Poll Was Hamilton right to not yield to Rosberg?

[Hamberg]

That's crucial to this argument. Not putting up a fight (which Hamilton probably wouldn't have) is very very different to having to slow down to let Rosberg through.

Rosberg was told by the team that Lewis was letting him through, therefore Nico needn't challenge him. Nico didn't challenge him because he didn't think he had to. That's why he kept asking, not because he asked for it. Without being told that we may have seen a little battle.

 

[snowy]

When Alonso pitted for his softs Ted Kravitz said he didn't expect to see him again.

 

[Mephistopheles]

I'm going to say I'm not sure and there isn't an option for that in this poll at the end of the day it was good for Hamilton bad for Rosberg and probably cost Merc championship points which the team will not be happy about no matter what there lead at this point in the season also it is going to be bad for their relationship as team mates and it could come back to bite Lewis in the future if the roles are reversed at any point and if this does happen I can only imagine the uproar and indignity that will be let loose on this forum.

Bearing that in mind we will have to see what the long term repercussions are as we now know that Rosberg will not move over for Lewis in the future and may actively defend against him costing them both and the team...

 

[Brogan]

Hamilton was right to ignore team orders, says Lauda

http://adamcooperf1.com/2014/07/27/hamilton-was-right-to-ignore-team-orders-says-lauda/

 

[Mephistopheles]

Yeah but Lauda is a bit of a knob...

 

[Bullet190]

The uproar will depend on the circumstances I think. If the roles are reversed you will probably see Lewes on the gearbox of Nico and not 1 second behind. In that senario if Lewes goes for the overtake then Nico shouldn't defend hard, if of course Lewes is 1 second behind then they shouldn't ask Nico to slow down for him.

 

[Mephistopheles]

Just painting a picture like I said I'm not sure, so we will have to wait and see Nico looked fairly pissed off to me, from Hamilton's point of view it was right and from Nico's point of view it was wrong so just pick a side.

Nico wasn't all over Hamilton's gearbox but then he may have thought he didn't need to be as he expected to be let through it is a fair enough assumption given they were on different strategies maybe that was a flaw in Nico's thought process I don't know, if the team had pitted Nico at that moment then he would have probably beaten Lewis anyway with fresher tyres..

 

[Chad Stewarthill]

FendermanIn hindsight, we can all say that it was a simple decision to pit Hamilton again, but at the time, most people were saying that there was no chance that Rosberg would catch up again!

I thought at the time of Rosberg's last stop that Hamilton should have immediately pitted for softs. If I could think of that, why couldn't Mercedes?

 

[Hamberg]

Agree there, Lewis wouldn't have sat back for 8 laps. Despite the conclusions some have drawn about Rosberg he's compliant and operates within the boundaries of the rules including those the team set down. Do you all remember the "you owe me" race?

I think Lauda summed it up perfectly and was honest, as was Toto about what was going on. Quite refreshing after four years of no erm yeah.

 

[Hamberg]

from Nico's point of view it was wrong so just pick a side...

Nico didn't say that did he? He seemed confused at best and wanted to hear from the team.

 

[snowy]

I thought at the time of Rosberg's last stop that Hamilton should have immediately pitted for softs. If I could think of that, why couldn't Mercedes?

Interesting that Niki Lauda mentioned that Mercedes were panicking. Headless, mindless chickens, springs to mind, not unlike what we used to see at McLaren.

 

[Mephistopheles]

I'm just saying that I can't imagine Nico would think it was right so he must think it was wrong.

 

[The Pits]

the loss of wcc poi.ts is hardly going to dent mercedes chances of winning, and the message to Lewis was basically "let Nico finish in front of you " so personally, i am very pleased that he did not let him through. besides, they were racing, and they are allowed to race, right?

 

[The Artist.....]

Ok, let's flip it around.

Was it correct for Vettel to ignore team orders in Malaysia 2013? Or was it correct for Rosberg to follow team orders in the same race? If you believe it was correct for Rosberg to follow the team orders, then it was wrong for Hamilton to ignore them today.

 

[Mephistopheles]

Well it is only natural that people will decide that depending on which outcome they prefer from my point of view I don't care one way or the other but it makes for a good topic of discussion....

 

[Hamberg]

I personally always like it when a driver doesn't follow them if they have something to lose by following them. By not losing you are on different strategies where you clearly aren't racing each other.

It usually separates the champions from those nearly men right?

 

[Mephistopheles]

I'm not really sure it is as clear cut as team orders it wasn't meant to favour one driver over another or give number one status to one driver or another it was simply meant as a way of optimizing both drivers strategies or more correctly not to compromise one driver because the other was on an alternate strategy, we have seen drivers let their teammate through on numerous occasions under these circumstances with nary a blink of an eye..

It isn't even in same ballpark as the FIFTY order.

 

[ZakspeedYakspeed]

If nico was close enough to make a run on Lewis I have no doubt that he would not threaten the teams chances of two cars finishing.... I am also quite certain that Lewis was driving a beautiful defensive strategy against Nico passing him more so than looking to get further up the road.... That was his ultimate goal today ... If nico is behind me keep him there at just about all costs...

 

[Mephistopheles]

So not a team sport at all then, I wonder why people keep telling me it is..

 

[rufus_mcdufus]

Nico was 3/4 of a second behind Lewis and not closing fast (in fact not closing at all by the time he got in DRS range, and seemingly falling back in places) despite being on fresher tyres. Why should Lewis slow down considerably to let him past? Surely the onus was on Nico to at least get close to passing him rather than just sitting back waiting for Lewis to do something?
If Lewis was holding Nico up then it's different, but he wasn't.