Rosberg had engine switch problem like Hamilton

2016 European Grand Prix

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Mercedes has confirmed Nico Rosberg also had an engine performance problem which required a switch change during the European Grand Prix.

Lewis Hamilton was delayed for several laps while his team were unable to give him assistance due to restrictions on radio communications.

The team’s executive director Toto Wolff told Sky after the race “we had a problem on both cars with the configuration of some switches”.

“Lewis’s problem came a bit earlier, Nico’s a couple of laps later. There was a way of changing the switches on the dashboard which of course by regulations we are not allowed to communicate to the drivers”.

“This caused a bit of confusion and it took a while on Lewis’s car to reset”.

Rosberg was able to correct his problem more quickly than Hamilton. “Nico was in a little bit more of a fortunate situation as he had done a switch change before and he just changed it back basically a couple of laps later.

“Lewis was trying to figure out what it was and it took 12 laps. And then the power came back, but obviously it was too late.”

2016 European 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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    70 comments on “Rosberg had engine switch problem like Hamilton”

    1. anybody still believe these stories?

      1. Definitely a very cheap article by Keith.
        To continue to believe in this rubbish theories and to spout them tells of an ulterior motive. What that motive is, I leave Keith and those who love peddling such stories to tell us.
        Everything has been flung at Lewis Hamilton yet, he excels. What it does say about him with all the things that are falsely flung at him, is that it shows how poor every one around him is doing since he has excelled where they have failed. Should every Hamilton fan then say that all the other drivers on the grid, apart from Seb are mere toolboxes since they can’t obviously challenge someone like Hamilton?
        To continue this false narrative of Nico being “smarter”, “cerebral” or what have you while Hamilton is purely a driver with brute force, no brain, begs the question, shouldn’t Nico therefore be left to build and do all the necessary engineering calculations needed to build an F1 car since he is the smartest person after Einstein? He surely does not need engineers since he figures it all out.
        I wonder why there is need each time to pit Lewis Hamilton against everyone he is teamed up with and each time the narrative is similar in which the team mate is smarter, smoother, best at setting up cars, etc while Hamilton is simply put the brute who just drives fast cars. All the while blatantly ignoring the evidence that has consistently blasted their false narrative out of the water.
        Keith I expected better from you not to get into this pitiful discussions unless of course you enjoy espousing such nonsensical theories.

        1. i will tell you a secret, youtube plato’s cave – animated, and get back to me. In the truest sense, none of this stuff is really real, it’s lightwork on the side of a cave. The props are real, the story, is manufactured, much like the cars at the factory, and in order to sell something, you have to take some liberties in order to make it taste better. This kind of things is older than recorded history, and it’s mark is in our own genetic makeup and how we think.

        2. Well said Tata. Intellectually lazy headlines. Almost worthy of no response, really.

        3. sunny stivala
          20th June 2016, 16:10

          for some of the well known media hamfosi tin foil hats Lulu can don no wrong, can say nothing wrong.

      2. Yeah, I do. But it is with some caveats. I read elsewhere that Merc says that the error occurred on Rosberg’s car straight after he made a change. As a result, he was quickly able to understand the error and fix it. In Hamilton’s case, it happened a few laps after he made the switch setting and he wasn’t able to understand the error as quickly as he didn’t know where to begin. It’s easy to find a problem if you flick a switch and you car goes worse straight away. Much harder to understand that if it happens laps later.
        Rosberg being more cerebral than Hamilton. I doubt it. Just pure luck I think.

    2. Hahaha, yeah, sure he did…

    3. But Rosberg knew how to solve it because he had red the manual. Hami doesn’t read manuals so he could only cry over the radio: Why don’t you help me, tell me what I have to do!

      1. Both drivers will be well versed in everything they need to know to run the car and will have read every ‘manual’ (if any even exists), but they can’t know everything. Mercedes likely hadn’t seen the problem before either and, of course, weren’t allowed to tell Hamilton what to do about it.

      2. @dutch-1: Wrong. Read the facts and respond fairly to them instead of defaulting to unfavourable opinions on HAM.

        1. Well, Ham stories sell, so they always pick on him… Truth was, Ham’s settings change was from the start, which he didnt know and never had issue with, hence inability to figure out while driving inches from walls or going around 364kmh! Technical issue was with him from the start most likely team changed some programs on the settings but didnt adequately inform him , as Ros did his problem on his own… This mostly sounds like some idiot decided to change some settings without informing the driver appropriately!

          Lauda seems to jump to conclusions quite early and stupidly making comments about drivers on press that is damaging the team spirit! He said, Hamilton wasnt on form and was too slow to catch Ros anyway… Something must have happened somewhere he doesnt care about the team anymore…

          1. Funny how the team were going on and on about it being something he had to change, but when Lewis was in with the press after the race he said the car sorted itself out with out him doing anything.

            Funny how the media doesn’t highlight that particular fact, that Lewis contradicts his team’s comments from time to time.

          2. sunny stivala
            21st June 2016, 8:07

            I remember one time McLaren having been caught fixing engine problem during a race by the use of two way telemetry.

      3. I also know that Nico’ s loves maths and electronics so I m guessing he learned more about the car and the settings from his engineers and hence was able to solve the problem quickly.

        1. As he did in Monaco? @redbullf1
          Of course not: the car was not damaged, the driver was just plainly slow.

        2. pastaman (@)
          20th June 2016, 13:26

          You can guess that, but you’d be wrong.

        3. Oh come on I had a pinch of sarcasm in there :D

          I do know Nico loves mathematics , he said so in an interview, but electronics? maybe not !

        4. Not a fan, but Rosberg did actually make the highest score of anyone ever at Williams, when Williams and Patrick Head gave Rosberg the Williams team’s Engineering Aptitude Test, which they used to evaluate candidates.
          And prior to that, due to his scholarly results, Imperial College in London offered Rosberg a place on their aeronautical engineering course. So clearly he must have the nack. Rosberg did though choose to pursue full time racing that summer. And the rest is history…

    4. So Rosberg had the same issue, which he was able to ‘fix’ faster and more permanently without saying anything over the radio? You may have to forgive my skepticism.

      1. Hamilton had the issue right from the start of the race, so, according to Merc, it would have been nearly impossible for him to figure it out on his own, Rosberg however, brought the problem on himself by changing settings mid-race, so after being told it was his mode that was causing the problem, he knew he just had to revert back.

        Though it is funny how every time Hamilton has an issue while fighting back through the pack, Rosberg always has the same issue will setting fastest laps out at the front while breezing to wins.

      2. According to Will Buxton, Rosberg caused his own issue with settings in the first place, Lewis didn’t. Not identical problems. (source: https://twitter.com/thebuxtonblog/status/744570595703160832)

        1. Hey, Toto said “BOTH CARS” Geeeez. Both cars man !!!

          can you imagine what would happen if Lewis contract lawyers saw them breaking their agreement ??? Think of all the money involved. Breaches of contracts are very serious. And behaving fraudulently/lying to the press to present a false image, that would never happen either, imagine if people actually started calling those out, what it could do to the brand name. Man.

    5. Lesson: Guys, no matter how good of a driver you are, always read your car’s switches and buttons manual before driving.

      1. Or, as was the case in actual fact… “always change back to your previous setting if you have a self-inflicted problem following a change to your modes mid-race.”

      2. Not on the basis of the latest facts. This was clearly a case of team compromising driver on race day.

      3. pastaman (@)
        20th June 2016, 13:27

        @ducpham2708 Lesson: stop commenting when you are biased and are lacking factual data.

    6. Adam (@rocketpanda)
      19th June 2016, 16:54

      Is this another ‘our dominant and unchallenged win was actually really hard’ speech?

      1. @rocketpanda It totally sounds like that. Funny how they always see the need to give one, especially after one of these wins by Nico.

        I do congratulate Nico on his win and title lead, but it would be interesting to see how many times he actually had to overtake another car (ie how many times he actually had to race), to get to where he is this season.

        Keith, you think you could get us those stats? Thanks in advance!

        1. We’ve seen him among other cars and he’s not really come out well (got mugged by Hulkenberg in Monaco and span trying to overtake Vestappen in Canada). Hamilton’s done a bit better, but not by much judging from how bad the Mercedes is following other cars.

          1. going back to canada though I am pretty sure he made two amazing passes on Riccardo (and possibly kimi?) at the same corner and Crofty never mentioned it…

            1. @khanistanF1 Maybe I was not specific. I am actually refering to the races he has won this season. I do believe most were won from pole, with little or no challenge from another driver, much less having to overtake anyone.

        2. Yeah and while you are doing that also see how many times Schumacher had to actually pass cars on the track for his 7 WDC’s.

    7. So, did the same problem exist during qualifying?

    8. Rosberg indeed had some slow laps mid-race, so this may be true.

      1. Rosberg was cruising the whole race. A few slower laps at some point are quite meaningless, he might just have been nursing his tyres a bit more or whatnot.

    9. Presumably the problem didn’t exist during qualifying, so it will be interesting to knkw why the team decided to make the change only on Hamilton’s car.
      A few unkind souls suggesting Hamilton is slower than Nico mentally, conveniently ignoring the plethora of possible configurations on the car that could have been the culprit – plus the fact that Lewis just discovered the problem while driving – and also the nuance that Nico had made the setting change himself and therefore knew what he had changed.

    10. I promise to spend more time in the simulator polishing up on my profession just like an airline pilot.

      1. Yeah. He should. These are spaceships. And astronouts spend more time in simulation than space.

    11. Why is it so hard to admit guys, Lewis is not doing a 100% at his job.

      He is not fully versed at all complexities of car settings, doesnt do track walks, bypasses simulator time, etc.

      Normaly his 90% effort is good enough to beat Rosberg. But results show not today. And not yesterday

      Just maybe he needs to raise hid effort level, party less, do every homework possible. Play with settings in Sim…

      1. @jureo If what you say is accurate, then given that Hamilton just won the last 2 WDC’s back to back, it means the rest of the drivers must be pretty pathetic.

        1. Just means even while not giving his 100% Nico can beat him. Mercedes enjoyed so much advantage all drivers of F1 class would be in title contention.

          Lewis did enough to stay infront of Nico.

          1. Hamilton’s showing was quite poor (well, he blasted the field in FP1-2-3 and you seem to conveniently forget that). But as it to do with simulator and track walk, or was it something else like a bad day at the office?

            As for the engine mode saga, Rosberg was lucky to have caused his own misfortune, so he was able to revert his changes.

      2. It could be it is simply lack of commitment. Who knows.

        I think it is kinda intetesting watch his struggle. It seems like he is struggling to nurture, or even control, his talent.

        Probably good for us. If he drove to his potential every race would be the Hamilton parade. .Like Vettle in 2013, or worse.

    12. So, this tells me that time in simulator pays off after all… Who could imagine?

      1. But for sure track walk is useless right.

      2. You know that Rosberg set the engine in the wrong mode? And Hamilton did not change his settings during the whole race?
        So what has the simulator time to do here?

        1. You know that Hamilton messed up at least three times during qualifying? Maybe that’s what the simulator would have been good for? ;)

    13. Lewis is sure quick, but it’s got to be said. he ain’t the sharpest tool in the box.

      1. +++1 !

      2. I know he is a 3 time WC, i know he is The paid driver in formula 1, i know he has dated Nicole Scherzinger. I also know you havent done none of The above and you certainly dont know him, what i do know is that you have a low opinion of someone who’s life accomplishmets are infitnitly superior to yours.

      3. a fool Lia satisfied in his own fooly. And Hamilton is to succesfool to be the fool.

        1. and how smart are you

    14. Don’t have to be the sharpest !

      Just the fastest:)

    15. Does anyone know what HAM is talking about in the last part?

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0h2JZB-35I

      Did the team change anything overnight?

    16. That was a major stuff up from Mercedes. Made the race so boring

    17. Just like the other times Tonto has come out with ‘both cars had the same problems’ – there is absolutely no evidence during the race to support this. In fact the evidence is actually contrary because on two occasions Rosberg managed to do a fastest lap while he ‘apparently’ being afflicted. Also the timing and onboard evidence shows that LH’s problem was resolved for one lap and then it came back!! In the full statement. Tonto also says the problem accounts for about 0.2 seconds per lap – utter BS – LH was losing over a second a lap! And what is all this BS about a messy Friday – it looked pretty clean to me other than Rosbergs engine failure..and in actual fact these guys are supposed to be the best engineers in the world – so Tonto stop making excuses and Step UP.

      What the evidence does show is that LH’s car is the MOST unreliable Mercedes powered car on the grid! In eight races car 44 has had, a gearbox problem, and 4 engine issues!! Why is this ?

      Canada and Monaco were the best races this year, no problems for either Mercedes car and the winner of the race having to work and earn it every step of the way. Yesterday’s race was a complete disappointment again, hampered by Mercedes unreliability, FIA nonsensical rules, and the winner of the race being handed it on a very silver plate !!

      Just like some of Tonto’s statements this year F1 is full of BS.

      1. just a slight correction, Lewis said the problem sorted itself out, which probably means his issue had something to do with reliability, and something clearing up, because he didn’t change anything to get the car sorted out.

        Lewis stated that he turned the motor down because there was no point trying to cover the gap to Perez which was close to 2 seconds a lap at that point.

        What I find the most amusing is Lewis problem cleared up right when it was about too late for him to get to Perez, a few laps earlier, and he might have been able to get up to him. You are right though, Merc are lying, and they are saying what they are saying in a deliberate fashion, and I am almost 100% sure it has to do with the way Lewis’ contract is written.

    18. The world’s best drivers, in the world’s fastest cars. And we get treated to them bumbling with engine settings, which we only get to hear about after the race.

      It should have been a simple “please switch to multimode 21, ICE map 5, Lewis”

      Let the drivers do their job, the engineers to theirs, and broadcast it all.

      There will be better racing, and us hardcore fans will have more content to consume.

      1. Instead, it was more like “Multi 21, Lewis, Multi 21”.

        Sorry, had to say it XDDD

      2. Hardcore RACING fans would want all those silly buttons removed !

    19. I understand the need to curb the amount of help given to the drivers via the team radio, they don’t need to be told how to drive, when to brake etc etc etc, that is what they are paid for, however I do believe they have gone too far with the radio ban …. Lewis had a problem with his settings which were not of his making, Kimi had power related problems …… surely giving technical information to drivers that are doing over 300kph and trying to avoid the walls and slower cars is a little bit different to driving tips/advice.

    20. According to this http://www.skysports.com/f1/news/12472/10318490/mercedes-explain-lewis-hamiltons-power-problems-in-european-gp from Sky, the engineers pre-set the wrong settings.

      Which of course gets compounded when they are not allowed to correct their error.

      I will say my vote would be to keep some of the banned radio msgs, such as coaching, but that explicit engineering msgs should be allowed.

    21. keith yet again being phony and twisting the truth.

      lewis settings were wrong from before the race even started,merc have said it wasnt driver error.

      also when nico was first interviewed he said he had no issues,then he changed his story.

      and why are we always told nico had the same issue after lewis has a issue.its happened everytime this season.

      1. @matt Even to non Hamilton fans, the recurring technical and mechanical problems Hamilton continues to experience this season, in addition to the comments and utterances from Toto Wolff and Niki Lauda – and others – that typically follow such occurrences must begin to appear truly bizarre and unreal.

        I have said it before, and I will say it again, though in the past I have been called names and even had my posts removed because of this…..

        Mercedes desperately want Rosberg to win a WDC, and this year may be their last chance, seeing as how the other teams are closing in on their performance advantage. How they are going about this I don’t know, but like I said, this year has been a very strange year for one side of the Mercedes garage. And before anyone shouts “what about Monaco and Montreal?”, lets not be so naive as to think Rosberg would win every single race of the season.

        Finally, lets be honest with ourselves. It would really be great for branding to boast of a German driver winning the world championship in a German car with a German team.

    22. Melchior (@)
      20th June 2016, 10:04

      Ummm,
      Pit boards
      What ever happened to pit boards?………….

    23. Who cares if Rosberg also had a minor inconvenience for a single lap while he corrected a setting which he set wrongly himself? How is that relevant to the problem that Hamilton had?

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