Lauda is calling out Brawn's decision not to let the 2 drivers race to the end of the race Niki Lauda questions Ross Brawn's team orders | Mercedes | Formula 1 news, live F1 | ESPN F1 This should be done behind closed doors. Well run organizations should not behave like this. I'm calling out Lauda for being out of line on this
If everyone (including Brawn and both drivers) knew and agreed that Rosberg was faster, and "deserved" the podium ... then Hamilton could have slowed and allowed Rosberg to pass, without Rosberg expending any more fuel ... no? In fact, Hamilton would have saved fuel as well, by slowing. So i just don't buy the excuse that "stations were to be held" for the sole purpose of saving fuel. edit : i do agree that Lauda doesn't need to be airing this in public
I agree. Almost dying has a way of changing one's perspective on a lot of things. You have less tolerance for "politics" and BS.
It is not a excuse, the fact remains that someone has to make a decision, and that decision is Brawns, he made that choice and the drivers obeyed and brought home the cars safely. Team orders are allowed, so what is the problem. Lauda needs to keep his clap trap shut on these matters, otherwise the Merc camp will end up in a mess like the Red Bull boys are having. If a driver thinks he is bigger than the team, he needs a swift lesson and brought back into line IMO, and if the team has not got the balls to do that, leave it to karma. BTW Hamilton had slowed to the required speed asked of him.
Despite his role in the Mercedes team, Lauda still acts as a post-race commentator on German TV. He still tries to act as a neutral instance, which is how comments like that come into being...
Indeed team orders are allowed ... no problem. The team order was to keep the faster driver behind ... no problem. It was Brawn's call, and both drivers obeyed the order ... no problem. The "excuse" about doing it to save gas, is poppycock. The excuse defies logic, that's all i'm saying.
Hamilton I believe was running low on fuel, Nico maybe not so much, the argument Ross put forward was, there was nothing to gain from Nico leap frogging Hamilton, in fact if Nico had tried to catch the Bulls he most probably would have run out of fuel as well, the Mercs were running fast and good, and using more fuel then he thought they would, it all sounds plausible to me. I would imagine if the roles had been reserved the same would have applied, and I think Nico hinted at this after the race, by his comment "you owe me one" fair enough IMO keep it sweet in the team. The lesson is IMO someone has to make a decision and be it right or wrong stick by it, if not you get in fighting, the buck stops at Brawn, and he does not need others chipping in and undermining him.
Hummm, two drivers racing each other will go hammer and tongue, revs the engines to the limit, stop short-shifting, put their foot down at every occasion, try to out-brake one another, obstruct any overtaking manoeuvres, etc... Apart from risking coming off together, they will certainly not maintain the fuel flow in an economy mode, and if the fuel load was marginal to start with, they may well end up running out of gas... together at worst! I think it was the scenario Ross Brawn wanted to avoid at all cost, after consulting the telemetry. If he lied and used that as a false excuse, Rosberg will be able to check the data, for sure. For the team, scoring points for 3rd and 4th places (whoever is in front) means money in the bank at the end of the year. One car dropping out is a financial loss. I wish people who comment on F1 could understand that!
re-read my first post in this thread ... If Brawn, Hamilton and Rosberg all agree that Rosberg was faster and "deserved the podium" ... and all agree that Hamilton was low on fuel ... then there's one decision that satisfies ALL constraints : Hamilton slows down, to allow the faster driver to pass. The faster driver behind will expend no more fuel than he would otherwise, since he won't have to get "all racy" to pass, and the slower driver in front actually saves fuel by slowing to allow the pass. It would be no more of a "team order" to slow down, and allow the faster driver to pass ... then it would be to tell the faster driver to stay behind. And allowing the pass to happen would actually save more fuel, as explained above. The excuse about saving fuel was not the real reason for the team order.
re-read post #6, then post #15. No "dangerous, fuel-dumping, all-out racing" strategy needed, to tell Hamilton to slow down and allow Rosberg by. In fact, this team order ... instead of the team order given ... would save gas for Hamilton. Saving fuel was not the real reason for the team order actually given.
... plus, if you're more worried about fuel in Hamilton's car, why not let Rosberg "gently" by (as explained) and tow Hamilton home with some drafting? Can't be because "team orders" aren't allowed, since you've already given a "team order" to keep the faster guy behind. Must be some other reason ...
Ok I understood your first post, but I do not understand why you are questioning the fact it was not about fuel, or are you trying to infer that Ross Brawn is biased towards Hamilton and wants him to score max points, as he believes he has more chance over the course of the season, if so he is probably correct about that as well IMO. Hamilton was low on fuel I am 100% convinced of that, Ross told Nico that live on the radio more than once, I have no reason to believe otherwise, he said Hamilton could go faster if he wanted to. So we have Nico, no doubt more fuel on board, either he had saved it or he was filled with more from the get-go. So imagine you are in Ross B's position, you have a hard and fast rule, you say to your drivers, if we are at the back end of a race, and you are running one behind the other, hold station nothing to be gained this early in the season, the exact opposite will apply when one of you has a clear shot at the title, or is a lot of points in front. I do not disagree with your point that it would have made not much difference in letting Nico past Ham, but maybe Ross does not want grey area's and is trying to rule out confusion. I do not like team orders personally but if they are in play they may as well use them if it suits them to.
Well, at least Lauda has an ally in you! When a driver is in front, like Hamilton was, it's probably something to do with his driving during the race. Telling him he has to let pass his team mate who is behind him on the traqck without riposting is maybe a bit risky. Brawn thought he would avoid in-fighting by giving team orders to save fuel and avoid a duel. I think he should have consulted you first!!
Why not let Rosberg tow Hamilton home with some drafting, to save fuel for Hamilton? Wouldn't that "suit" the situation (Hamilton low on fuel, plus Rosberg faster) BEST? Bonus : Faster driver places higher, on the podium, just as Rosberg and Hamilton both agree. THAT team order would make sense to me!
nice try, but even Hamilton disagrees with you Give Hamilton the order to slow down, save fuel, graciously allow the pass by the faster driver, and get drafted home safely by Rosberg - or - Give Rosberg the order to stay behind (and stay off the podium), let the driver low on fuel fight the air up front Are you saying Brawn was more worried that Hamilton would ignore him, than Rosberg?
LOL, here we go! 2 races in and the cancer on the team has begun. Congratulations Mercedes on the dumbest hire in the last 10 years of F1. Yes, openly patronizing and questioning the team principal in the media is so awesome. Give me a break.
To cut a long story short, I think you should send you CV to Mercedes AMG F1 team. Who knows, they may need a race manager of your experience once they sack Brawn.
This isn't strange coming from Lauda is it? Since he gave up driving, the man has been nothing but controversial. Having been sacked from his own airline by a revolt of the shareholders, he managed to get a job at Ford as CEO of their Premier Brands Division (Jaguar, Aston and Volvo). Lauda barged in at Jaguar F1, sacked principal Bobby Rahal in the middle of a restructuration, and completely demoralised the team . Without result, Ford decided to put the team for sale: Red Bull bought it. Then Lauda lost his job when Ford offloaded Jaguar, Aston and Volvo, to avoid bankrupcy. The 3 brands had been making losses under Lauda's stewartship. Now, we see Lauda part owner of the Mercedes AMG F1 team, and already at loggerhead with team principal Ross Brawn and co-owner Toto Wolff I guess Ross Brawn will be sacked, or feel his condition undermined enough by internal politics to leave. So Lauda will have wrecked 2 F1 teams. I liked Nikki when he was driving, but out of the cockpit, the man is just a disaster.
