Nico Rosberg’s third win of the year in the Austrian Grand Prix meant he extended his points lead over Lewis Hamilton for the third race in a row.
Having started ninth Hamilton did all he could to finish on his team mate’s tail, but he was unable to stop Rosberg increasing his lead to a new high of 29 points.
The pair overcame the Williams duo of Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas, who locked out the front row of the grid but were shuffled behind their faster rivals during the pit stops.
Hamilton’s stellar start
Whatever Hamilton imagined the best-case scenario was for the end of lap one, being one second behind his team mate in fourth place had to be up there. From the fifth row of the grid he gained two places on the run to turn one, then picked off Kevin Magnussen on the climb to the second corner.
He got close to Fernando Alonso at turn two but fortunately the Ferrari driver saw him coming and didn’t hug the apex of the corner. When they reached turned six Alonso understeered slightly wide and Hamilton pounced, making an unlikely pass on the way into turn eight.
So as the second lap began the Williams pair held the lead in front of the two Mercedes. Rosberg had briefly demoted Bottas at turn one but the Williams reversed the move on the run to turn two. “I thought I would get Valtteri at the start and I did,” said Rosberg, “but then they’re quick on the straights and he just went flying straight by me again.”
With Bottas nudging 320kph on the straights Rosberg had to hold position behind him for the rest of the first stint. Hamilton in turn maintained a watching brief behind his team mate, both expecting the strategies to turn events in their favour.
Vettel out of luck again
Meanwhile Red Bull’s home race had got off to a conspicuously poor start. The run-off at turn one used to be a vast, inviting expanse of tarmac – now it is bordered by a high kerb, and that caught out Daniel Ricciardo on the first lap, dropping him from fifth to ninth.
Then on the second lap Sebastian Vettel was struck down by an engine fault – the latest in a series of technical failures he’s endured this year.
He was initially told to switch the engine off as the field came back around to catch him and he even came to a stop on the run to turn three. Buut the Renault Energy F1 power unit came back to life and he was swiftly back up to speed.
This presented the problem of where to blend in with the field as it came by. He hugged the apex of turn three just as Ricciardo was passing by and, though his team mate had been warned about Vettel’s problem, Ricciardo ran wide into the gravel which allowed Daniil Kvyat to pass him.
Perez grabs the lead
As the lead Mercedes driver, Rosberg had the first call on strategy and he duly peeled off into the pits on the tenth lap of 71. Williams, playing a cautious game, did not respond with Massa for another three laps, and Bottas stayed out for another two.
That effectively handed the lead to Rosberg and gave him a temporary bulwark against Hamilton, though only one of the Williams drivers stayed between them for long. When Massa came out of the pits ahead of the second Mercedes, Hamilton launched himself down the inside at turn two from seemingly impossible range and mugged Massa for the position.
However he was unable to do the same when Bottas emerged in front of him two laps later. It didn’t help matters that his complete pit stop had been three-quarters of a second slower than Rosberg’s.
But Rosberg wasn’t able to make his escape at this stage. While the leaders had been quick to get rid of the super-soft tyres they’d begun the race on, Sergio Perez had started 15th on softs and wouldn’t change them until lap 29 – twice as long as most of the front-runners had gone.
Perez held his position and Rosberg bided his time, waiting for the Force India driver to inevitably hit ‘the cliff’. Bottas, Hamilton and Massa queued up behind him, with the other Mercedes becoming increasingly concerned about his brakes.
“Going into the race I wasn’t aware that we had a brake problem, so it was news to me when we started to speak to me about it,” said Hamilton after the race.
This wasn’t a repeat of the circumstances which put him out of the Canadian Grand Prix two weeks earlier, but a problem cooling the front brakes. Hamilton was advised Rosberg had a similar problem, but as in Canada the fact Hamilton was further back in the queue exacerbated his dilemma.
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Rosberg makes a mistake
Perez offered little resistance to Rosberg when his tyres began to fade. On lap 26 the Mercedes dived past at turn two and Bottas smartly followed him through, losing no time. Hamilton had to wait until they came around to the same corner again before demoting the Force India.
Massa did not get stuck in so readily, perhaps mindful of his last-lap collision with Perez in Canada and the war of words between the pair which dragged on into this weekend. The Force India driver pitted on the next lap anyway, elevating the pole sitter to fourth place.
This was the cue for Rosberg to make good his mistake and pull away from Hamilton while they had a Williams between them. But he stumbled, running wide at turn one on lap 30, and suddenly Bottas, 3kph quicker in a straight line, was putting him on the defensive.
Rosberg got his head down and by lap 37 had his lead over Bottas back up to the 1.7s it had been when he made his mistake. He added four tenths more before heading into the pits.
This time Williams responded right away – Bottas on the next lap and Massa the lap after that. But with Hamilton having pitted two laps before Rosberg, Williams were too late to save Bottas’s second place.
Hamilton had another sub-par stop, losing nearly nine tenths to Rosberg. Although it got him ahead of Bottas, Hamilton began his final stint two seconds down on Rosberg, and still worrying about his brake wear.
As the laps ticked down Hamilton began to nick a tenth here and there off Rosberg. Pulling out of turn two on the final lap Hamilton finally got to use his DRS flap against Rosberg, and his team mate locked up at the next corner, running wide. But he was safe through the final turns, and as Hamilton backed off at the flag Rosberg crossed the line 1.9 seconds clear.
Bottas claims first podium
Behind them Bottas held on to third while Massa, nursing his tyres in the final laps, kept a wary eye on Fernando Alonso’s fifth-placed Ferrari in his mirrors.
Perez’s alternative strategy allowed him to pass Kevin Magnussen in the final stint, and a last-lap pass by Ricciardo on Nico Hulkenbegr salvaged a small amount of pride for Red Bull.
Weighed against that was the fact that the other Red Bull had been voluntarily retired to save its engine after Vettel had damaged his front wing while trying to pass Esteban Gutierrez. And both Toro Rossos were sidelined with further maladies.
Kimi Raikkonen was warned mid-race about using the run-off at turn eight but kept it clean from then on to pick up the final point.
Win moves Rosberg further ahead
Rosberg’s third win of the season means the Mercedes drivers head to Hamilton’s home race certain that whatever happens they will leave it with Rosberg ahead in the points.
Despite a stellar first lap Hamilton, by his own admission, never got into a position where he could attack Rosberg. His failure to get the job done on Saturday compromised his race on Sunday, which in many ways has been the story of the last three races.
2014 Austrian Grand Prix
- Bottas wins Driver of the Weekend after first podium
- F1’s return to Austria produced a middling race
- 2014 Austrian Grand Prix team radio transcript
- 2014 Austrian GP Predictions Championship results
- Top ten pictures from the 2014 Austrian Grand Prix
2014 F1 race reviews
- Mission complete for Verstappen as Ferrari fall short of their final objective
- Verstappen denies Leclerc as F1’s Las Vegas spectacular lives up to its billing
- Verstappen on song with Sao Paulo win as Alonso prevails in podium photo-finish
- Perez breaks hearts, Verstappen breaks record in Mexico
- Verstappen beats Hamilton for third year running before disqualification drama
Images © Daimler/Hoch Zwei, Williams/LAT, Force India
Kingshark (@kingshark)
22nd June 2014, 23:51
For the first time in his 8.5 year long career, Rosberg is the bookies’ favorite for the WDC.
petebaldwin (@)
23rd June 2014, 9:47
Got to love the knee jerk reactions! All it’ll take is a DNF for Rosberg and Hamilton will be right on his tail again. The Mercs are fast enough to come 1-2 in most races this season but they certainly aren’t bulletproof.
Patrick (@paeschli)
23rd June 2014, 12:45
On the other hand, another DNF for Hamilton and winning the championship will be very very hard…
Lewis McMurray (@celicadion23)
23rd June 2014, 16:58
Yep, and all this “it’s Rosberg’s turn for a mechanical failure” stuff is rubbish, both Lewis and Nico have an equal chance of being the next Merc mechanical retirement…
Trayambak Chakravarty (@major-dev)
23rd June 2014, 12:00
The fantastic thing is, many people don’t know that Rosberg started earlier in F1 than Hamilton!
Erivaldo moreira (@erivaldonin)
23rd June 2014, 1:20
what seemed so easy for hamilton is escaping too fast
dragoll (@dragoll)
23rd June 2014, 2:11
Its only after 8 races, HAM is still the faster of the 2 drivers, we’ll see him come back before the season is out. The only 2 things that will keep HAM from the championship is unreliability and letting his own insecurities take over.
Robbie (@robbie)
23rd June 2014, 2:39
I think it is going to be about more than 2 things. NR has shown he can get pole at one of ‘LH’s tracks’ namely Canada, and he has shown he can keep LH behind him too. As you said, we’re only 8 races in, and anything can happen. I’m certainly not suggesting NR isn’t thinking LH will continue to be a force to be reckoned with though. Of course LH will be hard to beat for the WDC, but then, F1 is hard, and involves many variables.
WilliamB (@william-brierty)
23rd June 2014, 11:05
@robbie – I disagree. Yes, Rosberg has shown he has the toolkit to challenge Lewis, but in the past three races especially Hamilton has been comfortably faster in race trim. Qualifying is where it has gone wrong for Hamilton, and I’m sure a) he’d have won in Monaco from pole without Rosberg’s “incident”, b) that without a scruffy final lap he’d have happily beaten Nico to pole in Canada and c) he’d have won in Austria at a canter had he got a valid lap over the line in Q3. A great deal of solace can be taken by Hamilton from the past three races, especially with regards to his race pace. The only thing Lewis should be thinking about is not the points deficit, but the reasons behind his Q3 mistakes. On both occasions, Canada and Austria, he has suffered under hard and late braking, so I’m sure his highly competent performance can engineer him some more stability under braking. Fortunately for Lewis, Silverstone is not much of a braking circuit, a race he remains the hot favourite for, and for the WDC more broadly.
WilliamB (@william-brierty)
23rd June 2014, 11:06
*his highly competent performance team
Robbie (@robbie)
23rd June 2014, 13:12
@william-brierty I continue to acknowledge in almost every post that LH is the man to beat in spite of the points lead NR holds. He’s the one with the greater experience and the greater equipment throughout his F1 career to have shown the world what he is capable of doing, and to have compiled performances and numbers for folks to support their pro-LH case. NR knows exactly what he has for a teammate, and will only be taking a small satisfaction of ‘edge’ at this point as he is fully aware that one DNF for him combined with a win for LH almost evens it up.
I wouldn’t say LH has been ‘comfortably’ faster than NR in race trim though. In Austria he was not able to get by Nico, and was asking his team for help as to where he could pick up the pace. And just as in Monaco he never was really right on Nico’s bumper in any significant way that might have given him a tow or pressured NR into a mistake. So…faster perhaps…on average, but I don’t think comfortably so.
So to qualifying a) yes Monaco was unique in how it not only harmed LH but helped NR as opposed to Austria where LH also braking late, harmed himself more than NR, yet harmed NR a bit nonetheless, b) and c) but the fact is he DID do scruffy laps. So of course he will be looking for technical answers yet Austria seemed not to be a technical one…not sure if it was in Canada. LH has shown scruffiness in the past, as well as stellar performances. He is capable of both and I think it is very safe to say he will have far better weekends and that could start at Silverstone. But as you know I am looking for an NR who has the circumstances for the first time in his career to show us more, and wonder if we are seeing an LH who is in fact overdriving a bit, in spite of his lengthy verbiage to try to explain otherwise, and perhaps had gotten into a mindset that after 4 wins in a row this was going to be easier than it has now turned out to be.
I continue to love seeing that kind of quasi handshake/wrestle/hug that the two did upon getting out of their cars after the race. Nobody is more aware of what each has to do going forward than these two. And I hope nobody is more aware of how lucky these two are.
WilliamB (@william-brierty)
23rd June 2014, 16:49
@robbie – I think the experience of being towards the front of the field Hamilton has is little advantage. Inversely going into the season I would have suggested that Rosberg was the more confident, having compared better than many expected in 2013, having more experience with the team and having performed better than Lewis in pre-season. Rosberg, unlike Hamilton (who disappointing referenced media criticism in 2012 despite the fact that he “driving well” in a Monaco interview with Herbert), does pay attention to how he is perceived, and that sense he is more resilient than Hamilton; evidence enough I think that Hamilton has no advantage over Nico other than his raw natural ability.
Regarding Lewis’ race pace, you must remember, even at tracks that aren’t necessarily aero dependent, turbulent air can easily mask a four or five tenth advantage. At Monaco Rosberg was very fast, but Lewis was never more than two seconds behind…until he got dirt in his eye. The fact that the gap to Nico was under a second for so much of the race (and with the slow speed deltas in Monaco to have a 0.7 and under gap is to be bumper-to-bumper) indicates to me that Lewis was faster. However that appeared to me a comparably minor delta versus Lewis’ advantage in Canada and especially Austria. In the later he was able to remain apace with Nico even in the high speed infield, which suggested to me a comfortable margin, an assertion supported by the FP2 race runs. With his current race form all Hamilton needs is clean air, i.e. pole and a good start, to dominate the British Grand Prix.
However that will be a problem if Hamilton maintains his two race streak of making mistakes in Q3. The determinants for mistakes tend be either psychological (which appear likely considering a) the Monaco “incident” and b) Rosberg getting pole in Canada) or technical. I’m not suggesting that there was anything remotely wrong with the car in both Canada and Austria, but with mistakes occurring under hard and late braking on both occasions, one could argue that Hamilton is not especially comfortable under braking on low fuel (he failed to get pole in Bahrain (where he locked up and went wide on his final attempt), Canada and Austria – all crucial tracks with regards to brakes). I’d imagine a more stable and progressive car under braking well help prevent these mistakes, and I’d be surprised if we see anymore Q3 mistakes from Lewis. Yes, Hamilton is perhaps overdriving, especially with the widespread perception that he should have won more titles than he has by now, but equally the pressure will be on Nico if Lewis regains the momentum and it dawns on Rosberg that this might in fact be his only opportunity to win the title. Swings and roundabouts dear chap!
Personally I think we have the perfect WDC scenario, with Rosberg with the points, and Hamilton with the pace. Never has team domination been so utterly trivial to the spectacle of a Grand Prix!
Robbie (@robbie)
24th June 2014, 2:08
@william-brierty Fair comment. I do find it hard to imagine LH being less confident than NR at the start of the season based on last year or pre-season this year. I’d have to only imagine them being equal in that regard. But once it was truly shown in Australia that indeed their pre-season performance was translating to racing in anger, and they were dominating everyone including the Williams’ which were also strong, it seems to me most were giving the nod to LH for the WDC, and I put that down to him having had the equipment far more often and therefore having the numbers to go with it. I get what you are saying but I still say it is undeniable that NR has never been in the position to fight for a WDC, and LH has on a handful of occasions including the one WDC. I can’t imagine that not helping LH this year, but then every WDC had to go from not having won one to winning one at some point.
I’ll take your analysis of why LH is faster as gospel, and will continue to pull for NR to be ahead of LH someway, somehow, as he seems to be able to keep LH behind him in spite of said pace. If the only way LH can beat NR is to out qualify him, that says a lot for NR. Your last paragraph…perfectly worded.
AlokIn (@)
23rd June 2014, 5:26
The Gap is not too big as it is assumed, one DNF For Nico will compensate the gap. He needs equal support from pit crew to battle for WDC fairly..
spoutnik (@spoutnik)
23rd June 2014, 8:28
@alokin Do you seriously think the pit crew favors one driver over another? That they craft a 0.9 seconds delay on purpose?
AlokIn (@)
23rd June 2014, 10:28
@spoutnik, if the delay happens once or twice is acceptable but if you see last 8 races it has been consistently slower pit stops for Lewis. When Nico was facing issue with poor start they worked together with Lewis to solve it. If there is something technical problem they should solve it.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
23rd June 2014, 17:36
@alokin
That’s completely false:
https://www.racefans.net/2014/06/22/hamilton-frustrated-slow-pit-stops/comment-page-1/#comment-2250627
WilliamB (@william-brierty)
23rd June 2014, 11:11
@alokin – The Mercedes pit crew must have a very fluid agenda: they cost Nico the net lead in Canada.
Jeff (@jtcolegrove)
23rd June 2014, 12:12
He’s only been beaten on the track by ROS in 2 of 8 races, Monaco and Austria. In Canada, despite is Q3 run 2 mistake, he did what he had to do in the race, getting ahead of ROS. Same with the earlier races where ROS got him on Saturday. Despite his recent downturn and bad luck, I’d say the season is decidedly his so far. Even if ROS doesn’t have the same reliability woes, HAM has demonstrated he can overcome a DNF’s worth of points gap.
DMC (@dmc)
23rd June 2014, 16:50
I am sure if Rosberg wins the title it will be will not get the credit he deserves,
all these ifs and buts! He is beating Hamilton fair and square in equal equipment
full stop.
D (@f190)
23rd June 2014, 19:57
But its not full stop, because hes not. He’s beating a driver on points purely because of the two DNF’s. Hamilton has more race wins and more pole positions. The only reflection so far which shows Rosberg ahead is his points. When Rosberg has two mechanical DNF Results then it would be totally fair. Until that point Rosberg has had a chance to gain 50 points over Hamilton and thats a huge difference out of 8 races. Rosberg is doing a really good job, but fair and square it certainly is not.
DMC (@dmc)
24th June 2014, 16:07
More if’s!
Kansaspaulberry
23rd June 2014, 2:23
Rosberg is tactical. Hamilton is emotional. Advantage Rosberg.
schooner (@schooner)
23rd June 2014, 2:59
As Keith alluded to, and despite all the hoopla about slower pit stops, Hamilton’s main issue in Austria was that he messed up Q3. He did drive a great race to finish P2, and I think he’s still in with a shout for a 2nd WDC. Might require a bit of bad luck on Nico’s side though. He’s looking pretty tough.
Aled Davies (@aledinho)
23rd June 2014, 9:32
It’s amazing how a few races can change everything though isn’t it? After Spain everyone was saying how Rosberg was under pressure after being troucned by Hamilton and even being beaten by him when he was quicker but since that Saturday in Monaco the pendulum has swung in Nico’s favour.
There is still a long way to go though and generally Hamilton has been the quicker driver all season.
You’ve got to assume that Rosberg will have some misfortune at some point in the season.
But also, whenever Rosberg has been put under severe pressure he has folded like a napkin…monaco qualifying a good point, Spain he was quickedr but Hamilton got pole and there have been a few other occasions he has made mistakes.
Hamilton has made them the last few races too, he probably should have won in Canada (looked like he would have passed Nico before the tech issue?) and he would have won In Austria if he hadn’t messed up qualifying.
If Lewis wins at Silverstone he goes into Hockenheimring with momentum (where he won brilliantly in 2008) and Hungary (where he is usually pretty unstoppable) with the chance of making it 3 in a row. one bad race out of them 3 for Rosberg and it’s back to being close in the points table.
mateuss (@mateuss)
23rd June 2014, 10:13
I really don’t see Rosberg folding like a napkin under pressure…
I totally disagree with your Monaco example, he had the fastest time on the board, he had nothing to loose and just went for it.
If anything, it’s more like Hamilton in Spielberg, who had no time on the board and spun.
The season is going to be decided by all these little moments, like Lewis spinning in qualy, or getting the jump on Rosberg off the line, like in Bahrain.
I just massively enjoy the fact the fight is so close. And I like seeing Rosberg extend his advantage, knowing that at some point Lewis can get in the groove again and have one of those streaks again. But he would need essentially 5 wins in a row to overhaul Nico at this point.
Robbie (@robbie)
23rd June 2014, 13:23
@mateuss Well said, and I agree the last thing NR has done is fold like a napkin under pressure. In Monaco quali he had the freedom to just go for it, and on Sunday in Monaco even though starts were a bit of an issue for NR and so he would have felt huge pressure overnight about that, he nailed his when he absolutely had to, and has nailed all his starts since.
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
23rd June 2014, 3:09
That 29 points lead can easily dissapear. Rosberg won’t finish the whole year on podium, we’ve seen their cars lose some performance for 2 races in a row, and both of them. It can easily go bad for Nico, and when it does, things will switch to Lewis, who still is the faster of the two.
Tifoso1989 (@tifoso1989)
23rd June 2014, 12:31
@fer-no65
It is true that 29 points can easily disappear but no Mercedes driver is immune from DNF, it can still go Roseberg’s way if Hamilton will get another DNF.
Eric Morman (@lethalnz)
23rd June 2014, 3:51
how fantastic it is to have 4 cars now fighting for the win,
just shows F1 is putting on a show that can be enjoyed,
for all those that support other teams which are not up with the play stop complaining and enjoy the spectacle at hand,
cars are getting faster than ever, competition is getting tighter, yet still people are complaining about the cars,
by the end of the season we will have even more cars up front…
MattDS
23rd June 2014, 7:55
What I saw were not “4 cars fighting for the win”. Williams did not put up a fight – their strategy was not aimed at beating Mercedes, but at finishing with high points. They basically gifted the undercuts to Mercedes. Maybe that was a wise thing to do, I don’t know, but fighting they did not.
Also, what do you mean by “cars are getting faster than ever”? Cars are slower than last year’s by a good margin, never mind the comparison with cars of 10 years ago.
Eric Morman (@lethalnz)
23rd June 2014, 9:22
some of the comments on here have been, waste of time watching just 2 cars up front, now we have 4 or 5 up front, yet that is still not good enough,
cars are slower, yet no one complained about speed in Michael Schumacher time yet todays car are nearly as fast,
all i can read on this site now days is complaining about how it should be,
well it is better now than it ever was,
internet worriers speaking as if they have been watching for the last 50years, thinking its a play station game with unending excitement, it never has been its about waiting understanding how the race unfolds.
time to realize it is not all excitement with passing and crashing,
the rules have changed, we are in a new area with new winners,
your favorite driver/team may not be winning get over it, why do you think we have had so many World Champs because the pendulum swings in different ways that suits different drivers/Teams.
change the channel if your so upset with the performance.
MattDS
23rd June 2014, 9:35
I don’t know why you’re targeting such a rant at me, as I haven’t touched on most of the things you’re saying. I’m not on the “it used to be so much better”-bandwagon. I do think F1 has had better era than today’s, but 2014 hasn’t been that bad overall.
No, I haven’t been watching for 50 years. However I have been watching more than 25 years, which is a pretty good base for comparison. How long have you been watching?
The only thing I did was stating my opinion about yesterday’s race and I maintain that we didn’t see 4 cars fighting for the win, but just 2. The Mercedes cars. Williams never even tried. If they had, they would have had to cover the Mercs pit stops and they simply didn’t.
As for the car’s speeds: the 2014 cars aren’t “nearly as fast” as the 2004 cars. They are on average a lot slower. Austria seems to have been the exception, but everywhere else they are/have been a lot slower.
That isn’t me rubbishing these cars however: the cars will get faster during the following years and they will get back on the level of 2013. That’s OK for me.
lewisco (@lewisco)
23rd June 2014, 10:36
Schumacher set a 1:09.150 in 2003 in Austria, Massa set a 1:08.759 this year so not slower than 10 years ago by a good margin.
MattDS
23rd June 2014, 10:56
Actually Schumacher set an 1:07.908 in 2003 in Austria. And here’s the kicker, because you seem unaware: he did so with fuel in the tank to actually start the race and drive a stint, as refueling between Q2 and the race wasn’t allowed anymore.
Moreover, during the race Schumacher set an 1:08.337, while yesterday they didn’t go below the 1:12 mark.
On top of all this, the 2004 cars were even faster than the 2003 cars.
So yes. By a good margin.
MattDS
23rd June 2014, 11:02
I have to correct myself – the 1:07.908 was set on an empty tank. But this time isn’t even that representative as it just indicated starting position and drivers sometimes didn’t go all out or made errors on purpose.
It was the 1:09.150 time that was set on a filled tank – and the lap contained a big error by Schumacher as well, losing him quite some time.
HK (@me4me)
23rd June 2014, 5:12
The way i see it, Rosberg needs to be at least 25 points ahead of Hamilton at the last race. Abu Dhabi is really one of Hamiltons best tracks, and with double points, Rosberg should make sure he has a points buffer, and than finish atleast 2nd.
Mike (@mike)
23rd June 2014, 7:37
“and with double points,”
That kills my enthusiasm every time.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
23rd June 2014, 17:38
@mike Hear, hear. It’s starting to look worryingly like that could play a role…
Mike (@mike)
24th June 2014, 17:59
@keithcollantine
I feel sorry for you most of all to be honest.
Just imagine the comment sections…..
Good luck with that!
MattDS
23rd June 2014, 8:02
Assuming Mercedes keep their advantage (which I think they will) and Rosberg finishes 2nd, he doesn’t need 25 points. 15 will do, as the difference between first and second will be 14 points in Abu Dhabi.
Tifoso1989 (@tifoso1989)
23rd June 2014, 12:38
@me4me
Canada was Hamilton best track especially on a single lap and Nico still out qualified him there, nothing is granted in F1
AdrianMorse (@adrianmorse)
23rd June 2014, 6:01
I haven’t seen this commented on before, but just after his first pit stop, Rosberg came up behind Button at turn 2. It looked to me as if Jenson simply waved him by, by staying wide instead of turning into the corner (I could be wrong, I only saw it during the race from Nico’s onboard). Had Jenson put up any form of defence (and why not, he was on the same strategy as former stable mate Perez, who held the leaders back for 15 laps), Hamilton might have won yesterday; Lewis came out of the pits comfortably ahead of Button, but well behind Rosberg.
PorscheF1 (@xtwl)
23rd June 2014, 8:06
@adrianmorse Similar with Massa and Hamilton. It seemed several drivers, mainly the elder ones, Alonso, Button, Massa, Raikkonen took a very wide line through T2. Not once but everytime. So I guess if the following driver timed it right he could squeese right in there.
MattDS
23rd June 2014, 8:13
Button putting up a defence against a much faster Mercedes would have made zero sense. By defending he would have compromised his own lap times, with the possible result of losing more places when pitting.
As for the reference to Perez: the point is not to hold the leaders back. The point is to do as well as possible for yourself. That’s why Perez was told not to lose too much time fighting Rosberg: they weren’t going to win anyway so no point in fighting. Perez just drove a solid first stint, went gradually faster, and let Rosberg by when his tyres went.
Fighting an inherently faster car only makes sense when there’s something to gain.
iFelix (@ifelix)
23rd June 2014, 6:24
Yes, Rosberg has a 29 pt advantage, but if he has one DNF, unless Haminlton suffers the same fate, with highest likelihood he would win the race and then they would be on par again.
So far Nico has been the luckier one, but luck is very capricious and can switch sides at any time ;-)
Jonny Edwards (@racectrl)
23rd June 2014, 10:29
Maybe Rosberg’s driving style is easier on the car and less prone to failure as a result. Lewis is fast and aggressive, which is great, but surely this increases the chances of a DNF? Not saying that is fact but it’s the impression I get.
iFelix (@ifelix)
23rd June 2014, 11:18
I think Montreal might be an evidence to support your point @racectrl. But still, there could be punctures, accidents, non-attrition related defects that could hit Rosberg.
I think the more drastic lopsided bad luck is at the moment with Vettel. On the other hand, if a driver has to suffer a fair share of bad luck, better to be in a season that is hopeless anyway :)
Abel Archundia (@aquataz68)
23rd June 2014, 9:59
Kudos to Force India – good execution of effective strategies, even up against a more competitive McLaren.
Perez drove solidly, led a few laps with aplomb, and gained 10 places from grid start -great to see his overcome a stormy week and the disappointment of the race climax last week. Well done.
The Williams achievement -finally- reflecting team strength and of course, the Mercedes excitement; had it not been for the 1.5 excess sec’s wasted on pit-stops we could have had an extremely fun last 5 laps!
Michael (@f1racefan)
23rd June 2014, 13:06
What people don’t seem to understand is that Rosberg couldn’t hold Hamilton to his victory. The victory only happened thanks to the car damage with the brakes overheated, otherwise Hamilton could easily had won. But every time Hamilton tried to go faster and close the gap, the temperature of the brakes went higher and he needed to slow down to cool them. Since the cars are the same, Rosberg when trying to escape from Hamilton was having the same problem with the brakes overheated, however with a slight advantage because he was in the lead with fresh air to cool them.
The main Hamilton’s concern, at that time, was I can’t get another DNF, then, he couldn’t attack and need to manage the brakes, all of these resulted in keeping the gap between the two.
All that Hamilton wants is a fair fight and at the moment Mercedes are getting this issue that is avoiding this to happen. In a Fair fight Rosberg can’t win, because he is a regular driver. He is getting luck and doing the normal thing with a fast car.
If Hamilton was not a superior driver he had not gone from P9 to P4 right behind Rosberg in half of a lap. People seem to forget everything very easily, he got the lead of the WDC in a fair fight when the cars were not having problems and Rosberg couldn’t do anything about it.
If Mercedes can’t solve the brakes issue fast the only way for Hamilton to win, comfortably, is by getting pole and win, this way he will be able to manage the brakes much better in fresh air, and Rosberg won’t be able to attack otherwise will get a DNF too.
The slow pit stops are not a huge concern for a fast drive like Hamilton.
He manages the fuel and everything much better while Rosberg can’t do it. In a fair fight Rosberg is a sitting duck.
This is very simple to understand.
Jimi (@hendrix666)
23rd June 2014, 20:22
It’s Roscoe!
Funkyf1 (@funkyf1)
23rd June 2014, 13:41
Ricciardo on the last lap again around the outside of another car, Stella
jochenrindt78
23rd June 2014, 16:00
Is there anywhere on this site or else where that is keeping a tally on the various failures that each driver has had? E.G. Gearbox, engine, MGUK? I think the regulations are a bit tighter in this respect this season so I would be interested to keep an eye on who is due a penalty for such failures. I believe Vettel is one unit away from a penalty (can’t remember which part!?) Given the new regulations and the rate of attrition this could be a really interesting feature – especially if it starts to play a part with the Mercedes drivers. might give some of the Hamilton/Rosberg predictions a bit more meaning?? Could it be included on the results pages?? How many bits a certain driver has consumed so to speak…?