2014 Monaco Grand Prix

[RZS10]

BTW what exactly did happen to Hamilton's eye?

His visor wasn't closed properly and he got something into his eye, then tried to get rid of it and got even more dirt on his visor but his eye got better for the last few laps... but i think that his tyres were gone as well

[anzx]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQOH2UAaM4c

I'm just wondering why does Hamilton think that he should come to pits first when sutil crashed? I just don't get it, does he think that hes the number 1 driver in the team? Anyway Rosberg was infront so he should be called in first and then Hamilton on the next lap, this seems logical to me. Hes becoming more and more annoying, at first I've liked him but now I started to realize that maybe he was the main reason for what happened in Hungaroring 2007.

[gray41]

I think he knew it was the only way to go on an alt strategy as he was never going to beat Nico just following him into the pits.

[thomin]

BTW what exactly did happen to Hamilton's eye?

The tears obscured his vision.

We will see in Canada.

I'm afraid that Hamilton may fall prey to his own "mind games". Jackie Steward said the other day that whatever happens outside the cockpit, once you're in the driver's seat, you need to stow away your emotions and that makes sense to me. In the past (e.g. his 2011 season) we've seen that this might be Lewis' biggest problem and this race once again hinted at this. Lewis must not allow himself to get worked up about this so much.

For instance, say he really believes that he's hungrier than Nico and then loses in Monaco, what does that tell us? In order not to demotivate himself, he then needs another narrative that could explain this, like Nico cheated or the team favored Nico, etc. But now we get into territory that is extremely unhealthy, both for him as well as for the team, ultimately diminishing his chances. He should therefore be careful not to let himself or the media push him into that direction. He doesn't need to be Nico's friend, but there should be a base level of respect towards Nico and a whole lot of respect towards the team if he wants to have long term success.

Luckily, I think Lauda makes for a great mentor in that regard as he knows all sides of this from first hand experience and he's not shy to be blunt about it. Lewis should really heed his advice and be careful about what outsiders and particularly the media tell him.

[MercedesAMGSpy]

I'm afraid that Hamilton may fall prey to his own "mind games". Jackie Steward said the other day that whatever happens outside the cockpit, once you're in the driver's seat, you need to stow away your emotions and that makes sense to me. In the past (e.g. his 2011 season) we've seen that this might be Lewis' biggest problem and this race once again hinted at this. Lewis must not allow himself to get worked up about this so much.

For instance, say he really believes that he's hungrier than Nico and then loses in Monaco, what does that tell us? In order not to demotivate himself, he then needs another narrative that could explain this, like Nico cheated or the team favored Nico, etc. But now we get into territory that is extremely unhealthy, both for him as well as for the team, ultimately diminishing his chances. He should therefore be careful not to let himself or the media push him into that direction. He doesn't need to be Nico's friend, but there should be a base level of respect towards Nico and a whole lot of respect towards the team if he wants to have long term success.

Luckily, I think Lauda makes for a great mentor in that regard as he knows all sides of this from first hand experience and he's not shy to be blunt about it. Lewis should really heed his advice and be careful about what outsiders and particularly the media tell him.

Jackie Stewart isn't a fan of Lewis Hamilton, so his opinion is irrelevant to me. Second, Lewis had a brilliant 2012 season and 2013 wasn't bad either. I think we need to stop questioning his mental state. Third, after what Nico did in Q3 respect is the last thing he deserved.

[thomin]

Jackie Stewart isn't a fan of Lewis Hamilton, so his opinion is irrelevant to me. Second, Lewis had a brilliant 2012 season and 2013 wasn't bad either. I think we need to stop questioning his mental state.

I didn't question his mental state in 2012 or 2013...though at times he did seem unnecessarily defeatist in 2013. I'm looking at his behavior today, like his constant whining on the radio, the way he attacked the team for not bringing him in first, or his attitude on the podium. I can even file this away as "bad weekend after a disappointing qualifying". All I'm saying is that he needs to be careful not to get worked up about it. Lewis just doesn't strike me as the clinical Schumacher type, so he only harms himself and his own chances by getting worked up.

[SiLo]

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/114138

Hamilton revealed after the Monaco GP that Rosberg had used a similar aggressive engine setting in his bid to snatch victory in Bahrain earlier this year.

Wolff said that their actions have now forced a clampdown on the drivers, with neither now allowed to play around with the mappings settings on their own.

"It's never going to happen again," declared Wolff.

It's also mentioned that Hamilton did the same in Spain.

Yes which is implied by the quote which says "Rosberg had used a similar aggregsive engine setting." I was actually the person who posted about this before the race today, so I'm not trying to be bias, just update the situation for anyone who hasn't seen yet.

Seeing as Hamilton is constantly using less fuel, I think he is within his rights to use a more aggressive engine setting. He should get the benefit of saving that fuel to use later in the race, regardless of who is might be racing.

He keeps using a few % less than Nico though at every race, are they fuelling him less than Nico? Or is he just better at saving fuel?

[gray41]

I feel like they could potentially be fuelling him lighter, if they know he won't use 2kgs of fuel but Nico will, why put it in?

[thomin]

Seeing as Hamilton is constantly using less fuel, I think he is within his rights to use a more aggressive engine setting.

I think it's about more than simply fuel consumption, but rather durability. If Mercedes allowed their drivers to turn up the engine at will, they'd risk unnecessary DNFs.

He keeps using a few % less than Nico though at every race, are they fuelling him less than Nico? Or is he just better at saving fuel?

Possibly both. If he's better at saving fuel, it would make sense to put less fuel in his tank.

[MercedesAMGSpy]

Jackie Stewart isn't a fan of Lewis Hamilton, so his opinion is irrelevant to me. Second, Lewis had a brilliant 2012 season and 2013 wasn't bad either. I think we need to stop questioning his mental state.

I didn't question his mental state in 2012 or 2013...though at times he did seem unnecessarily defeatist in 2013. I'm looking at his behavior today, like his constant whining on the radio, the way he attacked the team for not bringing him in first, or his attitude on the podium. I can even file this away as "bad weekend after a disappointing qualifying". All I'm saying is that he needs to be careful not to get worked up about it. Lewis just doesn't strike me as the clinical Schumacher type, so he only harms himself and his own chances by getting worked up.

He is indeed not the clinical Schumacher, he is Lewis and a fighter. I have seen people questioning his mental state time again and again without some facts/proof except the 2011 season.

We can talk here about Alonso in 2007 too and his tactics, don't think it will add some value to the debate.

[Mamba]

All I can say is that it looks to me like lewis is a sore loser. There are still pleanty of races left for a fight so why cry over one.
Even after qualifying he was not as talkative but that is understandable. Also why question Nico's pole. He smiled because he could keep a position that could possibly and did give him a win. Would you not smile if the same happend to you?

They should man up and do the fighting on track and behave as professionals off it. On a better note, how long will it be before they take each other out if this close fighting continues?


Cheers
MAMBA

[zeph]

All I can say is that it looks to me like lewis is a sore loser. There are still pleanty of races left for a fight so why cry over one.

I can get with this. Hamilton is a most gracious winner, complementing Rosberg saying he was faster etc. but when the tables turn it is a different story.

Now, it is understandable if maybe he feels Mercedes favors Rosberg because Wolff and Lauda speak German with Rosberg, but he's not a rookie anymore and needs to man up.

I sense some irony here, as recent developments somewhat echo the situation at McLaren in 2007, but this time he is on the receiving end. Karma is a b--ch.

Wouldn't it be funny if Mercedes ends up divided by the driver feud and Alonso taking the WDC from both with a single point margin. In the last race, where Raikkonen lets him through because he is already out of contention.

[max_speed]

All I can say is that it looks to me like lewis is a sore loser. There are still pleanty of races left for a fight so why cry over one.

I can get with this. Hamilton is a most gracious winner, complementing Rosberg saying he was faster etc. but when the tables turn it is a different story.

Now, it is understandable if maybe he feels Mercedes favors Rosberg because Wolff and Lauda speak German with Rosberg, but he's not a rookie anymore and needs to man up.

I sense some irony here, as recent developments somewhat echo the situation at McLaren in 2007, but this time he is on the receiving end. Karma is a b--ch.

Wouldn't it be funny if Mercedes ends up divided by the driver feud and Alonso taking the WDC from both with a single point margin. In the last race, where Raikkonen lets him through because he is already out of contention.

i was dreaming for same..if redbull and ferrari step up and growing feud between two can cause few dnf's or use of extreme settings in few engine penalties later on then by end of year situation can spice up..with double points in last race..no one can be discounted.. praying to god to make this year championship exciting..

[SparkyAMG]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQOH2UAaM4c

I'm just wondering why does Hamilton think that he should come to pits first when sutil crashed? I just don't get it, does he think that hes the number 1 driver in the team? Anyway Rosberg was infront so he should be called in first and then Hamilton on the next lap, this seems logical to me. Hes becoming more and more annoying, at first I've liked him but now I started to realize that maybe he was the main reason for what happened in Hungaroring 2007.

Hamilton was asked about that after the race and he explained that at Mclaren they have a strategist for each driver, so if he had been in the same situation with them, they would have called him in to give him a chance in clean air.

He went on to say that Merc only have one, who's job it is to a) get the best result for the team, and b) favour the lead driver. Hamilton said that he does a great job and understands why he wasn't called in.

Things said over the radio will always come across worse than they're meant to because the driver is in a high pressure environment and the choice of words won't necessarily reflect their opinion.

Seperately, I agree that Hamilton came across as a sore loser yesterday, but no more than Rosberg has done this season. The difference is that Hamilton will bottle it up more and chose to say as little as possible until he gets over it. That could be by Canada, it could be after... But I don't think it'll affect his performances at all. He's a lot smarter than anyone gives him credit for.

[slimfitcasual]

He is indeed not the clinical Schumacher, he is Lewis and a fighter. I have seen people questioning his mental state time again and again without some facts/proof except the 2011 season.

His comments today regarding strategy at Merc vs. his time at McLaren were embarrassing to say the least. As a mature race driver he knows better. After going on and on to the press on how much of a positive change its been to develop with Merc he throws them under the bus at the first sign of perceived favoritism towards Nico. Ugh. I like Lewis, but days like today definitely make me question his mental state. Or maybe its just Nicole.