Where does Nico Rosberg go from here?

[Koz]

The thing is, I think Lewis is more liked by the guys at Mercedes than Lewis. Even before Monaco stop gate.

If their roles were reversed this race, Lauda would be furious.
I think back to Bahrain 2014 when Lewis pushed Nico off he told his engineer "tell him that's not on".

But the plain truth is Lewis is just a better driver. The only reason Rosberg was even close to Lewis last year, especially in qualifying was because of the constant coaching. As soon as that was banned, he started to lag behind.

Maybe he is WDC material, it isn't with Lewis in the team.

First in a village rather than second in Rome. Go look at Massa.

[Big Ben]

Rosberg is just not good enough. Hamilton is the better driver and also a douchebag so in normal conditions Rosberg doesn't really have much chance against him.

[Nitrodaze]

I watched the 1st corner incident a number of times, and l think it was clean racing. If you follow it from the start, Rosberg had a slightly worst start than Hamilton who got alongside Rosberg within the first three to four car lengths from the start line. Seeing this, Rosberg decides to try to squeeze Hamilton from the optimum line to make a good approach to the 1st corner difficult. On the approach to the apex of the corner, Hamilton was marginally ahead and on the inner racing line with Rosberg on the outer line which was always not going to be the position of advantage. Because Rosberg had compromised Hamitons approach to the apex, Lewis path through the apex was alway going to be a wide arch through the corner due to his compromised approach.
Rosberg took a gamble that compromising Lewis's approach would hand over the advantage through the apex of the corner but he was not well positioned to take advantage because he had already lost the advantage before the approach to the corner by not being ahead and not successfully seizing the racing line. He arrived at the corner at a vulnerable position and it was always going to be an egg in the face situation being on the outside at the apex and not being ahead.

If you can take an objective unbiased look at the incident, you would find that it was a clean maneuver but unfortunate for Rosberg that it did not work out for him.

A similar manuever re-occurred further into the race, this time with Rosberg clearly ahead and Hamilton gave him plenty of room for Rosberg to complete the overtake maneuver. It was all fair but hard racing, one of the very best this season.

[N4D13]

I have a soft spot for Rosberg, so my view might be biased (as much as the next guy's, anyway), but here's my opinion.

I believe that Rosberg is a great driver and one that might have actually become a WDC already had he not had Lewis as a teammate, who is one of the all-time greats. This season Lewis has obviously had the better of Nico, particularly during the first half of the season, but Rosberg has had significantly worse luck. For instance, Nico has had two retirements in races that Lewis went on to win, whereas Lewis' only retirement came in Singapore, which was a complete clusterf*ck for Mercedes.

The last race is a fine example of Rosberg having rather bad luck. He managed to pass Hamilton on track due to his teammate having overcooked his tires, and managed to build an advantage of about 10 seconds if I recall correctly, which was then erased by the safety car. On top of that, he got the (theoretically) better strategy by stopping before Lewis; the decision not to pit Hamilton would have been a blunder if it wasn't for the late safety car. Instead of that, the second SC allowed Lewis to get a free pitstop and newer tires than his teammate. Of course it was eventually Rosberg's mistake that caused Lewis to pass him, but you'll have to concede that Lewis wouldn't have had a shot of winning the race had it not been for the two SCs.

[Jag_Warrior]

Ugly win .

To borrow a line from Jean Pierre Sarti, in the great movie, "Grand Prix": "there is no terrible way to win... there is only winning."

When Lewis said last year that he was hungrier, Nico's tendency to choke while under pressure last year and this year, pretty well demonstrates that that is true. But I've always found Nico to be a likable and sympathetic character. He is a good driver, just not a great driver. He clearly has game, or race craft. But IMO, he lacks the ability to hold it together and apply pressure to Hamilton, in particular. Maybe because Hamilton has been coming out on top against him since they were kids, Hamilton, more than any other driver, is able to "get inside his head". And maybe that self-doubt causes Rosberg to lose focus at inopportune moments.

I was a HUGE fan of the old CART series. It held my interest about as much as F1 back in the day, even when Senna was still with us. But I accepted that one of the reasons that many of my favorite CART drivers couldn't really make it in Formula One was because team politics and psychological gamesmanship were (and are) factors in F1, more so than CART.

Anyway, my guess is, based on how Ferrari has come on recently, the main battle next year for the WDC will be between Hamilton and Vettel. Nico needs to up his game just to hold off Vettel (I don't see Kimi as a threat to anyone but himself). Lewis can race wheel to wheel with Vettel. I don't believe that Nico can, not over the course of a season anyway. And next year, Mercedes may need all the points that it can get to capture another Constructor's title.

[Bagwan]

I watched the 1st corner incident a number of times, and l think it was clean racing. If you follow it from the start, Rosberg had a slightly worst start than Hamilton who got alongside Rosberg within the first three to four car lengths from the start line. Seeing this, Rosberg decides to try to squeeze Hamilton from the optimum line to make a good approach to the 1st corner difficult. On the approach to the apex of the corner, Hamilton was marginally ahead and on the inner racing line with Rosberg on the outer line which was always not going to be the position of advantage. Because Rosberg had compromised Hamitons approach to the apex, Lewis path through the apex was alway going to be a wide arch through the corner due to his compromised approach.
Rosberg took a gamble that compromising Lewis's approach would hand over the advantage through the apex of the corner but he was not well positioned to take advantage because he had already lost the advantage before the approach to the corner by not being ahead and not successfully seizing the racing line. He arrived at the corner at a vulnerable position and it was always going to be an egg in the face situation being on the outside at the apex and not being ahead.

If you can take an objective unbiased look at the incident, you would find that it was a clean maneuver but unfortunate for Rosberg that it did not work out for him.

A similar manuever re-occurred further into the race, this time with Rosberg clearly ahead and Hamilton gave him plenty of room for Rosberg to complete the overtake maneuver. It was all fair but hard racing, one of the very best this season.

Being on the inside does not make you the owner of the corner .
But Lewis clearly believes it does .
Hamilton clearly knew Rosberg was beside him .
He stated he knew that Nico had more grip where he was running , and clearly made the decision to stay with the other car knowing he would force Nico wide on that trajectory .
He did , hitting him in the process .
It was the same move as the last time , where he again had slid wide forcing his team mate off .

Even Lewis , himself , said that he knew there would be differing opinions on the move but didn't care because he'd won .

Kimi's move last race was much the same , where he just assumed the other guy would back out .
He got penalized and is now confused .
We didn't get to see the moves , but he was upset with Max's move(s) based on his penalty the previous race .

You must leave room .
If one of our resident anoraks could dig up the actual rule regarding "the squeeze" , I would be grateful .

[Bagwan]

To borrow a line from Jean Pierre Sarti, in the great movie, "Grand Prix": "there is no terrible way to win... there is only winning."

When Lewis said last year that he was hungrier, Nico's tendency to choke while under pressure last year and this year, pretty well demonstrates that that is true. But I've always found Nico to be a likable and sympathetic character. He is a good driver, just not a great driver. He clearly has game, or race craft. But IMO, he lacks the ability to hold it together and apply pressure to Hamilton, in particular. Maybe because Hamilton has been coming out on top against him since they were kids, Hamilton, more than any other driver, is able to "get inside his head". And maybe that self-doubt causes Rosberg to lose focus at inopportune moments.

I was a HUGE fan of the old CART series. It held my interest about as much as F1 back in the day, even when Senna was still with us. But I accepted that one of the reasons that many of my favorite CART drivers couldn't really make it in Formula One was because team politics and psychological gamesmanship were (and are) factors in F1, more so than CART.

Anyway, my guess is, based on how Ferrari has come on recently, the main battle next year for the WDC will be between Hamilton and Vettel. Nico needs to up his game just to hold off Vettel (I don't see Kimi as a threat to anyone but himself). Lewis can race wheel to wheel with Vettel. I don't believe that Nico can, not over the course of a season anyway. And next year, Mercedes may need all the points that it can get to capture another Constructor's title.

Maybe you're right , Jag , that it doesn't matter at the end of the day whether the Stetson you end up wearing is black or white , but rather if if it says #1 on it .

What I don't particularly like like here is that Lewis , like a few others , is pushing it too far here .

I guess it's a clever gambit , however , because he's figured out that he's got a free pass to do it because he team mate can never make formal protest .
All he has to do is take his scolding behind closed doors , with a little wink when he leaves .


It's the catch 22 for Nico , that he can't protest .
And , it's that fact that has been the Achilles heel for him , I think .
It would sure yank my chain if I were in his shoes , because I've seen lots of guys , including Lewis , allowing room for the others and not pushing people off .

You can race both hard and cleanly .


One last point that bugs me is that Lewis doesn't have to do stuff like this .
He could still win with a white hat .

[henners88]

The cap throw from Hamilton was patronising and unnecessary.

I don't think it was meant that way. He passed one to Seb just off camera and tossed the other towards Nico's lap. Nico misunderstood the intent and reacted in a manner that made things pretty awkward.

I've seen more criticism of Nico for the cap incident but to me I think it was just a misunderstanding. Unfortunately the regular Hamilton haters have spun it with a whole new slant. It makes it embarrassing to be an F1 fan at times.

[henners88]

That is absolutely true .
It was like saying "Here , put your #2 hat on , boy ."

He knew Nico was pi$$ed , and he knew why .

They've talked about this too many times before , and Nico is right to be angry .
Toto said he understood why Nico acted as he did , and they will speak about it once again .

Interesting that Kimi seems to be of the same opinion as Nico , wanting some clarity about whether it's ok to push people off track , sliding down the inside .
Having tried it down the inside of Bottas last race , and was obviously told that he must leave room for another car outside .


I think the both of them need to mouth off about this some more so that we can have some clarity here .
Hamilton said he knew that Nico would have more grip , yet he thought it was ok that he understeered into him . I don't get where that isn't an admission of knowingly causing a collision .

Ugly win .

Although predictable and consistent, I think it's sad how people always see the bad in situations like this. Just applaud a deserving drive and championship. Nico simply wasn't good enough this year and hopefully he'll learn from this and give us a fight next year. Sore losers just make winning even more sweet at times like this.

[rjbetty]

What I don't particularly like like here is that Lewis , like a few others , is pushing it too far here.

Nah, I think it's just that you don't particularly like Lewis. Can't ever really remember you complaining about another driver.

I guess it's a clever gambit , however , because he's figured out that he's got a free pass to do it because he team mate can never make formal protest...

Well I'm ok with this cos you seem to have a good sense of justice and you're consistent. That's why you were so cut up about Monaco 2014 too.

Oh, wait...




I haven't seen any footage myself yet, but if Lewis has really forced Nico off track then he does kinda need to cut it out. Would really rather it wouldn't be like that. Just goes to show that even with a driver I like, no-one's utterly spotless. Even though in generally I find him one of the more honest and guileless people compared to most, which is kinda why I like him.

However I need to satisfy myself first that any criticism is valid rather than just biased people with a personal dislike just trying to find any way to put Lewis down, to the point of making something out of nothing. If someone like Jens for example comes on and says he ain't happy about turn 1, I'd pay more attention to him. Peace and good day then.