Where does Nico Rosberg go from here?

[Big Ben]

The BBC article seems to be where planet f1 have quoted it from and they appear to have lifted pieces out of it for sensation and removed context. Read the full article is my advice.

I don't think Lewis is miffed because the team didn't favour him. I think he was miffed because he was being asked to pit earlier than needed in order for Nico to maintain the lead. Had Lewis completed another 3 laps it is likely he would have jumped Nico. As a driver I can see his frustration, but the team needed to boost Nico's morale so I can see why they did it.

I've actually read the BBC article first and didn't even read thie whole article on planet f1.

[rjbetty]

He told his team he didn't trust them .

And then , afterwards , told them he believed they had lied to him about the safety of his tires .

He , very publicly , questioned his team .
It's not a way to build trust .

Here's a spoon bags, might help with scraping that barrel out...



As for Nico R, here's a quick summary as I see it (off the top of my head)

2013
Much closer than most anticipated including me probably. I always rated Rosberg and knew he could be very quick but he had just come off a 2012 where Schumacher showed him up quite a bit, so I didn't know which Rosberg we were going to get for 2013. As it turned out, Hamilton and Nico were too close for comfort though Hamilton definitely ahead in both qualifying and points (regardless of reliability etc). I always just put this down to it being Hamilton's first year in the team and expected him to pull out a gap from 2014...

2014
...Except I was one who doubted Hamilton's focus and bought into the whole Nico "cerebral" thing, so I was convinced he would take the title, so much so I actually put a bet on it - over £200! - something I have never done or plan to do again. Anyway, that preconception, just like my dosh, went down the pan since Hamilton was almost always quicker in the race, and despite the stats I think he had a tiny edge overall in qualifying pace, but didn't manage to convert his pace into actual Saturday results well. Quite a lot of that was on him though.

2015
I actually think Rosberg may have done a better job this year than last year, if only marginally. It's just that reliability and stuff haven't distorted the picture so much. There were a few tactics early on, like deliberately blocking Hamilton's qualifying lap in Malaysia - easy to see, though not to prove. I don't recall Bagwan starting a thread about that by the way. Rosberg has also gone for a more race-oriented approach it seems, which also explains the qualifying this year, as well as Hamilton stepping up his own game.

I have long believed and still believe Nico is one of the top drivers in F1 and one of the very best over one lap, probably since about 2010. I thought he was probably better in qualifying than someone like Button back then, and Niki Lauda, Schumacher and Brawn all seemed to agree his qualifying is top notch.

Prospects for 2016
Can't see how he can really beat Hamilton over a season if it's already 3-0 unless something unusual happens like Hamilton breaking his arm, which Sebastien Loeb can tell you is quite possible. Expect more top drawer driving but again just a little short of crème-de-la-crème I guess.

[Bagwan]

Thanks , Mr. Betty .

Did I boil it down a little too far for you ?

I read an interesting comment on JA's site , where the poster remembered Lewis saying that , in a past race , Nico should make the pass on his own if he thought he was faster , relating it to this race where Lewis remarked that he couldn't get close at all in the dirty air .

In both cases , Lewis was ahead , and questioning the team because he thought he knew better .

It caused a lot of friction both times , but I guess it won him championships both years .

What more can you ask for ?

[truefan72]

I've read his comments too. He's a very graceful man. It's just so easy not to like him. He's basically bitching and moaning the team didn't favor him. Apparently the team having the same strategy for both drivers means the team is extra warm to Rosberg. What an a$$***

why should the team have the same strategy for both drivers?
If one guy can make it to the end with his tires and the other can't, why should the better driver have to come in to pit as well?
SMH

And you have it twisted, he is not complaining about the team not favoring him, he is complaining about the team[i]favoring Rosberg[i]!
and the fact he wasn't allowed to run his race. If you are going to slate him, at least get the facts right

[truefan72]

You see thirst of winning, I see a spiteful person

do you even know what the word spiteful means?
lol

[AndyL]

why should the team have the same strategy for both drivers?
If one guy can make it to the end with his tires and the other can't, why should the better driver have to come in to pit as well?
SMH

And you have it twisted, he is not complaining about the team not favoring him, he is complaining about the team[i]favoring Rosberg[i]!
and the fact he wasn't allowed to run his race. If you are going to slate him, at least get the facts right

Rosberg wasn't allowed to "run his race" either. They both got the same instruction.

[truefan72]

Thanks , Mr. Betty .

Did I boil it down a little too far for you ?

I read an interesting comment on JA's site , where the poster remembered Lewis saying that , in a past race , Nico should make the pass on his own if he thought he was faster , relating it to this race where Lewis remarked that he couldn't get close at all in the dirty air .

In both cases , Lewis was ahead , and questioning the team because he thought he knew better .

It caused a lot of friction both times , but I guess it won him championships both years .

What more can you ask for ?

...and that was China 2015 not Malaysia, and Nico was complaining that Hamilton, who mind you, was in the lead was not going fast enough and vettel was catching him up from behind, which was of course just a bunch of lunacy. That topic was much discussed at the time. How you have somehow managed to relate that ridiculous situation with Hamilton complaining about dirty air in mexico is just an astonishing thing to watch. I've heard about grasping at straws but this is on a whole other level. lol

[truefan72]

Rosberg wasn't allowed to "run his race" either. They both got the same instruction.

Wrong, Rosberg was in the lead and the decision was made, presumably by his side of the garage, or even worse paddy lowe. It was his prerogative to do what he wanted/needed to do. He could have told them his tires were ok or accepted coming in. Because they did that with his car, doesn't mean they have to do it for hamilton's car.
I simply don't understand how some folks don't get this. I see absolutely no reason for them to have made that call other than to hand Rosberg a pity win.

I don't recall Mercedes asking Rosberg to come into the pits in Monaco, despite a monumental 32 second gap from Hamilton prior to the SC
Where were all you guys there talking about fairness, or complaining that Hamilton wasn't "allowed to run his race" then.
oh well

And TBH i bet you most of you would be applauding a "tactical Masterstroke" by Rosberg if the roles were reversed and he decided to stay out. then have a go at hamilton for throwing away his race and saying things like "ultimately he is the driver in his car..."
oh wait...yeah, you guys did say that for monaco 2015
lol

[N. Jones]

I think that if Rosberg wants to stop Hamilton from pushing him wide he should not move. Let the crash, then Lewis will stop.

[AndyL]

Wrong, Rosberg was in the lead and the decision was made, presumably by his side of the garage, or even worse paddy lowe. It was his prerogative to do what he wanted/needed to do. He could have told them his tires were ok or accepted coming in. Because they did that with his car, doesn't mean they have to do it for hamilton's car.

Do you have any basis for the presumption I highlighted other than your own bias? Rosberg did not need to pit for tyres any more than Hamilton did. They were doing the same lap times.

I simply don't understand how some folks don't get this. I see absolutely no reason for them to have made that call other than to hand Rosberg a pity win.

I'm sure some folks are having as much trouble understanding how you don't get it. How is calling in both drivers handing Rosberg a pity win? It made no change to the positions in the race, which Rosberg was already winning.

The call was not "Oh Nico needs to pit, we'd better pull Lewis in as well so Nico can still win." The call was "both cars might get in to tyre trouble before the end of the race, and we have a pit stop in hand, so we'll call them both in for a precautionary stop."