Post here all non technical related topics about Formula One. This includes race results, discussions, testing analysis etc. TV coverage and other personal questions should be in Off topic chat.
3 WDC and 3 WCC in 3 years.
Poor Ghosn and Marchionne, they should kill themselves.
You do know that Merc could have won those championships with Luca Badoer in the other seat, right. Nico owes Mercedes at least one year of parading around like a little PR monkey like the other champions had to do - all those people poured their heart into it for him. Toto lied for him. Paddy embarrased himself for him. Jesus, Bernie nearly slipped a disk! Pay them back in some way. Represent them on the track for one more year at least.
No,No,No.
Nico Rosberg doesn't have to do this. He is too 'brave' and his family is SOOO special that he gets to be the first F1 champ in history to walk away whilst being champ. We are not allowed to critics him though, he is such a nice guy you see and not at all self centred and hypocritical.
Well, according to Lauda, 90% of the drivers have called Merc about the empty seat, so it's certainly not a case of poor little German team being left with no options. I bet a lot of them would be happy to accept a much smaller salary in order to get that seat, so Rosberg's money could be used to buy out someone else's contract.
Since we established on the race thread that Lewis had every right to drive the way he did in Abu Dhabi and disregard team orders to act in his own best interests, I expect we should apply the same logic and respect Nico's decision to act in his own best interests.
Some may see it as cowardice and some may see it as bravery. But until we read the terms of his contract I don't think it's wise to comment whether his decision was fair to the team or not. For all we know, there may have been a clause allowing him to leave as soon as he got his WDC.
I applaud him for giving Merc and F1 the middle finger and not playing the game he was expected to. Next year will be interesting to see how his replacement fares against Lewis, whoever that may be.
The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents. H.P.Lovecraft
andartop wrote:
Some may see it as cowardice and some may see it as bravery. But until we read the terms of his contract I don't think it's wise to comment whether his decision was fair to the team or not. For all we know, there may have been a clause allowing him to leave as soon as he got his WDC.
Judging by the Mercedes team's reaction to his retirement I think we can safely assume no such clause exists.
I applaud him for giving Merc and F1 the middle finger and not playing the game he was expected to. Next year will be interesting to see how his replacement fares against Lewis, whoever that may be.
Playing the game expected of him? What, like be a worthy champion rather than a louse?
If you are more fortunate than others, build a larger table not a taller fence.
Just_a_fan wrote:
Judging by the Mercedes team's reaction to his retirement I think we can safely assume no such clause exists.
Playing the game expected of him? What, like be a worthy champion rather than a louse?
Until I read the contract I can not safely assume. I don't think we will ever find out for sure, as one of the first things employment contracts usually state is that their terms cannot be made public.
Playing the whole F1 circus/media bull$h1t game. How a 'worthy' champion is defined is something we never agreed on in the first place, so I don't think there is any point arguing further on it.
The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents. H.P.Lovecraft
Well, Mercedes are in the sport for the PR gain, so having the champion effectively unavailable for any PR work next year isn't ideal.
However, you can offset that against the media circus now, and that they'll still have Hamilton, who is a big draw to the wider media whether he's champion or not.
Rosberg is fully entitled to put his family first like any Father and human being. I can't believe it is up for debate and remember he was part of Merc from the start.
It's made the off season intriguing but there is also one other thought in my mind:
What might it tell us about a diminished Merc advantage next season?? Does he think the total domination is over?
Mansell89 wrote:Rosberg is fully entitled to put his family first like any Father and human being.
What might it tell us about a diminished Merc advantage next season?? Does he think the total domination is over?
Your hypothesis suggests that he needed a totally dominant car to win a championship and since he doesn't see it coming, he quits while he's ahead.
About the family first thing...
"I never give up, so if I'd finished second I would have gone for another year, for sure. Definitely,"
This doesn't scream family first.
He achieved all he ever wanted and his family sacrificed a lot, so why put them through it any more?
We all know (neutral fans of the sport and not drivers or teams) that Rosberg is not quite on a level of Hamilton so him deciding that now he's scaled he heights it's time to go and that's fine.
It's not he behaviour of an all time great champion, and hence he will never go down as that. But it's his choice, which he is entitled to.
What are we debating?
A good driver won a world title with a bit of luck in a dominant car and has ran for the hills.
He's not coming out and saying he's an all time great, so he knows what his reputation will be for running away and he is obviously comfortable with it.
"I never give up, so if I'd finished second I would have gone for another year, for sure. Definitely,"
This doesn't scream family first.
Exactly. Rosberg's fans can claim family as the reason but it doesn't make any sense. The guy walked out on the team because he's a one shot guy and he knows he had nothing more to give. He won't defend the title because he can't.
If you are more fortunate than others, build a larger table not a taller fence.
zeph wrote:I don't see what the big deal is. Rosberg stuck with Mercedes for seven long seasons and wants to quit on a high note. Nothing wrong with that.
If he is still under contract, he'll probably have to pay a fine or something, but beyond that I don't think it's anybody's business.
Oh, and Lauda walked out on Brabham before the season was even finished, so he really shouldn't talk.
And Ferrari in 1977, if anybody doesn't have the right to criticize Rosberg on these matters, it's Lauda.
Or he won't defend the title because he does not feel the need to. Many great drivers never even get a shot at a WDC, and he achieved one against one the best drivers in current F1. If he does not feel motivated enough to continue racing at this level why should he? To fit some fans' stereotype of a 'pure racer'?
I know I wouldn't mind retiring at 31 and enjoy life away from the spotlights if I had a dozen million euros in the bank and a F1 WDC trophy!
Some call this cowardice, others might call it wisdom...
The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents. H.P.Lovecraft
it's rather sad to see members calling rosberg a wuss and wimp for stopping racing supposedly 'because he can't get another title', sitting in their chairs being all keyboard hero. I wonder what authority the majority of all these 'critics' hold to have value on their opinion and claims.
for the record: i'm not a rosberg fan. i am also hugely disappoint that he stops. at the same time, he achieved what he wanted, and then, what else is there? Rosberg never claimed family first - if that was the case he had retired long ago, and that same would apply to the rest of the field being a father.
that however does NOT mean that they have no feelings or long to be with their families.
Rosberg simply decided that he can stop racing as he's financially secure enough to not race again and work 'fulltime' - could you blame him?! In comparison, Lewis has no family to worry about, so for him it's easier to continue racing.
One might concider that if Lewis had achieved EVERY senna 'achievement' there is, including driving for Ferrari, AND having a family, then why wouldnt he stop right there?
For all it matters, Nico could have stayed another year in F1, and Lewis out, with Alonso in, and he would have possibly destroyed Alonso and become a double WDC, and retire there and then. Still would have gotten hate.
I don't get the excessive critisism.
He stops at his prime and peak. Well done. HIS right. HIS choise, HIS life.
a REAL fan / supporter supports him all along the way,
by now, all i get from this thread is 'booohooo mommy make it stop! make it stop!'.
seriously, grow some.
life goes on, no man has died.
Last edited by Manoah2u on 04 Dec 2016, 22:20, edited 1 time in total.
"Explain the ending to F1 in football terms"
"Hamilton was beating Verstappen 7-0, then the ref decided F%$& rules, next goal wins
while also sending off 4 Hamilton players to make it more interesting"