Austria 2016

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Originally Posted by Bagwan

Can we clear up one thing here ?

If you are on the inside , do you get to dictate your line , as Nico said ?

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Not if you are behind into the braking zone I would guess. Being behind you have responsibility to turn in and avoid contact. Just like if you are behind on theoutside you have an obligation to wait until the apex is clear to turn in.

I would have no problem with Nico turning into the turn which because of the tighter angle would draw him back in front and then ease Hamilton out of road gently. (Not a swerve and push of the track). As it was he did not turn the wheel and aimed at Lewis with relatively clear intention.

Just my opinion

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Originally Posted by Bagwan

Can we clear up one thing here ?

If you are on the inside , do you get to dictate your line , as Nico said ?

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No. It has nothing to do with inside or outside, but who is in front.

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Originally Posted by Bagwan

Can we clear up one thing here ?

If you are on the inside , do you get to dictate your line , as Nico said ?

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I would say if the driver on the inside is in front in the braking zone, then yes they get to pick their line within reason. For example going slightly wider but still leaving room for the guy on the outside to back out. We didn't see this on Sunday, we saw Nico go to the boundary of the track in a straight line and expect Lewis to leave the track. Myself and the stewards felt that was unreasonable.

In Canada we saw Nico on the outside of T1 but half a car length behind and with plenty of opportunity to back out. In Spa a couple of years ago we saw Nico again on the outside but half a car length behind.

The inside is optimal but you need to be ahead of the other driver when reaching the corner. Nico is adding to his history of losing out to Lewis in corners and maybe needs to review how he approaches these situations in future.

Didn't we see , when we saw them take each other off earlier this year , that you only need have a portion of your front wing beside the rear wheels of the car ahead to have the right to a car width of space beside him ?

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Originally Posted by Bagwan

Didn't we see , when we saw them take each other off earlier this year , that you only need have a portion of your front wing beside the rear wheels of the car ahead to have the right to a car width of space beside him ?

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Didn't Nico do that on a straight? Crowding another car off the track before they have reached a corner is also under the guidelines of leaving room I would have thought. If your opponent is alongside to some degree, then you can't force them off the track. If they are yet to decide which way to go, a driver has the option to make 'on 'defensive move. That one move does not include crashing into the other.

The start of a race is also treated differently when 20+ cars go into turn one. It's accepted cars may touch and rarely are drivers handed a penalty for causing a collision when the start is so chaotic.

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Originally Posted by henners88

I would say if the driver on the inside is in front in the braking zone, then yes they get to pick their line within reason. For example going slightly wider but still leaving room for the guy on the outside to back out. We didn't see this on Sunday, we saw Nico go to the boundary of the track in a straight line and expect Lewis to leave the track. Myself and the stewards felt that was unreasonable.

In Canada we saw Nico on the outside of T1 but half a car length behind and with plenty of opportunity to back out. In Spa a couple of years ago we saw Nico again on the outside but half a car length behind.

The inside is optimal but you need to be ahead of the other driver when reaching the corner. Nico is adding to his history of losing out to Lewis in corners and maybe needs to review how he approaches these situations in future.

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In reality , if you are there , occupying the space inside another driver in a corner , you are dictating the line , as he can't , or shouldn't turn into a car beside him .
So , to a degree , Rosberg's statement is correct .

BUT , that degree is the point at which you do not allow space for another driver who is beside you .
That applies to the straights where we saw that any part of a front wing beside a rear wheel is enough .

It is a little different in the corners , where the sighting of the other driver comes into play .
That's why Lewis gets a bye for turning in when he did .
He had a right to the track space , and said he couldn't see Nico by that time .

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Originally Posted by Bagwan

In reality , if you are there , occupying the space inside another driver in a corner , you are dictating the line , as he can't , or shouldn't turn into a car beside him .
So , to a degree , Rosberg's statement is correct .

BUT , that degree is the point at which you do not allow space for another driver who is beside you .
That applies to the straights where we saw that any part of a front wing beside a rear wheel is enough .

It is a little different in the corners , where the sighting of the other driver comes into play .
That's why Lewis gets a bye for turning in when he did .
He had a right to the track space , and said he couldn't see Nico by that time .

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I think we agree.
I doubt this will be the last time either of these two crowd somebody off the track though. Quite often drivers get away with it, but when contact is made I think it crosses the line of fair play.

You can block, defend, force another driver to back out, but forcing them off the track and crashing into each other will always attract the attention of the stewards.

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Originally Posted by henners88

I think we agree.
I doubt this will be the last time either of these two crowd somebody off the track though. Quite often drivers get away with it, but when contact is made I think it crosses the line of fair play.

You can block, defend, force another driver to back out, but forcing them off the track and crashing into each other will always attract the attention of the stewards.

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Absolutely we agree , but it seems to me that we haven't many times before on this .

I believe Nico is again trying to make a point .
I think he has one to make , but he's attempting to do it in the most stupid way .
And , you can expect he'll turn in , just as Lewis did here , the next time he's around the outside .

Your last statement is Nico's issue , I believe , as he doesn't believe that's the case at all .

I am hugely surprised after all the incidents between these two, Mercedes have not educated their drivers on appropriate attack and defence techniques. Surely this has been discussed to death in their boardroom?

I am also surprised fans on an f1 forum appear to have a better grasp of the rules and driving standards than a current driver. Nico either doesn't know, or he's playing dumb in front of the media in the hope the stewards will give him the benefit of the doubt.