Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team 2015

[Facts Only]

Read an interview from Lewis where he suggested that Michael was probably hogging a F1 seat while driving for Mercedes. Left a foul taste in my mouth. Really poor form, specially given the medical condition of Michael.

Seems like you are just reading what you want to read (IE Hamilton saying something nasty). It seems they specifically asked him if he would be racing at 43 like Schumacher and he makes the point that he wouldnt stay in F1 just because he can or is enjoying it and that perhaps there were younger talents who couldnt get into F1 as people were hanging onto seats.

And then trying to link that comment to Michaels current condition is just clutching at straws to try and make Hamilton the bad guy. Pretty low.

I have had the pleasure of being around Michael, he is a genuinly great bloke and his current situation saddens me but his tenure at Merc was at best not very good and there is nothing wrong with saying that.

[Schuttelberg]

First of all, I'm not a person who is going to spread dislike or instigate a storm in a tea cup. I understand where you're coming from since it's not possible to read or track every person's post on the forum but I'm not the type you're relegating me as.

Few other things-

1) I am all for F1 having a human side and drivers as heroes having opinions on matters, but while making them you can choose to be smart. Hamilton has a pretty poor history when it comes to this, which I don't want to elaborate.

2) If Mercedes wanted to hire Schumacher when he was 75, it's their choice. Hamilton doesn't pay Schumacher. As a fan of a seven times champion, a lot of his fans including myself felt he was past it, but he was good enough to be on the grid.

3) This is a recent interview of Hamilton where he's taken it a step further: http://www.focus.de/sport/videos/hamilt ... 51839.html

In English, for reference. https://twitter.com/aufziehgeist
(Second tweet)

I don't know about you, but I would not want to comment or put in bad light the achievements of a man who is unable to defend himself because of a medical condition. A lot of his fans, including myself find it hard to accept the current situation but have managed to come to terms with it after incredible difficulty. Such interviews, open up wounds which don't change results but simply hurt sentiments.

Lastly, it's an opinion I have and I respect the fact that you shared yours, but please consider mine. After delivering a triumphant championship and delivering monumental race wins this year, does a world champion need to really voice such an opinion in public domain to hurt a bunch of fans? I don't think so.

[Mr. Fahrenheit]

Taken literally: "I don't want to win by smashing someone else off the track."

The only contentious point with taking the moral high-ground in this case is his hero-worship of Senna. If you want to build your case for Hamilton being a hollow character, start here. You should probably start a new thread about it too; character attacks don't really have much relevance to a team thread.

[Schuttelberg]

Taken literally: "I don't want to win by smashing someone else off the track."

The only contentious point with taking the moral high-ground in this case is his hero-worship of Senna. If you want to build your case for Hamilton being a hollow character, start here. You should probably start a new thread about it too; character attacks don't really have much relevance to a team thread.

Personally speaking, I don't really know what warrants a thread. This is a team that both drove for. Lewis replaced Michael and so I put it up here. Like I said, I don't want to make this a public agenda and I'm not calling Lewis names. I was merely looking for people that share my grief. It surely comes across as melodramatic for a lot of people, but I'm 28 and all I ever wanted to be was 10% of Michael. May be, I'm simply looking for someone to agree with me. I don't feel the importance of judging Lewis for his stance on Senna. I just feel terribly let down that the current world champion feels that my hero didn't have 'natural ability.'

I grew up watching Michael. I know he was wrong on a lot of occasions but he was my hero. I don't feel shy to admit that he has an impact on my life. I've never met him. But, he does. I may be immature about it. All I know is that I mean well for him. I want him to have a healthy happy normal life. Lewis' comments make me feel like I must defend him since he can't. As emotional as I am, his comments are way out of line and he's not half the driver Michael ever was.

If I really wanted to create a stir, I would have posted this in the Ferrari thread and it would have resulted in a Hamilton bash. I just felt that this topic would be more neutral, so far not.

[dans79]

Anyone else get the felling Merc is on the verge of all out war?

http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/formula1/34706265

Asked if the team had orchestrated the result, Hamilton said: "I never think those kind of things."

He added: "But I know the team has felt the need to be extra warm [to Rosberg]."

Pushed to elaborate, the 30-year-old said: "I do know what I mean but I'm not going to say what I mean. You should ask Toto Wolff [Mercedes team boss] and Niki Lauda [Mercedes non-executive chairman].

"You should put those questions to them about how they feel about it, and what they have to do behind the scenes to keep him happy."

[adrianjordan]

Anyone else get the felling Merc is on the verge of all out war?

http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/formula1/34706265

Asked if the team had orchestrated the result, Hamilton said: "I never think those kind of things."

He added: "But I know the team has felt the need to be extra warm [to Rosberg]."

Pushed to elaborate, the 30-year-old said: "I do know what I mean but I'm not going to say what I mean. You should ask Toto Wolff [Mercedes team boss] and Niki Lauda [Mercedes non-executive chairman].

"You should put those questions to them about how they feel about it, and what they have to do behind the scenes to keep him happy."

Not sure about a war, but if it does come to that I would hate to be Rosberg...

[Phil]

An interesting point I thought up on Sunday evening when Rosberg won the race:

Prior to the race in America, the point gap between Lewis and Rosberg was 73 points with 100 on the table. If Rosberg had won both CotA and Mexico to Lewis in 2nd both times, he would have gotten 50 points to Hamiltons 36. The point gap would now then be 59 points (LH: 338 / NR: 279) with only 50 points left on the table.

Nico can take some comfort in knowing that the point gap this year was just too big to overcome and his error in CotA had little effect on the WDC this year.

Having said that, I think Rosberg drove a fantastic race and I think he has all year, as last year, the year before and so fort. It's not his ability here that is the issue, I think most of it is down momentum, mental strength and a bit of luck. It didn't work out for him and at the end of it, this year was similarly one-sided as was last year (win-wise). If Nico can continue his qualifying performance until end of the year and start next year equally strong, it would perhaps give him the confidence he lacked throughout most of this year.

[Blackout]

Did Bob Bell really work on the 2014 W05 car? he left the team late 2013 AFAIR and Paddy lowe came to Merc in June 2013... so I assume Yes. What do you think?

[XRayF1]

My thoughts to the broiling war between them ...

HAM is a well and accomplished racer.
But because of his actions on and off track, he seems to lack manners and proper behavior towards others.
In other terms - respect for others.

You just do not kick someone who is already lying at your feet.
Throwing not just a cap, but anything, towards your teammate especially after you witnessed him making a mistake.
And the one who truly believes that 'it was just a cap' should rethink it again and again.
You. just. do. not. do. such. thing.
It shows to me the lack of respect he has for ROS.

Having said that you also do not help making him feel better.
But HAM constantly rubs in such things. In my view unnecessarily, because is a very good racing driver.
He does not need to.

In my world you do not behave like this - you open your helmet, fight it out openly, fair and square.
And shut up after the fight has either been won or lost, but you do not needle constantly at your mates.

HAM seems to think that he deserves special treatment because of his WDCs, but this only makes him small, ignorant and not being a team player.

At least to me.

[SiLo]

My thoughts to the broiling war between them ...

HAM is a well and accomplished racer.
But because of his actions on and off track, he seems to lack manners and proper behavior towards others.
In other terms - respect for others.

You just do not kick someone who is already lying at your feet.
Throwing not just a cap, but anything, towards your teammate especially after you witnessed him making a mistake.
And the one who truly believes that 'it was just a cap' should rethink it again and again.
You. just. do. not. do. such. thing.
It shows to me the lack of respect he has for ROS.

Having said that you also do not help making him feel better.
But HAM constantly rubs in such things. In my view unnecessarily, because is a very good racing driver.
He does not need to.

In my world you do not behave like this - you open your helmet, fight it out openly, fair and square.
And shut up after the fight has either been won or lost, but you do not needle constantly at your mates.

HAM seems to think that he deserves special treatment because of his WDCs, but this only makes him small, ignorant and not being a team player.

At least to me.

You're describing the perfect driver.

Hamilton wants to rub it in, he wants to demoralise Rosberg and have him beaten before he has even started. Judging by this year and the second half of last year, I'd say thats the case.

[MercedesAMGSpy]

My thoughts to the broiling war between them ...

HAM is a well and accomplished racer.
But because of his actions on and off track, he seems to lack manners and proper behavior towards others.
In other terms - respect for others.

You just do not kick someone who is already lying at your feet.
Throwing not just a cap, but anything, towards your teammate especially after you witnessed him making a mistake.
And the one who truly believes that 'it was just a cap' should rethink it again and again.
You. just. do. not. do. such. thing.
It shows to me the lack of respect he has for ROS.

Having said that you also do not help making him feel better.
But HAM constantly rubs in such things. In my view unnecessarily, because is a very good racing driver.
He does not need to.

In my world you do not behave like this - you open your helmet, fight it out openly, fair and square.
And shut up after the fight has either been won or lost, but you do not needle constantly at your mates.

HAM seems to think that he deserves special treatment because of his WDCs, but this only makes him small, ignorant and not being a team player.

At least to me.

There is no team player in a dominant F1 team or do you think Rosberg will help Hamilton to win the title? Of course not, it's you or him, it's the glory or the defeat. And Hamilton is prepared to do everything to win, like some football players, like some other world class athletes and that's why he is the champion. It's a fight, a battle and not a good behaviour contest.

[GPR-A duplicate2]

An interesting point I thought up on Sunday evening when Rosberg won the race:

Prior to the race in America, the point gap between Lewis and Rosberg was 73 points with 100 on the table. If Rosberg had won both CotA and Mexico to Lewis in 2nd both times, he would have gotten 50 points to Hamiltons 36. The point gap would now then be 59 points (LH: 338 / NR: 279) with only 50 points left on the table.

Nico can take some comfort in knowing that the point gap this year was just too big to overcome and his error in CotA had little effect on the WDC this year.

Plus, the win on platter in Monaco.

If Nico can continue his qualifying performance until end of the year and start next year equally strong, it would perhaps give him the confidence he lacked throughout most of this year.

Isn't that the thing? Last year there were loads of comments on how Nico was the better qualifier and coupled with that, how he is going to come back this year and win the title? Nico has been outraced by Lewis 3 years in a row. I am not sure what Nico can do to get the better of Lewis.

It is arguable that, to large extent, Nico has been second behind Lewis in championships, purely because of the advantage of having a dominant car. The day when the advantage gets nullified by another equally fast car, it would then force the Merc to bin the the BS of equal strategies and Nico might just get lost. Vettel in an equal car, might just blow Nico away, because for me, Vettel is slightly better qualifier than even Lewis and equally good racer. My bet; If Ferrari manages to bring a competitive car, the battle would be just between Lewis and Vettel. I am not sure if Nico would even get mentioned in the discussions.

[XRayF1]

My thoughts to the broiling war between them ...

HAM is a well and accomplished racer.
But because of his actions on and off track, he seems to lack manners and proper behavior towards others.
In other terms - respect for others.

You just do not kick someone who is already lying at your feet.
Throwing not just a cap, but anything, towards your teammate especially after you witnessed him making a mistake.
And the one who truly believes that 'it was just a cap' should rethink it again and again.
You. just. do. not. do. such. thing.
It shows to me the lack of respect he has for ROS.

Having said that you also do not help making him feel better.
But HAM constantly rubs in such things. In my view unnecessarily, because is a very good racing driver.
He does not need to.

In my world you do not behave like this - you open your helmet, fight it out openly, fair and square.
And shut up after the fight has either been won or lost, but you do not needle constantly at your mates.

HAM seems to think that he deserves special treatment because of his WDCs, but this only makes him small, ignorant and not being a team player.

At least to me.

There is no team player in a dominant F1 team or do you think Rosberg will help Hamilton to win the title? Of course not, it's you or him, it's the glory or the defeat. And Hamilton is prepared to do everything to win, like some football players, like some other world class athletes and that's why he is the champion. It's a fight, a battle and not a good behaviour contest.

You are correct, ROS will not help HAM to do anything these days.
But my team player statement was not aimed towards ROS (and that HAM should help him), but towards the team as a whole. It must be annoying for everyone.
And it does not help HAM in any way - he already is WDC 2015 (and 3x WDC), he should not think himself needing such low level tactics, don't you agree?

It only alienates me from him, despite me thinking he is one of the best F1 driver there were.

I just shudder how he may behave when he is really behind the curve, if he is already behaving like this while being ahead ...

[dans79]

And it does not help HAM in any way - he already is WDC 2015 (and 3x WDC), he should not think himself needing such low level tactics, don't you agree?

It only alienates me from him, despite me thinking he is one of the best F1 driver there were.

You should probably stop watching f1 then, because the gentlemanly driver stuff went out the window in the 50's & 60's. it's only going to get worse over the next few years, as F1 more than ever is becoming ritualized warfare between major manufactures. Top drivers getting paid tens of millions, with large sums of their salary tied up in unknown performance bonuses, leads to ruthlessness, not gratuitousness.


The whole we let them race, and they have equal treatment thing is complete BS at this point. For example last year they would routinely let Nico go on an alternate strategy and it was announced many times that it was to give Nico the best chance of winning. On Sunday when they forced Lewis to come in, if they wanted to give him a chance to win why did they not send him back out on the softs? If memory serves he did his Q1 run on mediums, and should have had an extra set of softs.

Lewis even hinted about the softs in this interview.
https://youtu.be/j_VU0-rP5aQ?t=2m44s

[emaren]

As we watched the (Mexico) race, it was opined that perhaps HAM was riding shotgun to assure ROS came second in the championship.

There was pretty much no attempt to get past him, no undue pressure, no sneaky looks down the inside.

To me, and to those that I watched the race with, it looked like there was a lot of team playing going on....