Where does Nico Rosberg go from here?

[Bagwan]

You've made your own history here Bagwan so you can't blame the perceptions others have of you. I remember back in 2010 when Vettel and Hamilton went side by side down the pitlane in China. Seb swerved and tried to push Lewis towards pit crews and hanging air lines above the pit boxes. You had no problem with that behaviour because Lewis was on the receiving end. It was that argument with you and how you conducted yourself that soured my view of you and something I will never forget.

Since then you have sided against in every single incident lewis has been involved in. You don't like Hamilton at all and make no mistake of siding against him at every possible opportunity regardless of how mild. If Lewis had thrown a hat at Nico on Sunday, you would be here saying how childish it was. At least as a Hamilton fan I can see the good in Nico and acknowledge certain incidents are read wrong in the heat of the moment.

Oh , man , you can wake up , too , henners .

Don't deal with the real issue .
Just attack me for hating Lewis .
Go ahead .

Don't actually submit any defense of his driving tactics .
Why would you ?

After all , it's way easier to call me a hater than to actually defend a driver running another off the track , isn't it ?

If you can't bother to do anything other than tell me how much I hate your favourite driver , then don't bother replying again .


As to Nico throwing the hat , I thought neither guy had any claim to class in the situation .
They both threw the hat .

[anfield5]

The gist of the thread seems to be Rosberg moaning about being bullied off the track at the start. In all honesty it was a bad move from Hamilton and if they were not in the same team there would have been a penalty. It astounds me the way Hamilton can be, he is the first to moan to the team when anyone else gets within 3 feet of him, but he is often the first to make moves like this, so Nico had some cause to be bitter. On the other hand it is part of racing, and Nico lost the race because he slid off track in the closing stages, so he has nothing to moan about anyway.

As to Rosberg's future. He is a number 2 driver, not a team leader. As a number two he does a great job, usually finishing just behind the team leader, and able to win the odd race. He needs to be happy with this, because this is what he is. If he wants top spot in a team hed will need to move down the grid, because the same situation would be seen at Ferrari, Red Bull, McLaren and Williams. I would also guess that he would fall behind either of the Force India drivers if he were put along side them

[steveaki13]

Since when did drivers running a rival out of road become a terrible crime?

I remember Montoya getting upset at M. Schumacher doing it at Imola, Kimi did it too Schumi at Melboure. It must have happened loads. Yes some may not like it but really its hard but always happens.

Nico should try and do the same to Lewis.

If you are on the inside you dont own the corner, but can take the line you choose. Its hard to justify in some ways, but also its silly to try and stop.

As I say. Nico needs to try and get into position to do it and then he will win.

[steveaki13]

if they were not in the same team there would have been a penalty.

This is a worry. I mean if its a penalty its a penalty however it should not be.

Way to many penalties these days. F1 is not a non contact sport. People have always banged wheels. However the last 5 years or so has seen a massive increase in silly penalties.

[henners88]

Since when did drivers running a rival out of road become a terrible crime?

I remember Montoya getting upset at M. Schumacher doing it at Imola, Kimi did it too Schumi at Melboure. It must have happened loads. Yes some may not like it but really its hard but always happens.

Nico should try and do the same to Lewis.

If you are on the inside you dont own the corner, but can take the line you choose. Its hard to justify in some ways, but also its silly to try and stop.

As I say. Nico needs to try and get into position to do it and then he will win.

Exactly. As long as they are not ploughing into each other and causing silly damage it is fine. Putting your car in a position to force the other driver to react is part of racing and always has been.

Incidents like this draw emotion depending on who is involved and goalposts are moved to suit.

Rosberg has lost two championships in a row now and at some point will be expected to play second fiddle. Let them race but the team surely have to favour the better driver mid to late season in future.

[rjbetty]

Right then.

Yes, it was dirty and at the time I was disapointed with Lewis for it. I hoped he'd show a bit of class and let Nico past again but I guess he didn't feel like that after Monaco and Spa... which I can also understand. How destructive to Nicos psyche would it have been for Nico though if Lewis had done the right thing, showed real sportsmanship by letting Nico past again then gone on to beat him? Something to think about Lewis.

THIS! I would rather he'd done it that way. This is one of the reasons I always liked Fisi so much, cos he didn't seem to have a devious bone in his body, was totally fair, no mind games, and when he beat a driver you knew it was purely on talent.

So , "like a few others" isn't including any others ?
Max V. would be one who Kimi complained about . But , I guess I didn't actually mention his name , did I ?

And Monaco '14 was nothing like this . Don't blur the point .

Max Verstappen is another one I've noticed who there seems to be an inordinate dislike for. As it happens, I don't love every aspect of the attitude he's shown.

I'm absolutely not trying to blur any point, my sincere feelings are that it seems unfair to be entirely happy to see how Lewis was screwed at Monaco, but then cry blue murder over a (every?) small or non-existent issue on Hamilton's end. Just doesn't seem quite honest. :/

I'm not going to nag everyone to post the way I'd like, just pointing out somethin'.

Nobody is utterly spotless , it's true , but this is consistent behavior , and as far as I'm aware , against the rules .
He get's away with it because his team mate is handcuffed , whereas Kimi gets told you must leave room , and is punished .

Well if it becomes clear that Lewis really is taking it too far (Nico being unhappy doesn't necessarily mean anything is wrong) rather than some just trying to make an issue out of anything concerning Lewis, then yes I would like someone to have a word and it be stopped.

I've never been a fan of "hanging out to dry", exceeding track limits or any of that stuff that's allowed. Back in 2000 in particular, people had an issue with Schumacher always moving over off the start line. I loved Schumacher but didn't particularly care for that stuff even though it was legal. In a perfect world I would love every fight to be like Ricciardo and Alonso at Hockenheim last year.

Again this is why I liked Fisi so much; even though he wasn't great in a wheel-to-wheel scrap (Villeneuve labelling him 'bad') I couldn't get any sense he was malicious.

I am getting a little tired of having Hamilton fans tell me that it's only because I hate him that I see his driving the way I do .
Wake up , Mr. Betty .

Well it really does look that way tbh, just sayin :/

(No-one's completely free of bias but I like to think I least try)

[Duncan]

The only current driver that I can think of who could probably put up with Hamilton and not be sucked into his psychological games... and even win a psychological war against him: Daniel Ricciardo. He's a real life version of Bugs Bunny. If Lewis had tossed that cap to him, he'd have probably put it on backwards, leapt up, done the cabbage patch dance and kissed Lewis on the cheek... while telling him that he better savor #3, cause he would be wearing the crown next year. But Nico? No, by his reaction, it's clear that Lewis has now taken up residence inside his head. And Lewis is not a good tenant to have living inside one's head - just like his idol and mentor weren't.

Nice... LOL

[The Black Knight]

Not that I'd claim to understand Hamilton's psyche, but who is his idol? Senna. The same guy who b!tch slapped Eddie Irvine and put a finger in a young Michael Schumacher's face to establish an alpha male dominance. And who brought Lewis over to Mercedes and has been his mentor while there? King Rat, Niki Lauda - another dominant alpha male type. How has Hamilton always treated teammates who were (perceived) threats to him, even in junior formulas? Not kindly - even if they were a double world champion. Everything about him says "black hat". He even tends to sport the black Mercedes cap after the races. I think that's just who he is. But I don't think of Lewis as a true alpha male, dominant type. He seems more passive aggressive. Unlike Lauda and Senna, he's not an "in your face" kinda guy... more a sucker punch kinda guy - more like Vettel, IMO. But he's only out to win and takes no prisoners. I don't see much difference between Hamilton and Vettel, personality wise (on track).

Thinking back about the world champions over the past 25-30 years or so, I can think of only three who seemed to fit the mold of "nice guys": Damon Hill, Mika Hakkinen and Jenson Button. To varying degrees, all of the rest of them had some degree of a-hole about them. Piquet, Prost, Senna, Mansell, Schumacher, Villeneuve, Alonso, Raikkonen, Hamilton, Vettel... For better or worse, the days of the gentleman driver in F1 seem to be behind us. I think Lewis' disrespectful attitude toward Rosberg is simply a reflection of that, plus who he has idolized and what gets him what he wants. He doesn't see Nico as an equal by any means. And now, I don't think Nico sees Nico as an equal - which is what Hamilton wants. That's just like how Vettel wanted it with Webber.

The only current driver that I can think of who could probably put up with Hamilton and not be sucked into his psychological games... and even win a psychological war against him: Daniel Ricciardo. He's a real life version of Bugs Bunny. If Lewis had tossed that cap to him, he'd have probably put it on backwards, leapt up, done the cabbage patch dance and kissed Lewis on the cheek... while telling him that he better savor #3, cause he would be wearing the crown next year. But Nico? No, by his reaction, it's clear that Lewis has now taken up residence inside his head. And Lewis is not a good tenant to have living inside one's head - just like his idol and mentor weren't.

LOL This gave me a real good laugh and you're probably right. There is massive psychology involved in all levels of sport no matter what sport you follow, whether it be soccer, tennis etc I haven't really noticed Hamilton trying to out-psyche Rosberg that much. At the end of the day, I think that Rosberg will rue intentionally taking Hamilton out of Spa last year because to me that was the turning point. That really ruffled Lewis's feathers, so he got his head down and said, "Right, this is war and I am going to destroy this guy". Ever since then Lewis hasn't looked back and, apart from one or two races here and there, Rosberg has been nowhere near Hamilton's pace. I honestly feel that was the turning point of that partnership as Lewis knows he has the beating of Rosberg anyway so he just decide enough is enough and this guy is going down.

The only driver I can think of whom has won a world championship that maybe didn't have that psychological edge over their teammate was Damon Hill because that was Jacques first year in the sport and he was learning the ropes so to speak at the time anyway.

The whole hat incident after the race has been blown completely out of proportion and I think Nico was more annoyed at himself because he threw away the race than anything else. One thing I noticed from the press conference is that Nico looked a very Jaded man. He looked emotionally and physically beaten, which is the first time I have seen that from him. I think he realizes now that he is not going to be able to win a WDC with Hamilton in the same team as him because Hamilton is simply better.

One thing people need to realize is that these guys are all human beings and I don't think there is ever anyone whom can win a WDC and please everyone. Incidents such as the first corner in Austin which I would regard as hard racing, others regard as foul play by Hamilton. I'd have been completely okay with it were Hamilton on the outside and Rosberg the inside and that happened. That is just part of racing and sometimes your wheels rub. Now if Hammy had tried to take Rosberg out of it I'd say it was foul play but how anyone can look at that first lap incident in Austin and blame Hamilton and then look at Spa last year and not blame Rosberg just stinks of serious double standards.

[Mia 01]

I Think Kimi will put up a fight next time, ehhh, Max. Please Nico, don´t hold your hand up. And, there was a smirk little smile on Wolf and Laudas faces right after the first corner incident.

http://planetf1.com/news/raikkonen-c...clarification/

[Rollo]

As to Rosberg's future. He is a number 2 driver, not a team leader. As a number two he does a great job, usually finishing just behind the team leader, and able to win the odd race. He needs to be happy with this, because this is what he is. If he wants top spot in a team hed will need to move down the grid

There is the obvious solution... he could put in the extra hours like someone like Senna did and learn every single technical aspect of the car and then beat Hamilton by simply finding that 1%.

If Rosberg moves to any other team, he's sunk. Even being No.1 at Ferarri ain't going to help him a gnat's nadger. He needs to beat Hamilton at Hamilton's game by being faster... somehow.