will 2015 be a 2 horse race ?

[donskar]

Barring reliability issues it will be a 1 horse race for the foreseeable future.

It's simply not going to be possible for Renault, Ferrari & Honda to reach equal terms with Mercedes PU without development being thrown fully open, and even then they may not manage it.

With Sauber, Force India & Lotus asking Bernie to help get them to Melbourne, I predict a LOT of (pie in the sky) talk of returning to V8s for 2016.

Important to state here as well that it's not Mercedes fault that they are so far ahead as to make every race weekend a foregone conclusion barring relativity issues, that's just the 'product' that FOM have created for themselves to market, and as Bernie spent much of last season admitting, it's not an easy sell.

Also important to state for those like myself with no interest in tuning in to races with 2 cars essentially in another category, there is plenty of exciting and unpredictable racing to be found in GP2, GP3, FR3.5, WEC, Indycar, Formula E, BTCC and many more, rather than clogging up the forum whinging about the state of F1.

You and I are in nearly 100% agreement -- " not going to be possible for Renault, Ferrari & Honda to reach equal terms with Mercedes." I think it will be 1) Merc, 2) Red Bull 3) Williams and Ferrari about even.

[PlatinumZealot]

So all of a sudden now, Nico is a first rate Journeyman.. oh please...

[ScottB]

So all of a sudden now, Nico is a first rate Journeyman.. oh please...

Not at all, but how both Lewis and Nico react to last seasons results will be interesting; it's not inconceivable that Hamilton could push on and Nico drop back, or, conversely, Nico could be even hungrier, Lewis less so.

In any case let's hope for a decent fight, because nobody else will be getting near them.

[Manoah2u]

I can only imagine Lewis setback is his mindset and focus after splitting with Nicole. His twitter feed and [instagram?] pictures showed a man depressed. Not delving into the actual couple itself, regarding lewis, it's important he doesn't let his 2015 season get negatively influenced from this.
History shown Nicole was an important key figure in his mindset. His 1st WDC was with Nicole. Afterwards, he became close, but seemed to lack some focus. I remember clearly him splitting up back at Mclaren and it didn't do him much good, it did him good when they were back together though.
This does not bode well thus for his prospects on the 2015 season.
That said, i am not certain how it went down this year between the two. I haven't seen her much @ the paddock in 2015. Obviously she was there the last race[s] but seemed like the 2 were on different paths alltogether.

in all fairness then, and taking into account the way lewis responded to Nico's assumed 'dirty tricks', Lewis did grab his title in an 'offsetting' environment.

Take into account than too, that Lewis now has the edge of having gaine his 2nd WDC and with it a load of experience @ Mercedes, much more confidence, and an environment that he likes much better than he had at Mclaren, versus Nico still bummed about losing out to Lewis [ Nico is a great driver, but a very sore loser], without WDC, and a much longer time @ Mercedes without the desired results - and imho, there is no battle.

I'd say the only reason for Nico to beat lewis is if Lewis has DNF's or mechanical trouble, or at the qualification [ nico is a strong pole setter].

It still is a 2-horse race because of that and because it's unlikely the rest is able to catch up enough during the most part of the season, though i genuinly feel at mid-season Ferrari, Williams, RedBull and Mclaren will have gained to be coming so close to Mercedes it'll be concidered 'competing'.

[PlatinumZealot]

I really don't think what happens outside of the track affects Lewis or Nico. Sitting in the car with their helmets on is an escape from the real world, I would say. When Lewis had his meltdown in 2011, it was not because of his Dad or girlfriend, it was because Vettel was running away with the title and his team was focusing too much on Jenson. Based on that I don't think Nicole will have any bearing on Lewis' performance this year, the same can be said for Nico's wife.

[SiLo]

Hamilton had Rosberg beat last year and he knows it. I think it will be even tougher for Nico this year. Yes he can try and focus more on race pace, but so can Hamilton.

I think qualifying will be very exciting this year, I loved it last year because you really did't know who would be on pole between the two!

[Vasconia]

I doubt it, it'll be a one horse race. Hamilton has blown the dam holding back his second title, it'll be like when Schumacher finally got his first title for Ferrari, the rest just flooded in once the pressure was off. Rosberg is now the man under pressure to not become an also-ran number two driver and that will be a heavy burden to carry.

Except hamilton is not on the same level as prime-schumacher.

how could you be able to judge that?

Hamilton, a driver than was nearly under a panic attack when Rosberg was behind him in some races (asking all the time to his engineer which the gap was). He is the fastest guy out there but I think that sometimes he is too nervous when he is under a constant pressure from another driver. Although he has improved a lot in this area.

[lebesset]

last year we saw a conservative hamilton ;in the back of his mind ....oh no . it can't happen again ...but it almost did !
this year , with his second wdc under his belt , i expect to see a different hamilton eg you expect to see rosberg outqualify him again ? in your dreams

[NathanOlder]

]

Hamilton, a driver than was nearly under a panic attack when Rosberg was behind him in some races (asking all the time to his engineer which the gap was). He is the fastest guy out there but I think that sometimes he is too nervous when he is under a constant pressure from another driver. Although he has improved a lot in this area.

But we get far more team radio than we ever have done. Who's to say Michael didnt carry on more than anyone.on the radio. We hardly heard the radio back then so we cant compare.

[Phil]

Hamilton, a driver than was nearly under a panic attack when Rosberg was behind him in some races (asking all the time to his engineer which the gap was).

This doesn't have much to do with 'panic attack' but more about how racing in general has changed. It's not about outright foot-to-the-floor-no-matter-what-style-racing, but about playing the long term game, maintaining a perfect balance between pushing just enough to keep the tyres within their optimal temperatures, extend their life as long possible yet retain the best performance/lap time delta all the same.

As such, you will rarely have any driver simply racing as fast as he can during a race - but more racing as fast within the parameter of the long term game. Being behind has the advantage that you can try to follow your opponent and race within the pace he is setting. Being ahead, you have to dictate that pace. If you get it wrong, push too hard, you are left vulnerable once the tyres lose performance. Bahrain 2014 was such an example, where towards the end of the [first] stint, Lewis ended up being very vulnerable. So it's only natural that a driver, being closely pursued by his team-mate, will want to know how the gap is staying. That's what managing the gap is about.

I think it's great though that at the end of 2014 and going into 2015, the team-radio ban will mean that drivers will not be allowed to ask these type of questions anymore and will have to 'fight it out'. Makes viewing so much better and allows less micro-managing from the pitwall.

[Richard]

Panic, blown open the dam, can't take the pressure, as good as Schumacher, can't drive without a radio in his ear ???? Please leave the psuedo psycho analysis in the gossip columns.

As we all know, it's the car that decides if this is a close championship or not. Attempting to compare drivers is as efficient as reading tea leaves or casting runes so please don't turn this into a diver leg hump (in the words of one complainant reported this thread)

[TAG]

Hamilton, a driver than was nearly under a panic attack when Rosberg was behind him in some races (asking all the time to his engineer which the gap was). He is the fastest guy out there but I think that sometimes he is too nervous when he is under a constant pressure from another driver. Although he has improved a lot in this area.

I don't recall Schumacher's teammates generally ever being allowed to attack.

[Kingshark]

The one convincing enough reason to why Rosberg will not become a total #2 driver is fairly simple: He is too strong in qualifying.

Rosberg is one of the very few, if not the only driver on the grid who can out-qualify Hamilton on a regular basis.

As long as Rosberg keeps beating Lewis on a regular occurrence over one lap, Lewis will always be on the back foot on race day, and his work will be cut out for him on Sunday (he made it work in Japan and USA, but failed to do in Brazil).

[ChrisM40]

Panic, blown open the dam, can't take the pressure, as good as Schumacher, can't drive without a radio in his ear ???? Please leave the psuedo psycho analysis in the gossip columns.

As we all know, it's the car that decides if this is a close championship or not. Attempting to compare drivers is as efficient as reading tea leaves or casting runes so please don't turn this into a diver leg hump (in the words of one complainant reported this thread)

Except that we know from past events that Hammy is emotionally fragile and it effects his driving. He split with his girlfriend, for the hundredth time, again. If they have a rocky road, he will have a rocky season. From what ive seen of him so far on various media outlets, its already affecting him.

[Tim.Wright]

Panic, blown open the dam, can't take the pressure, as good as Schumacher, can't drive without a radio in his ear ???? Please leave the psuedo psycho analysis in the gossip columns.

As we all know, it's the car that decides if this is a close championship or not. Attempting to compare drivers is as efficient as reading tea leaves or casting runes so please don't turn this into a diver leg hump (in the words of one complainant reported this thread)

Except that we know from past events that Hammy is emotionally fragile and it effects his driving. He split with his girlfriend, for the hundredth time, again. If they have a rocky road, he will have a rocky season. From what ive seen of him so far on various media outlets, its already affecting him.

Yes and these effects can be discussed here:
http://forums.autosport.com
and here:
http://forum.planet-f1.com/