Hamilton "lost" pace

[SectorOne]

well i think the future will tell how impressive Hamilton has been at Mercedes against Rosberg.
In a couple years if Rosberg gets teamed up with Ricciardo or Alonso or Vettel lets say and he just runs right through them then that would put Hamilton at the highest level.
If Ricciardo or any of the above decimates Rosberg then you can begin to question Hamilton´s abilities.

So far though we can say that Hamilton has had the upper hand on all teammates but one, with Alonso as a rookie.
If Rosberg actually won the title this year then Rosbergs stock would have been sky-high, considered to be the best driver in F1 arguably but he´s not done that, he´s just won 3 races after his teammate won his second title in a row.

People have short memory so Rosberg is in high regard right now but if you look over a 2 year span the only conclusion you´d come up with is that he´s lethal in qualifying.

[dans79]

People have short memory so Rosberg is in high regard right now but if you look over a 2 year span the only conclusion you´d come up with is that he´s lethal in qualifying.

Even that is questionable, in my opinion.

[muhammadtalha.13893]

IMHO, it goes both ways. If what Hamilton says is true, then Rosberg was severely disadvantage through the whole season. The same happened to him that the car did not suit his driving style. But he did not complain and made the best possible outcome that he could and everyone kept praising Lewis for his winnings. Now that it turned the other way around, everyone starts to think of this as a problem. This probably cost Rosberg the championship and no one cared. Just my two cents...

[Felipe 92]

So apparently Mercedes made changes to the suspension after Singapore that affected the way the car felt to Hamilton.

Knowing the drivers are very sensitive to changes to the car, it's not so surprising that this could happen.

He won 3 races after Singapore, he himself admitted he had been partying hard after USA, crashed Zonda at 3 a.m., said few times he needs more sleep because he feels tired and you still believe his lame excuse that Nico was faster because of changes to the suspension?

Hamilton is fast and one of the best drivers out there, but his lack of intelligence and tact becomes obvious every time things don`t go his way. I would have more respect for him if he admitted that Nico was better in last 3 races because he was more committed.

According to your link suspension setup didn`t suit Rosberg`s style for 2/3 of the season and he didn`t complain.
Maybe Mercedes protected Hamilton most of season and in last 3 races they treated both drivers equally.

[dans79]

He won 3 races after Singapore, he himself admitted he had been partying hard after USA, crashed Zonda at 3 a.m., said few times he needs more sleep because he feels tired and you still believe his lame excuse that Nico was faster because of changes to the suspension?

You need to get your timeline strait.....

1) The partying didn't start till after Austin.
2) Lewis didn't claim a pole after Monza
3) The 3 races he won are more to do with Nico's driving deficiencies, or technical problems
i) Susuka - Lewis beat Nico to the first turn and Nico stupidly kept his foot in it and thus had to drop back to 4th
ii) Sochi - Nico dnf'ed
iii) Austin same as Susuka, plus a late race Nico driving blunder.

According to your link suspension setup didn`t suit Rosberg`s style for 2/3 of the season and he didn`t complain.

he didn't complain because he didn't know any better. The car was set up by the team to go around the track as fast as possible, not because it was set up to favor Lewis! The team made the change to deal with the tire pressure regulation changes, & to address the gaping technical problem that Singapore exposed.

[Sevach]

IMHO, it goes both ways. If what Hamilton says is true, then Rosberg was severely disadvantage through the whole season. The same happened to him that the car did not suit his driving style. But he did not complain and made the best possible outcome that he could and everyone kept praising Lewis for his winnings. Now that it turned the other way around, everyone starts to think of this as a problem. This probably cost Rosberg the championship and no one cared. Just my two cents...

I agree, if he can be affected that much by change it does put him a bit in that "Raikkonen" territory (the 07-08 Kimi not the current one which is a lot worst), Raikkonen looked awesome in a Michelin shod Mclaren, but was a bit on and off in a Ferrari (despite the fact that his title came from the time at Ferrari).

Hamilton in a Mclaren looked like he had some kind of "slow corner secret", at a place like Abu Dhabi he would destroy people in the final sector, many theories were floated... karting skills or somesuch... and now we see his team mate putting 3 tenths on him there, it makes you rethink your beliefs.

[dans79]

I agree, if he can be affected that much by change it does put him a bit in that "Raikkonen" territory (the 07-08 Kimi not the current one which is a lot worst), Raikkonen looked awesome in a Michelin shod Mclaren, but was a bit on and off in a Ferrari (despite the fact that his title came from the time at Ferrari).

This is every driver up and down the grid past & present.

[diffuser]

What I don like about the last few years in which Hamilton has won the drivers championship is that he hasn't had any pressure outside from his team mate.

It makes it really easy to drive when you have more than .75 of a second per lap on the nearest contender.

In the past we've seen a number of gaffs from Hamilton when he was trying to push past the ability of the car. Just as we've seen Rosberg when being pressed by Lewis. I have the same issue with most of Vettl's Championships.

[muhammadtalha.13893]

he didn't complain because he didn't know any better. The car was set up by the team to go around the track as fast as possible, not because it was set up to favor Lewis! The team made the change to deal with the tire pressure regulation changes, & to address the gaping technical problem that Singapore exposed.[/quote]

[muhammadtalha.13893]

Sorry bad reply above, i am still getting used to tapatalk .
Now coming to what you said, you think car is 'NOT' set up to go as fast as possible 'NOW' and its made to suit Nico more? You must be out of your mind mate.

[dans79]

Sorry bad reply above, i am still getting used to tapatalk .
Now coming to what you said, you think car is 'NOT' set up to go as fast as possible 'NOW' and its made to suit Nico more? You must be out of your mind mate.

it's set up to go as fast as possible withing the bounds of the new air pressure constraints. Most people will tell you that the air pressure regulations have made the cars slower. if the teams had their way, they'd run 12 or 13 psi instead of the 19+ now mandated.

[muhammadtalha.13893]

Sorry bad reply above, i am still getting used to tapatalk .
Now coming to what you said, you think car is 'NOT' set up to go as fast as possible 'NOW' and its made to suit Nico more? You must be out of your mind mate.

it's set up to go as fast as possible withing the bounds of the new air pressure constraints. Most people will tell you that the air pressure regulations have made the cars slower. if the teams had their way, they'd run 12 or 13 psi instead of the 19+ now mandated.

So either way its setup to go as fast as possible, same for both Nico and Lewis right. Now go figure why the so called best driver on the grid started all the BS.

[Felipe 92]

he himself admitted he had been partying hard after USA

You need to get your timeline strait.....

1) The partying didn't start till after Austin.

That`s what I wrote.

he didn't complain because he didn't know any better. The car was set up by the team to go around the track as fast as possible, not because it was set up to favor Lewis! The team made the change to deal with the tire pressure regulation changes, & to address the gaping technical problem that Singapore exposed.

it's set up to go as fast as possible withing the bounds of the new air pressure constraints. Most people will tell you that the air pressure regulations have made the cars slower. if the teams had their way, they'd run 12 or 13 psi instead of the 19+ now mandated.

IF IF
If Honda had their way and run fuel flow limit at 200kg/h, Mclaren would be winning races.

Finally you got it right, first time you wrote nonsense. It`s set up to go as fast as possible and be legal. But it`s same for everybody and I would expect from the 3 time WDC to adapt to the new tyre pressure in 3 months time. I didn`t say it couldn`t affect Hamilton but his form dropped significantly and blaming it solely on car which made him walk away with championship is stupid. Regulations changed,teams had to change cars according to them and drivers have to adapt. New aero rules made cars slower, fuel flow limit made cars slower but using that as an excuse for the drivers drop in form (and focus on racing) is lame (same for the tyre pressures).

Your favorite driver won WDC and you write endless posts just to reduce significance of Rosberg`s pole positions and race wins. Rosberg won 6 poles and 3 races in a row,get over it.
McLaren had horrendous season and they didn`t blame everybody except them for that.

[Edax]

So either way its setup to go as fast as possible, same for both Nico and Lewis right. Now go figure why the so called best driver on the grid started all the BS.

"Same for both" is not necessarily true. Rosberg and Hamilton are running different brands brake systems (disks/calipers) as well as a different master cylinder arrangement. So from a braking viewpoint these are different cars and may react differently to a general setup change. Since the problem is in braking I think that cannot be dismissed as possible cause.

[wesley123]

Toto Wolff said a few things about the drivers' rivalry and how he did not like it

source: http://www.shropshirestar.com/sport/uk- ... oto-wolff/

Going forward, we will consider if it is the best set-up for the team. Personality and character within the team is a crucial ingredient for the team success.

"If we feel that it is not aligned with the general consensus, spirit and philosophy within the team, we might consider that when we take a decision, in terms of the driver line-up going forward.

If you would put both of those together it sounds like Mercedes would be favoring Rosberg. And it would make sense, a German winning for a German brand would suit very well.