Hamilton deserves more respect

the rules will be fluid until Merc gets their car dialed in.

 

Good luck with that.

They're going to have less wind tunnel time than Ferrari, Red Bull, and Renault. They also can't just turn a knob in the engine to compensate for aerodynamic inferiority like in years past, nor can they just dump money into the problem, until they hit the jackpot.

Designing and testing those mule sidepods might be the dumbest thing Mercedes ever have done. That money and all of that real world testing is gone. Now, they'll have to make hard decisions about how much money and wind tunnel they put into the W13, before they need to consider when those resources are best used for next years car design.

 

In the race I watched at the end of last season, Perez in a hopeless car kept Hamilton behind him for quite a while, while on the last lap when it was all on the line Hamilton didn't even put up a fight. He's done.

 

To be fair, Hamilton knew a collision with Perez would end his chances, so he had to be careful.

Now the last lap in Abu Dhabi? He just rolled over. Didn't even try to defend.

 

So you base your opinion on the fact that Lewis on old tires could not defend against Max on fresh tires . How does that even hold as an argument ?

 

I agree HAM was on old tires, and while it would be fun to point out that Mercedes probably could have given him new tires when MAX pitted (although I don't know 100% sure they had a spare set of tires available), I have to add that even if you're a 7 time champ, and it's the LAST LAP of the LAST RACE, and your COMPETITOR is trying to pass you to be the WORLD CHAMPION, well, if you don't defend like crazy in THAT situation, then I have to wonder what you're doing.

Perez keep HAM behind and swapping places in the back to back DRS zones was just a fun battle, and it allowed VER to catch up.

Bottom line, Max is the champion. 2022 is an all new year.

 

Mercedes just blew it. Case closed.

 

This is exactly right. Perez schooled Hamilton on how to keep a much faster car behind him, on the very same day on the very same track. Hamilton didn't show up to defend, stomped his feet afterwards, boycotted the award ceremony, and in the process proved everything that's been said about his character. QED.

 

The argument is that Hamilton didn't even TRY to defend. And that argument holds up quite well!

We can only speculate as to why. Hamilton knew that any collision would be ruled against Verstappen, so that excuse has no merit. Was Hamilton still mentally unhinged, after his team failed to give him fresh tires? Maybe ... the radio communication clearly showed his "displeasure". Was he just counting on the stewards to ultimately rule in his favor, as they had many times in the past? We may never know.

 

Give it a ****ing rest. Case closed.

 

OK, then where was the great attack from Hamilton when Perez was defending? Surely he's better than Sergio who was driving a 2s/lap slower car at the time.

 

Did he lose the season the same way? What about when Rosberg, nobody's GOAT, beat him straight up?

 

Fact is , with DRS present , a car in the lead on old tires vs the car following with fresher tires has no chance to defend especially when both cars are close in performance . That is not open to argument , anybody who has raced knows this .
During my years of racing and i have raced cars with and without ground effects , and we did not have DRS , when the tires were shot , they were shot , you were a sitting duck for a another car that had similar performance and good driver .Now imagine your competitor just came out of the pits with a fresh set and you want Lewis to look like he tried to defend . He did the best he could given the circumstances and best of all , he didn’t crash or cause a crash . That is what I call mature driving
There is so much hatred towards Lewis that is impossible to have an unbiased discussion about anything relating to him .

 

Alonso defended heroically... Perez defended like a legend... Lewis, not so much...

 

Lol , circumstantial where totaly different. Neither Alonso or Perez had the car right behind pull within a few inches of the lead car , as a max was almost at par with Lewis , at the restart .
But of course , Lewis was at fault there too .

 

Yeah, both Alonso and Perez were in cars just 0.2s/lap slower than Lewis... Both cars were hopelessly slower. Like 1-2s/lap. Both drivers successfully held Lewis up when it counted. Did Lewis hold Max up for even one corner? Even the biased commentators were surprised Max got by so quickly and easily.

 

Not even a single defensive move, for the championship, on the last lap of the final race? Passively allowing a pass, that will lose him the championship?
... only to then aggressively purse, well after the pass? How could Hamilton's tires be so worn out to allow the pass, but then recover well enough to aggressively pursue moments later?

That's not a sign of maturity, in my view ... in fact, quite the opposite. That's what I call reactionary driving.

 

I think you need to refresh your memory a little bit.

There was NO DRS available.

Also false. Yes Max was alongside to intimidate Lewis (or whatever the plan was there), but by the time they got going Max was behind Lewis...as in front wing behind Lewis' rear!

Yes Max had new tyres, but Lewis had the faster race car. Fact of the matter is that Mercedes could've pitted and stayed ahead but gambled on the SC staying out. Lewis' tyres weren't shot, his laps prior to the SC where consistently among the fastest of anyone. I see no reason why he couldn't put up a defense, apart from not expecting Max to attack in the place where he did, as that place would've left Max wide open for 2 counter attacks.

 

Bas.
You are right , there was no DRS , my bad . It made no difference in this situation, .
For the rest , you are arguing for the sake of it .
We are not talking about the MB strategy here ,!has already been beaten to death .
Lewis didn’t defend because he couldn’t , if you don’t grasp the tire issue , I can’t make you .
It doesn’t make him a deadbeat or lame as he is portrayed . Any aggressive move by the defending car seems to be met by scrutiny from the stewards and they give out penalties like M&M’s.
We are not going to agree on this so let’s leave it at that

 

This is a great point, seems very true.