Nico Rosberg to retire from F1 (!)

[Restomaniac]

Watching Hamilton conduct himself in interviews - I honestly can't understand why he is often criticized to the extend he is. In most interviews, especially the ones on Sky and Channel 4 (before that on the BBC), he always strikes me as a talkative, honest and sincere person giving straight answer. This might sometimes be his "downfall" - as sometimes, when asked about topics that ensure a lot of sensationalism (Monaco, Barcelona, Spa, Austria etc), he would probably say too much for his own good. On the other hand, drivers like Rosberg seem to be way more diplomatic or know what to say at the right time, giving relative little fuel for the media to highlight or rub their hands over. Vettel is another driver who conducts himself very well in interviews.

Now, imagine a driver as Hamilton, as talkative as he is, being translated into another language (e.g.: German) and perhaps singular sentences highlighted that would exaggerate the meaning without the proper context. Then mix that up with twitter pictures, ads or commercials that portray Hamilton as the person with the tattoos, the ear-rings, the "bling", gangsta, sunglases etc. This immediately causes many people to dislike him. Rosberg, Vettel, Schumacher, they all portray the typical racer persona much better: Quiet, ruthless, calculated, intelligent and analytical, hard working etc. Hamilton, in many areas, seems and is portrayed quite the opposite. Then there is also the point that people prefer to relate to the ethos 'that one who works hard, will gain and eventually succeed'. Schumacher, even Rosberg is probably the best example of exactly that: A driver who perhaps isn't as naturally gifted as often Senna is referred to, but still got there by working hard and putting in the effort. Then you have a driver like Hamilton who goes out, parties, seems to have a lot of time to sit out testing, time for ads with lots of bling but still shows up and even on a bad day still gets the maximum (or close to) out of the car, by sheer natural ability. This must be a smack in the face to all those that follow a more analytical approach to get the most out of a car and still end up falling short. This creates possibly creates an aura of arrogance - e.g. "they're better because he is". It's easier to appreciate the hard-working mentality, as Vettel, Rosberg and Schumacher used to portray, which maybe makes them come across as more sympathetic to us.


IMO, this is an interview where I thought shows well who Lewis Hamilton is, behind the bling, behind the ads, behind the persona that the media often conveys to us:
https://twitter.com/Unlimitedasks/statu ... 9900595200

Having said all that - I used to absolutely loathe Lewis Hamilton when he joined F1 in 2007. Later, I realized, it wasn't him the racer or the personality that I disliked - it was the (British) media that raved on about him in a way that simply resulted in a very strong dislike. What made me a fan and supporter? I watched him race. And to this day, I still think on that level, he is one of the most gifted and exciting drivers to watch. Max Verstappen - don't like him - but he's on his way for the same reason (even if I personally prefer Dan as a driver and personality - what is not to like about him?).

There is a lot of truth in what you say, yet a lot of things I disagree on. I think, if people have an issue with the way Lewis lives then they need to take a trip. Also, you don't get to where he has without working hard. The guy has worked his nuts off and he has a right to live how he likes. My issue with Hamilton arises when he tries to be all "PR." It's not him and he comes across as very fake. There is also a VAST difference between Schumacher, Vettel and Rosberg. Rosberg is not averse to social media, the other two were. Michael and Seb are/were fiercely private, Sebastian perhaps even more than Michael. The reason Michael and Sebastian have the popularity compared to Nico is because of the sense of humour and of course outright ability to race against the best and win.

Coming back to Hamilton. He's gone about congratulating Nico, yet there is the 'oh, it's the first time he's won in 18 years?' I mean, that only a jerk says in my opinion. There is also the 'let us race' and the 'I can't thank this team enough.' There is also the 'I'll tell you what happened in Spain one day' and the 'it's all solved internally.'

Lewis isn't someone who has a grip over his emotions outside the cockpit. He should just let that go and be himself because when things don't go his way he comes across as a serious hypocrite and this comes from someone who has no doubt that Hamilton is by far the better driver and the more 'personality' between the two.

Rosberg in my opinion is very lucky to have a WDC on his CV. But, it is what it is. One thing I do know is that he is a better team man than Hamilton and by far the more classy individual. He might be boring, but you can just see his humility and love for the people he cares for. Pure class!

This is the thing though.

I think we need to remember where Hamilton is coming from in this. He has heard and read his team boss lay into him for trying to win a WDC. You can try and spin it all you want (not you personally)but the top and bottom of it is exactly that. This after earlier in the season already using the phrase 'someone or something doesn't want me to win' with regard to his awful luck (He was very careful NOT to blame anyone at the team).

He then sees his now former team mate who had most of the luck in 2016 walk out 5 days after getting the WDC and Hamilton getting dragged over the coals by Wolff. History tells us who the better driver is and Hamilton's '18 years' comment isn't miles away from the truth.

What is he supposed to do? If he goes full 'PR' and starts blowing sunshine up Rosbergs arse he is classed as fake but if he calls it straight and tells it his he sees it (he was always going to push back if we take into account the team trying to order him and Wolffs comments post race) he is a jerk.

Hamilton is a single minded racer. He probably privately right now feels slighted for trying to win a WDC and being slagged off for it. So when he see's a guy who got lucky walk away without him getting the chance to try and 'get the win back' that's going to be his reaction.

It's funny you bring up Vettel and Schumacher. Both are (Or were depending on how you look at Schumachers situation) single minded racing drivers. Both at times proved they would step on their own grannies to win. Racing drivers do this Hamilton was trying to do this (In Abu Dhabi) I could real off a string of names who would have done the same. In fact all I'll say is 'multi 21' as that makes the point I'm making crystal clear. It's racing. Hamilton's reaction is that of a racer who rightly feels hard done to.

[jonas_linder]

From the sky interview Nico did (http://www.skysports.com/watch/video/sp ... -title-win):
"I've been racing him forever and he's always just managed to edge me out and get the title - even when we were small in go-karts," said Rosberg, who had been beaten to the championship by Hamilton in the past two seasons.

That's not to different to lewis "18 years" comment, all though it is expressed a bit more eloquently.

However, I do agree that it is a bit tasteless regardless if it is the truth.

[Andres125sx]

I think a lot of people fall into the trappings of judging a driver by their off track performances. We tend to find facts for conclusions we've already made. The reality is that Hamilton takes heat for things others get a free pass on.

Hamilton is moody and a sore loser.
Ricciardo post race in Monaco this year, gets a free pass.

Hamilton shows up with stupid hair cuts and stupid clothing
Ricciardo shows up with fun hair cuts, beards, mustaches, hats.... he's cool

Hamilton is a tattooed thug wannabe rapper
Ricciardo fills his instagram account with his Cali antics with his posse and has a crapload of tattoos.

Hamilton is disrespectful with his taking selfies during media interviews
Ricciardo well... you see where I'm going with it.

Don't take this as an attack on Ricciardo, he's probably the second best promoter or the sport we've got today and I am a big fan of his racecraft. It's just that I find it hilarious how we're all drooling for a big name challange driver like Alonso to come into the team, but when Vettel had an opportunity to get a new teammate at Ferrari everyone was just swell with keeping good ol' compliant number two driver Kimi as the best choice. Because we wouldn't want to test Vettel's mettel and have another 2014 on our hands.

However, that's just it. I keep my opinions of drivers by how they act in the car. Their skill, their craftsmanship and how they react to a give situation. Seriously (rhetorical questions) can anyone imagine the reaction from the interwebz if Hamilton had gone off on Charlie the way Vettel did? But it's Vettel, that incidence will never be mentioned in a forum argument five years from now. But the Ali G joke sure comes into the forefront from many people that don't like Hamilton because (insert rationalized hateful reason here)

People pick and choose and what they choose is easy to see when you see enough of it. Can anyone challenge the fact that part of the exodus of iconic sponsors from McLaren has nothing to do with them losing the biggest attraction in the sport at the moment? I believe that Nico and Lewis despite all the crap, were comfortable with one another, they were each a known quantity to the other because of their history together. Friends if not frienemies but it was that comfort with one another that allowed them to hit the reset button after each blowup. I'm not sure Mercedes realizes how much of a situation they'll have on their hands when they are unable to press that reset button should they bring in a driver that's making the preferred status demands, if not initially, a few races in.

I'm already eager for the 2017 season to start.

Because as I said, fanboys are fanboys. Ricciardo don´t receive same treatment because he´s not a world champion nor title contender, so Hamilton/Vettel/Rosberg/Alonso fanboys don´t see him as a threat. But we´ll see when he is

Did you see people bashing Rosberg before he was a real title contender? No, those fanboys only started criticizing Nico when he was a real candidate for the title.

It´s not because he´s Hamilton, or Nico, or Vettel. It´s because he´s a title contender and consequently a rival of fanboys favourite.


The only personality wich matters in this is not Lewis or Nico or Seb personality, but fanboys personality not accepting a fair fight, and critizicing and bashing with no reason any rival of his favourite. Stop looking for reason on drivers side, it doesn´t matter if he´s a gangsta or a missionary, fanboys will always find some reason to criticize any rival of their favourites

It´s human nature

[Phil]

Coming back to Hamilton. He's gone about congratulating Nico, yet there is the 'oh, it's the first time he's won in 18 years?' I mean, that only a jerk says in my opinion. There is also the 'let us race' and the 'I can't thank this team enough.' There is also the 'I'll tell you what happened in Spain one day' and the 'it's all solved internally.'

Lewis isn't someone who has a grip over his emotions outside the cockpit. He should just let that go and be himself because when things don't go his way he comes across as a serious hypocrite and this comes from someone who has no doubt that Hamilton is by far the better driver and the more 'personality' between the two.

I think the problem here is not that Hamilton is arrogant per say - he just says what he thinks and where the interview(er) leads him. I think in some of those sentences like the one you just brought up ("hasn't won anything in 18 years"), is that it's taken way out of proportion and out of context.

Imagine taking part in an interview. Rosberg's championship win and retirement is the big topic. You're asked why you think he's retired. On some level, you're probably trying to think yourself in Rosbergs head and trying to give an answer to why he has pulled the plug. On one hand, it's quite an insight, because I'd guess having grown up side by side with him, he would have quite an insight. Certainly better than the interviewer, the media and the rest of us. Then there are also comments back in Monaco '14, when Lewis said something along the lines that "he is more hungry [than Rosberg]" and linked that to the social upbringing, his growing up in less fortunate circumstances etc. It's probably all a very valid and accurate assessment. But it comes off wrong, because it isn't his dad who is making the comment, or his engineer, or anyone close to him - it's by his fiercest competitor.

This is what I mean, he says too much, which proves to be his downfall. Rosberg, when asked similar questions, will just refuse to comment or speak for other people. I have often seen him being asked questions ("why do you think he [Lewis] did that") and he would most often avoid answering it along the lines of "I don't know, you'd have to ask him". Lewis on the other hand, would probably try to give an analytical answer, an honest assessment from his point of view. And those questions, regardless how honest, how pure or how accurate, will always be perceived as arrogant and will most often be spinned if not exaggerated by the media as such.

I see similar traits of Federer in his post-race interviews too. One needs to understand that Federer loves tennis, not only as a player, but as a spectator too. He's a sucker for the whole tactics that goes on in a typical match. When asked a question, he won't give the "diplomatic answer" - he will give you an assessment that we would expect to later see by the post-match analysis of the broadcast. Luckily, I think the Tennis word is more forgiving. They don't quite eat you alive. Motorsports seems to be different there.

Back to Hamilton - I would clearly benefit if a PR versed person would give him tips on how to conduct himself. Perhaps even to tell him not to comment when asked about other drivers. Then again, at times, I think regardless what he says, the media will always try to spin them in a certain way. A bit like Schumacher. He was naughty a few times in the tactics and somehow, that led to him getting a certain image that will probably follow him to his grave, despite the 7 titles he achieved. The image has outgrown him in a certain sense. And maybe, Lewis Hamilton, for better or worse will always be looked at the way he is, regardless if he is that or not.

And I'll say it again: A naturally gifted driver will always be perceived as more arrogant because his gift can be less explained vs someone who puts in the hard work to become better through practice, hard work and effort.

Schumacher will always be remembered for that skill (IMO). He was so dedicated, not only as a driver, but also as a person who showed up at the factory and tried to get the maximum out of his team. I think Vettel is very similar and so is Rosberg. And these are attractive traits that I think the majority of people like to see in racing drivers, maybe because it gives us the sense that we ourselves could be as successful if given the chance and put in the same effort. And people tend to (at times) favor the underdog.

[Mandrake]

I don't think many younger people have the same aversion for his lifestyle as the older ones do. In fact, many young people want to be just like him, he is just the sort that Mercedes would want in order to appeal to a younger demographic.

Its a brave new world for us oldies and "nearly" oldies.

I'm slightly younger than Hamilton and no, his lifestyle doesn't appeal to me in any way Must be for the much younger folk. But ok, the fact than I am still using forums in the WEB 3.0 time makes me a bit old-fashioned I guess

From the sky interview Nico did (http://www.skysports.com/watch/video/sp ... -title-win):
"I've been racing him forever and he's always just managed to edge me out and get the title - even when we were small in go-karts," said Rosberg, who had been beaten to the championship by Hamilton in the past two seasons.

That's not to different to lewis "18 years" comment, all though it is expressed a bit more eloquently.

However, I do agree that it is a bit tasteless regardless if it is the truth.

It's all about tonality. Instead of acknowledging that he's been beaten once fair and square by number of points collected in the season, he uses language to talk Nico down and make him bigger. That's not very humble, especially if Nico won't challenge him again next season.

Nico's way of putting it is a lot more neutral while giving credit to Lewis for always being that tiny bit better / more lucky in the end.

[Mandrake]

Because as I said, fanboys are fanboys. Ricciardo don´t receive same treatment because he´s not a world champion nor title contender, so Hamilton/Vettel/Rosberg/Alonso fanboys don´t see him as a threat. But we´ll see when he is

Did you see people bashing Rosberg before he was a real title contender? No, those fanboys only started criticizing Nico when he was a real candidate for the title.

It´s not because he´s Hamilton, or Nico, or Vettel. It´s because he´s a title contender and consequently a rival of fanboys favourite.


The only personality wich matters in this is not Lewis or Nico or Seb personality, but fanboys personality not accepting a fair fight, and critizicing and bashing with no reason any rival of his favourite. Stop looking for reason on drivers side, it doesn´t matter if he´s a gangsta or a missionary, fanboys will always find some reason to criticize any rival of their favourites

It´s human nature

I wouldn't correlate it to being title contenders.

Take Max Verstappen, he's creating so much controversy here without being a title contender this year (he will surely be in future).

A positive example would be Ricciardo. He's good enough for sure to be a title contender but doesn't have the diva attitude that a Hamilton / Alonso have, nor does he drive as dirty as the others on track. He makes stunning passes without crowding people out of track. Hamilton has so often relied on the other driver to give way (only Massa had a phase of not doing so, which made it clear that if Hamilton doesn't get it his way there'll be a crash) and also Max Verstappen is going into the same direction.

And Hamilton Alonso Verstappen mostly always get away with it. It's like the bully back at school who somehow managed to get away with all his actions and thus created the overall "hatred" towards him.

I doubt there would be any kind of bashing and "fanboyism" if Ricciardo vs Hulkenberg would be next year's battle for WDC.

[TAG]

Did you see people bashing Rosberg before he was a real title contender? No, those fanboys only started criticizing Nico when he was a real candidate for the title.

Lewis has more haters than Nico has fans.

So when you say "fanboys" it does take two to tango. For every "Fanboy" here there's an equal and opposite "hater" and if you're not acknowledging that then you're not looking at the world through a clear lens.

[alexx_88]

Not necessarily. Some might be normal F1 fans that are just sick of reading person X praised no matter what he/she does.

[flynfrog]

Please stay on the topic at hand. Hint its about Nico's retirement not other drivers driving style. /Modvoice

[notsofast]

Why not just close this topic. Let's all move on over to the silly season topic. Once we find out what Nico does in his retirement, we can open a new topic and discuss his new endeavors.

[TAG]

Please stay on the topic at hand. Hint its about Nico's retirement not other drivers driving style. /Modvoice

Nico's five fans have already left the building.

[turbof1]

Please stay on the topic at hand. Hint its about Nico's retirement not other drivers driving style. /Modvoice

Nico's five fans have already left the building.

Do not push it, TAG. Being a bit poky is relative ok, but when asked to stop, just stop.

[Gettingonabit]

It never ceases to amaze me that people think they can really judge a person just by listening to or reading a few snippets of media material.

Where does their sense of reality come from for goodness sake!

[Pierce89]

I'm still puzzled by some of your remarks concerning the marketability of either driver. Maybe we're venturing too far into the offtopic here but how can you as "Hamilton supporter because of his skill and talent while absolutely disliking what he stands for in his 'private' life" argue that a described with the traits above is better to promote Mercedes' brand promises?

Even the line the best driver in F1 drives the best performing cars off track as well does not count as the Mercs are regularly beaten by BMWs driving pleasure machinery.

I'm looking forward to whoever is going to replace Rosberg at Mercedes. I hope they give a young talent a chance. Drivers are sitting in their top cockpits for way too long and do not make way for the many many young talents that are waiting for a spot in F1. I consider Wehrlein to be ready for that Cockpit. He proved to be quick in two completely different kinds of cars, something many drivers going the reverse way struggled with massively.

The perceived conflicts in peoples accounts of opposing levels of admiration for Lewis on and off track, is most likely because average F1 fan is an older male. The ways of younger people often clash with those of older ones, especially if carried to a colourful degree; on the other hand, Lewis driving talent is the transparent to all age groups, hence the conflict.

I don't think many younger people have the same aversion for his lifestyle as the older ones do. In fact, many young people want to be just like him, he is just the sort that Mercedes would want in order to appeal to a younger demographic.

Its a brave new world for us oldies and "nearly" oldies.

What a load of crap. I'm a college student and in my experience in the FSAE paddock, Hamilton was the butt of many jokes involving dark shades fake " hip hop" accent. That could be because American kids grew up actually knowing."gangstas" in high school and we understand what a poor job he does of imitating them. Idk .

[Andres125sx]

Did you see people bashing Rosberg before he was a real title contender? No, those fanboys only started criticizing Nico when he was a real candidate for the title.

Lewis has more haters than Nico has fans.

So when you say "fanboys" it does take two to tango. For every "Fanboy" here there's an equal and opposite "hater" and if you're not acknowledging that then you're not looking at the world through a clear lens.

Not sure how did you take my comment, but to me fanboyism and haterism are two sides of same coin, or in other words, fanboys are usually haters too, and haters are always fanboys.

It´s just a matter of fanaticism, once you start looking at someone with rose-tinted glasses it only takes one step futher to become a hater of any of his rivals

And that IMHO is pretty sad. The "only my favourite deserve prasing" mentality makes your favourite average. Where´s the merit in beating only average rivals? It´s a lot more satisfying to fight with greats than it is to fight with averages, then if your favourite loose you don´t need to find any excuse (he´s favoured, his car is not that good, etc.), or if he wins it´s a lot more satisfying to win a battle against a great rival.

This said, to me Rosberg is not a great, he´s a very good driver (as most F1 drivers) but to me most drivers in the grid would have managed to win this title. It was Lewis mechanical failures togheter with some mistakes on his own wich made Rosberg dreams reality. Ok he was good enough to take the opportunity and beat a three times world champion, that´s true, but as stated, to me most drivers in F1 grid are good enough for that. He drove the best car by far so when his teammate had those problems he didn´t need to prove anything, only to be consistent and keep the gifted advantage.

And sincerely, to me his retirement is the evidence Rosberg must be thinking something similar, he was lucky enough to become WDC despite there are several faster drivers on the grid, so he already did everything he will be able to do in F1. Rosberg looks like a reasonable person, far from that egomaniac personality great drivers usually have (Lewis, Alonso, Schumacher, Senna...) so he probably is a lot more realistic than these and did accept he´s not the fastest long time ago (what probably did help him to avoid doing stupid things and focus on consistency), so this title is the culmination to his career, a culmination he probably though imposible to reach more than once (2013, 14, 15), so once achieved no point on continue with the fight.

But he was wise enough to accept his strong and weak points, make the most of the strongs, and minimize the weaks. That gave him the title IMHO, and this also deserve some praising. This is F1 after all, strategy always play a huge role and Nico played his cards perfectly =D>