Lewis Hamilton doesn’t expect a ‘free-for-all’ contest between himself and his Mercedes team mate in Abu Dhabi, despite Mercedes being unable to improve its championship position in the final race of the year.
Mercedes has already won the constructors’ championship, Hamilton has taken the drivers’ title and, in the last race, Nico Rosberg secured the runner-up spot. However Hamilton doubts that will lead the team to give its drivers a free rein on strategy.
“I don’t really have any thoughts on it to be honest,” said Hamilton when asked about Mercedes’ strategy for Sunday’s race. “It doesn’t really matter what my thoughts are.”
“We’re going to be racing, the strategists will give us the best… whoever’s up ahead will have the best strategy and the guy behind will have the second-best strategy. So I don’t really have any thoughts on it.”
After Hamilton followed Rosberg home in Brazil while urging the team to change his strategy Paddy Lowe said they would not allow their drivers to “pursue a bad alternative strategy at any cost”.
For the first time in his career Hamilton clinched his third world championship title before the final race of the season. He described his 2015 campaign as his best so far.
“It’s been the best year, obviously, of my career and a very fortunate position. A lot of great work done by my team. Probably one of the best races for me was Austin, obviously, pinnacle of the year for me.”
HS (@hsvdt15)
26th November 2015, 12:31
Why is this an issue now? It has been the same all year hasn’t it?
Psychotext (@textuality)
26th November 2015, 12:37
I’m guessing this is an issue now because Hamilton has found himself in second place a couple of times recently.
Jayd
26th November 2015, 22:22
Or he’s just answering a question put to him by the media. You must pay more attention to the words within the quotation marks and not the ones outside. They can distort statements to whatever is desired, as clearly proven with your response.
Peppermint-Lemon (@)
26th November 2015, 22:25
Yep, it has you’re right.
———————————
Some people wont want to acknowledge this, but : Hamilton is a whiner. When he is beating Rosberg its because Hammy is the best, yet when he is beaten by Rosberg its everyone elses’ fault but his.
The guy needs to grow up.
RaceProUK (@)
27th November 2015, 0:04
It’s amazing how many people will believe anything published by the tabloid media, and flatly refuse to think critically about what they read.
HS (@hsvdt15)
27th November 2015, 0:55
Couldn’t agree more!
BasCB (@bascb)
27th November 2015, 6:32
Yep, seems Hamilton has now had that disadvantage for a few races and starts to see how it really is hard to pass your teammate in an equally fast car. Guess there is just nothing to do but start pulling out the great laps in qualifying. Or hope that Nico starts making mistakes again while under pressure with Lewis pushing behind him.
OmarRoncal - Go Seb!!! (@)
26th November 2015, 12:36
Lewis usually annoyed me for his non-racing-related stuff, but now he is getting really annoying making his team look responsible for not winning the last races. He should be more grateful that his team has given him a rocket good enough to give him a podium even in some lackluster races.
RaceProUK (@)
26th November 2015, 15:07
The guy was asked a question, and he answered honestly and succinctly by stating the same thing that Toto Wolff has been saying all year. So why is it an issue now Lewis is saying it?
Fudge Ahmed (@)
26th November 2015, 21:34
He was quite clearly asked, he didnt calla press conference to make this announcement did he.
Peppermint-Lemon (@)
26th November 2015, 22:27
Agreed
markp
26th November 2015, 13:08
I am sure he was just responding to the same question being asked by journalists trying to stir things up. All I take from the comments is he cannot be bothered to keep answering but has to so stated the obvious.
Melvin (@)
26th November 2015, 13:15
true, but he always seems to put some extra in it. like:” whoever’s up ahead will have the best strategy and the guy behind will have the second-best strategy,” basically saying he was faster, but the team cost him the victory.
markp
26th November 2015, 14:24
Or equally what he is saying means that Rosberg was compromised during races this year more than Lewis as Lewis has been the car in front more often than not? I think it is just a throw away answer and as other drivers this weekend they are going through the motions with the press.
Suky (@jimsuky)
26th November 2015, 16:16
Nico was never a treat to lewis because when lewis was in front nico was trying to fend off vettel or someone else therefore, the team tend to call nico into the pit first so that vettel will not jumped him during the pitstop. So he was most of the time not close enough to lewis. If you noticed most people tend to say that when lewis is on pole the race will be a bore feast, but when lewis is not on pole you see comments such as at least will have a race up at the front. That is the difference.
EF1
27th November 2015, 1:11
@jimsuky – Um, they made an extra stop last race to cover off Vettel……Whom was Vettel threatening? Hamilton, who was in 2nd. Heck they had to stop again because Ham kept chewing his tyres trying to prove he was faster than ROS, but all he was faster at was chewing his tyres whilst ROS tried to stick to the original plan to stop one less time, knowing Lewis was not going to get past anyway. What a silly way for HAM to save face, but not unexpected, its always the same when he is not winning. Sorry, but I feel everything you said is just another HAM fan generalisation fail.
Suky (@jimsuky)
27th November 2015, 7:48
I knew someone was gonna mentioned Spain which is fine cause that was one occasion, when they mercedes actually stopped lewis first instead of nico to cover vettel and they still managed to messed that stop up. Whereas nico was fighting with the ferrari most of the time, China, bahrain, monaco, monza, can’t even pull away from vettel at Suzuka compare that to lewis pulling away from vettel in the first stint , USA. This season lewis hardly fought with the ferrari compare to nico
Mike
26th November 2015, 19:41
I think you are likely right. He must be bored of the topic.
I also imagine they sat down within the team and went over it. You can’t expect him to be happy about last race, but, you can expect him to understand it. And it seems he does.
dex
26th November 2015, 13:21
Lewis says he has been trying no different than before he won the WDC in Austin, but he must have lost a little motivation, even subconsciously. It was enough to lose that 10th or so that Nico was behind. Also Nico has gained motivation, having lost the WDC, but at the same time the pressure lifting off has done him the world of good to get in front of Lewis.
I fully expect that from Aussie 2016 with the pressure back on both drivers that Lewis will take up his rightful place in front again i.e. business as usual!
markp
26th November 2015, 14:26
I would say drivers do not have a rightful place they have to be faster then they are the car in front?
Kingshark (@kingshark)
26th November 2015, 20:03
Rosberg has been looking faster since Russia now (before Lewis wrapped up the WDC). It was only a throttle failure when leading and an unfortunate SC whipping out his 11 second lead which has prevented him from 4 consecutive pole positions to 4 consecutive wins. What Rosberg did in Mexico and Brazil is something that he has been threatening to do since Russia: dominate from the front.
EF1
27th November 2015, 1:14
Exactly, well said @kingshark. Love the HAM fan defensive excuses etc sprouted by some though, him and his fans are at least entertaining, although not always in a good way :-)
BasCB (@bascb)
27th November 2015, 6:36
Pretty much that @kingshark.
Rosberg had been looking to get back into that stride he had last year with a lot of pole positions more or less since the start of the season, but Hamilton proved too strong in the early part of the season. In the last couple of races Rosberg has seemingly found a sweet spot for himself and has used that to convincingly put his stamp on the latter part of the season. Now its up to Hamilton to find where to pull out that little bit extra from and try to get back ahead, or settle for second best :-)
Robbie (@robbie)
26th November 2015, 13:42
Poor attitude. So is he saying NR was handcuffed to do anything about him by the team in all those races where he got pole over NR? Funny it seems to me NR hasn’t complained about inferior strategies in spite of the times he was stuck in LH’s dirty air. I thought the strategy was to treat the drivers equally but it seems to LH that is the equivalent of second-hand. How entitled he sounds, like he should be able to call his own shots and forget the team part of the game. Even when the team says ‘bad idea’ he can’t let it go and insists he knows best. Forget the overall picture for the participants who actually spend the hundreds of millions, including paying him, to send him to fame and fortune. Poor LH. But ‘he has no thoughts on it’. Ya right. Sounds like it’s all he’s been thinking about.
Scepter (@scepter)
26th November 2015, 14:37
When was Nico ever close enough to argue he could have had a preferred strategy? and i’m talking about being in DRS close, not his usual 2 or 3 seconds behind. fact remains that the drivers are only allowed to race on track and not in the pits which is also a part of racing.
Kingshark (@kingshark)
26th November 2015, 19:46
I don’t see any difference between Hamilton’s wins in Australia and Canada compared to Rosberg’s wins in Mexico and Brazil. If there is, then please enlighten me. Hamilton fans who are complaining about strategies now are just looking for excuses to why their driver has been outpaced lately, by a driver who they themselves announced as nothing but a #2 midway the season.
Kingshark (@kingshark)
26th November 2015, 19:51
@scepter
Rosberg also finished closer to Hamilton in Australia than Hamilton finished to him in Mexico. Likewise, the gap at the end in Brazil was 7.7 seconds. I don’t care if Lewis looked faster in the second stint, he destroyed his tyres trying to pass Rosberg (who at the time was under the impression that they were doing 2 stops). When Rosberg changed to a 3 stop, Hamilton’s “pace” suddenly disappeared.
Scepter (@scepter)
26th November 2015, 21:14
Well if you can’t see the difference you weren’t paying attention, Lewis was up the backside of Nico for over 10 laps unable to overtake in Brazil, when did that happen in Canada or Australia? it’s one thing for driver to be 3 or 4 seconds behind asking for different strategies vs one who was constantly in DRS and suggesting an alternative strategy. I don’t see why it’s so hard to understand racing is done on the tracks and it the pits.
Kingshark (@kingshark)
26th November 2015, 22:18
@scepter
The only time when Hamilton was “right up Rosberg’s backside” in Brazil was for about 7 laps, between lap 18 and lap 25. At the time, Rosberg himself said in an interview after the race that he was under the impression that they were going to do a 2 stop strategy, while Hamilton was pushing without regard for his tyres and without an eye on the strategy. Rosberg was saving tyres as much as possible (explains his odd line going into the Senna S) while Hamilton was not saving tyres at all.
Oh btw, where exactly did Hamilton’s “incredible pace” go in the 3rd and 4th stint, when Rosberg was on the same page as him (strategy wise)? Why did Lewis finish 7.7 seconds behind Nico in the end?
There wasn’t any difference between Australia/Canada and Mexico/Brazil, there just wasn’t. In fact, out of the 4 races, Rosberg’s win in Brazil was comfortably the most convincing in the end.
Scepter (@scepter)
27th November 2015, 0:47
Why are you saying Rosberg was saving his tyres what prof do you have of this? why would he allow himself to be in the DRS zone, with Lewis all over him that’s not called saving tyres. he’s going flat out that’s why.
“Oh btw, where exactly did Hamilton’s “incredible pace” go in the 3rd and 4th stint, when Rosberg was on the same page as him (strategy wise)? Why did Lewis finish 7.7 seconds behind Nico in the end?”
That looked like a guy who had resigned himself to 2nd, he wasn’t going to get differing strategys to Nico and DRS between similar cars was ineffective.
Kingshark (@kingshark)
27th November 2015, 1:17
@scepter
“the pressure was on in the second stint, because Lewis was completely exaggerating. We were on for a 2 stop, and his tyres just died completely after that. There’s no way in this world he was going to make a 2 stop work like that. I was trying to not push too much but make sure that he doesn’t have the chance to attack me. That forced us to go on 3 stop as well. From then on, I was comfortable, I had the pace today. I pulled out a gap in the end.”
From 1:50 onward:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhxX4eZOwBw
This whole “Hamilton gave up” and “Hamilton let Rosberg win” is just a bunch of nonsensical excuses from certain members of a fanbase that are too arrogant to accept the fact that his teammate can occasionally outpace him.
As for that 7.7 second gap in the end, yeah sure, Lewis just let Nico build that up for his won amusement.
Scepter (@scepter)
27th November 2015, 2:37
So from that video you got the impression Nico was saving his tyres? he said they were on for 2 stops and then went to a 3rd, there wasn’t much tyre saving going on.
“This whole “Hamilton gave up” and “Hamilton let Rosberg win” is just a bunch of nonsensical excuses from certain members of a fanbase that are too arrogant to accept the fact that his teammate can occasionally outpace him.”
You have seen enough F1 races to now to know that with the WDC wrapped up and two similar cars, if he didn’t get the lead at the start, there wasn’t going to be any overtaking, it’s not like they were racing at Spa or Bahrain. so it’s perfectly logical to think he gave up.
Kingshark (@kingshark)
27th November 2015, 5:12
@scepter
Again, read:
“the pressure was on in the second stint, because Lewis was completely exaggerating. We were on for a 2 stop, and his tyres just died completely after that. There’s no way in this world he was going to make a 2 stop work like that. I was trying to not push too much but make sure that he doesn’t have the chance to attack me. That forced us to go on 3 stop as well. From then on, I was comfortable, I had the pace today. I pulled out a gap in the end.”
During the early parts of the second stint (the only time when Lewis ever looked quicker than Nico), Nico was at the time under the impression that they were doing 2 stops. If you don’t believe the man’s own words, look at the way he was driving through the Senna S when Lewis was attacking him. Very conservatively, early on the brakes and a conservative line to save his front tyres. Brundle himself even said during commentary, that either he was doing a lot of conservation, or he had brake problems. He didn’t have any problems, hence it was conservation of the tyres.
The myth that Brazil is a particularly difficult circuit to overtake at is one which is perpetuated by Lewis’ whining and excuses. Don’t believe me? Here’s a poll back in March 2014 on which circuit is the best for overtaking. Interlagos was 2nd, behind only Spa, and ahead of Bahrain and every other circuit.
http://forums.autosport.com/topic/192571-f1-which-track-is-the-best-for-overtaking/
Interlagos has always been one of the best circuits for overtaking, and even when Hamilton was pushing like a maniac while Rosberg was conserving as if his tyres still had to do another 25 laps, Lewis still couldn’t pass him. At the end of the day, Hamilton simply didn’t have the pace to win.
EF1
27th November 2015, 1:30
@scepter, please do us all a favour pull your head out of the sand. Picture a scenario where Hamilton was in front and they were going to 2 stop, but Nico kept being annoying and turning his engine up etc pushing all the way and sticking close to Lewis. Lewis finds this funny and merely controls the pace, allowing Nico close, but never close enough o pass, all the while protecting his tyres so they last for a 2 stopper. Now Nico’s tyres are starting to feel the pain, and Ferrari behind decides to convert to a 3 stop and begins going faster on the soft tyres. Nico by this stage cannot make a 2 stop work, where as Lewis can, but because the team now has to pull Nico in for a 3 stop, they decide to do the same for Hamilton for the sake of fairness so Nico is not attacking on fresher tyres at the end. Hamilton is a bit miffed as he knew he could make 2 stops work and wasn’t pressing as hard as he could in order to save some tyre life, but pits as requested. Now they both have the same tyres and amount of stops again to get to the end of the race. Hamilton rejoins in a bunch of traffic allowing Nico to catch up to within nearly a second again. Nico is pushing hard with the last of his fuel (engine modes being all but used by Nico at this stage, have to start thinking fuel saving to get home), even gets a fastest lap thanks to some very well timed/lucky DRS passing of lapped cars, but Hamilton has been cruising all race and now he turns it up and starts to really use his tyres knowing he will make it to the end. Nico suddenly begins to drop back, quickly. 1.2 seconds becomes 3,4,5,6,7 seconds. Hamilton cruises home whilst Nico feels frustrated and prepares his ‘ you could see I was faster all race but there is no way to pass a car etc etc etc’. But we all know that’s a distortion of the real facts isn’t it?
Now here’s the thing, reverse the names and there is the Brazillian GP of 2015. It is what it is, no amount of PR babble or fact twisting will ever change that. Don’t be so disrespectful to the average F1 fan to think that they don’t see it for what it is and can make sense of all the BS, they can. F1 has been around a lot longer than social media, and so have its fans. :-)
Scepter (@scepter)
27th November 2015, 2:10
Nice bit of speculating you did there, nothing based in reality or fact, just the ramblings of a bent out of shape Nico fan.
Suky (@jimsuky)
27th November 2015, 8:26
You wrote an entire thesis on speculation
Suky (@jimsuky)
26th November 2015, 16:01
Difference is when lewis is in front nico is busy fighting off vettel or someone else for second place. I can count how many times nico was called into the pits before lewis just to keep nico in second. China, Monaco, Spa, Suzuka. Also when lewis and nico are in front by themselves nico has had alternative tire strategy lewis has never had that luxury.
EF1
27th November 2015, 1:17
lol same reply to this as above, what you have described is EXACTLY what Mercedes did in Brasil to protect Lewis’ second place from Vettel. Vettel was only about the same distance to HAM as HAM was to Vettel at the finish line.
Suky (@jimsuky)
27th November 2015, 8:05
Difference is lewis wasn’t stopped first to cover vettel, nico was stopped first, so vettel was never a threat. Can you also point out when lewis was on an alternative tyre strategy when both driver are on their own up front when two stopping in a race. I can point out a few for rosberg bahrain 2014 Option, Prime, Option, Spain 2014 again OPO. This shows that mercedes at least gave nico something to play with tyre. Whearas lewis is always on the same tyre as nico every stint when mercedes are two stopping in a race.
Suky (@jimsuky)
27th November 2015, 8:21
Mercedes was always going to cover vettel with both cars when ferrari switch to three stopper, so your point is pointless
Charles
26th November 2015, 16:21
.most of the 2015 races that Lewis won had such a big gap to Nico. When Rosberg wins Lewis is only about 2 seconds behind. Rosberg was under pressure from Vettel in Austin
Charles
26th November 2015, 16:25
Lewis was never troubled by Nico in all the races he finished ahead of Nico. Nico actually asked the team to tell Lewis to speedup instead of him trying to attack and attepmt a pass. He accuses Lewis of driving him into Vettel. Here is Lewis trying to bit his team mate on at least an inferior strategy. LH44. True champ
Mike
26th November 2015, 19:44
Well, that’s not really fair is it. I think if Lewis’ came on the radio and said that Nico was backing him up into Vettel, I don’t think you’d say the same thing for that situation.
pSynrg (@psynrg)
26th November 2015, 20:17
That didn’t happen, it’s pure fantasy.
Kgn11
26th November 2015, 14:02
For those who are so apoplectic about what Lewis said, let’s not forget Nico has said the very same thing as well in China. So why is Lewis now being perceived as ‘ungrateful’?
RaceProUK (@)
27th November 2015, 0:05
Because it’s easier to hate than it is to think.
Kingshark (@kingshark)
27th November 2015, 7:07
@raceprouk
That could not be any more true about plenty of Hamilton fans, at least if you read the reactions on here:
https://www.racefans.net/2015/04/13/hamiltons-pace-frustrates-massively-compromised-rosberg/
The scenario is the same as Brazil, only the exact opposite. Instead of discussing the aero regulations and Mercedes’ strategy policy (which is what was done after Hamilton complained in Brazil), Rosberg is labelled a crybaby and he should “just overtake” if he was faster (notice how the dirty air effect was ignored). But when Hamilton complains about not being able to pass, it is clearly because of the aero regulations instead of Hamilton’s lack of pace/skill whatever.
EF1
27th November 2015, 1:18
hahaha here we go….. Do you remember what all you HAM fans and Hamilton himself said when ROS said this at China. You guys and Ham all laughed it off as ‘bad loser’ and ‘can’t overtake’ etc etc. Well diddums, same applies here too, just this time its to your hero :-)
RaceProUK (@)
27th November 2015, 16:43
I bet if you compared the comments here to the comments on the article @kingshark linked to, you’d find a lot of people saying the same thing on both.
RaceProUK (@)
27th November 2015, 16:43
That is, agreeing that the lead driver gets the better strategy because they’re the lead driver.
lockup (@)
26th November 2015, 14:06
Even Lewis NOT having any thoughts is news :)
It’s true: Hamilton IS F1 at the moment.
Robbie (@robbie)
26th November 2015, 14:25
True. The WDC that now comes across as the sore loser.
markp
26th November 2015, 14:28
Anyone in F1 moans if they are not winning it is a side effect of their competitive nature, if they were passive when coming second they would not have even made it into F1 from the engineers, team bosses to the drivers.
Robbie (@robbie)
26th November 2015, 14:54
But LH won the WDC and now isn’t hesitating to throw the team under the bus as the reason he has lost to NR in two races. It’s not about him not achieving pole, or not taking Nico in turn one, it’s about the strategy. Must be. Can’t be anything else, even when we saw Nico get pole and win. Can’t be about Nico’s achievement, no, it’s now about the team failing him.
RaceProUK (@)
26th November 2015, 15:08
By stating the same thing Toto’s been saying all along? I guess that means Toto’s throwing the team under the bus too.
lockup (@)
26th November 2015, 14:32
Cmon @robbie this is poor. Who’s sounding more sore dude – Lewis or you? It’s a simple truth that they can’t both have the same strategy so the lead gets preference. Most of the time that’s him. What you’re doing is inventing a position for him then criticising him for it.
Scepter (@scepter)
26th November 2015, 14:38
This.
Robbie (@robbie)
26th November 2015, 14:48
No the criticism is he ‘has no thoughts’ but here’s his thoughts anyway, because he’s decided the strategists do the thinking, to his dismay, so ‘what’s the point of having thoughts on it’. Yet it was all fine when it worked to his advantage. He’s forgotten already what the strategists have done for him all season, and can’t stand being in it from NR’s viewpoint, so it’s not about him losing to NR for a couple of races, it’s about his second-hand strategy now. So would he admit that NR didn’t really lose to him then but it was the team that saw to it that NR had inferior strategies? Maybe if LH believes that he truly does have much to worry about with NR as a teammate which is why he is so on the defensive about his recent losses.
RaceProUK (@)
26th November 2015, 15:10
Or he was asked a simple question, gave a simple answer, and you’re reading way too much into it.
lockup (@)
26th November 2015, 16:37
His thoughts were in fact
@robbie. That was all.
All as in ALL, dude.
Everything else is what you have invented for him, then criticised as though he said it, when he didn’t.
RaceProUK (@)
26th November 2015, 15:09
And it’s not just Mercedes that do this; all the teams do to varying amounts. Well, except maybe McLaren and Manor, for whom it doesn’t really matter :)
Robbie (@robbie)
26th November 2015, 15:25
Can’t both have the same strategy? Of course they can and just did, save for simply not being able to bring both cars in at the exact same time. This is LH’s whole beef isn’t it? That he or his team should have tried something different as per his sole opinion, but they refused?
markp
26th November 2015, 16:07
If both cars are within a few seconds they cannot have the same strategy as they cannot pit on the same lap without the 2nd driver losing out in a huge way, thus the 2nd driver has to go another lap but loses on the undercut. The driver 1st will not do an extra lap as it is likely they will be jumped. The issue here is they do have the same strategy but have to be separated by a lap when pitting and to the advantage of the lead car which is fair enough. I find it quite ironic that if Rosberg had this years aero rules last year he may well have won more races and possibly the championship due to the increased benefit of being the lead car this year but then it’s all if’s and buts.
RaceProUK (@)
27th November 2015, 0:08
@robbie, if both cars could pit simultaneously, the situation would be exactly the same as it is right now. And if Mercedes did change Lewis’s strategy in Brazil, then it would have shown favouritism to one driver, which Mercedes are vehemently against.
Girts (@girts)
27th November 2015, 11:38
@lockup I also think that Hamilton just stated the obvious. You simply need to be the best (in this case, you need to lead the race) to get the best strategy. And the team normally takes strategy decisions, not only to make sure that the team is not hurt because of internal battles but also because it has much more information than the driver. For instance, the pit wall knows all about gaps, “windows” and can analyse a lot of data, while the driver has to focus on driving. By the way, this is also why you cannot blame Hamilton for Monaco blunder even if he suggested the unnecessary pit stop.
Damonw
26th November 2015, 15:18
Some folk make me chuckle on here, Hamilton was asked a simple question and gave a simple answer. The lead driver has earned the right to call the shots strategy wise. Lewis has been pretty dominant this year so now he’s a 3x World Champion.
EF1
27th November 2015, 1:38
People that quote his 3x championships etc everytime he says something stupid/selfish or thoughtless make me laugh too. Defensive much? :-)
Understeer (@abdelilah)
26th November 2015, 15:26
In my opinion change those front wings and let them race (front wings like in 2004), no more turbulences and the best throughout the week end can win the race not just the best during the one lap qualifying decider.
markp
26th November 2015, 16:03
I cannot remember cars being able to follow closely on 2004.
Understeer (@abdelilah)
26th November 2015, 16:44
@markp but you’ll have to agree that it was much closer than 2014-2015 and surely 2016.
PS : guys don’t forget the @ function so we can be notified.
markp
26th November 2015, 16:51
Agreed but then all seasons bar 1988 were closer then 2014 & 2015. People did not seem to mind 1988 though but I guess the internet and social media now allow more people to voice an opinion.
Understeer (@abdelilah)
26th November 2015, 17:01
@markp Unfortunately most people in the FIA are deaf to death, they seem to ignore what the public wants, if they really wants to reduce costs they can begin by banning theses front wings, it will be much cheaper to stick with old ones.
Kingshark (@kingshark)
26th November 2015, 20:00
@abdelilah
No it wasn’t, the dirty air was absolutely horrible in the mid-2000’s. The high front wings made it downright impossible, it was like a wall of turbulence. Cars were able to follow each other much better from 2009-2014. They have taken a step back recently with the low noses, but 2015 is still better than 2004.
Michal (@michal2009b)
26th November 2015, 22:36
@kingshark,
I believe the overtaking has been the easiest in 2011-2013 even not taking DRS into account. It is clearly worse this year, but was it much better last season? Definitely mid-2000s weren’t ones for overtaking though!
Kingshark (@kingshark)
26th November 2015, 22:45
@michal2009b
Yes, 2014 was not too bad actually. It has been the lowered noses that have significantly reduced the amount of overtaking in 2015.
Sumedh
26th November 2015, 15:36
Can I just say how glad I am to read a Hamilton article without the mention of Senna in it.
markp
26th November 2015, 16:54
I have read somewhere else that he now says as a kid Superman was his hero not Senna. I would have a lot more respect for him if he had said Batman.
Do you think this is his media team pushing this as we knew he liked Senna but then he really went off on it recently, has his media team realised people were starting to ridicule this so they have slanted towards Superman?
EF1
27th November 2015, 1:44
I watched a childhood interview with him where he said his heros were Schumacher, Alonso and Raikkonen. No mention of Senna. Funny how stories change over time :-)
Hayden
26th November 2015, 15:47
heh… lets just have no tire change and no refueling.
Pure racing, no DRS.
More mechanical grip, less aero.
Stash (@stash)
26th November 2015, 16:20
Can someone from the Mercedes PR sit down and talk logic to this champion please. Words have meaning. Like saying “I don’t care” when one really does. Or “So I don’t really have any thoughts on it” after giving some thoughts on the matter – which he did. How about – “Other than that I really do not have anything else to add to the matter”? Now a response like that I would regard as accurate and not complete waffle. Think before you speak and there will be less of what can be deemed as waffle; waffle; waffle. Thank goodness though he did not respond this time with “I don’t care”. There is improvement. Yay. Someone I’d say did point that error of his out to him. Good. The job is not finished. Great driver but oh my how much waffle can he come up with? I get the impression that everyone close to him does not have the fortitude to point these things out to him. “Yes Lewis. Three bags full Lewis. Your absolutely right Lewis”. Can someone close to him please tell him to stop being a ……… Insert common adjective in. If one starts talking sense it may have a chance of being taken as truth. Maybe if people close to him stopped agreeing to everything he has to say then one day it may change.
Martin
26th November 2015, 17:45
@stash You don’t half waffle on don’t you :)
Except he didn’t. He explained the situation completely factually with no personal input or opinions. That is not giving his thoughts on it.
There is an awful lot of uses of the word waffle in your post over one sentence that he was actually justified to say.
But what he said was true. Within the Mercedes team (ignoring others for a moment) the lead driver gets the best strategy. It’s been that way all year. I don’t think anyone is saying that what he said isn’t true :S
Yes they do! And you misused “fortitude”, “adjective” and “your” in one post alone! If you can’t get it right from the comfort of internet anonymity maybe you should lay off the guy having to do it with the pressure of being face to face with the worlds media week in and week out?
Stash (@stash)
26th November 2015, 18:24
Do you read? Fortitude was used correctly. Adjective was used correctly. My apologies and I concur I forgot to put the apostrophe in. You’r wrong. He expressed his thoughts by using words regarding the matter after saying he had no thoughts on the matter. Hence the waffle. lol. I would like to see Lewis champion many things including communication and truth. I would like to state though that I myself am fallible and I am sure I would make a few goofs under pressure in interviews. Guaranteed. Thankfully though I am not in the lime light and unlike Lewis I do not deserve to be. I do take exception to the dribble that he talks some times and would like him to do a lot better job. I am sure I am not alone in taking exception to his waffling! :-)
Martin
26th November 2015, 19:41
Yes!
Not unless you were deliberately implying that everyone around Lewis is suffering and in pain (but hey maybe that is what you were going for :) ) Courage, guts or something along those lines would have been more appropriate in that sentence.
Nope, your sentence was ” please tell him to stop being a ” …. the something part would have been a noun not an adjective
Nice one! XD
That is my point though, he didn’t. He gave no personal opinion on the matter just stated the facts of the situation (see below).
I’ve not seen anyone argue that Mercedes doesn’t give the lead driver the best strategy (or at least endeavour to). Maybe you are misunderstanding the meaning of the phrase “to give ones thoughts on a subject”? It doesn’t just mean to talk about it.
To be honest I’d much rather he concentrated on being a racing driver than how to speak to the press. Same for all the drivers! There is always going to be someone picking at what they say regardless.
Michal (@michal2009b)
26th November 2015, 22:28
And zero on-track action.
Philip (@philipgb)
26th November 2015, 16:38
It’s easy to interpret a tone of complaining in Hamilton’s statement, especially with a bit of prejudice against him. But he’s literally just spelling out the situation in response to a question attempting to ignite some friction. It would be like him saying the second driver gets the second most points.
Mercedes performance advantage has shown they don’t need split strategies to get an ideal team result, but they have in the past when they’ve been up against it used them. To be honest with this being the last race and nothing to lose except the privilege of paying more for next years entry by having more points I think they should actually split strategies even if it’s just as a fun exercise of ‘can we beat ourselves?’
Nase (@)
26th November 2015, 17:27
Really now? It’s been this way ever since 2014, and it kind of didn’t seem to be a big deal when Rosberg was the one who was stuck. So why is this coming up now? Because now it’s Hamilton who has to look at a Mercedes’s backside?
Philip (@philipgb)
26th November 2015, 18:16
@nase
Some fans are making it a big deal. Just like detractors made it a big deal in Hungary 2014 when “Hamilton didn’t follow team orders” because there are always going to be people who let there own bias cloud objective analysis.
But in Hamilton’s response he is pretty much doing the opposite of making a big deal, he’s giving a bland corporate answer in response to a question intended to provoke controversy. He’s not rising to it on this occasion.
Klon (@)
26th November 2015, 21:44
If you bully yourself into the de facto number one role by implying the team has a preference for the other driver, you must not be surprised if the team is more than a little anxious to do anything unorthodox out of fear of getting that same treatment again.
Lewis Hamilton is merely reaping what he has sown. C’est la vie.
William Jones (@williamjones)
26th November 2015, 23:46
Corrected your post for you:
If you race yourself into the de facto number one role by outscoring your teammate, you must not be surprised if the team is more than a little anxious to maintain their professional image by applying the same rules to both drivers that they have been applying all year.
Lewis Hamilton is merely reaping the third WDC he has sown. That’s the life!
Michal (@michal2009b)
26th November 2015, 22:32
It has been that since 2010. It is nothing new. It has become a spotlight now because we have two team-mates dominating at the front of the field and Hamilton is speaking. Button was talking about it in 2011 that the leading driver is given preferential treatment. It would have been a unjustice if the team called a second-placed driver in first and allow him to jump the other one.
Bobby (@f1bobby)
26th November 2015, 22:33
I love Hamilton but we’d never hear the end of it if Mercedes gave Rosberg a different strategy and he came out on top. What does Hamilton need to do? Stick it on pole and forget about it.
Philip (@philipgb)
27th November 2015, 2:34
In fairness they did in Monaco and it was a colossal error. It hurt him deeply to lose that win but he dropped it and moved on.
Ian Laidler (@)
27th November 2015, 0:59
The trouble with the anti Hamilton brigade is that they only read what they want to see and take the presses distorted view as gospel …… it doesn’t matter what the guy does or says in their eyes he is always wrong …. and why is it, that it seems that only Hamilton comes in for all this crap.
EF1
27th November 2015, 1:48
So why doesn’t Vettel have same issue. :-) This should be priceless.
Philip (@philipgb)
27th November 2015, 2:33
Pretty sure he did when he was winning all the time. Anything negative he said was ‘throwing his toys out of the pram’.
EF1
27th November 2015, 1:51
What Lewis, no ridiculously coloured hat to give the Mercedes PR/Branding/Legal people a headache this week? No Mercedes turban? What’s the matter, couldn’t get the right size? Head shrunk a bit recently? :-)
Ian Stephens (@ians)
27th November 2015, 8:58
Perhaps Lewis’ heavier partying since the WDC has something to do with his drop-off in performance.