SiLo wrote:For me the big question is: Can Rosberg beat Hamilton?
He just hasn't looked quick enough this year, and I'm still waiting to be proven wrong.
Unluckily for Rosberg AND for people wanting a closer championship, when Hamilton has a bad race or retires, so does Rosberg.
Worst part is Rosberg keeps saying "maximum attack, nothing to lose", then being half a second down lap after lap. 6 seconds down end of the first stint which was only 12-13 laps. Hamilton was keeping up with Kvyat in the first stint, Kimi in the second before his car failed, Rosberg wasn't close to Hamilton and then against Kimi dropped a huge amount of time.
If he has more races where he's half a second down in qualifying while Ferrari and RBR(maybe more next year for them) close the gap then Rosberg is going to find himself starting further down the grid. Even when he starts second the Mercedes not epic starts and Rosberg being overall the worse starter of the two since Spa changes, he's going to find 2nd place on the podium increasingly hard to achieve.
I think Rosberg is under threat for second in the WDC now, let alone competing to win it. Even at tracks Mercedes should be very strong if he ends up 3rd or 4th into the first corner, with a less dominant car his not particularly great overtaking skills will prove problematic in regaining places for him.