2016 Austrian Grand Prix - Spielberg, Fri 01 – Sun 03 Jul 2016

[zeph]

I fail to understand how you can get away with a 10-second time penalty for deliberately driving off track.
These tactics are identical to what Michael Schumacher has pulled off with Villeneuve in 1997, and the only difference there is that it was a championship deciding race.

I think this one, even though the consequences are less, is a far worse issue than what we had at Barcelona. He could claim to be surprised there, but here, it was a simple, deliberate move.
Given the explanation of the stewards, I would think of more severe penalty would be more appropriate.

+1

I think a DSQ would have been appropriate.

FWIW, I don't think the move was calculated, more of a knee-jerk reaction thing, but it's wrong nonetheless.

[ringo]

Anyhow, the stewards have spoken. Nico probably will go back to the drawing board and find a different way of keeping Hamilton behind.
In 100% of their collision or scraps, Nico is the one ballsing up, so whatever Toto plans to put in place will most likely hinder Nico and not Lewis. Hamilton will continue to do his usual thing when the team screws his strategy or give him reliability probles that put him behind; drive hard and pressure nico into a mistake. He doesn't have to collide, squeeze off, reverse into the road in Q3. Just leave it up to Nico to self destruct.

Onto other things that happened in the race. Hulkenberg is on a slippery slope when it comes to his worth. Very poor race for him. Checo looked like a genius again today with his moves coming through the field.

The Mclaren seemed like a better race car today in the hands of Button. He also was fighting through the field. Alonso was nowhere to be seen. I guess he doesn't like the track. Williams was nowhere as well.

[ringo]

https://f1metrics.wordpress.com/2014/08 ... of-racing/

[Moose]

That's not what I said.

Rosberg did not turn into the apex at the point he should have. You could basically state he drove right past it. He did not turn away from it, he just did not made an attempt to turn in at the normal moment.

I get the feeling that Rosberg's intention was to prevent Hamilton doing his usual cut back type attack. If Rosberg had taken the usual line Hamilton would have been able to get his car straighter and on the power a little earlier. By holding his line, Rosberg tried to prevent that.

There's a well known way of preventing the cut-back and better traction. You deliberately brake a bit harder, and sit on the apex a bit longer. That way, the driver doing the cut-back has to get out of the throttle just at the moment that you're accelerating.

Rosberg's ideal approach here was actually to do something similar - let Hamilton have the outside, let him past, but make sure that he tucked under Hamilton's gearbox as he did it. That way, he'd have had him again into turn 3.

[sAx]

...Deeper question perhaps is how did they managed to end up sharing the same track space, when the lead driver is supposed to be favoured with the optimal race strategy? The dummy pit stop calls during the first round to try to get Räikkönen to commit before Hamilton only ended up with Mercedes dummying themselves as they eked Hamilton's lead to nothing #SubOptimal!!

[KASCII]

There's a well known way of preventing the cut-back and better traction. You deliberately brake a bit harder, and sit on the apex a bit longer. That way, the driver doing the cut-back has to get out of the throttle just at the moment that you're accelerating.

Rosberg's ideal approach here was actually to do something similar - let Hamilton have the outside, let him past, but make sure that he tucked under Hamilton's gearbox as he did it. That way, he'd have had him again into turn 3.

The only problem what that is Hamilton had DRS down that straight anyway. Rosberg's potential tow would've been negated by Hamilton's DRS.

[Restomaniac]

Frankly, I think it was just a racing incident for which waaaaay too much is being made, especially by those whose histrionics would apparently have us believe that Rosberg besmirched Hamilton's mother's honor. I posted the quote to offer a bit of perspective. That's all.

The seed of doubt was planted way back in Monaco 2014 Qualifying. Its unfortunate now for Nico that seed is a tree bearing big fruit.

I think that's it, what in isolation might not look so bad, looks all the worse when viewed in the context of the last few years.

Though in this case, for me it looks like he was deliberately trying to run Lewis off; not just squeezing him out, which is an acceptable move. Hell without the contact to bump him across, it's debatable if Rosberg would have even made the corner without running off himself!

Indeed.
Then you revisit Spain this year alongside other times and it makes you wonder about a lot of incidents.

[Fulcrum]

It was not a racing incident. It was a malicious attack to punt his title rival off the road.

Again...

"When you are on the outside you have to expect that. It's tough for sure, but this is not a friendly game of chess..."

~ Lewis Hamilton, Suzuka 2015

The point here is not to absolve anyone of anything, only to say that what happened wasn't so far out of line that it should be considered unreasonable.

Sometimes --- happens.

Bhall, Bhall.. I still cannot agree with you that Suzuka 2015 is similar. Hamilton is darned right, yes. He should be proud of that wonderfully executed defense of his race line.

This is nothing like what happened today. Not in the very least. Hamilton had the line and was ahead. He left sace.. aaaannd.. he didn't hit Nico.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oJ-xXkGzv8

Not quite. Rosberg leads off the start.



Still ahead.



Hamilton already wide of optimal line, begins to push Rosberg wider.



Hamilton now way off line, compared with Vettel and Bottas (onboard), leaving Rosberg no option but to go off the race track, in an area with no run-off.



And the result - Rosberg pushed off the track.



To summarise:

Hamilton was not "way ahead".
Hamilton did have the inside line.
Hamilton did not "leave space" for the car alongside his.
Contact was inevitable, and only Rosberg driving off the track prevented it.

Let's compare with yesterday:

Rosberg was not "way ahead".
Rosberg did have the inside line.
Rosberg did not "leave space" for the car alongside his.
Contact was inevitable, and only Hamilton driving off the track would have prevented it.

I am in no way claiming Rosberg is innocent, but how you can constantly legitimise Hamilton's moves without acknowledging its contribution to future conflict is beyond me.

Hamilton has made the same assumption twice this year - assuming Rosberg will be compliant - and been wrong on both occasions.

[Juzh]

I think a DSQ would have been appropriate.

Get your --- straight.

[GrizzleBoy]

By the third picture you posted, Hamilton is already half way up past Nicos car and only going further forward.

Nico had an actual option to back out seeing that his gap was disappearing or keep gunning for it.

Lewis actually attemted to make the turn, hence actually travelling past the apex and squeezing on corner exit, something drivers do all throughout a grand prix.

In Austin, Nico was behind on corner entry and attempted to shove his car into pretty much the only line available, BEFORE he even bothered to turn his wheel, let alone make the apex.

Lewis didn't have an option to back out. He could only park (literally park) and wait for Nico to complete his ridiculous maneuver that he barely managed to make stick even at almost zero speed, or go off the circuit. Not only that, he was the car ahead going into, and going through the corner, hence Nico driving into the side of him and not vice versa.

The reason squeezing other drivers on the exit of a corner works, is because they are BEHIND and their line takes them into the path of your sidepod and not vice versa.

The reason divebombing doesn't works is because. Does it even require an explanation? What Nico did is divebomb. It was literally the definition of a divebomb. The kind of thing you see in video games. Steam into the corner on the inside, brake late and use the car turning ahead of you to bump you in the right direction and exit unscathed while theyre in the wall.

Why are we comparing a divebomb to squeezing on exit?

[ChrisDanger]

It was a joy to watch Verstappen today, Raikönnen must "hate " him for fending him of a seccond time like this.
I was almost sure he was going the overtake Verstappen, he had lost a lot of grip the final laps of the race .

Raikönnen was lapping more than a seccond a lap faster then Max, but could not get ahead =D>
He is so good in wheel to wheel battles, amazing to watch.

It was the yellow flags that save Max. Max is great,but he is not the Pirreli tyre Deity!

I agree, he is not a Deity, just a kid still.
But how do you explain his tyre deg compared to Ricciardo?
Soley to running in cleaner air?

Apparently the Dutch media are now calling him "The Tyre Whisperer"

[Godius]

It was a joy to watch Verstappen today, Raikönnen must "hate " him for fending him of a seccond time like this.
I was almost sure he was going the overtake Verstappen, he had lost a lot of grip the final laps of the race .

Raikönnen was lapping more than a seccond a lap faster then Max, but could not get ahead =D>
He is so good in wheel to wheel battles, amazing to watch.

It was the yellow flags that save Max. Max is great,but he is not the Pirreli tyre Deity!

This is incorrect, the yellow flags were shown for end of sector 2 (Perez) and start of s3 (Rosberg) where there are no typical overtaking spots.

[Godius]

[Goran2812]

45 pages...and more than 20 about ham and rosberg... really?

Who won the fastest pitstop award?

[Vasconia]

It was a really interesting race.

The Hamilton-Rosberg battle. No doubts here, I was Rosberg´s mistake, and a desperate move. The race was lot but a second position was better than doing this stupid thing. I can understan why he was fustrated because Rosberg was faster this weekend, on normal conditions. But with the suspension failure and the the sixth position the race was lost. The second position would have been a good result.

I dont understand why Rosberg´s tyres didnt work better on the last stint. I was expecting a faster Hamilton on the last laps but at the same time I was expecting to pull away in the first laps of that last stint.

Another mess for Ferrari. The strategy was not that good, once again. What happened with Sebastian was not normal, a tyre cant give you the chance of posting good laps times and suddenly explote.

Brilliant race by Verstappen, he is brilliant, period.

Another super solid race by Carlos Sainz, almost nothing worked this weekend but he was able to achieve some points. Excellent.

What an awful weekend for Fernando. Button did a great job, it was surprising to see such a competitive McLaren. Why worked the car so well?