Re: 2015 F1 Thread

by Sri Sun Apr 12, 2015 9:47 am

Ah well.. As long as it's a Mercedes 1-2, I can still swallow dreary races Laughing

by El Gunner Sun Apr 12, 2015 11:25 am

Mehhhhh.

Poor old Nico, tries to put on a happy face everytime but I can see through that fake smile.

by El Gunner Sun Apr 12, 2015 11:34 am

Nico Rosberg effectively accused Lewis Hamilton of selfishness in the wake of the Chinese Grand Prix as their often bitter rivalry resurfaced in Shanghai.

Hamilton spearheaded a one-two finish at the Shanghai International Circuit to complete a dominant weekend in which he was quickest in every practice session, ahead of claiming his 41st pole and 35th Grand Prix win.

The 30-year-old was never threatened at any stage, but Rosberg rounded on Hamilton in the post-race media conference, suggesting he was at times slow, so potentially drawing him into the clutches of a chasing Sebastian Vettel in his Ferrari.

At one stage, with the gap between Hamilton and Rosberg 2.3 seconds and Vettel close behind, the German took to the radio to inform the team that “Hamilton is driving very slowly. Tell him to speed up”.

It appeared a strange message as Rosberg was not close enough to pass, but seconds later, by way of explanation, he said: “If I go closer I destroy my tyres, like the first set. That’s the problem.”

That prompted an immediate message to Hamilton as he was told: “Okay Lewis, pick the pace up a little bit.”

Asked about the message, Hamilton replied: “I wasn’t controlling his race, I was controlling my own race. My goal was to look after my car. I had no real threat from Nico throughout the whole race.”

The last remark, in particular, was a dig in the ribs for Rosberg who then responded in kind.

An angry Rosberg said: “It’s just now interesting to hear from you Lewis, you were just thinking about yourself with the pace in front when that was compromising my race.
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“Driving slower than was maybe necessary in the beginning of the stint meant Sebastian [Vettel] was close to me, and it opened up the opportunity for Sebastian to try an early pit stop to try and jump me, and then I had to cover him.

“It was unnecessarily close with Sebastian as a result, and also it cost me a lot of race time because I had to cover him. Then my tyres died at the end of the race because my stint was just so much longer, so I’m unhappy about that.”

Asked to respond, Hamilton said: “It’s not my job to look after Nico’s race, it’s my job to manage the car and bring the car home as healthy and as fast as possible. That’s what I did.

“I didn’t do anything intentionally to slow any of the cars up, I was just focused on myself. If Nico wanted to get by he could have tried, but he didn’t.”

The spat has reopened the wounds from last year when both men tried to out-manoeuvre one another on and off the track as their battle for the title unfolded.

It culminated in Rosberg and Hamilton colliding with one another in the Belgian Grand Prix, resulting in the former being reprimanded and sanctioned by the team. That proved to be a turning point in the championship as Hamilton went on to dominate the closing races, en route to taking his second world title.

by Sri Sun Apr 12, 2015 11:46 am

by Art Morte Sun Apr 12, 2015 2:25 pm

Rosberg should just gracefully accept that he's not quite as fast a driver as Hamilton is. He is only embarrassing himself with comments like these.

by rwo power Sun Apr 12, 2015 4:00 pm

I bet Rosberg was instructed by Ecclestone to stir up some unrest so that there is a little more action in the F1 "circus" as the interest in it dwindles more and more.

After all, Ecclestone already accused Vettel to be too boring and thus ruining F1 as other than Hamilton, he never shows up on the red carpet or in the tabloids and completely shields his private life, which I actually find very sensible by Seb.