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

[Jolle]

Rosberg's history of driving people off the circuit on straights is well documented and does not do him any favours when these things happen.

Could you give us several examples of this? because the only controversial incidents of Nico I can remember are with Hamilton.

May I? Alonso Bahrain 2012 (and Hamilton a few laps later)

[Vasconia]

Rosberg's history of driving people off the circuit on straights is well documented and does not do him any favours when these things happen.

Could you give us several examples of this? because the only controversial incidents of Nico I can remember are with Hamilton.

May I? Alonso Bahrain 2012 (and Hamilton a few laps later)

Thanks, tough one is still not enough. Hamilton has several ones.

[dans79]

even if hamilton shoot rosberg with a gun, some people would say it's Rosberg’s fault

Rosberg's history of driving people off the circuit on straights is well documented and does not do him any favours when these things happen.

I strongly disagree. With the exception of his tie-ups with Hamilton, Rosberg is a very clean driver.

What are you smoking? Whenever you put it down, go back and watch Bahrain 2012.

[Jolle]

Could you give us several examples of this? because the only controversial incidents of Nico I can remember are with Hamilton.

May I? Alonso Bahrain 2012 (and Hamilton a few laps later)

Thanks, tough one is still not enough. Hamilton has several ones.

There are no instances where Hamilton drove a competitor off track on a straight (maybe Perez where he came back so soon to the racing line, admitted it was a mistake on his side, not a defensive move). The only thing Hamilton does, what every racer does, is squeezing on corner exit, where you have the choice as the opponent to back off.

If you'll ask any driver (maybe apart from Rosberg) about Hamilton you'll get that he's hard but fair. About Rosberg, several drivers check the grass on the side of the straights in case they have to overtake him.

[Just_a_fan]

I strongly disagree. With the exception of his tie-ups with Hamilton, Rosberg is a very clean driver. That his only crashes of late have been via a contretemp's with Lewis, perhaps that says more about Hamilton's aggressive style than Nico's.

It says more about Rosberg's inability to deal with a team mate who is just a better racer than him. Rosberg has no answer and is made to look second rate. And that hurts.

How anyone can say that the Austria crash was caused by Hamilton's "aggressive style" is a mystery. He was nowhere near Rosberg, had given him most of the track to drive on to the inside of him (the favourable line) and Rosberg still hit him. Rosberg just drove in to him.

[Just_a_fan]

Could you give us several examples of this? because the only controversial incidents of Nico I can remember are with Hamilton.

May I? Alonso Bahrain 2012 (and Hamilton a few laps later)

Thanks, tough one is still not enough. Hamilton has several ones.

List them.

[TAG]

I really think that on normal conditions Austria could haven been for Nico. But after Saturday´s penaly no way. During the race he was benefited by a better strategy, though its fair to say that his pace was awesome(which confirms the idea that he as very fast here).

Not sure if missed the piece of information that said Lewis was on a one stop strategy while Rosberg was on a two stop, certainly that would have something to do with it. I'd also have expected Nico to get fast lap with fresher tires but he didn't. Unfortunately for Nico Saturday was wet and he wound up a half second behind his teammate despite ending his lap much later on a track that was getting faster by the second. Requiring normal conditions in order to win a race is a weak argument.

[Vasconia]

I really think that on normal conditions Austria could haven been for Nico. But after Saturday´s penaly no way. During the race he was benefited by a better strategy, though its fair to say that his pace was awesome(which confirms the idea that he as very fast here).

Not sure if missed the piece of information that said Lewis was on a one stop strategy while Rosberg was on a two stop, certainly that would have something to do with it. I'd also have expected Nico to get fast lap with fresher tires but he didn't. Unfortunately for Nico Saturday was wet and he wound up a half second behind his teammate despite ending his lap much later on a track that was getting faster by the second. Requiring normal conditions in order to win a race is a weak argument.

Being second on the qualy could have been enough for him. He has better starts than Lewis and his pace was excellent. The penatly due to the gear box change ruined his chances in this race. Even though he was better overtaking other drivers during the first stage of the race, than he usually is.

Normal conditions(no penalties, no incidents,etc) make a win easier, even for Hamilton or Alonso. When they have the car to win they always say that they prefer normal conditions. Do they sound "weak"? I dont think so.

[Vasconia]

May I? Alonso Bahrain 2012 (and Hamilton a few laps later)

Thanks, tough one is still not enough. Hamilton has several ones.

List them.

Do yo deny that Hamilton has been quite hard with Rosberg several times, evein pushing him to the limits of the track?

[zeph]

Q: who other than Vettel has had tire blowouts during the race in the last three seasons ('14-'16)?

Just want to get an idea. I remember Vettel in Spa last year and again last weekend, but nothing else comes to mind.

edit:

Of course Pirelli can make durable tires. But they are instructed to make these compounds for better entertainment.

Silverstone 2013? Or the whole first half of 2013 was a disaster.
For sure they can make durable tires. But this is about tires with good structural integrety. As discussed by Ferrari they couldn't see any performance problems for the tires. Pressures normal, laptime the same as the lap before. And then, all of a sudden the tire explodes. Do you think this is normal? The tire also exploded on a straight, not in a corner when forces would be highest. This is the just the way the tire is build.

Would be funny that is was caused by the high pressures Pirelli subcribes. Never in history has a tire manufacturer had so much influence on how teams have to use the tires. There are restrictions on camber, pressures, etc. And still they explode...
How sad is this?
I this would have happened to Hamilton on his ultrasofts, everybody would rage and cry rivers. Now it is "just" Vettel. But it doesn't hide the fact that there is a problem with these tires...

Be afraid for 2017, be very afraid... The cars will be faster and put more load on the tires. Let's just hope everybody survives next season.

I remember 2013 very well. FOM instructed Pirelli to make gumball tires, which they did and it was a disaster. But to my knowledge plain blowouts have been pretty rare since then; that is why I specifically asked about the last three seasons '14-16).

I can remember it happening to Vettel twice, but other instances do not come to mind. Not saying it hasn't happened, just that it hasn't struck me as being a pervasive problem.

[TAG]

Auto-Motor-und-Sport has an article that quotes Toto Wolff saying that they changed Hamiltons strategy because they feared he would have a difficult time maintaining pace with his softs to the end of the race. E.g.: become a sitting duck, compared to Rosberg on fresh SS.

I still feel this is utter rubbish what Toto is saying here:

Link Austrian lap time history chart / FIA Event & Timing Austria 2016 GP

Up until Lap 54, Rosberg on 11 laps older tires was still doing consistent 1:09 times.

Lap 53:
ROS: 1:09.3 (43 laps old S)
HAM: 1:09.1 (32 laps old S)

Therefore, it was safe to assume that Hamilton could continue to maintain a similar lap delta up to at least lap 54+11 = 65. That would mean there would still be 6-7 laps to cover till the end.

Assuming Rosberg would be 1 second quicker on new tires (he wasn't), he would still need to cover a gap of at least 22 seconds, the duration of a pitstop, and overtake Verstappen to gain on Hamilton in that time. That would mean by the end of lap 65, there would still be a gap of at least 11 seconds remaining, assuming he'd be the 1 second quicker, that he would then need to close in 6-7 laps. That IMO is a very substantial gap, unlikely to be closed, especially assuming Hamilton could have backed off. The history shows us that both Mercedes, after pitting on lap 54/55 did slightly better/lower 1:09 times. Even Verstappen, who stayed on his 1-stop, was able to continue to do 1:09 times till the end of the GP.

I would have preferred to see Mercedes pit Rosberg and then re-evaluate Hamiltons strategy on a lap-to-lap basis. Seeing Rosberg pace and informing him if things didn't look good. At least they gave him the opportunity to undercut, though on the harder compound tire and the slow pit, it just didn't work out.

This is the baffling thing for me. Either Mercedes are pulling strings. Unlikely I know but... or that Mercedes time and time and time again are using a strategy built around Rosberg's abilities and discounting Lewis' abilities in their formula. Actually my thinking it this, but given Canada and Monaco and no one at Mercedes is saying, he let him go he can do it?

It's all starting to smell a bit odd.

[Jolle]

Thanks, tough one is still not enough. Hamilton has several ones.

List them.

Do yo deny that Hamilton has been quite hard with Rosberg several times, evein pushing him to the limits of the track?

Rosberg stupidly didn't back off a few times when Hamilton squeezed him on corner exit. Hamilton never ran him off the track on a straight or under braking.

[Peter1919]

And now think of what we have had during the Bridgestone era, and what excuses they had? Noone of the above...

Bridgstone were contracted to provide the most durable quick tyres they could withing the specs at the time, whereas Pirelli have been contracted to provide tyres which degrade at different levels to the extent that they force on the teams a minimum of one and usually more than one pit stop within a race. I am sure Pirrelli could build the same durable quick tyres as Bridgestone if the FIA asked them to do so

[GPR-A duplicate2]

This is the baffling thing for me. Either Mercedes are pulling strings. Unlikely I know but... or that Mercedes time and time and time again are using a strategy built around Rosberg's abilities and discounting Lewis' abilities in their formula. Actually my thinking it this, but given Canada and Monaco and no one at Mercedes is saying, he let him go he can do it?

It's all starting to smell a bit odd.

Add to that, they haven't fixed the clutch problem yet, being a team that has resolved every single problem they have faced, immediately. Guess why? Because it is Lewis who is getting affected the most. Not to mention, the swap of mechanics at the beginning of the year.

[dans79]

Thanks, tough one is still not enough. Hamilton has several ones.

List them.

Do yo deny that Hamilton has been quite hard with Rosberg several times, evein pushing him to the limits of the track?

Answer the question, stop trying to change the subject!