2015 FORMULA 1 JAPANESE GRAND PRIX: RACE *** SPOILERS ***

Like i said...Nico will never be WDC. He's just afraid of Hamilton. Then he regrets and pulls a long grumpy face during the post race conference.

Look at Hamilton. He don't seem to give a rat's @$$$ about anything, and is enjoying every moment beating Nico.

 

And this is why I have absolutely no respect for Hamilton; with all his talent, he doesn't have to resort to dirty tactics, but he keeps doing so.

Nico Rosberg is a gentleman.

 

Hamilton: an air of serenity - Formula 1 - Motor Sport Magazine

 

I would be quite serene with that income. Winning or losing doesnt matter LOL!

 

I personally would've let Hamilton hit me. I'm 40 points behind in the championship with Vettel right on my tail to replace me as 2nd place. The team isn't supporting me and Hamilton has everything to lose, not Rosberg. He needs to grasp that mentality. Hamilton and rosberg take each other out in 2 races and guess who's in the lead?

 

Yes, Rosberg let himself being intimidated by Hamilton's antics on the track, like at Turn 1 at Suzuka. Hamilton squeezed Rosberg off the track, and the later had to take evasive action, back off and loose 2 places before he could recover. That was plainly obvious from the inboard camera on the German's car. In fact, that move is against the FIA guidelines; closing the door violently after an overtake is frowned upon by the stewards.

Rosberg should have shown the same aggression, stuck to his gun and let Hamilton hit his car. Probably both cars would have been off, but Hamilton would have known that now the gloves are off, and the Mercedes management would have taken notice too.

As long as Rosberg plays nice guy and takes the insults from his team mate without flinching, Hamilton will get on top of him. Just look at Spa last year, the incident gave Hamilton something to think about. Rosberg is often the faster of the two, but he is too much of a gentleman. He needs to show more aggression and fight for his part of the track.

Hamilton v. Rosberg is like Schumacher v. Damon Hill, or Senna v. Prost. In all cases, there was excessive aggression and bully tactics. There are some people you have to reply in kind. No good moaning after the race; if they don't leave you space, let them pay for it!

 

I'm not sure I see the issue with the Hamilton's overtake. For a start he was ahead of Rosberg, secondly he was under steering his way to the outer limit of the track so couldn't have tightened his line. The responsibility for avoiding the accident rested completely with Rosberg and he did the right thing by backing off. That's the end of it.

 

You may not have an issue with Hamilton's move, but I have.
Rosberg was denied the space and had a choice: going off the track or being hit by Hamilton's car. Being a good boy he did the former, but was fully entitled to choose the later.
The guidelines are that you give space to your opponent, and not drive him off the road.

Had Hamilton not shoved him off the track, Rosberg would have had the inside line for the next corner. Hamilton drives "dirty". That's the end of it.

 

Do you know how to stop understeer?

 

Well you are certainly entitled to your opinion and that's fair enough. But no investigation was suggested or even considered for Hamilton driving another competitor off the road. Rosberg didn't raise it himself as an issue. No penalties have been imposed. However, the armchair critics, with far less info or experience than the racing community who were there seem to think it's ok to pass judgement. I guess all that really says is that the Japanese GP was so dull and devoid of action or incident that we have to fixate on the minor stuff. Oh well- it will be a long wait until Russia!

 

Yes. But if you are ahead and on the racing line, why should you be forced to lift off?

 

They were side by side, weren't they? AND....as has been said, Nico had the inside line for the next corner.

Anyway, as your post said, Lewis was understeering straight into Nico, so that shows it was intentional....rightly or wrongly is another matter.

 

I don't think Nico 'played nice' or was intimidated at all. Hamilton got the jump on him (and he was down on power) but Nico didn't just give way to him and allow him to move ahead. He battled side-by-side through the first two corners and simply ran out of space (because Hamilton had the inside line by that point). I thought he cleanly challenged his teammate to the very edge without the race ending in tears for both.

There was simply no way for him to push Hamilton through that complex and come out ahead. I'm certain his goal was to challenge him through the corners in hopes Lewis made a mistake. He didn't and took the lead. It initially cost Rosberg positions but he drove well to reclaim them.

I just don't know what he should have done differently...I didn't see him back down, but rather fought as well as he could under the circumstances.

 

The footage clearly showed Rosberg backing down to avoid contact with Hamilton, causing him to wander outside the track where there was less grip probably, and that's how he lost 2 places within a few meters.

Rosberg didn't choose to go outside the track, but he finished there because he was deliberately pushed.

I don't care if Hamilton wasn't challenged by the stewards about it; it just shows that the guidelines about leaving space to an opponents are not strictly enforced.
IMO, Rosberg should not have backed off, but kept his line and we would have seen contact between the 2 cars. And if the 2 Mercs are eliminated by this, so be it!

Rosberg didn't show his mettle at Suzuka like he did at Spa last year. He shouldn't give an inch to Hamilton, or Hamilton will walk all over him!

I know this: it takes less time to get back to the pits to change the nose and front wing, than to crawl all the way back with a rear puncture!

 

I wonder if Rosbergs mistake was not deciding to back off earlier and slot into second place. His decision to keep his foot in meant that when he did eventually back out, he ended up compromised and off piste resulting in a drop to 4th place and effectively blowing any chance of victory.

 

Being second IS blowing any chance of victory. That's how it's been all year.

 

Only if the driver in second lacks the ability or confidence to over haul the guy in front... And I suppose in this case that tells the story. I like Rosberg and I respect his sense of fair play, but I fear he lacks self confidence now vs Hamilton. Shame really as last season was a great season long battle, but this year is turning into a bit of a capitulation. Doesn't bode well for next year - no body (well, with a few notable exceptions!) wants that.

 

You might be right about Nico, but generally the car in the lead, running in fresh air, has such an advantage that they're almost guaranteed a win, and there's nothing the following car can do about it.

 

True - unless the following car is being driven by a man on a mission. Witness Max Verstappen - he seems to find a way passed most things including his team mate...

 

Lewis and Nico are too evenly matched for the follower to overtake the leader in a time when F1 is an endurance race well fuel and tyre conservation is so important. Just my opinion based on observations this year. Following a car just takes too much out of the tyres, and trying to power past uses too much fuel.

 

I would agree with that. Nico is less combative than last year.
I wonder if he has been "instructed" to drive like that, but I don't know.
It seems to me that Mercedes is backing Hamilton fully at the expense of Rosberg; that's my feeling. Maybe Rosberg waits for his chance one day, or one year?

Nico is a charming man, a bit "under the weather" now; he is fast and qualifies well usually but doesn't race with great aggression. He reminds me of Damon Hill who had similar qualities and used to loose his confidence if racing close to a competitor.

As an aside, his father Keke was a hell of a fighter on the track, and in the same circumstances Hamilton would have had problems with him!

 

True. I think he's turning into Mercs Webber equivalent. Fast, but destined to be seen by the team as a number 2 driver. I wonder if he'll look for a new team in 2017, or if he'll do a Massa and cling on at Merc way beyond his 'sell by' date?

 

If you can't win, it's better to come second than the alternatives IMO.

 

Things did not change this year but at Spa last year. Self confidence was taken off him after Spa, the last time he "did not back up". This is why he did this time or who do you think Toto and Lauda would have blamed if he did not and the two cars crashed? We all know...But still they say that the two drivers are treated equal....

 

^^^^this....sad but true.