What if it was Hamilton who was Michael's teammate? Think Lewis would give MS his proper due and listen to the master a la Massa or go out and tear it up ? We already know. Nico thinks similarly and maybe that's a good thing.
May be. But, IIRC, Lewis didn't really start "spouting off" until Fred climbed out of his pram..... These guys haven't even sat in the car yet - I concur, bad move on Nico's part. The Guinness is already tasting good Cheers, Ian
I can see your point, but we have to agree to disagree on this point. Hamilton did his talking on the TRACK. IIRC, he wasn't making noises like Nico when he joined Mac in 07 to partner Alonso. He made all the right polite noises and PR speak. It's one thing to have self-confidence that you'll beat your teammate. It's called competitiveness. It's quite another to publicly proclaim it before you've even turned a wheel in anger on the track. That usually leads to egg on your face. I just personally believe Nico should have kept his mouth shut and got on with it. If he is superior he'll get all the accolades he can handle. But if he gets blown out he's not going to get much sympathy from MS, Ross, and others...not after the statements he's making pre-season. I believe we can all agree that Nico could and should have handled the situation much better (but as it's been pointed out by Aircon- he is still a young man and may not have thought things through as well as he should have).
Its all just talk to get people all worked up and it seems to be working. Anyone with half a brain wouldnt say that.
From what I've read, I don't know how Nico's comments could be interpreted as offensive. 'MS will have have a tough time adapting to an F1 car after an absence of three years'. Never been in the situation (thankfully) but I believe most of us would agree. 'I always cheered when Mika beat Michael'. Mika was managed by Keeks for a time and obviously Nico developed a friendship with him. Afaik, I believe it remains pc to state you supported your friend years ago. 'There is no heirarchy at MB'. I'm sure this was aimed at Ross if anything as a renewed tip-off he won't be placed in a Rubens-esque situation, but again, anti-Mikey? No. MS turned overtaking into 'a dangerous issue' when he moved over on Hakkinen at Spa years ago. I'm not familiar with the incident Nico refers to but I doubt there is a driver out there who all believe drove 'safely' every race. If there is, they couldn't have lasted long in F1. Ian, remember, Russian River Valley....
"Offensive" - No. "Stupid", IMHO, yes - The man is a legend, and "rookies" (by comparison) would do well to sit at his feet and learn their craft before spouting off - *If* he should beat him he'll be revered very quickly and can let his performances do the talking. If not, he'd do well to keep it shut and try and figure out *why* Michael is quicker. Stupid comment! As I said before, the car talks to Michael like no other, and he's not (IMHO) *ever* going to lose that ability. Remember, he still holds the outright lap records at some circuits - I think (?) Oh yeah
This age thing is highly overrated. I'm considerably younger than Michael, think I could outdrive him? Has Nico ever shown brilliance of a Schumacheresque level? Michael would have his hands full with Alonso or Hamilton, or Kimi back when he cared, but not Nico.
Nico will hand MS his ***. He's got the familiarity of today's car. Youth and Health. His skills, even though they may be less than MS in his day, will be adaquate. If there were open testing the gap would be closer. Although I respect MS he has never, IMO, been teamed with an equal. His Championship winning cars were just that. R Brawn better not pull any crap.
Thanks Brian! I place this F1 forum higher than others I have participated in due to the consistently high quality posts from a lot of extremely knowledgeable F1 fans. If you have been on other F1 forums you know what I'm talking about... Even when I may disagree with other viewpoints I find the majority of them to be well-thought out and articulate and have learned a thing or two... It is a pleasure to share knowledge, opinions, and learn new info on this board with everyone! I have followed F1 since 78 when the great Mario Andretti was winning in the beautiful black and gold JPS Lotus (still the most beautiful paint scheme IMO behind the classic Ferrari red with black wings and the 91 green and blue 7-up Jordan)... Frank
Nico is not a deal closer....yet. Nor is he Kobayashi. Kobayashi has a fire Nice wishes he had!! MS will do what MS does. Make the best of it and do the best he can. I voted for MS but he has been gone 3 years. Thats the only downer for me. By race 4 Im sure the points total will show a nice MS trend. I wouldnt be surprise if Nico has more very early. By season end it should be MS.
Just came back and read the poll results after reading the 'Shumie's Neck' posts from Andreas' thread. Only 16 out of 124, a measly 12.9% chose my man. To the majority of 'those in the know' (aka 108 of you on the MV Listing Severely ), all I'll say is I thought Mikey looked mighty impressive in race one. He's well within striking distance of Nico and I believed he'd need his cane to get that close throughout the season. However, I thought Nico did a commendable job also, holding up McHam forever even though (according to Planet F1) he had no top end down the straight. He also managed to pull away from his teammate after being balked in the pits by Button. It'll be interesting to watch this in-house squabble for supremacy play out while Webber and Button challenge them for best of the rest honours. Can't wait for Oz ....
No knock on Nico, but Michael's advantage has also had to do with his intelligence. Supreme performers in every top tier sport conquer at the mental level as much as the physical. I'll guarantee Michael has already put in volumes of overtime familiarizing himself with the car in every way possible, and where Nico will be bumping up against his own personal limitations, Michael will just be stepping into his potential sooner rather than later. I like Nico Rosberg, but I don't see him as a special talent. Like most F1 drivers, a 9/10 kind of guy. In my opinion, he's enjoyed tremendous mileage from his debut performance but has been mediocre since.
I wouldn't worry about it. Your avatar alone puts you on an entirely different level of understanding all things motor racing.
Hi Ian, Just checking out the 'wines of California' section of the Times.........still a fan of Pinot Noire and hoping your man makes it a contest..... Long way to go.
No longer as long as I'd like Is!..... I've said before I'm very surprised at the way this has gone down - I honestly thought the young lad would have his doors blown off by the maestro. Obviously, at least thus far, I've been wrong. Same bet next season? Cheers, Ian
If Isobel runs out of space in her wine cellar, I'm gladly stepping in with the bet. When she accepted this bet at the beginning of this year, she had a lot of gutts (and/or foresight). But by now the story is pretty obvious.
Without question, even though there's still a chance it might cost me a second case of Guinness......
