Rosberg fumes over Hamilton’s “extremely aggressive” turn one move

2015 United States Grand Prix

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Nico Rosberg slated his team mate’s first-corner tactics at the United States Grand Prix.

The two Mercedes drivers made contact as Lewis Hamilton took advantage of a slow getaway by Rosberg to take the lead of the race.

“Turn one for sure was very aggressive,” Rosberg told the post-race press conference after finishing second to Hamilton, which confirmed his team mate as 2015 champion.

“What am I going to say? I haven’t even seen it again, so how the hell I can’t comment, I need to see it as always.”

“For sure it was extremely aggressive. We hit each other, or I would say Lewis came into me, so obviously that’s not good, but I cannot say more than that.”

2015 United States 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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    127 comments on “Rosberg fumes over Hamilton’s “extremely aggressive” turn one move”

    1. I have to agree. While some could argue he understeered into Rosberg in Japan, it was quite clear today he wanted to push Rosberg of the track.

      1. +1
        While I can’t say that it was a fully dirty move, it was on the edge of the rulebook. Maybe if Nico had spun completely, some penalty would’ve been issued.

        1. I can. I was there and the intention was clear as day. Crowd was mostly upset at the unprofessionalism. I was not amused either.

          1. You’re confused. This was a race, not a car show. You overtake, take the racing line and hold your ground; smart racers on the outside go for the undercut. Rosberg doesn’t seem to be able to use this maneuver.

      2. @paeschli I completely agree, and it really angers me as this was the second start in four races (I think) that he did something like this, and for some reason unbeknown to me, everybody seems to think it is acceptable, in fact, a lot of people are encouraging it, and the F1 Fanatic tweet when it happened proves that.

        It’s disgraceful and unsporting of Hamilton to physically push Nico off with his car, and even worse that nobody had anything to say against it.

        1. Fans: “We want drivers to be more aggressive!”
          Drivers are more agressive.
          Fans: “The drivers are being too aggressive!”

          Surely I’m not the only one to see the flaw in the logic here?

          1. maarten.f1 (@)
            26th October 2015, 6:17

            @raceprouk There’s no flaw in the logic, you’re just generalizing. There is always going to be a group of people that’s unhappy with something, and those who are unhappy are usually the ones that are the most vocal.

          2. @raceprouk I for one absolutely don’t want racers to be more aggressive. I want them to be able to race against each other more and more often, but cleanly and respectfuly. Not a fan of Verstappen’s usual moves, for example.

            1. And how exactly are they meant to race against each other more without getting more aggressive?

        2. Right. … Hamilton became a world champion by crashing into others and scored more points than Rosberg.
          Hamilton knows his car is indestructible and he knows it wont get damaged and get him more points.
          he also knew that if he crashed into rosberg, 10 laps from the end of the race, Rosberg will be hit by the same move to push him off the track to loose the lead to Hamilton.
          Being aggressive is not a trait required in such a sport.
          Lewis, why didn’t you pet and pamper your team mate through the season and not clear the road to the championship with cotton candy for your team mate.
          Oh Hamilton you naughty, naughty boy, that’s it, you will not be getting any sweets for the next two weeks and you will not be allowed to watch any cartoons for a whole two weeks.
          So Nico, does this make it any better?
          As s

      3. In 2008 in Fuji, Hamilton got a penalty for exactly the same manoeuver as today.

        1. It was an over aggressive move again and I didn’t like it but after the abuse Rosberg got when they had contact at Spa I can’t see Hamilton not doing it again when he knows Rosberg will give in. The irony is if Rosberg had held his line and they had crashed it would probably be Hamilton with a penalty.

          Hamilton is a great driver but he could do with being more of a team player in case the situation is reversed.

          1. Trenthamfolk (@)
            26th October 2015, 7:31

            Can’t be a team player with Rosberg in your team… he’s dirty and has shown he’s quite happy to crash on purpose to prove a point. The cry-baby needs to grow up and accept that you reap what you sow!

        2. Fritz Oosthuizen (@)
          26th October 2015, 0:18

          Yes, now Hamilton is above the law and after a third title the team will have to built anbiiger garage for his head.

          1. Except he did break any law. There is no rule dictating leaving room on the exit of a corner.

        3. No that was different. Hamilton went wide and took Raikkonen with him.

      4. Not at all. He at no point turned into rosberg. Rosberg of course had the opportunity to not go in to the corner side by side with Hamilton but decided to stick with it and found himself off the track. Hamilton took the racing line around the corner so I am not sure what everyone is complaining about, after all most of the drivers today including roster himself did did a similar thing at that corner, hulkenberg even broke his car doing the same thing and was correctly not given a penalty for it. The only driver that acted badly at that corner was sainz when he cut across the entry to block ricciardo (I think). Also rosberg himself took exactly the same line as lewis when he tried the overtake but lewis did what rosberg should have done and backed off and turned inside him

        1. +1 HAM was not turning in until late into the corner, while ROS was turing into the corner and into HAM. How is HAM to blame? He has the inside line and he can choose to turn in what ever way he likes it is his corner.

          1. Trenthamfolk (@)
            26th October 2015, 7:31

            +2

      5. Last time I checked it was a race we were watching. All I see is that ROS had a poor start compared to HAM and they both were side by side with HAM having the inside line. He had to take a line that would not allow ROS to have a better exit and undercut him. ROS should have moved to the left, right after the start and should have covered the inside line but he didnt do that then he complaints on letting the door open. Even if ROS is half a car length ahead he would have got the corner and if HAM still rammed into ROS then he would have got a penalty.

        1. Last time I checked they made a rule about leaving a car width in order to call it fair racing.

          And to think a handful of years ago, can’t remember the season or the race although it was one of the ones when MS was his teammate, Nico was accused by both Vettel and Alonso, and I’m sure to this day some fans, of running them off the track and never were they even 1 centimetre alongside Nico…they were fully behind him.

          Here’s NR and LH fully beside each other and LH somehow didn’t run Nico off the track? What…was he supposed to back off…again? Thought this was racing. LH did not leave NR a car width. Cheap shot. MS-like behaviour. Any fool can run someone off the track…doesn’t take a champion to do that.

          1. The car width rule is about returning to your line after a block on a straight. This is the Schumacher-Monza rule. The idea that you must leave a car width on the outside In corner in a pass is an urban legend. That is not a rule. In this very race cars were “run off” at turn one and elsewhere countless times. But in this case it’s a cheap shot. Whatever.

            1. Well said. To leave room in this incident would have been stupid and unnecessary. Let’s just see it for what it is – the best way to seal the pass. And Nico could have just slowed slightly and teed Lewis up for the next corner.

          2. @robbie I think the race you’re thinking of was Bahrain 2012. It was Hamilton and Alonso that he had incidents with, according to his account:
            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXSZ8X2MM8c

            1. what rosberg needs to do in this situation is take both cars out, that would sicken hamilton for trying to bully him

      6. Lewis held the racing line, great pass and great to watch. Nico could of tried the undercut but sadly isn’t in Lewis’s league.

    2. Yes, I can see why Rosberg was unhappy today. And after last race dropping out with a car issue as well. Then again, this year’s title has looked Hamiltons’ to take since several races, Lewis really is on that run of extremely strong performance and hasn’t given many opportunities away.

    3. This guy simply doesn’t learn. He tried multiple times to overtake Hamilton around the outside at Bahrain 2014. He tried at Hungary 2015. He tried at Japan 2015, and he tried again today, but he simply doesn’t understand that this move does not work on Hamilton. I don’t ever even recall him doing the “cut-back”. He lacks basic racecraft.

      IMO, he has the speed to be WDC. That gap that he pulled on Hamilton before the first safety car was not down to luck. That was raw talent and speed. However, mentally he is weak. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a driver throw away that many race wins in such a short time frame, as he has in the past 2 years.

      1. Agree @kingshark, I don’t know what else Rosberg expected. To go round the outside of any of the top drivers you need an overlap. If you’re wheel-to-wheel and fight it you go off, and lose some extra places.

        1. Worst is, Ros had a bad start himself, due to cold tyres weight and little grip! Ham although it looked dodgy he wouldnt have made an agresive move even if he wanted to as he would go sideways and ended both Ros and his race! It is a bloody cold start, wet surface, cold breaks and full on fuel! What do people expect? As dodgy as it looks, it was Ros who didnt have a good start and let Ham on his side… If he gave in earlier he wouldnt face the aggression… Do you think Hamilton will give up a place easily? Ask Vettel, what would he do? :)

          1. I have watched the replays a lot. Lot 7 times and first I have to say to Nico is: That is what you get if you get a bad start. Second, when Rosberg beat Lewis at the start in Austria, Lewis did not go “side by side” instead, he performed “cut backs”. Wherein you go wide and try to get better drive out of the corner. This is what Nico doesnt do. At the hairpin after the back straight at USA, they were fighting just before Lewis pitted, and Rosberg dove down the inside of Hamilton at the hairpin. What did Lewis do? He tried cutting back to Nico which partially worked but after, he had to give the place to Nico. I am guessing Nico just cannot think quicker than Lewis in these situations…

            1. If you go side by side with a car and you are on the outside, you are already in disadvantage. So better think of something else. Otherwise, you will be pushed wide, lose positions and penalties are not going to help either. Rosbert has not probably learned how to battle yet…

    4. How salty was Rosberg after the race thoughhh!

      1. Saltier than my fried bacon.

        I can understand his frustration, but blimey… That cap throw at Lewis was a bit much :P

        1. Hamilton threw it into his lap first.
          If I were Rosberg I wouldn’t want to take the “loser hat” like that as well.

          1. @rez0

            I completely agree with you… I don’t think it was at all appropriate for Lewis to throw him the cap, so I can understand Nico throwing it back.

            However, maybe Lewis didn’t intend it in an insulting manner; especially considering the fact he’s just won, he might not have been thinking straight… Maybe.

            1. My thoughts exactly.

            2. Are we as fans really doing this? Slating someone for tossing a cap to someone else? It’s pathetic.

      2. From the replay I see that all the 3 caps were stacked up. HAM took all three, gave No 3 to VET, threw the no 2 cap to ROS and he put the No 1 cap on his head. ROS didnt like he got the No 2 cap.

        1. You are right. But then, why let a good conspiracy theory get in the way of facts?

        2. That is what I saw as well. I was watching it on the big screen at the track and that’s exactly what it looked like to me.

        3. Hamilton GAVE Vettel a cap and THREW Nico a cap. Couldn’t take 2 steps over to Nico and GIVE him a cap. A sure sign of no respect for Nico which was evident in the first turn when he played bumper cars.

          1. Trenthamfolk (@)
            26th October 2015, 7:51

            Give it up! ROS is a petulant child and needs to grow up…

          2. Can you do anything to make my life happier? YOU CAN!

            Why aren’t you, then?

            Seriously, don’t ask HAM a question like that.

    5. I wonder if he had won without his lap 47 mistake though – he had much older tyres than Lewis, but it seemed to hold on initially.

      What if stories…

      1. There was no way he would have won; even without the mistake. Lewis pulled out a 5sec gap after overtaking, and was in DRS for the previous 3 laps. Meanwhile, Nico has Vettel breathing down his neck for 10 laps. He was lucky he kept that position. Another 2 laps, and he would have lost it.

        1. Yeah, that’s what I think as well – I’m sure Rosberg will come to this conclusion too eventually. He may blame it on this unlucky fourth yellow, but I do think the simple fact that he made the unforced driver error should make him do some soul-searching.

          I was mightily impressed by him at Turn 1 initially because, for once, he did not back down, he actually tried to turn the wheel to stay on track in the last moment, he was just unlucky he bounced back down from the wheels of the other Mercedes.

          I think that was some man up behaviour from him and his race generally was good – I mean he had it won with that 15s advantage pre-SC.

          So sad he once again threw it away in the end – himself; he did not make the maximum he could, he didn’t wait for his tyres to falter, it was he himself who let Lewis through with the mistake.

          Such a fascinating chapter yet again in their battle.

      2. What if HAM won the monaco GP as he was 25 sec ahead of ROS before the wrong pit stop due to a virtual safety car. HAM would have won the championship in Russia. What if stories continues

    6. He should be used to that by now. And start developing an answer, because if not 2016 won’t be any better than this. What a disappointment has Rosberg been this season, at least last year he made some pretense of posing a challenge. I called him the new Webber a couple of months ago, I didn’t expect it would be this drastic, though.

      1. Rosberg has a contract until 2017, if he finds his 2014 form again and makes a well timed move to another top team, I still see Rosberg becoming world champion.

        But there are a lot of ‘ifs’ in that, and I don’t know if Rosberg has the strength to come back after such a disappointing season.

        1. @paeschli His 2014 wasn’t really much better.

        2. What 2014 form? The only reason he could keep up with Hamilton as because Hamilton’s car kept breaking down. Then Hamilton would win 4 races in a row again and he’d be in the lead again.

          1. @patrickl

            The only reason he could keep up with Hamilton as because Hamilton’s car kept breaking down.

            And the reason he’s so far behind this year is due to really bad luck in Hungary and a retirement in Italy and in Russia.

            Lewis’ only retirement? At Singapore, where his car was awful anyway.

            What 2014 form?

            Can you give me the winner of the pole position trophy last year?

            1. Hahaha and how many wins?

            2. nobody cares about the pole position trophy. They need someone else in that seat to give Hamilton a run for his money. It’s been too easy this year.

            3. Comical yes. So you’re shown to be wrong and then try to undo that by pointing out that this year Rosberg isn’t only slower but also lost a few more points due to technical problems.

              Someone else already did the math and there wasn’t much in it though. Hamilton was really unlucky in Hungary too though and in Monaco and in Austria and in Singapore and in Silverstone and in the US race etc. Hamilton usually rectifies the problem during the race though. Poor start. Ah well then take the lead back and win anyway. Doesn’t work 100%, but Rosberg seems to overcome 0% of the issues he has.

            4. @patrickl

              Hamilton was really unlucky in Hungary too though

              No, he was terrible.

            5. Poor start due to the car then squeezed into Vettel by Rosberg. Unlucky and unfairly treated by his team mate. Then unlucky with the SC and the tyres.

    7. It was tight, maybe, but Lewis had the inside line anyway.

      Nico’s half the driver Lewis, Alonso, Vettel are. The only bit of agression we saw this season from him came at Bahrain and the “Capgate” today before the podium.

      Man up, Nico. Swallow this one, and try to come back stronger. Not only Lewis made you look absolutely mediocre all season long…

      1. It doesn’t matter if Lewis had the inside line, you cannot go straight on when the corner is on the left, and then crash into the other car.

        1. @strontium MSC would certainly disagree :P There’s precedent afterall! F1 drivers seem to love that kind of move…

        2. Have you seen Rosberg’s overtakes on Bottas for instance?

        3. I guess you totally missed the on-board of Lewis showing he was turning left. Either that, or conveniently forgetting it.

        4. I’ve been reading this discussion, and all I have to say is this:

          “He hit me!”
          “No, he rubbed you …and rubbing, son, is racing.”

          Those wheel to wheel bumps happen all the time. Don’t hear sainz, verstappen, kvyat or riccardio whining about the tangles they were involved in.

          When hasn’t there been a race where the driver attempting to take and/or defend the lead runs the challenging driver off-line?

          Great racing. Great to see such motivated driving from everyone. Nobody was nursing tires or saving fuel.

    8. He’s got the speed but he cracks under pressure almost instantly.

      Brilliant speed until he comes to someone. If he’s being chased he gets easily pressured into ‘unforced errors’ and if someone’s ahead it’s rare he gets past.

      I mean as soon as Hamilton was behind him did anyone really think Rosberg was going to stay ahead? I’ve heard people suggest world champions can find that little bit extra – to go above and beyond the capabilities of the car. Rosberg just doesn’t seem to be able to find that.

    9. While I agree that Hamilton probably too aggressive on first turn but it’s the least of Rosberg’s problems in the race. He should thinking more about why he had bad start or why he make that unforced error at the end of the race. His dropping to 4th at start actually doesn’t matter to the outcome of the race because Red Bull was obviously running full wet setup and Rosberg actually passed Lewis back before first round of pit stops.

    10. I thought it was aggressive, but the stewards never even investigated it…

      On another note, I’d like to congratulate Nico today (yes, I know, wait for it though).

      For what I believe is the first time since they’ve been team mates, Nico overtook Lewis on track without Lewis having an issue or mistake for the first time ever, although Lewis did have no grip, but still, it’s something!

      1. @bradley13 Haha, I actually had the same thought..

      2. @bradley13 @fastiesty Yeah. And he did turn in on Lewis at Turn 1, he just bounced back down. It was actually good from him up until that late mistake.

    11. I criticized Rosberg in Japan because he left the door open for Hamilton to do whatever he wanted, but today I have to agree with Nico. What Hamilton did at the start was too aggressive in my opinion and I was surprised to see that there was no investigation. Turn 1 in Japan is tight, but today there was plenty of space. Hamilton’s number one priority in the first corner was to slow down Rosberg, it’s pretty clear in how he approached the corner. And there was contact on top of it. So, yeah, this story is not going to get too much attention, but I feel that stewards have given penalties for much less this year, so Lewis should consider himself lucky.

      1. The stewards don’t take action against this kind of thing, even though it’s obviously forcing another driver off the track.

        1. I’m still a bit puzzled by it – you can race without doing that, e.g. Vettel and Webber in Malaysia 2013. Vettel got more traction on the outside and got the position, after all these two knew what happens when you try to push someone wide from the inside line – Turkey 2010.

          In simracing as well it’s good etiquette not to cross into someone else’s line for the risks of race ending contact (exacerbated by lag). FIA rules state you must leave space on straights when someone is alongside – so why not in the corners as well? Technically this was ‘causing a collision’, not that they bothered to investigate anything this race apart from when Hulk’s front wing looked wobbly enough to fall off again.

          1. This is about the exact thoughts I formulated here after Suzuka, especially the second paragraph. It’s puzzling indeed.

          2. The difference is the racing line. There is no racing line on the straights. The drivers also need to leave space in the breaking zone, but not through a corner.

            All drivers do this. During this race Raikkonen was complaining about Verstappen pushing him off. Funny stuff that since Raikkonen does that to other people as well. For instance when he pushed Hamilton off during the infamous Spa 2008 race.

            They always complain when someone does it to them and have no problems doing it to another driver.

            Actually it was only when Rosberg started agressively shoving people off track on the straights that they started enforcing the “no forcing drivers off track” policy on the straights.

          3. That’s exactly right. The rule in which drivers must leave a space only applies to straights. But in a corner, you don’t need to leave one. So when drivers go wheel to wheel in a corner, the driver on the the racing line is not obligated to leave any space.
            My personal racing etiquette is to leave a space regardless of racing through a corner or straight. But there’s no rule enforcing that.

        2. Hamilton had the apex and the racing line, and was fully alongside; he was fully entitled to remain on that line.

    12. Trenthamfolk (@)
      25th October 2015, 22:20

      Sore Loser. He got a rubbish start, got owned at turn 1, took the lead, then threw it away… he has no-one to blame but himself.

      1. got owned at turn 1

        He got crashed into and forced off the track at turn 1. Everything else you are right about but you cannot justify that maneuver.

        1. So can you justify rosbergs manoeuvre when he took Hamilton at the same corner? If so then you are hypocrite as it was an identical move but Hamilton had the brains to back off and go for the undercut which initially paid off. Hamiltons move was fine it was rosbergs brain that was at fault, he just does not have the race craft of a champion. Lewis took the racing line at that corner and turned left, at no point did he turn into rosberg. He had the inside position and very slightly ahead and so was in control of the corner. Rosberg was the one at fault.

        2. Trenthamfolk (@)
          26th October 2015, 21:38

          HAM held his line, it was his corner and was free to take the turn wherever he wanted too. It was ROS obligation to get out of the way. If anything, ROS caused the ‘tap on the wheels’ by refusing to concede the corner.

          Let’s not forget that ROS is quite happy to crash on purpose to prove a point… and cut corners to maintain track position when his skill runs out. Out-classed and out-raced. And he threw away his lead. Again.

    13. I think he has a bit of a point, but… Hamilton had the corner and he isn’t the sort of driver to give space at the outside to anyone, even his own team-mate. Nor was he under any obligation to give him space.

      If the positions were reversed, I very much hope Rosberg would have done exactly the same thing.

    14. Wow he was still upset by that? Lol.

      He got the lead back anyway and then … threw it away again. So it was really his own fault that he didn’t win.

    15. Yeah, I hate those aggressive moves where the driver on the outside gets forced off the track, but like was posted earlier, Rosberg doesn’t learn from that. He always tries to hold it around the outside of Hamilton and it always ends up with him off track and being passed by whoever’s behind him.
      But regardless, he hasn’t had an answer for Hamilton this whole year, bar Austria. At least in 2014 he was able to out-qualify Hamilton, but not anymore. And if he does, Hamilton passes him in the first corner, because Rosberg always tries the same thing.

      1. At least in 2014 he was able to out-qualify Hamilton, but not anymore

        He got Pole Position for the last three races fair and square.

        1. And furthermore, Hamilton didn’t pass him into turn one in Russia.

    16. Too agressive?
      He know is drive a Formula 1 and battle to be WDC?

    17. The problem with Nico, is that he does not know when he has lost a corner and concede – doing a switchback or just slotting in behind. Lewis has hung him out to dry quite a few times this season and last season as well. This is a lack or racecraft (though i wouldn’t call it basic). Lewis, however, KNOWS when he cannot ride it out on the corner, so he either does a switchback or just slots in behind. This was exactly what he did at Sochi.

      1. +1 Actually most drivers know that. Rosberg seems more interested in the ‘battle of wills’ with Hamilton (and having something to complain about) than actually getting past.

    18. So, try getting off the line quicker and in to the corner first.

      Rosberg simply hasn’t progressed this season. He needs to forget about Hamilton, focus on his own race speed, and he’d be much more competitive. But that’s precisely what the situation was at the end of last year. He didn’t turn up for the first half of this season. He started taking pole again precisely when Hamilton just had to tick off the races to win. Sort it out before blaming someone who was up and running to win from Adelaide.

    19. I don’t know what rule book Rosberg has been reading but Hamilton did nothing wrong. The fact there wasn’t even a stewards’ investigation – let alone a ruling against Hamilton – should tell Rosberg that much.

      1. @keithcollantine Taken directly from the 2015 sporting regulations

        16) INCIDENTS
        16.1 “Incident” means any occurrence or series of occurrences involving one or more drivers, or
        any action by any driver, which is reported to the stewards by the race director (or noted by
        the stewards and subsequently investigated) which :
        a) Necessitated the suspension of a race under Article 42.
        b) Constituted a breach of these Sporting Regulations or the Code.
        c) Caused a false start by one or more cars.
        d) Caused a collision.
        e) Forced a driver off the track.
        […]

        1. @keithcollantine by the way, in the article I’m pretty sure Rosberg was talking about his race losing mistake when he mentions the wheelspin, not his start.

        2. Sure, let’s apply the rules with zero tolerance.

          I look forward to the 2016 Formula One Series of Processions.

        3. @paeschli None of which apply in this situation. A driver is not obliged to leave the racing line on the exit of a corner when he’s ahead. Nico was not forced off, he was attempting a maneuvre that would never have worked.

    20. That’s just racing, the best drivers are a bit on the aggressive side. Look into the history of formula 1… Senna was aggressive, Schumacher was.. You have to show the other drivers that you will not let it go. I think rosberg just doesn’t have it. Hell, even prost, which knows aggressive driving from the inside from the years against Senna, said on canal+ that he was disappointed about rosberg and that he absolutely have to raise his aggressive game if he want to be the champion some day.. He said ‘Hamilton just doesn’t fear to go into contact. He just does it. And it pays off.’. I’m sorry Nico but it’s not with some salty comments after the race that you will become world champion, and this comes from someone that doesn’t particularly like Hamilton very much.

      1. He lost the initiative after Bahrain 2014 – that was the time to lay down a marker that he wouldn’t move over, the first time Lewis really ‘chopped’ him.. if it led to a Turkey 2010 crash then Lewis would have been put under huge scrutiny for taking them out of a 1-2 – the psychological pressure would have been on him earlier than Monaco.

    21. Can you imagine Vettel conceding the world championship and then complaining the winner was “too aggressive”? Of course not. Vettel and the other champions on the grid would have made the same move in Hamilton’s place.

    22. I can understand him being very upset. He’s had two years in two of the most dominant F1 cars of all time with no championships to show for it. These chances don’t come along often.

      If Ferrari have drawn level with Merc next year he won’t be given as much leeway to challenge Lewis. He can see his life ambitions slipping through his fingers.

      1. @spawinte – “He’s had two years in two of the most dominant F1 cars of all time” and yet finds himself third in the driver rankings. Says it all.

    23. I thought it was a very aggressive move although what did Rosberg expect?
      being on the outside there, side by side is asking for trouble. Chin up Nico

    24. It was a little bit of rude move, but there was nothing illegal about it. If he’d have forced him towards a barrier or a high curb, then maybe, but there was no harm done. This is a fairly common manoeuvre. Plus, I’m not sure if it looks a little bit harsh because of understeer, but i do admit that it didn’t look like Lewis tried that hard to turn the wheel. Still, there’s nothing doing.

      If Nico conceded the corner and tried to take advantage of a slightly longer run into the next corner for the switchback, he might have just seen Lewis off for a few laps.

      Nico seems obsessed with beating Hamilton at the start, at the expense of not paying enough attention to everyone else. Sort of blinkered…

      He needs to take it on the chin and come back stronger.

      For some periods of today’s race, he looked amazingly quick, so he has the speed. If he’d have shown that speed since Australia, maybe the title would be a bit closer. Or does it need to be do or die for him to shine?

    25. Hamilton had the racing line and the apex and you could see from the onboard his steering goes light with understeer.

      Rosberg has had this done to him several times now and doesn’t learn from it. He needs to go watch Bahrain 2014 and see how Hamilton handled someone snatching the apex off you by cutting back on them but instead he just lets himself get pushed wide every time.

    26. Rosberg was bemused by his poor start from pole position. “I just got wheelspin,” he said. “It’s never happened to me, ever, not even in testing, racing… never ever something like that.”

      “So I can’t explain it, it’s unbelievable. Just need to look into it afterwards but obviously that was really, really tough at the time to lose the lead like that and to lose the win, because I was feeling really good at that point.”

      These comments were not based on his poor start. he made them when asked about going off track and losing the lead. He said it twice, at different interviews, so it’s unbelievable how the writer of the article could wrongly attribute the comments.

      1. @kbdavies The section you’re referring to followed a question which ended with Rosberg being specifically asked “about the start”. However I think his reply is sufficiently ambiguous to not be one hundred percent clear exactly what he’s referring to, and as that is only a secondary focus of this article, I’ve cut it accordingly.

        1. He did a couple of interviews yesterday where he rejected most of the questions he was being asked. Instead, he was only giving the same version of events to everyone, so his answers from yesterday don’t necessarily correlate with the question he was being asked.

    27. For what ever it’s worth I spend alot of time race siming, which if nothing else give you more perspective on the racing line and an understanding of the tracks themselves. Now at turn one if you take it from the inside as Hamilton did, the car is automatically going to be on the outside at the exit of the apex. At first I thought as many people do that The move was way too aggressive to pull on a teammate, and I’ve been a Hamilton fan since his first race at Melbourne, but then I saw the on board shot of Hamilton and if you notice his steering wheel is turned as much to the left as possible. Anyway thats just my humble opinion.

      1. You clearly see a moment where the steering goes light with understeer, he quickly unloads it with a flick right and gives it full right lock as you said.

        Cold intermediates which both cars were struggling with the front tyres on and a greasy track. Nothing more to it.

    28. But this is racing! Racers can’t have brains or respect!

      And who cares. It’s Rosberg. He would have thrown the race away anyway (like he did).

    29. There’s one thing that’s certain: Nico’s not doing himself any favours by being a sore loser. There’s no excuse for ‘Capgate’ or his pathetic performance on the podium. Win or lose, drivers are expected to behave in a professional manner. I was not impressed.

      1. Capgate!! I love it!

    30. Rosberg’s post race reaction was poor for me. He doesn’t need to be happy that he’s lost the race or the WDC but he could be more gracious, particularly as it is his team mate that’s won.

      I think his rather sour attitude is that, once again, the race demonstrated perfectly that he’s not equipped with sufficient skill to beat his faster team mate. Same situation, same car, same drivers and he’ll come off second 9 times out of 10. He can’t upskill enough to change the outcome, so if he wants to beat Hamilton then he’d need to leave and find a faster car. That doesn’t seem possible either.

      The first corner was tough racing but it was fair. Rosberg’s error is continually putting himself in a position where the same thing can happen again. By now he’s probably convinced himself that he needs to take a more robust approach in the same situation. Last time he did that, in Spa, we all saw what the outcome was. I expect that to be repeated again in 2016.

      1. I agree. The thing is that there’s a very fine line with moves like that. Its a very intuitive thing, some racers have got it {Hamilton , Alonzo} for example and guys like Rosberg and Button who are talented DRIVERS as opposed RACERS don’t.

    31. It was not a make or break situation for lewis, had Rosberg been more aggressive, they could have collided and ruined both their races. Completely unnecessary move. This could well be the last of the gentleman Roseberg we’ll see, I hope this anger motivates him to perform better.

    32. The funny thing is, Rosberg did the same thing to lewis at Sochi. Twice! The first time (turn one), Lewis knew when to give it up. And he did slotting back behind Rosberg. The second time, he didn’t give it up, and Rosberg ran him out wide off the track. After this, the Safety Car was called. I do not remember Lewis moaning about either moves.

      Unfortunately, Rosberg has probably convinced himself he was hard done by, and has thus made the wrong choice on what to do next. Now he has no world championship to fight for, he will now be out to prove a point. And it will be the wrong point.

    33. Rosberg needs to learn race-craft, he had aches of ground on his right to go wide and do the cut-back, hes had this option a few times when Hamilton has tried to hold the inside line, but he never takes it, hes too busy getting all emotional and trying to win a battle of wills on the outside.

      Hasn’t Rosberg watched Bahrain ’14 where Hamilton did this manouver on him? Even at COTA Rosberg sent one up the inside at the end of the long straight and Hamilton saw it and took a wide line and did the cut-back, successfully.

    34. Bunch of people here crying — including Rosberg. It’s RACING, people. Now, I know these aren’t bumper cars and that it’s not supposed to be a demolition derby, but it’s RACING. It’s supposed to be aggressive. We LOVED drivers like Villeneuve and Senna for doing exactly this sort of thing. We look back on those drivers and constantly moan, “THOSE were the days — when racing was racing and racers were racers.” We keep begging the sport to make it one of “gladiators” or “charioteers.” Well, does anyone remember the chariot race in Ben Hur? That scene was exciting as hell. So now we get a little bit of that kind of aggression and everybody throws their hands up in the air and screams, “SCANDALOUS! OUTRAGEOUS!” Oh, PLEASE. Whether it was an overly aggressive move or not, WHO CARES!?!?!?! Montoya gave us some of the most exciting racing ever, and did very similar things. Ditto for Senna/Prost.

      The fact is this: Hamilton has won the strategic mental game of aggression and is using it tactically — as he damn well should. The car problems he had last year meant he had to be incredibly aggressive mentally and make up not just positions on the track, but strategic position in the mind game that is a championship fight. And Spa proved to be the deciding factor. Playing the game of chicken, and winning it, meant that he put himself in a position where Rosberg had to second guess himself every time they go into a corner together. And Hamilton was reminding him of that fact yesterday. Let’s be honest: that’s what makes champions champions. Schumacher and Senna would have done the same. Vettel would have done the same. So we really shouldn’t be crying about it now, and Rosberg should shut his mouth and prove his mettle. If he really wants to show how angry he is, he should take Hamilton’s own tactics and shove them right down Hamilton’s throat — because that’s what fighters do, and that’s what we all pay to see.

    35. Replay I saw showed that Hamilton didn’t attempt to turn until after contact. Did anyone else see that?

    36. I don’t like him at all; he’s trashing Ayrton’s memory anytime he speaks his name; but he’s been better than Rosberg this whole year; and that was good enough to win this year. So Congrats!!!
      But the move in the first corner was not inspiring at all; why did he wanted to do that?! Why?! it was low, very low; Michael, Ayrton did the same but in the last race with the championship at stake, so you can understand it; Lewis did not have to do that to win this year. Hell he could have sit out the rest of the championship and still won this year.
      It was intentional. It was just unnecessary, mean, disrespectful and unsporting.
      You could see from the replays he could have put more angle into the wheel. His aim in that corner was to put Rosberg out of the track.
      And then i read in another article that he hopes he “inspires” people. Yeah, he inspires people who already like him. I don’t see him getting new fans for that.

    37. I thought there were a few contenders for driver of the weekend.

      Rosberg had the edge on Hamilton in wet qualifying to take pole, and he managed to overtake his teammate during the race for the first time in quite a while, although Hamilton’s tyres were gone at that point.

      But Rosberg’s mistake under pressure late in the race to let Hamilton through took him out of the running for driver of the weekend for me.

      While I may understand why Rosberg is upset after losing the lead at the start I thought Hamilton’s move was firm but fair. I don’t know why Rosberg still thinks he can overtake round the outside on a corner like that, given recent history you would have thought he wouldn’t even have attempted it and would have gone for the cut back to be in a better position to overtake later in the lap.

      Vettel had a great recovery drive after his engine penalty to earn a podium and at one stage it looked as if he may even challenge Rosberg for second.

      Verstappen was again impressive reaching Q3 and finishing a very good fourth in the Toro Rosso.

      Button put in another good drive in changeable conditions which has become a bit of a trade mark for him.

      Ricciardo was very close to the Mercedes in wet qualifying, and while the track was wet early in the Grand Prix led the race, had it not dried out he could have taken the victory, but Red Bull didn’t have the pace in the dry, that and car damage contributed to him dropping down the field as the race went on.

      In the end my vote went to Verstappen, with runners up Vettel, Ricciardo and Button.

      1. Doh, this was meant to be my post on the Driver of the Weekend page. That is what you get for having multiple tabs open when browsing I suppose.

    38. Am I the only one who thing that he was mad because he tried to recover from his misery all season but keep failing again, I mean he got 3 poles in a row, at Russia he didn’t lose the lead, and in COTA he could’ve won without the VSC…. still though, Hamilton is way better this season because he handled pressure way better. however I do really feel for Rosberg, had the ability but struggle to convert it to success.

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