Reply to: Rosberg throws in the towel!!

[malvolio]

That all misses the point. Hamilton is simply the quicker driver of the two over a race distance, and usually the quicker over one lap. Rosberg settled down and did precisely what he needed to do in each race all season and got a well-deserved result, but that doesn't mean he's superior to Hamilton.

Verstappen, Ricciardo, Alonso and Hamilton are a class above the rest at the moment.

[PurpleGorilla]

But isn't that racing? Rosberg lost a number of races in 2014 through reliability. Hamilton won emphatically in 2015 so fair play to him there. I think they've both done very well over the last 3 years having the dominant car. Apart from the pay drivers in F1 any of Ricciardo, Verstappen, Räikkönen, etc could have won the world championship in the Mercedes over the last 3 years.

I really want to see someone who could properly challenge Hamilton next year - not a stooge who will allow Mercedes who pander to the whims of Hamilton as the de facto number one driver.

For me the mark of a true great would be someone who helps develop the car (from a complete dog) and then dominates or takes a car that isn't necessarily the best and can still challenge for the championship.

Considering the crap Rosberg has had to put up with over the last few seasons within his own team (Niki Lauda in particular), commentators and the general public alike telling him he's always inferior to Hamilton it's good to see he's proved them wrong and essentially stuck the Vs up to everyone and said he doesn't want to take that crap anymore. You only have to read the comments such as those by Niki Lauda in the last 24 hrs to know he's made the right decision. Perhaps if they looked after Rosberg in the same way they have done with Hamilton, he may not have done what he's done. Kudos to Rosberg.

I agree, I'm a huge Hamilton fan, but Rosberg deserved it.

Nice to see Hamilton put the focus on for the last 5 races, but he needed that commitment all year to have won it.

[VectraMan]

And the other 2 engine failures in qualifying put him down the field. He lost at least 35-40 points through reliability.

And if he had finished in front of Rosberg in those races - the championship would have been over by the start of October.

Rosberg got lucky - although he grabbed the opportunity with both hands.

And if Rosberg hadn't had been knocked into a spin at the first corner in Malaysia he'd have won the race and been further ahead at the end. If he hadn't had a gearbox problem at Silverstone he'd have been second. If he hadn't been pushed off the track by Hamilton in Canada he'd have been at least second. If he hadn't moved over to let Hamilton through in Monaco Hamilton wouldn't have won that race, and for that matter if Red Bull hadn't screwed up Ricciardo's pit stop in Monaco Hamilton also wouldn't have won the race. All those things would have put Rosberg further ahead. And most of all if he hadn't been taken out by Hamilton in Spain Rosberg would have been one race win ahead. Hamilton may have had 3 engine failures, but then they abused a loophole in the rules to get 3 new engines with only one penalty. Everybody else had to make the season work with only 5 engines, he had 8.

A lot of things happen over the year.

[ShandyDrinker]

And the other 2 engine failures in qualifying put him down the field. He lost at least 35-40 points through reliability.

And if he had finished in front of Rosberg in those races - the championship would have been over by the start of October.

Rosberg got lucky - although he grabbed the opportunity with both hands.

But isn't that racing? Rosberg lost a number of races in 2014 through reliability. Hamilton won emphatically in 2015 so fair play to him there. I think they've both done very well over the last 3 years having the dominant car. Apart from the pay drivers in F1 any of Ricciardo, Verstappen, Räikkönen, etc could have won the world championship in the Mercedes over the last 3 years.

I really want to see someone who could properly challenge Hamilton next year - not a stooge who will allow Mercedes who pander to the whims of Hamilton as the de facto number one driver.

For me the mark of a true great would be someone who helps develop the car (from a complete dog) and then dominates or takes a car that isn't necessarily the best and can still challenge for the championship.

Considering the crap Rosberg has had to put up with over the last few seasons within his own team (Niki Lauda in particular), commentators and the general public alike telling him he's always inferior to Hamilton it's good to see he's proved them wrong and essentially stuck the Vs up to everyone and said he doesn't want to take that crap anymore. You only have to read the comments such as those by Niki Lauda in the last 24 hrs to know he's made the right decision. Perhaps if they looked after Rosberg in the same way they have done with Hamilton, he may not have done what he's done. Kudos to Rosberg.

[centurian]

That's possibly true, but there were lots of times he came out on top simply by being ahead and Hamilton being unable to catch or pass him. And Hamilton only had one DNF due to reliability (in a race which Rosberg didn't win after being hit by Vettel in the first corner). The luck argument is a bit dumb.

And the other 2 engine failures in qualifying put him down the field. He lost at least 35-40 points through reliability.

And if he had finished in front of Rosberg in those races - the championship would have been over by the start of October.

Rosberg got lucky - although he grabbed the opportunity with both hands.

[VectraMan]

I think he knows that deep down, he just can't beat Lewis on an equal footing. He never once came out on top in wheel to wheel action in 4 years - not once.

That's possibly true, but there were lots of times he came out on top simply by being ahead and Hamilton being unable to catch or pass him. And Hamilton only had one DNF due to reliability (in a race which Rosberg didn't win after being hit by Vettel in the first corner). The luck argument is a bit dumb.

[centurian]

I think he knows that deep down, he just can't beat Lewis on an equal footing. He never once came out on top in wheel to wheel action in 4 years - not once.

He got very lucky this year with Lewis's terrible reliability problems - and even then, it still went down to the wire.

Fair play to him though - he drove his car to the best of his ability and didn't crack under the pressure.

So better to check out now as a champion and finish on a high.

[PurpleGorilla]

I think Max and Lewis would be an interesting pairing. Max won't give a toss about Lewis' status, similar to the way Lewis treated Fernando at McLaren.

I think luck has played more in the world championships over the last 6 years a few times. In 2010 it should have been Alonso or Webber but Vettel stole it. In 2014 Rosberg should arguably have at least challenged it but was stuffed due to reliability in Singapore (broken wiring loom) and Abu Dhabi.

I'd love to see Alonso with Hamilton again. Give Alonso one last shot at the Championship as the 2 he has belie his true capability as the one driver who arguably gets the most out of what is often an inferior car.

I agree, Alonso would be a great choice.

[ShandyDrinker]

Max V is already 11/4 for next years championship. The rule changes for next year will suit his style. And Hamiltons. Toto is big buddys with Jos V. So them both in the same team would be incredibly interesting. Somewhat unlikely though.

I think Max and Lewis would be an interesting pairing. Max won't give a toss about Lewis' status, similar to the way Lewis treated Fernando at McLaren.

I think luck has played more in the world championships over the last 6 years a few times. In 2010 it should have been Alonso or Webber but Vettel stole it. In 2014 Rosberg should arguably have at least challenged it but was stuffed due to reliability in Singapore (broken wiring loom) and Abu Dhabi.

I'd love to see Alonso with Hamilton again. Give Alonso one last shot at the Championship as the 2 he has belie his true capability as the one driver who arguably gets the most out of what is often an inferior car.

[ASB]

Max V is already 11/4 for next years championship. The rule changes for next year will suit his style. And Hamiltons. Toto is big buddys with Jos V. So them both in the same team would be incredibly interesting. Somewhat unlikely though.

[d000hg]

Yes and a works team like Mercedes want him to get seasoned in F1 by pushing him into a customer team for a bit. Manor => Mercedes would be daft IMO. He's very good by all accounts but too big a step if they want two top drivers rather than Lewis and a support act.

[malvolio]

They do HAVE a very large amount of cash, they pay Lewis something like £30m a year.

I thought they ended up bottom after Sauber squeaked 2 points in the penultimate race?

Mercedes seem to prefer established drivers, let the other teams develop the drivers for them. So I rather a expect a big-name signing for both the driving and press side of things. Although I don't know how they feel about two #1 drivers fighting.

The only drivers who have no reason car-wise to want the seat are Red Bull as they're expected to be challenging next year, but they could throw money at either Red Bull driver as both are great.

Vettel has not looked too happy and Ferrari are in a bad place going into next year so that could be a shout considering Alonso and Lewis have history.

Hate to contradict but Wehrlein was in a far inferior car to the whole damned field, including Sauber and Renault. He also won the German DTM championship which is fiercely competitive. He wouldn't have a Mercedes F1 contract is he wasn't good enough.

[d000hg]

I think Ferrari would want a lot more than that to release their star driver to their main rival.

He's not been great this year though. About on a par with Kimi who is really only supposed to be a safe pair of hands. And it looks unlikely they'll turn it around next year so maybe they could loan him for a year

But yeah, Ferrari are the other one for who money is not really a consideration. Think Alonso might be a player?

[VectraMan]

They do HAVE a very large amount of cash, they pay Lewis something like £30m a year.

I think Ferrari would want a lot more than that to release their star driver to their main rival.

[northernladuk]

I'm sad he didn't get any kind of send-off by doing it this way though

Indeed but I did see some comparisons over various stuff over the year that would indicate Hamilton was a better driver but got let down by stuff out of his control. If Rosberg goes now there won't be any chance for the nay sayers to say 'I told you so' and he'll just be know as the world champ. Clever but yes, an odd way to bow out.