Head To Head Nico Rosberg vs Lewis Hamilton

[Hamberg]

Perhaps we're seeing why one leader is needed in any setup chris1981

 

[RasputinLives]

I get the impression chris1981 that something at Merc is troubling Hamilton too.

I wish I knew what it was.

 

[Hamberg]

Stopping him playing with the colourful buttons?

 

[RasputinLives]

Perhaps we're seeing why one leader is needed in any setup chris1981

Maybe now we see why 95% of F1 teams usually have a number 1 and number 2.

Lets face it. Senna and Berger never fell out did they?

 

[Wombcat]

I'm pretty sure I heard a radiomessage to Hamilton that Rosberg was saving fuel.

 

[chris1981]

I cant help but feel the team are manipulating things behind the scenes. Not necessarily in favour of 1 driver. Something just seems odd. Up until Bahrain they seemed very different. Or maybe its just me.

Would things be any different and how if Brawn were still in charge? Cant help but think things would be more open.

 

[RasputinLives]

Yeah if Brawn was in charge Hamilton woukd be number one driver and Rosberg would have to lump it.

 

[tonyw151]

I get the impression chris1981 that something at Merc is troubling Hamilton too.
QUOTE]

One thing that I have read mentioned is the team bosses (obviously to protect a 1-2 on the grid) closed ranks round Rosberg in the media after yesterday.

 

[Hamberg]

Maybe but I can't imagine the current shenanigans would go unpunished.

 

[Hamberg]

You may be right tonyw151 - this is a quote from Hamilton in the post race conference (the bit where Sherlock wasn't talking over/more than them)

"I know the team are working hard for the both of us. The team can sometimes be in awkward positions, which they were yesterday, and their job is really to protect us both and that’s what they did."

 

[Wombcat]

I cant help but feel the team are manipulating things behind the scenes. Not necessarily in favour of 1 driver. Something just seems odd. Up until Bahrain they seemed very different. Or maybe its just me.

I think they're trying to keep the drivers apart until the last laps. I haven't seen all the races, but the races I've seen it struck me that they left Rosberg out for 2 or 3 laps after Hamilton pitted. If you want to keep your driver close, you pit him the lap after the leader.

They also give them different tyres during 2nd and 3rd stint.
That wasn't possible in Monaco, since there's only one tyrestop. And frankly I haven't seen anything odd during the race. As I mentioned above, they did tell Hamilton that Rosberg needed to save fuel. And I think they also told him how many laps rosberg needed to save fuel. Hamilton can do the math himself, I hope.

 

[rufus_mcdufus]

The "Pit Limiter" message on Lewis's steering wheel display and some slightly frantic button-pushing while going through the tunnel today was kind-of odd. Reminiscent of 2007(?) when he had issues pressing the wrong buttons or whatever.

 

[Quintessentially]

I'm happy Rosberg won as a Hamilton win would've terminal for him. Gives the naysayers something to talk about and keeps the championship interesting. Amongst the many reasons, I don't think Rosberg is as streetwise as Alonso for this to descend into a 2007 farce and once the dust settles, Hamilton's superiority should see him through. Too many people are keen to latch on the small points to create a story out of it and I hope Mercedes would do a better at keeping both drivers in check.

 

[Quintessentially]

Put to him that Hamilton didn't appear in the mood to forgive and forget, Lauda replied: "Give him time. He will sleep tonight, hopefully makes a good party with Nicole, and then [he will] speak to him tomorrow and I guarantee you it will be fixed.

Nikki Lauda

 

[siffert_fan]

Is it possible, since the team obviously concentrated on re-signing Rosberg more than they have on extending Hamilton's contract, that the team doesn't think the difference between the two is as great as it appears to be to us?

 

[Mezzer]

I don't think so.

 

[siffert_fan]

I don't think so.

Then why the hurry in signing Rosberg to an extension, especially if doing so will make it harder to re-sign Hamilton, if the friction between the two men is real?

 

[pob]

Lauda has been playing up the rivalry of the two drivers in the media since pretty much the first race. He knows it will be bad for F1 and the legacy of the eventual champion if there is not a good story behind the championship, and it does make me wonder how much of the Hamilton/Rosberg fallout has been manufactured by the team, particularly in relation to what Hamilton has been saying in interviews. The media lap it all up because they are invested in making the F1 story interesting too.

Lauda also knows it's bad for F1 if Merc win by too much, and I suggest that is partly why they have engine modes available that they weren't supposed to use: they'd be too fast
[/takes off tinfoil hat]

 

[siffert_fan]

Hey, here's a rumor we start: Seb is going to replace Lewis, so re-signing Nico makes no difference to the team whether Lewis likes it or not.

 

[RasputinLives]

Then why the hurry in signing Rosberg to an extension, especially if doing so will make it harder to re-sign Hamilton, if the friction between the two men is real?

Rosbergs contract was up at the end of 2014. Hamilton's isn't up until the end of 2015 so I imagine they were already speaking to Nico about a contract extension before the season even started especially as these things take months to thrash out with all the lawyers involved so I wouldn't read much into it.