2014 Hungarian Grand Prix - Hungaroring

[SectorOne]

They could perhaps have gotten a 2-3 if when Rosberg pitted for the last time, Hamilton would respond and do the same.
You´d have two lightning fast Mercedes cars and Alonso no idea what to do, if he pits he´s toast, if he stays out he´s even more toast.

[prince]

"Why is he not letting me through ?"

Because you couldn't pass JEV and he did, Nico. Not to mention he forced Vettel into a mistake before that to get rid of him.

Once again Hamilton proving to be the better racer (as if anyone suspected it) also with his ruthless squeeze on Rosberg on the final lap. The difference between the Sennas and the Irvines.

To be fair JEV tyres were completely worn out when LH managed to pass him and Vettel screwed up all by himself..

Is that so, then why didn't Nico managed that? Lap after Lap hung behind. Lewis got first opportunity to attach JEV and passed aggressively through turn, whereas Nico always waited for DRS zone.

[komninosm]

My only gripe with the strategy/ists today is that effectively after the first pitstop and safety car, both Mercedes drivers were equal, seperated by 1.5 seconds and by one car (Vettel). Rosberg pitted early after not being able to pass Vergne, which then put him in traffic and effectively behind Hamilton. Hamilton opted to stay out longer (radio call) which i guess opened the opportunity for a two stop opposed to a planned 3 stop, which Nico was on. At the point when Rosberg got stuck behind Hamilton, they could have technically pit him to softs, then Nico and have both on an agressive 3 stop (IOOO ROS vs IOMO for HAM).

Leaving Hamilton out on those mediums, i thought, would always leave him vulnerable.

I feel the same way too. Those mediums lost Hamilton 1 to 2 seconds each lap for about 30 laps.
That's at least 30 seconds and way more than what a pit-stop would cost. He could probably win this otherwise. Hamilton had the advantage of not using any softs in Qualifying. He should have used that and go (inter) soft soft soft.

[SiLo]

My only gripe with the strategy/ists today is that effectively after the first pitstop and safety car, both Mercedes drivers were equal, seperated by 1.5 seconds and by one car (Vettel). Rosberg pitted early after not being able to pass Vergne, which then put him in traffic and effectively behind Hamilton. Hamilton opted to stay out longer (radio call) which i guess opened the opportunity for a two stop opposed to a planned 3 stop, which Nico was on. At the point when Rosberg got stuck behind Hamilton, they could have technically pit him to softs, then Nico and have both on an agressive 3 stop (IOOO ROS vs IOMO for HAM).

Leaving Hamilton out on those mediums, i thought, would always leave him vulnerable.

I feel the same way too. Those mediums lost Hamilton 1 to 2 seconds each lap for about 30 laps.
That's at least 30 seconds and way more than what a pit-stop would cost. He could probably win this otherwise. Hamilton had the advantage of not using any softs in Qualifying. He should have used that and go (inter) soft soft soft.

Probably why he looked so pissed on the podium. He knew he could have won from the pit lane and really got some momentum.

[the user]

"Why is he not letting me through ?"

Because you couldn't pass JEV and he did, Nico. Not to mention he forced Vettel into a mistake before that to get rid of him.

Once again Hamilton proving to be the better racer (as if anyone suspected it) also with his ruthless squeeze on Rosberg on the final lap. The difference between the Sennas and the Irvines.

To be fair JEV tyres were completely worn out when LH managed to pass him and Vettel screwed up all by himself..

Is that so, then why didn't Nico managed that? Lap after Lap hung behind. Lewis got first opportunity to attach JEV and passed aggressively through turn, whereas Nico always waited for DRS zone.

He had problems with his brakes. The brake ducts were taped up before the race and eventually that lead to the brakes overheating. He was told by the team to adjust the brake balance because of that. Only during the first stop was the tape removed.

He probably was very careful as well. He's in a championship fight and it wouldn't help him if he lost points by getting taken out of the race.

[komninosm]

My only gripe with the strategy/ists today is that effectively after the first pitstop and safety car, both Mercedes drivers were equal, seperated by 1.5 seconds and by one car (Vettel). Rosberg pitted early after not being able to pass Vergne, which then put him in traffic and effectively behind Hamilton. Hamilton opted to stay out longer (radio call) which i guess opened the opportunity for a two stop opposed to a planned 3 stop, which Nico was on. At the point when Rosberg got stuck behind Hamilton, they could have technically pit him to softs, then Nico and have both on an agressive 3 stop (IOOO ROS vs IOMO for HAM).

Leaving Hamilton out on those mediums, i thought, would always leave him vulnerable.

I feel the same way too. Those mediums lost Hamilton 1 to 2 seconds each lap for about 30 laps.
That's at least 30 seconds and way more than what a pit-stop would cost. He could probably win this otherwise. Hamilton had the advantage of not using any softs in Qualifying. He should have used that and go (inter) soft soft soft.

Probably why he looked so pissed on the podium. He knew he could have won from the pit lane and really got some momentum.

Yeah, it sort of felt like medium tire was the strategy at start for a no safety car race. But when the safety cars came out they should instantly change that strategy to a normal inter soft soft soft and they didn't for some reason. It's like they were lazy.

[ringo]

If Hamilton had let Rosberg pass, Rosberg probably would have won with Hamilton, say, 3rd or 4th.
Now they got P3 and P4. What team on earth wouldn't have preferred option 1 over option 2?

Rosberg would not have won. reason being he was not being held up by hamilton, he was nowhere close.
Another question i want to ask is why didn't mercedes put hamilton on the option tyre?

It's amazing hamilton even finished ahead of rosrberg today with the slower strategy, as even alosno know the prime was slower and he could have relaxed. Rosberg was beaten right there, had they put lewis on the option after he would have a short sting then onto options again for an easy win.
Rosberg would be behind him the whole time. I am starting to question mercedes priorities..

[henra]

Is that so, then why didn't Nico managed that? Lap after Lap hung behind. Lewis got first opportunity to attach JEV and passed aggressively through turn, whereas Nico always waited for DRS zone.

That's what I meant about nursing the car. He had brake temperature issues due to too much blocked ducts. But instead of ignoring that for a couple of aggresive laps he seemed to choose to play it safe. Given the brake problems of Merc in previous instances maybe understandable but in hindsight it was where he lost the race.

[RZS10]

By asking Lewis to let Nico through. Nico was on a 13 laps used tyres, was struggling to overtake Lewis and how on earth he would have overtaken Fernando? It would have simply cost Lewis the podium. Worse, what if Lewis would have let him through and then there was a safety car event? Again gone. Very stupid of Merc management. Commentators were right when they remembered Ross Brawn to have been on the pit wall.

Not true - tyres, struggling, overtaken Fernando etc. Why? Already explained but again: Rosberg overall lost a lot of time in traffic, after second and especially third stop. Third stop when he pitted after he wasted considerable amount of time behind Hamilton. Free air matters in Hungary, ask Alo&Ricc. It would have taken just a couple of seconds (from memory) to be in front of Williams and the other car, I don't remember exactly. Free air instead of overtaking = a lot of time.

The other side: I'm speculating but judging by how Hamilton in a faster, tuned for race car couldn't touch very slow Alonso and helped Ricciardo by getting overtaken with DRS (slight mistake) he wasted time keeping Rosberg behind. I can be wrong here but Rosberg's side is obvious. If Brawn was at Merc there would be no fight at all, ultra boring championship and Rosberg getting Barrichello BRAWN GP treatment with bad strategy calls and set up/equipment problems. Only Brembo brakes allowed etc.

By letting him pass Lewis would have given Rosberg the victory and lost big time in the WDC. Why on earth should he do that? By now even the team says it was the right call by HAM.

Rosberg only has to blame himself for losing many track positions after the SC came in, Alonso, Vettel and Rosberg were the unlucky ones that lost positions due to the SC, yet ALO managed to GAIN positions in a weaker car and Rosberg lost them, ofc the brake issue (or him overheating the brakes during SC) did not help

They ALL had cars tuned for the race, that's what FP1,2 and 3 are for...you know? His car was built from scratch basically, i would bet my own damn car saying that the setup was not perfect

Alonso had the grippier tyres, that's why Hamilton could not overtake him, in the end their tyres were probably equally worn, Alo maybe hit the cliff earlier, it was almost impossible for Ham to defend against Ric without a chance of taking both cars out. (some people above me already pointed that out in the time i wrote this, Primes probably were a bad choice)

Hamilton did not lose any time keeping Rosberg behind, he did not resort to a defensive line even once.

Looking at the season so far one could maybe, just maybe argue that ROS is getting better treatment, with Ham having more issues with the car and todays call from the pitlane to let ROS pass, still i don't believe that- thinking it might be the other way round is totally bonkers, though

[Traction]

"Why is he not letting me through ?"

Because you couldn't pass JEV and he did, Nico. Not to mention he forced Vettel into a mistake before that to get rid of him.

Once again Hamilton proving to be the better racer (as if anyone suspected it) also with his ruthless squeeze on Rosberg on the final lap. The difference between the Sennas and the Irvines.

To be fair JEV tyres were completely worn out when LH managed to pass him and Vettel screwed up all by himself..

Is that so, then why didn't Nico managed that? Lap after Lap hung behind. Lewis got first opportunity to attach JEV and passed aggressively through turn, whereas Nico always waited for DRS zone.

Apologies, I was under the impression LH was on much fresher tyres but in checking JEV was on 28 lap old tyres and LH on 25. Certainly was a ballsy move but I still thing JEV was struggling badly by then. Admittedly even then I can't really understand why Nico couldn't get past him ...

[Regle]

If Hamilton had let Rosberg pass, Rosberg probably would have won with Hamilton, say, 3rd or 4th.
Now they got P3 and P4. What team on earth wouldn't have preferred option 1 over option 2?

Rosberg would not have won. reason being he was not being held up by hamilton, he was nowhere close.
Another question i want to ask is why didn't mercedes put hamilton on the option tyre?

It's amazing hamilton even finished ahead of rosrberg today with the slower strategy, as even alosno know the prime was slower and he could have relaxed. Rosberg was beaten right there, had they put lewis on the option after he would have a short sting then onto options again for an easy win.
Rosberg would be behind him the whole time. I am starting to question mercedes priorities..

A comment of mine was subject to moderator's approval and not yet released, don't know why, so here again, concerning your questioning Mercedes' priorities: it must have been clear to Mercedes that Lewis wasn't simply going to step aside and let Rosberg pass, not with the situation they're in. One might read into that that they actually cost Rosberg time and prevented him from getting a better result because they told him not to attack aggressively, “we're telling Lewis to let you pass” when they didn't have to 'fear' Lewis was ever going to do that. Rosberg was sitting there, not attacking and risking anything, waiting for Lewis to let him pass (see post-race interview) which the team promised was going to happen -> time lost, Rosberg held back, advantage Lewis.

If you want to see biased strategies, you can see them in all ways and situations…

[ringo]

Alonso is a great.
I think he has shown enough magic drives to put him in the hall of fame. Hamilton is in that league as well but needs a team like ferrari to give him #1 status to have full support to maximize his potential, but Alosno took that slow ferrari and did a much better race than Nico and Vettel. He is carrying ferrari on his back for some time now and they owe him a lot for saving them from disgrace. He's getting respectable results and his teammate is languishing.

Now as for Rosberg, i think at this stage in the season it's clear Hamilton has better in race speed. Nico hasn't been going well in the races when things are evened up and he has to race with other cars. I was quite surprised when i saw that there were only 2 cars in-between them before half distance. The other half of the season should be very exciting if Hamilton actually starts a race on level terms with Nico.

Vettel had a poor race. He's not looking too good as a 4 time champion. Riciardo is showing real class. Vettel has had his bad luck and maybe isn't getting the right opportunities to demonstrate his speed, but he's not helping the situation with the amateur mistakes. Today's spin was just embarrassing.

[dans79]

Now as for Rosberg, i think at this stage in the season it's clear Hamilton has better in race speed. Nico hasn't been going well in the races when things are evened up and he has to race with other cars. I was quite surprised when i saw that there were only 2 cars in-between them before half distance. The other half of the season should be very exciting if Hamilton actually starts a race on level terms with Nico.

Lewis has to feeling pretty good right now, he has out shown Nico in the last two races by a significant margin.

[Shrieker]

Would Nico have let Lewis past in a similar situation ?

Not a cat's chance in hell.

Case closed.

Also, for the ones who're saying Nico would've won if Lewis let him through: He was going to get stuck behind Alonso anyway, who was only 1.5-2 seconds up the road.

[RZS10]

Would Nico have let Lewis past in a similar situation ?

Not a cat's chance in hell.

Case closed.

Also, for the ones who're saying Nico would've won if Lewis let him through: He was going to get stuck behind Alonso anyway, who was only 1.5-2 seconds up the road.

Alonso might have been an easier catch, but once the track dried, overtakes were limited to the ones enabled by MUCH fresher tyres, so you're probably right.

RTL even asked Rosberg what he would have done in that situation: long pause... some thinking ... "Thats too many 'could haves' and 'ifs' " ... before that he said he was mainly angry because he was unable to catch Hamilton on the last lap.