Has everyone noticed how much "better" Lewis is going now that Nico is gone? Funny how the DH's in the F1 section kept saying Nico was a crappy driver and of course tif12 used that as proof that MS was all washed up at Mercedes. Seems to me that Bottas is the crappy driver and is making Lewis look better than he really is. Nico was a real threat to Lewis for the 3 years they were together. Anyone else noticed how much more relaxed Lewis is now that he has no competition?
I've got t12 on ignore, NOCWHT He reckoned Dan was 'just' a journeyman , he's a great just of horse flesh He thinks Verstappen will be the next great WDC to take over from Hamilton. I think Hamilton is more relaxed because he's not the one in catch up mode. Wouldn't it be funny if he does the same thing as he did in '07
I'm wondering if Nico is on Lewis' payroll. Nico was the only competition Lewis had for 3 years. Now he has none and looks like a genius.
Does anyone else think Ocon made multiple defensive moves against Dan approaching turn 1 early in the race? Should have had a 5 second penalty IMO. Amazing courage later from Dan, he didn't lift when Stroll was sliding across the grass towards him.
Toto himself has said the working relationship with Bottarse is way better than what it ever was with Nico. Jeez I wonder why...
Exactly! Lewis is totally relaxed this year. Nico never gave him the opportunity to relax. Neither did Button or Alonso, for that matter. Bottas appears to be out of his depth.
Like I said the car design is highly crucial and will determine the outcome... They have to change the front...
You have a short memory. Lewis was anything but relaxed earlier in the year when Seb was leading and Valteri was driving well. Sure, since the break everything has fallen his way and now he's relaxed.
No I haven't. Even earlier this year he was happy and smiling all the time, something he never did previously. He knew he had the measure of his team mate, and he'd blame the car if he didn't win.
Mercedes chairman Niki Lauda has given some insight into the tense relationship between Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton last season. The 2016 Formula One world championship was their last as teammates and the first in which Rosberg came out on top, retiring as world champion at the end of the season. The title battle went down to the last lap of the last race, with Hamilton keeping the fight going until the chequered flag by backing his teammate into rival drivers as they ran one-two at the front of the field. The tension between Rosberg and Hamilton was clear throughout their period as teammates, but in an interview with Graham Bensinger on YouTube, Lauda opened up on the depth of the feud. "They had no relation, which is always bad," Lauda told Bensinger. "They were so bad that they didn't even say hello in the morning. I don't expect them to have breakfast together if they don't like each other, I don't expect them to sit down and have breakfast, but the relationship was really bad. It affected Lewis mainly and Nico [as well], so it was fine but not easy." Arpad Kurucz/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images A collision between Hamilton and Rosberg at the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix proved to be a major flashpoint in their relationship. In the immediate aftermath, Mercedes' management summoned both drivers to a meeting in the team's engineering trucks where Lauda made it clear that he thought Hamilton was to blame. "The big question was whose fault was it?" Lauda said. "For me it was clear because Lewis was too aggressive going to the right, hit the grass, couldn't stop his car and then hit him off. "I said if I have to choose between the two it's more Lewis' fault than Nico's fault. And Lewis did not appreciate that, because he was of a different opinion. He said, 'Why do you criticize me?' I said, 'Excuse me. I cannot accept that you guys crash and then we have nothing and nobody's fault. For me it has to be somebody's fault.' And then Lewis really got upset. Nico said, 'Yes, it was your part too, you moved to the inside. Why did you not leave room?' He said, 'Why should I, I was doing the race'." Lauda said he met with Hamilton again in Ibiza to talk through the incident one-on-one, while Mercedes issued a stricter set of rules of engagement to its drivers. Lauda said the rules came with the ultimate threat of a driver being released from his contract if he did not act in the interests of the team. Mark Thompson/Getty Images "We put some regulations in, we told them -- especially in Barcelona when the pushed each other off the track -- we said this was unacceptable for Mercedes and one of you guys has to win [the race] you cannot push each other off. "We had some rules put in, that you are not allowed to [do that] and you have to pay a penalty if you do it again or we will think of releasing you from your contract, because we are team players here and we cannot destroy each other. This was the thing. Toto came up with some good rules and we had peace again. We fought hard and the accidents got reduced between them."
Bottas manager is toto Wolff, so in getting him as number two, elton has a driver CONTRACTED to let him win. Nico was a good, intelligent, fast driver, always has been, and without the shackles being out on him for 2014 and 2015, and some rather timely mechanical failures, he could easily have been the one with two championships from the three, maybe even all three. Elton is fast, but he isn't a tactician (when he try's that he's hilarious, ****s up every time, only the British media think he's all that), he is not worthy of the attention the press gives him, and the Mercedes is absolutely the best car out there, and the most reliable. Seb in the Mercedes, or Ricci, or lil Maxine, would destroy him and his fragile ego within a few races, that's why they would never get a Mercedes drive unless elton leaves
Typical 348 owner...how screwed up is this point of view? http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/posts/145624740/
They're 100cc and 85 HP down on a proper car so have had to make excuses ever since they made the wrong decision Ernie has forgotten that the reason Nico threw the hat back at knucklehead was because it had the WRONG place number on it Plus I can't stand it when these uneducated idiots spell loser with an extra 'o'