The Formula 1 Thread

[haxman]

They shook hands on the podium. Hamilton congratulated him on his "first world championship".

Saw that bit alright, I meant after they both got back to parc ferme. Nice dig there from Hamilton.

 

[Spurger King]

Saw that bit alright, I meant after they both got back to parc ferme. Nice dig there from Hamilton.

Hamilton seemed pretty pissed off, and was rightly slated for being a sore loser by the Channel 4 presenters. Toto made a dig too, saying maybe Hamilton should be driving for Horner seeing as he tried to play into Red Bull's hands.

I think Rosberg fully deserved the title. Keeping his head in Brazil was particularly impressive.

No issues with Hamilton's tactics, but he clearly doesn't want to acknowledge Rosberg's achievement. Hamilton is quicker, but Rosberg has been more consistent. Hamilton really does make a lot of idiotic mistakes (the worst being Brazil in his first season where he lost the title due to driving several laps with the pit limiter on).

 

[Gbspurs]

If Hamilton was going too slow then Rosberg should have passed him. Personally I absolutely detest team orders and think that any team guilty of it should have their title void. It makes the whole concept of racing pointless.

Not sure what the solution is, 1 driver teams? If I was Hamilton I would definitely leave anyway, deserves to be the top dog somewhere.

 

[Spurger King]

If Hamilton was going too slow then Rosberg should have passed him. Personally I absolutely detest team orders and think that any team guilty of it should have their title void. It makes the whole concept of racing pointless.

Not sure what the solution is, 1 driver teams? If I was Hamilton I would definitely leave anyway, deserves to be the top dog somewhere.

Hamilton was only slowing down in places where Rosberg couldn't overtake. Perfect race management from him. The last thing Rosberg wanted to do was get in a tussle with Hamilton, which was why he tried to play the team orders card.

Team orders are a pain, but understandable. From their perspective it's all about the money. They don't really care which of their drivers win (unless your name is Schumacher). To be fair to Mercedes they did let the drivers race for most of the season.

Not sure why Hamilton would quit the number 1 team in F1. Where would he go? Red Bull have two great drivers, so do Ferrari and apparently Vettel has vetoed ever being in the same team as Hamilton.

 

[gushayes11]

Rosberg retiring...

 

[Arnoldtoo]

Rosberg retiring...

Odd.

I wonder why ...

Here's why ...

“Since 25 years in racing, it has been my dream, my ‘one thing’ to become Formula One World Champion.

"Through the hard work, the pain, the sacrifices, this has been my target. And now I’ve made it. I have climbed my mountain, I am on the peak, so this feels right. My strongest emotion right now is deep gratitude to everybody who supported me to make that dream happen."

 

[haxman]

I'll be surprised if he stays fully retired. Racing is in their blood and he's only 31. He might move to another form of motorsport, touring cars or Le Mans or something.

 

[Rocksuperstar]

He's likely been offered a drive with a NASCAR or Indy team, he only said he's retired from F1. I'd like to see more high profile drivers go into rallying, raise the bar on that and make it popular again, imo, it's the most exciting form of motor racing* and takes true confidence and balls to do well.

*in a car - overall, the Manx TT is, by quite a massive distance, the real way to sort the men from the boys.

 

[DanielCHillier]

Wow, did not see that coming, who will Mercedes get as a replacement ?

 

[Rocksuperstar]

Wow, did not see that coming, who will Mercedes get as a replacement ?

Wehrlein is only 22, has been their test driver this season, and would surely be less likely to cause friction with Hamilton.

 

[DanielCHillier]

Wehrlein is only 22, has been their test driver this season, and would surely be less likely to cause friction with Hamilton.

That's who I assumed, wonder if they've seen enough to believe he's ready for the step up.

 

[WalkerboyUK]

Surely the biggest challenge is to DEFEND the title you just won...

Fair play to him, achieved what he wanted to do and can walk away a very rich young man because of it.

 

[MaccSpurs]

Interesting decision but the right one considering he is not really what most fans call a proper racing driver. Put an average driver with a famous dad in a top team and you get Rosberg. We had the same with Damon Hill. Doesn't always work that way though as the excellent Verstappen has shown.

Let's be honest Rosberg was handed this title simply due to the problems Hamilton encountered. Had he not had engine failure in the Malaysian Grand Prix he would rightfully be champion again.

Even in the final race when Hamilton was going so slow he didn't have the bottle to over take him.

At the end of the day he will have to leave with the fact that the records books will say he was the champion but everyone else knowing he won it by default.

With that in mind he knows he doesn't have the talent or mental strength to defend it so quitting when you are on top even if you didn't deserve it, makes sense.

 

[talkshowhost86]

Wehrlein is only 22, has been their test driver this season, and would surely be less likely to cause friction with Hamilton.

Whilst that would be great for Hamilton, it would make next season even more dull. The friction between the two has been the only thing that has made the championship itself remotely interesting.

 

[Spurger King]

Interesting decision but the right one considering he is not really what most fans call a proper racing driver. Put an average driver with a famous dad in a top team and you get Rosberg. We had the same with Damon Hill. Doesn't always work that way though as the excellent Verstappen has shown.

Let's be honest Rosberg was handed this title simply due to the problems Hamilton encountered. Had he not had engine failure in the Malaysian Grand Prix he would rightfully be champion again.

Even in the final race when Hamilton was going so slow he didn't have the bottle to over take him.

At the end of the day he will have to leave with the fact that the records books will say he was the champion but everyone else knowing he won it by default.

With that in mind he knows he doesn't have the talent or mental strength to defend it so quitting when you are on top even if you didn't deserve it, makes sense.

You could say Hamilton won the previous title because of Rosberg's mechanical failures, so I don't think your belief that people will think he won by default is accurate or fair.

Not arguing that Hamilton isn't the better driver, but Rosberg was a deserved champion. His drive in Brazil alone, under all that pressure, was worthy of the title in itself. Plus we'll never know if Rosberg could have beaten Hamilton in any of the last four races, for the simple reason that Rosberg got himself into a position where he didn't need to push himself. Not comparing him to Prost, but nobody dismisses Prost for winning titles by doing what was necessary, rather than blazing ahead for glory.

It probably was the right decision to quit whilst on top though.

 

[elDiablo]

My first thought after reading the headline was he was having a last laughter at ham: beating him and then not giving him the opportunity to win it back.

But then reading his comments today and also during the week, where he mentions the WC being his life long dream and that this was the first time he beat Hamilton, it makes sense.

 

[VegasII]

I think it's hilarious from Rosberg. He's a multi-millionaire with a young family and he's just won the F1 World Championship - he can really do what he wants. Besides, there's every chance he could something more with his life than just race cars in the F1 circus. I hope he stays retired and has a great time with his family.

 

[MaccSpurs]

You could say Hamilton won the previous title because of Rosberg's mechanical failures

You could but you wouldn't because it is not true.

so I don't think your belief that people will think he won by default is accurate or fair.

It's not my belief. He won by 5 points. Had Hamilton won Malaysian Grand Prix like we all thought he was going to before the car failure he would be champion. Hamilton is a champion because he wins races. He takes them by the scruff of the neck and makes things happen. Rosberg wants pole and then hopes to hold it until the end of the race. Rosberg struggles when having to actually race and therefore cannot make things happen.

Not arguing that Hamilton isn't the better driver

There is no arugment to be had. Hamilton is by far the best driver on the circuit and has been for several years. So glad we have Verstappen to mix things up because he is just like Hamilton. He makes things happen. This is why Vettel, another driver having championships handed to him on a plate, cries every time Verstappen breezed by him.

but Rosberg was a deserved champion.

It's already been stated he is not.

His drive in Brazil alone, under all that pressure, was worthy of the title in itself.

So just one race. That pretty much sums it up really. I think there are plenty of times we could highlight how Hamilton has been under pressure and delivered. Fact is you give him a car that works and he will win you the race. Rememeber when they stopped the team giving advice to the racers and Hamilton just got on with it while Rosberg kept asking for assistance only to be told time and time again "we can't tell you anything".

Plus we'll never know if Rosberg could have beaten Hamilton in any of the last four races, for the simple reason that Rosberg got himself into a position where he didn't need to push himself.

Yeah that position was being in a team with a superior car. It suited him perfectly because he knew finishing second was enough. That's some champion! Like I said, look at the final race when Hamilton was going so slow and still he couldn't beat him. All he could do was cry over the radio to the team asking them to make him go faster. Pathetic!

Not comparing him to Prost, but nobody dismisses Prost for winning titles by doing what was necessary, rather than blazing ahead for glory.

Never liked Prost for his antics but he is not dismissed because he did drive in a era when it was faster, more dangerous and he was surrounded by top drivers. Not like now where there is only really Hamilton, Verstappen and Ricardo. The rest are just average.

It probably was the right decision to quit whilst on top though.

I wonder if all that booing from real racing fans from around the world for his antics had anything to do with it

Either way, F1 is better off without the likes of him.

 

[Spurger King]

@MaccSpurs I'm not going to go through your various replies one by one, as I don't think most of them are worth replying to. Fair to say that I completely disagree with your views on this. Even more so after the above reply.

You stating something doesn't make it true. He's a deserved champion in my opinion, so your opinion isn't going to be enough to sway me!

As for The Malaysian Grand Prix, you'd need to be a clairvoyant to know that would have been the difference. Ever heard of the butterfly effect? Do you think if the points were closer that Rosberg would have been so complacent for the rest of the season, or that Hamilton would have been as relaxed? They would have been completely different races, and Rosberg had already beaten Hamilton in a straight fight in previous races.

Bit of a disingenuous interpretation of my Brazil remark. Anyone would know it's determined by the whole season, but that was a standout performance under huge pressure. It's a shame you can't seem to appreciate that, or his achievement this season. Up against a better driver, he still out qualified him on several occasions, and finished ahead of him enough times to pick up the most points. Hardly Schumacher and Barrichello.

As for the moaning and crying...they both did it. Most drivers do. They've both acted like spoilt children vying for the attention of mummy and daddy.

Schumacher and Vettel got booed too. So did Senna and Prost. Rosberg isn't as good as any of that lot, but he's certainly not as bad as you make him out to be.

Don't mistake me for some Rosberg fanboy. He was brought up in the lap of luxury, and got a free ticket into F1 because of a famous relative. Bruno Senna did too, but he couldn't cut it despite all the advantages that went his way. Rosberg ticked one of the most important boxes in F1 by being consistent. Very few fall into that category. Even fewer fall into the category of consistent and aggressively good, but Rosberg's teammate does and Rosberg still won the title. You may think he's average, but you couldn't possibly say he didn't make the very most of his abilities this season.

A deserved title winner.

 

[Rocksuperstar]

So, just clear up any confusion, Macc's a Lewis Hamilton fan, huh?

Well, personally, i think he's a spoiled, lippy, privileged ass-hat, but they exist in all forms of sport when someone shows more than average talent from a young age.

And lets not dick about here - he has been sat in some exceptional machinery, while some arguably as/more talented drivers like Alonso or Vettel (and reading back through this thread i hope shows how i have acknowledged Vettel's talent is down to more than his car, as i accused him of the season the RB's dominated) haven't had anything like the engine or chassis to allow them to compete. We can't really judge Hamilton as he's not found himself driving an average or under-performing motor since 2009.

At this moment, yes, he is quite possibly the "best" driver on the circuit statistically, but all said and done you cannot deny that the Mercedes Hybrids have been fathoms better than any of the other teams juice boxes.