Gerhard Berger, Karl Wendlinger and others apparently think so:...
Gerhard Berger, Karl Wendlinger and others apparently think so: http://www.motorsport-aktuell.com/automobil/berger-kritisiert-mercedes-sind-nicht-bei-werbespot-dreh-3989374.html They think there was no need for Nico to save fuel because of the safety car phase. They think MB was orchestrating a more elegant outcome for MS on his 20 year anniversary. Quite frankly I have a hard time believing this. Also worth pointing out: The article goes on to state that Berger is in full support of MS' comeback.
I also have a difficult time believing this for the simple reason that Nico's lap times did not change. Both Michael and Nico had smoked tires for the last 3-4 laps and by the last lap and a half they were lapping about on the same pace. Final two lap times: Nico 43: 1:52.680 lap 44: 1:52.780 Schu 43: 1:52.590 lap 44: 1:52.550 These lap times for Nico are consistent with every lap from lap 32. Laps 41 and 42 were slightly slower for Nico due to the Virgin traffic (Michael took a tow from one) and other traffic.
At the end of the day, team orders or no team orders, MS started last. And where did Nico start? End of story.
Ok not my words, but from a blog a interesting take: The Mercedes GP Petronas team ended up with a good result in Belgium with Michael Schumacher finishing fifth and Nico Rosberg sixth. When the busy executives in Stuttgart have this piece of information shoved beneath their noses, between reports about truck sales in China and production figures in Estonia, they will feel good about it and will perhaps begin to wonder if, after 18 months of disappointment, the resurrection of Michael Schumacher was as good an idea as they had hoped it would be. In F1 circles almost no-one thinks Schumacher is doing as well as a younger man might do. In part this is because Nico Rosberg remains a figure who is not really rated by a lot of the big players, although perhaps he should be. Rosbergs problem is that he had a famous father and has never really done anything in F1 to lift him into the really big league. Beating Michael Schumacher on a regular basis should be considered a fabulous achievement, but when people think Michael is well past his best this undermines Nicos status as well. In Spa it was clear at the end of the race that Rosberg was none too pleased with the result. He had been told on the radio to save fuel and everyone instantly assumed that this was a coded message for him to allow Schumacher to overtake. The fact that this is what then happened underlined that the assumption was not an outlandish one. The point of interest for Mercedes was that it matters not at all whether the drivers finished Rosberg-Schumacher or Schumacher-Rosberg. The points tally was the same either way. However the extra points gained by Michael as a result of the switch meant that he went from 10th to eighth in the Drivers Championship, overtaking both Nick Heidfeld (who was not at Spa to defend himself) and Vitaly Petrov. This may not amount to much, but it means that the two drivers are no longer separated on the list, and although Schumacher has still only scored 77 percent of Rosbergs total, it looks at a glance that the two drivers are more or less where they should be, given the performance of the car (which can be blamed on the British end of the operation). This means that not only was there a feel-good factor about Michael doing well on his 20th anniversary in F1, but the executive moustaches in Stuttgart are less likely to twitch and ask whether Michael is still worth the investment. There are still some in F1 who would like to see the Mercedes driven by someone else, as a yardstick to see whether the current duo are getting the most from the car, but calls for that sort of thing are less likely now
I hear you, but let's be fair. Nico has always kept W02 where W02 is capable of and has done so very safely. Michael on the other hand, pushes W02 very hard and is faster on race pace yet his behavior is very Hamilton-ish and yields the occasional mistake. This is what makes Michael the more exciting driver. When everything Michael tries to do comes to fruition, it's amazing. Nico gets the car where it can be and nothing further and almost seems satisfied. Hamilton and Button have a similar situation. Ham is a far more exciting driver, but he's half crazy doing so (love that guy for it too!).
Well, Schumacher started last and managed to get right behind Rosberg. It was obvious that Schumacher was faster than Nico this time. And he had soft tyres too. With or without team orders, he would have passed Rosberg anyway, so it was just a question of making it safely.
That's sort of the impression I get too. With the tyre difference being recorded as 1 second per lap, I can't believe the result was NOT contrived. As always, we'll never know. The MS haters will believe it was team orders alone and the MS lovers will think Nico held him up
Nicco has more points than Michael this year. What would MBZ yeild by having Michael pass him. MS is the best driver in F1, I believe the record books will confirm that. He just flat drove a better race than Nicco, and most other drivers on the track. There must have been a lot of team orders in place amongst the other teams for him to go from dead last to fifth!
F1 is a bit like a change sorting machine. It doesn't matter in what order the change goes into the machine, the quarters (RedBull) go one place, the dimes (Mclaren, Ferrari) go in the next place, the nickels (MB, Renault) go in the next place and the worthless pennies, which we have far too many of, go in the last place. If Nico had started last, he would have probably finished 5th or 6th, and due to different strategies when you start at the back, he may well have had tires in better condition at the end of the race. The DRS has made this situation more obvious, as it is now relatively easy to pass the slower cars.
I-Man, remain clenching those two fine bottles of Pinto Noir until Vanilla Nice assists me in unburdening you for a second season.....
+1 While it was a great drive by MS coming from last, we have seen these things before: With a somewhat decent car (and I rate the MB as the best of the midpack) you can cut through the field from last to about the front of the midpack. That is normally where it ends as you can't reach the front runners. At least not without a super car as e.g. Webber had when he came from the back of the field (China?). DRS and a wide track like Spa helped MS' effort. As well as the fact that Spa is a driver circuit where some people (normally the best) shine more than the field. So in a perfect storm it came all together for MS. I'm not so surprised by his drive (which was great, no question), but more by the fact that he managed to catch Nico. Whether it was ultimately team orders or not that let him go by (if it was, MB played it safe and I have no problem with that) doesn't really matter. That said, I don't think MS would have ended up further ahead even if he had started on his regular grid position (like 8 or 10, whatever). MB cannot break the RB/McLaren/Ferrari pack of 6 cars unless those drivers make a mistake.
Exactly. Looking back at the race today, Nico had the amazing start and was leading the race. So in some ways he had as good a race as MS, but with them both eventually ending up where they fall in the big picture.
Mate I disagree, if Michael had started where Nico did I have no doubt that he would have been on the podium?
A gold star from Is! I'm so excited! Thanks m8. But the kudos really should go to you: Your metaphor of the coin sorting machine is brilliant and spot on. I never thought of it, but will use that going forward because that's exactly what happens so often, particularly now that we have DRS sorting out anomalies.
I don't see how it would have been possible. I think the MB is just too slow. I could be wrong, but I don't recall seeing the lap times from the MB that the RB was showing (only when it needed to). I think Vettel was in cruise mode for a lot of that race.
Yup. There was no way either MB was getting anywhere past where they were. The kudos to Michael is the same type of kudos given to Webber for having a poor start (which he does all too often) and fighting his way through the field to the podium. The car is capable of it, all it requires is a driver who can muck their way through the traffic and blocking attempts and a) not destroy the car, b) not make a mistake while passing etc ruining any progress. It's definitely a knife-edged walk from mid pack to the front with all the crud on the field and their various meanderings. Several drivers are good at it, Vettel not really being one of them IMO.
