the better that fiasco today was stage managed by him for tv…

    2. Lewis was the one the crowds wanted to cheer. Despite not speaking more than two words of Italian he had all of the applause. He won them over on merit and engaged with them in a way that those other folks on the podium did not. Even if he had come second then I think that he would have been more popular with the crowd than Rosberg.

      The collective ‘view’ of the crowd whether it be a rapturous cheer or a miserly boo is a very truthful expression of sentiment. It can’t be argued with. As things stand it is quite clear who gets the cheers – Hamilton, Riccardo, the resurgent Williams team, Alonso. If Kimi or some other outsider was to win then they too would get rapturous applause.

      Rosberg though? People cannot relate to his achievements and he lacks any type of heroic swagger. There is nothing he can do to change that in the short term.

  5. What an embarrasing race for Ferrari. It is astounding how Alonso has gone 86 races without any mechanical failures. I wonder, could Rosberg’s punishment possibly be letting Lewis win and that he made the mistake on purpose. Probably not but it’s food for thought.

    1. Roebergs mistakes were deliberate to orders wolff decided that !!!!

      1. Formula Indonesia (@)
        7th September 2014, 15:46

        @huey45 did you have a link, right now I still very confuse with this issue

    2. At first I thought Rosberg was letting Hamilton through. I mean, how many times did he visit the runoff in 1h of race?

  6. I remember Hamilton saying that he’d make sure he and Nico weren’t wheel to wheel in Monza, which I interpreted to mean that he would be quick to yield to Rosberg. Well, now I know what he actually meant xD

    The podium interview was pretty awkward, with Hamilton and Rosberg being asked if they are still friends (of course not). “Yes, we’re teammates”, says Hamilton, so yeah, that’s a no.

    1. Body language in the podium prep room says it all. Lewis had his back to him the whole time. And then on the podium, when Lewis was asked the question, while he managed at least a fleeting obligatory attempt for the “arm around the shoulder” to Rosberg, Rosberg’s arms stayed firmly clenched behind his back. “Yes, we’re teammates.” LOL

      Sad that their long friendship is over. It always saddens me when competitors sever personal relationships in the pursuit of championships. As if that’s the most important thing in life.

    2. Hamilton like wolff cant lie straight in bed, fact

  7. I made the comment on the race result page but… I noticed several other drivers who didn’t take that chicane entry perfectly and only Nico chose to miss it entirely. I am nowhere convinced this wasn’t the real punishment. Mercedes can’t exactly, officially, publicly tell Nico to let Lewis win or even give that impression.

    I’m not saying Nico would have won. Hamilton was clearly faster and DRS would’ve made it almost impossible for Nico to hold the top position. Because a fine? I don’t think anyone believes that…

    1. @neiana But why would he miss it the first time then? Wouldn’t he just have missed it on one occasion? Coupled with the locking up, to me it was a genuine mistake. On another note I am quite interested to know what the punishment was, because I don’t think it’s just a fine either.

      1. @wpinrui I don’t know… if someone else did the same thing after flubbing the entry, I wouldn’t give it much thought. The trouble is, Nico could’ve turned in, had a bit of a troubled corner and kept the lead, despite Hamilton closing right up on the back of the car. They would’ve raced from that moment (and Lewis probably challenging him, possibly overtaking at the next chicane)…he chose, instead to take the line that nobody else took the entire race and remove all chance of leading.

        1. @neiana
          People react differently in the heat of the moment. Trying to apply armchair logic to a real-time, high adrenaline event is somewhat pointless.

        2. If he kept the lead there would have been a furore in the garage, having done it twice. Driving into the grass at 100 mph is not exactly an obviously better choice either. If he wanted to let Hamilton by the idea he was compelling to do it this way is ridiculous. He was slower and choked, that’s all.

        3. Sorry, but it’s insane to suggest that. As a driver when you make a mistake there you have two options.

          1. Get out of it and lose time cutting the corner.

          2. Flat spot the tyre and attempt to make the corner.

          We’ve seen before that Rosberg chooses to get out of it ASAP. Canada being the best option. Monaco is slightly different, but even so he chose to get out early rather than risk making the corner.

          The same for his first mistake today. He had a very small lock-up and chose to cut the corner and lose time rather than really damage the tyre. Later in the race Hamilton had the same option but kept stuck in and had a huge lock up. It was a mistake from Rosberg, no question.

          1. Finally a comment that makes sense :)

        4. then why was lewis told to stay 2.5 seconds behind nico.

        5. So by your reasoning Monaco was on purpose. He did the same in Canada and Belgium to name a few. The only surprise in this case is that he did not benefit from it and that is the only strange thing.

      2. Just to feed this a little. Did you see the lock up smoke Hamilton and some others had. With Rosberg there was barely anything.

        1. @xtwl

          Because he chose to get out early. Which we’ve seen in his behaviour several times this year. It’s crazy this is even being discussed on F1fanatic, it really is.

          1. @f190 I know. Hence my first sentence.

          2. @xtwl

            Hence my answer to your question.

          3. hypothetical question here guys, if that’s you were racing there, would you lock up there and flat your tyres a bit, or choose the escape route that guarantee a 3 seconds loss?

          4. I read statements last race about Ros deliberately trying to cause the puncture, which all racers dismissed, but there was still discussion about it on f1fanatic, equally ridiculous. For me it was this smile from Toto afterwards. Why would you smile when one of the drivers makes a mistake ?

          5. Most elite athletes know very early in any move whether it’s going to work. And since the cost of sticking with a mistake is not just to “flat your tyres a bit” but to lose control of the car and put it in the wall, and since you have to make a decision in milliseconds, most guys have a default error correction strategy that they have practiced to operate by instinct. Nico’s is to bail out early while he can still save the car. Nothing wrong with that in the big picture. Given Nico’s body language this entire weekend, I suspect that he has been so chastised by leadership that the fight was chastised completely out of him. He looks like a punished puppy. And when you lose that mental edge in this sport, mistakes that would otherwise be seen as unlikely start to happen.

          6. Not to mention that its entirely normal that Rosberg would be more wary of flat-spotting after that was critical in losing the win (apart from his nose change) in Spa (ruining the set early compromised his strategy there)

        2. Because Rosberg’s braking was so massively off that he couldn’t recover even with a locked up wheel.

    2. @neiana
      Don’t be silly. If Mercedes wanted to make sure that Ham was ahead of Rosberg they could easily have just held Rosberg in the pits for an extra second and/or Nico could’ve just done a slow out lap after his pit which would’ve guaranteed Lewis P1.

      1. that’s just counterproductive to all Mercedes statement before about fair racing, isn’t it?

    3. @neiana if he tried to make the corner he may have locked his wheels more and badly flat spotted the tyres which still had the remainder of a long stint to do. This would have coat him a large amount of time further into the race and bad flat spots at those high speeds could cause great risk to the suspension. So I felt going straight on was probably damage limitation

      1. +1. Not only that, if the back end had stepped out, he could have lost control of the car braking from that speed. Kvyat was extremely lucky to not hit anything.

    4. The answer is Canada, where Rosberg under pressure did exactly the same, cutting the chicane, only there he got a race advantage. Also if you believe the non-conspiracy version of Monaco qualifying, he cracked up there too. He knows Hamilton brakes later than him, and Hamilton applying pressure seems to induce him to try to imitate the latter’s driving style to keep ahead, sometimes unsuccessfully. Hamilton in fact said he went after Rosberg after the pit stop precisely for that reason.

      1. Everyone had good responses and clears my thought process.

    5. @neiana you do realize Hamilton got 0 points in Spa? For your conspiracy theory to make any sense Rosberg will have to “give up” to Hamilton at least three more times for them to be remotely even.

  8. Anybody knows what went wrong with Hulkenberg ?? Why did he pit so early after starting on hard tyres ???

    1. Anybody knows what went wrong with Hulkenberg ??

      He’s currently driving for a team that isn’t up to his standard. :P

      1. Hulk didn’t had good weekend, car was good enough for points

      2. He’s underperforming at present. But I’m not taking much away from the rest of his season, which has been impressive.

  9. Very well executed “disciplinary measures”, complete with rehearsel and everything.

  10. I was rather shocked (and pleased) to see Hamilton consistently outmatch Rosberg by a few tenths in the beginning of the hard tire stint. Not sure if Rosberg was mentally affected by the Mercedes disciplinary action as the Sky guys mentioned.

  11. How unlucky is Hamilton such a shame he is not leading the WC.

    1. Formula Indonesia (@)
      7th September 2014, 15:06

      Vettel also in 2010 and I think only few people complaining

      1. There is/was a lot of Hamilton/Webber bias.

        1. Formula Indonesia (@)
          7th September 2014, 15:24

          @mateuss you mean Hamilton get a lot bias this year too???

          1. I mean there is a lot of pro-Hamilton bias in the English speaking world, as there was for Webber.

            And a lot of Hamilton fans are famous for being… well, just look at the most recent conspiracies to give you an idea.

          2. @f1indofans your own conspiracy theories for that matter…

      2. yeah but he won it in the end didnt he.

    2. Hamilton’s still got time….he just needs his car to stop exploding and his teammate not to run into him.

    3. Mark my words, Asia will be all Lewis’ game, and he’s gonna take most wins given that his car should be reliable. Abu Double is Lewis’!
      Once again Lewis would fight and probably win in last race just like 2008.

      1. No, Asia is Vettel’s game.

  12. Lol look at Hamilton’s celebrating for proof even Spain when he was in a close fight he looked annoyed if Ham had any feeling it was gifted he would not be celebrating.

  13. Beautiful. Bravo Hamilton.

  14. I am not starting any controversy theory but strategy thinking team at Seb’s side of garage has been real bad this year. Race after race they do blunders and leave Seb with no choice. He was driving well at the start but since they pitted him early he had no grip left in his tyres at the end to battle with Ricciardo. All weekend he looked like getting a measure of Ricciardo and then in the end he gets beaten by a poor strategy. .

    1. Perhaps Seb is too old for Redbull.

    2. @mjf1fan

      Seb´s early pitstop as an undercut put him ahead of Magnussen and, at that time, Bottas. As it wasn´t clear how easy/difficult overtaking would be and how much the tyres would suffer and how much influence laps driven vs. having to battle would be, I think his strategy this time wasn´t a blunder. Most others in this pack ran roughly the same, and the only reason they put Ric on that late stop probably was that he was too much behind that group for an undercut at the time the pit-stops began. Ric then made profit from tyres degrading a bit faster than expected, the pack battling itself, and made the overtakes work quick and smooth to make his strategy workout, which surely wasn´t a given at the time of his pit-stop.

      1. @crammond

        I was following very closely the lap times of that pack led by Magnussen before the first pit stop. There were no sign of significant reduction in lap times of any of the drivers to suggest tyre wear. Had Seb not tried that undercut, the whole pack could have continued for few laps more and then made the pit stops as it was made by Mercedes.

        It was also apparent that there was no significant difference in tyre wear of both compounds when running in FP2. Asking to do 33 laps on hards was too much, Medium tyres could have done 2-3 laps more. Infact you can see the pack of Seb, Mag,Per, But were struggling in the end and that made Ric’s pass even more easy. Bottas got away because he had a much faster Williams underneath him then rest of the cars he was fighting with at that time.

        Surely Seb has lost many points this season due to bad calls from pitbox and without his fault. As far as I remember, he only made mistake at Hungary where he lost points due to his mistake. Rest either the car had some problem or bad strategies were made for him.

        1. @mjf1fan

          I was following very closely the lap times of that pack led by Magnussen before the first pit stop. There were no sign of significant reduction in lap times of any of the drivers to suggest tyre wear.

          Which is exactly (combined with the free-practice experience) why they thought it wouldn´t be a (deciding) factor at the end of the race. We now, in hindsight, know this was wrong, but not at that time.
          However, even if this strategy put Seb behind Ric at the end: Would the others have pitted so early if Seb hadn´t tried that undercut? Would Ric´s strategy have worked without the others pitting so early? Red-Bull finished in P5 and P6, which was their maximum today. Which of their drivers is ahead doesn´t matter too much, I guess.

          Surely Seb has lost many points this season due to bad calls from pitbox and without his fault.

          Agreed on that.

          1. @crammond

            I think other pitted early just to negate that undercut by Vettel. Had vettel not pitted early, others would have continued to race as their lap times were similar.

            I doubt Ric’s strategy would have worked so effectively if others including Seb had pitted a bit later. We all know how fragile these pirelli tyres are and with a little more grip in the tyres of But, Per and Mag – Ric would have found a bit more difficulty in passing them and eventually passing Seb.

            I agree with to you that RBR acheived the maximum they could in this race and also that Vettel isnt in championship battle contention, so he should think more in team’s favour. But to think Ric is going to win championship – is to wish that both Ros and Ham take out each other in rest of the races and Ric winning those races. It is a very long shot and almost unachievable.

            No matter whether you are in championship contention or not, every racer wants to beat atleast their team mates and RBR has more than once put Seb on bad strategy which has put him behind Ric. No matter whether you are Alonso, Hamilton, Vettel or Schumacher, your pride do get hurt when you are beaten by your teammate due to bad strategy call by pitbox.

            I would also like to add that Ric drove a good race and made the best of what was given to him.

      2. Still bad strategy, to think that an undercut that early in the race would stick given such a long remaining stint. I think Seb’s side of the garage is under pressure from RIC and are now trying desperate measures to try to find a way ahead. The only chance he had with that strategy was to come in for one more stop with about 15 laps left and put on options for a late charge. Which probably wouldn’t have worked either.

        1. I think Seb’s side of the garage is under pressure from RIC and are now trying desperate measures to try to find a way ahead.

          I highly doubt they are under any pressure, as they probably are not thinking about racing against each other all that much. Vettel isn´t in the championship-hunt this year, so it´s probably more about maximising team-results.

          However, remember Suzuka last year, when Grosjean was in front and Red-Bull decided to split the strategy, Webber on 3 and Vet on 2 stops? Many then thought that put Webber at a disadvantage, but what this strategy-split most essentially did was to put Grosjean in a position where he couldn´t cover of both of them. He then could have decided to cover only one, which might have worked, or to try to still cover both and fail at that, which is what happened.

          1. as they probably are not thinking about racing against each other all that much.

            Agree the guys in charge are thinking team results. Agree also that RB are a disciplined team and everyone down to the drivers knows to be “team first.” But, as an ex-racer, I can tell you there’s no way that anyone specifically assigned to one car is not also racing the other car. Every day. Even only for bragging rights at the pub. Plenty of less competitive, easier-to-get jobs out there without the insane hours and travel.

    3. Hey, but it was clearly the chassis, right. Or at least that is what Vettel said a week ago. IMO its really Vettel struggling with the current crop of cars and made worse for him with Daniel next to him doing such a great job, must be enormously tough to get his head straight and concentrate on finding a good way to drive these cars for him.

      1. @Bascb
        Struggling? Yes. But if last 2-3 races have shown something , then it is his determination to get on top of his struggles, and he will eventually get on top of it.
        But how much of patience you can keep if your team keeps putting you on wrong strategies race after race? And despite all those bad calls, he hasnt lost his temper or blamed team for it.

        I read in some thread which i dont remember, but one poster said he liked the way Seb is handling issues when chips are down and Seb is growing over him and I also agree with him. Seb has behaved very maturely this season and hasnt been like few other drivers who whine and put blame on the team when things are not going right for them.

        1. then it is his determination to get on top of his struggles, and he will eventually get on top of it.

          Sorry, but putting the blame on the chassis really is not that. Instead of looking at outward sources for his trouble, he should maybe look at his own approach more, because if the 3rd chassis did not solve the issue, its very unlikely a 4th is going to do the trick.
          That is not about being mature, or whatever. Its just about a normal reaction of a human being against setbacks. Especially one who has gotten a bit used to things working almost as if its easy for him recently.

  15. Anyone able to roughly translate the Italian spoken on and before the podium? Seemed like Rosberg might have been saying something interesting about his ‘little incidents’.
    Sorry if this already been covered elsewhere, I’ve had a look and can’t find it. Cheers

    1. @peteleeuk Rosberg just said that the crowd is amazing, the atmosphere is great and things like that. He didn’t mention his incidents.

  16. Formula Indonesia (@)
    7th September 2014, 15:44

    Nico “the cheater” Rosberg??? This guy is joking

      1. Uncalled for, but quite funny.

  17. Here’s something I haven’t heard anyone talk about: Bottas had so much pace during the race, and lost so much time battling with others on his way back up the field, I believe his horrid start actually cost Williams a P2.

    1. Formula Indonesia (@)
      7th September 2014, 15:50

      I dont know that start was ERS failure or mechanical, but yeah, it potentially cost Williams a top 2 battle @slowhands

      1. Bottas explained they went too aggressive on the clutch setting for the start. The way he was flying indeed you’d say he could have done more than Massa did. Although Massa probably backed out because he couldn’t actually challenge the mercs anyway. Better just bring the car home then.

        I was surprised they gave the first pitstop to Massa though. Massa didn’t really need it, but Bottas lost out heavily having the stop a lap later. He had do all that overtaking again and it looked a lot harder on the hard tyre :)

      2. Symonds post race thought it was likely a failure of some sort that they will have to dig through the data to diagnose. Shame.

  18. Hamilton should just follow his guts and not listen to his team. It seams that this attitude of his is working in his favor after all. Vettel is just getting heavy beating by Ricciardo. Bottas could have done more if not for that bad start. Ferrari?! Worst race for them definitely. Rosberg with that false smile and trying “to make out” with tifosi…

  19. Wonder why Toto was smiling when Nico went off the track at first corner for yhe second time.?? Hmmmmmm…….

    1. Yeah, that’s bothering me too. While Nico is criticized for not being great wheel-to-wheel, he’s a pretty error free driver. Those were highly uncharacteristic. Could also be though that Nico was so mentally off after having to publicly take responsibility and apologize, being thoroughly and publicly deprived by team leadership of any moral high ground he may have thought he had (which never happened to Webber or Vettel), that he was so off his game that he made mistakes. Both scenarios are plausible, not sure which is actually the case.

      1. Errors free? Monaco, Canada, Belgium to list a few.

        1. Monaco and Belgium were not errors. :)

      2. Agree with you. I think Lewis would have passed Nico eventually even without Nico’s error. But that smile on Toto’s face is making me think in different direction.
        I hope Nico gets back to his game in the next round and we can see a good battle between him and Lewis.

    2. Perhaps he smiled as Nico’s error saved the team some tension from seeeing their drivers race each other.

      1. Yeah. Lewis was catching and the nightmare of seeing them fight again was about to start for him but suddenly Rosberg put that weight off his shoulder.
        Also lets be honest, when someone makes silly mistakes you tend to look at it and laugh a little even when is a guy you support.

  20. Good to see LH getting the pole, fastest lap and win. This is after yet another gremlin, this time it’s the malfunction of the start procedure which caused him to loose 3 places to the first corner. The malfunction prompted his engineer to say “Everything is in a muddle. Don’t change anything. We’re looking into it.”

    His 28th win takes him ahead of Sir Jackie Stewart to become Britain’s second most successful F1 driver after Nigel Mansell who won 31 races.

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