Mercedes Inter team Battle - Hamilton Vs Rosberg

the pattern continues

on a slight off topic note but related

so what's going on with Mercedes
Why are they not at the very sharp end of the grid with the likes of RBR Ferrari and now behind Lotus?
they have all the resources in the world and a strong racing heritage as well as a decent racing pedigree in many other series

Why has lotus leapfrogged them, and why can't they get their development better?
This is the 2nd year in a row that their rear end issues are coming up again.
I though it would have been sorted out this winter.
Is the issue with the design team?
How can you make the same fundamental mechanical error 2 years in a row?
they probably have twice the budget as Lotus, and probably somewhere near RBR's
I can understand the mclaren problem as they only build a good car every other year, but I know by mid season they will get their act together and probably win a race or two
Mercedes on the other hand seem to have a development ceiling.
Perhaps they should have spent more time recruiting engineers and such rather than spend all their resources on getting a 6 headed hydra team managment system.
All those guys do nothing for the race performance of the car and only had layers of confusion, especially in decision making.

the pressure must be on ross brawn!!

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Originally Posted by truefan72

Why are they not at the very sharp end of the grid with the likes of RBR Ferrari and now behind Lotus?
they have all the resources in the world and a strong racing heritage as well as a decent racing pedigree in many other series

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Very simple. They do not have a strong car to base upon. The 2013 RB is still basically an evolution of the 2010 car, as is the Lotus. What happens when someone tries to build a strong contender from scratch is comprehensively shown by McLaren this year.
And you mustn't forget that Merc until last year had Loic Bigois as their chief designer, who is the world's most useless aerodynamicist.

They have beaten Lotus comprehensively so far this weekend though.

Well, Nico has just pulled an unlikely pole out of the bag and vs Lewis has pulled one back in the Qualy stakes. With Lewis's 5 place grid penalty Merc really needed Nico to rise to the occasion and boy hasn't he done it in style!

Well done Nico, fantastic pole lap, I'm very happy for you!

Very good performance from Nico today. Will he make his advantage count on race day though?

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Originally Posted by Knock-on

Very good performance from Nico today. Will he make his advantage count on race day though?

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According to Horner, Bahrain is a track where overtaking doesn't cost much time in terms of lap time, so qualifying position may not be that important. In the end it will be a tire-eco-run again, anyway.

Well done Nico two super laps.

He surely will fade in the Race. I just dont see Mercedes as being fast or soft (on Tyres) enough to hold the win.

So overall we still haven't got a proper picture of the quicker driver. Lewis certainly looked quicker in P3 and to have hte measure of Rosberg but then his car wasn't right for qualifying and he was simply a sitting duck for half the race.

Rosberg then was awesome in qualifying, stunning lap but couldn't make his tires work the way Lewis could. Thus far Lewis is winning the battle overall.

I think thats a fair reflection above.

I have been suprised quite how mighty Nicos Quali pace has been, but Lewis is still coming out on top in most races.

This will be a mighty interesting battle this season.

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Originally Posted by steveaki13

I think thats a fair reflection above.

I have been suprised quite how mighty Nicos Quali pace has been, but Lewis is still coming out on top in most races.

This will be a mighty interesting battle this season.

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Nico seems to have gambled with the setup and lost big time. His setup made him quick in quali, but according to his post-race interview it made his car very tail-happy on a full tank, which more or less immediately wrecked the rear tires, which are a perennial Mercedes problem to begin with.
Another reason for me to get rid of the Pirellis. Back in the day a dodgy setup would have cost him 3, maybe 4 positions. These days even a slightly sub-optimal setup will make your tires expire quicker than a copyrighted youtube video and you drop back like a rock. Someone remember Kimi losing 10 positions in a single lap last year?

Come on, be homest. Stop beating about the bush. You secretly love Pirelli and want Pauls love child ;)

Lewis is the favoured son. No battle in this team. I´m sorry for Nico

I think you'll find there is no proof to suggest either is favoured. Nico has been given the same equipment as Hamilton and both have had pole positions but the cars have not been strong enough in race trim. Time will tell but it's a little early to declare Hamilton as the chosen one, lets not be over dramatic lol

After all the heated debates, I thought injecting a little fun wouldn't be too bad :D

Florian König and Kai "no sense of fashion" Ebel of German broadcaster RTL reminisce about the good old days at Monaco with König claiming that there sadly aren't any dare-devil drivers in F1 anymore.
Suddenly a wild Nico Rosberg appears :rotflmao:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Kq1Y...layer_embedded

Third pole in a row for Nico. Third time Hamilton has been out qualified by his teammate. I can't ever remember that happening before. It's interesting that Hamilton stood up when it mattered and set in a blistering lap time but has been lacking pace to Nico all weekend. Nico is beginning to show his class something I have been waiting for, for a long time. 3 - 3 in qualifying trim. Hamilton hasn't seemed comfortable in the car over the last couple of weekends. I feel he hasn't bedded into the team as much as he would like yet but I'd say he's doing a reasonable job overcoming his issues and is never too far off Nico's pace when it matters. Hopefully they'll sort it over the coming races and we'll see what these two great drivers can do together.

One thing it does show though is that, last year, old man Schumacher was still no slouch!

will it be payback time for Nico in Monaco? will Ham put on a whinger if told to hold position? :devil: :p :andrea:

naw,


Ham will be smart and bid his time, try to keep vettel behind him, , while Nico smokes his tires, leaving Hamilton taking the race.







Opps did I mention the tradition of brilliant pit strategy of Merc over the last few years--even the last race? I change my answer:


Hamilton will be whinging again, I can not go any slower, while the pit assures him that their strategy is working and he will move up from 12th place as soon as the Caterham of Van the Garden pits for its first stop halway through the race.... :(

Meanwhile Nico is trying to look cool as he can in tenth place, while keeping the Caterham behind him....

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Originally Posted by markabilly

naw,


Ham will be smart and bid his time, try to keep vettel behind him, , while Nico smokes his tires, leaving Hamilton taking the race.







Opps did I mention the tradition of brilliant pit strategy of Merc over the last few years--even the last race? I change my answer:


Hamilton will be whinging again, I can not go any slower, while the pit assures him that their strategy is working and he will move up from 12th place as soon as the Caterham of Van the Garden pits for its first stop halway through the race.... :(

Meanwhile Nico is trying to look cool as he can in tenth place, while keeping the Caterham behind him....

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:rotflmao:
To make up for the pain - have some gorgeous chicks :D
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqWkyxJCGmY&feature=player_detailpage

His accent ruined it for me. :(

Here we go!

Rosberg is yet another driver to show that it is easy to underestimate a driver if he gets stuck in midfield cars for many years even though does a competent job there. It obviously poses a great interest, how does the battle unfold during the rest of the time of their partnership together. Obviously Hamilton hasn't fully settled in the team either yet. So as always, we are going to see fluctuations in one's or other's favour. But what is clear, is that Rosberg can race anyone when he hits a purple patch in form. Which he has done for now.

The current battle reminds me a bit of the early 2007 Massa-Räikkönen dynamics. Kimi was new into the team, so Felipe had the upper hand even though results-wise he had a bad start into the season (6th in Oz, 5th in Mal).

Montreal is one of Hamilton's strongest circuits. He has either won or retired there. And when he retired, he was a victory challenger as well.

Nobody has ever beaten Lewis so consistently yet. What it shows is, that Rosberg was much underrated so far and that Schumacher, despite his age, wasn't as slow as the car made him look since his comeback.

Well done to Nico and its great to be getting an upper hand now on the car and Lewis, but I find it hard to rate his win or any of the top 4s races as good today.

No One in the top 4 looked like pushing hard to doing much else than driving to Deltas. Because of the state F1 is in these last seasons I find it one of the least impressive Monaco wins.

Sorry but thats how I feel.

He wasnt challenged, had he been I am sure he could still have won and shown his class. This though was just lifeless.

Quite pleased that Nico won. Hopefully he can string a few more good weekends together like that, and make the championship fight interesting.

Hamilton struggling with brakes since he joined Merc. A bit scary given that he's not that far off the pace from Rosberg.

This reminds of 2007 when Kimi and Alonso admitted they were struggling to adapt to the Bridgestone control tyres and as with Hamilton we're talking a hundredths to a few tenths of a second. Alonso and Kimi could be devastating when the car was right.

How Nico Rosberg has put the brakes on Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes in 2013 - so far | Features & Experts | Sky Sports Formula 1

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Originally Posted by wedge

Hamilton struggling with brakes since he joined Merc. A bit scary given that he's not that far off the pace from Rosberg.

This reminds of 2007 when Kimi and Alonso admitted they were struggling to adapt to the Bridgestone control tyres and as with Hamilton we're talking a hundredths to a few tenths of a second. Alonso and Kimi could be devastating when the car was right.

How Nico Rosberg has put the brakes on Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes in 2013 - so far | Features & Experts | Sky Sports Formula 1

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Yeah it's been clear he hasn't been too comfortable in that Mercedes. The body language of the Mercedes car doesn't echo the usual Lewis Hamilton to me. He'll bounce back but it might take him some time.

Well Hamilton clearly was the quicker of the two Mercedes drivers this weekend and it seemed that was the case throughout the whole weekend as well. I was surprised that he out qualified Rosberg as he still isn't 100% comfortable in the car. Still though, fantastic driver over all.

4-3 to Hamilton in qualifying ratio :)

He done great.

people moaning about Mercedes, but car is better than last years Poles, front rows, wins and podiums show that.

Perhaps the extra testing has helped him. ;)

Oops... sorry I forgot they were just testing the tyres.

Incredible lap by Hammy! 5-3 in qualifying. Still leading the way overall for Mercedes!

There seems a feeling Nico is dominating, but 5-3 to Lewis in Quali and leading the points race.

The one thing he needs is that win, lets hope it somehow comes tomorrow.

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Originally Posted by steveaki13

There seems a feeling Nico is dominating, but 5-3 to Lewis in Quali and leading the points race.

The one thing he needs is that win, lets hope it somehow comes tomorrow.

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That would be nice as I know it must have hurt watching Nico win at Monaco. I know many hold Monaco in high regard but for me, nothing would feel better than winning yours and the teams home GP. It's a big ask but hopefully Merc have the pace this time, fingers crossed. :)

Monaco was a funny one. Merc made a bit of an error bringing Lewis in when they did. It should have been a 1, 2, but Nico would still have got the win.

Why do you think consensus is that Nico is winning the battle Steve? I hear he is doing a sterling job and really upped his game this year but Lewis is regarded as being the top driver. They are the best performing pairing on the grid but I expect Lewis to widen the gap in the second half of the season. Remember who said Merc will surprise people this year since wayyy back at Brazil ;)

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Originally Posted by Knock-on

Monaco was a funny one. Merc made a bit of an error bringing Lewis in when they did. It should have been a 1, 2, but Nico would still have got the win.

Why do you think consensus is that Nico is winning the battle Steve? I hear he is doing a sterling job and really upped his game this year but Lewis is regarded as being the top driver. They are the best performing pairing on the grid but I expect Lewis to widen the gap in the second half of the season. Remember who said Merc will surprise people this year since wayyy back at Brazil ;)

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Yer I think its cause some seemed to suggest that Lewis would wipe the floor with Nico maybe? Or at least be ahead most of the time, but Nico has done a great job and I am sure next weekend he will be determined to give a good account at home.

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Originally Posted by steveaki13

There seems a feeling Nico is dominating, but 5-3 to Lewis in Quali and leading the points race.

The one thing he needs is that win, lets hope it somehow comes tomorrow.

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You should keep in mind though that Lewis was arbitrarily kept in front of Nico albeit being much slower in Malaysia and that Nico fell back in Canada due to a braindead team decision to run the softer compound twice, so Lewis isn't dominating Rosberg either. They are very close in performance.

Come on DJ. Team orders are pretty standard after the last stop unless you're Seb ;)

Nico had done well this year and surprised me but Lewis has been at least on his pace from the start in a new car and new team. We can chew the fat in November :D

One moore win for Nico.

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Originally Posted by Mia 01

One moore win for Nico.

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Yes, Mercedes seem to be on a better development curve since Lewis came aboard.

I think Nico is very greatful to Lewis for his hard work, if he gives it a bit moore Nico can perhaps have another win.

It was a real shame that Lewis had his bad luck at Silverstone, but with a bit of help, Mercedes did what any top team needs to, if one retires from the lead then the next driver needs to take the win.

This is exciting. Nico has 2 brilliant wins, but Lewis has had some bad luck and it really could have been 1-1.

I see Mercedes being strong here and Lewis has won here twice so maybe he can challenge for that first 2013 win.