93 replies to this topic

[BlinkyMcSquinty]

Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton MBE is arguably the most talented road racer of his generation. To watch him carry his car late into a corner, brake so late, make the transition appear perfectly precise, seamless and effortless before getting on the gas to drive out of the corner is a pure joy to watch. This is a skill very few can do, and he does it every lap. Amazing, the man was born to be a racer, it is in his DNA.

 

But at times I am critical of his decisions, and although I still hold true on some, when he sometimes decides to ignore his instructions from the pits, I applaud the man. He is there to win, not just drive around.

 

The men who run the Mercedes AMG Pertonas Formula One team, namely Toto Wolff and Niki Lauda have just one simple mandate from the Mercedes Board of Directors. Finish each race 1-2, win both titles. Now it gets ugly, in how they implement this policy. Instead of two separate sides of the garage that compete against each other on race day, they have just one strategist and all decisions are centralized. What does that mean?

 

In qualifying, all is fair and equal, the better man on that day is rewarded by starting ahead of his teammate. So far so good. On the start of the race, the drivers are expressly forbidden to make contact. Not allowed, there will never be a repeat of Spa. And this is when the stench begins to register, something putrid and unacceptable. Once the race is underway, the team does everything possible to make sure that their drivers never get close to each other, that they never fight each other. After the first two laps, everything becomes a game of stasis.

 

The current regulations, definitely the tires, are there to create situations of an ebb and flow in pace, where a driver may choose to start on the slower tire and be fast at the end, or vice versa. And at times, it has delivered some wonderful races where a driver charges through the pack and we the fans get to see some quality action. Not the boring and mind-numbing situation where the order after the first pit stop is the same when the checkered flag flies.

 

But under the Mercedes practice, if one driver makes a change and actually attempts to close up with his team mate ahead, the team just inform the driver ahead to mirror his actions, and the status quo is maintained. We saw it in Spain, where after battling to get back to second place, Hamilton was told to just hold station. He attacked, attempted to close the gap on Rosberg. And Rosberg just picked up the pace, the gap was stabilized, nothing happened. In Montreal Rosberg had to conserve his rear brakes. But once his car was healthy enough, he attempted to close the gap on Hamilton, trying to close up, and battle for the win. And what did Hamilton do? Yup, he picked up his pace.

 

All of this was dictated by the pits.

 

So although the Mercedes team is to be applauded for building and running an utterly dominant car, they have decided to implement a method and strategy that creates a boring scenario where the possibility of the drivers actually battling for the win becomes improbable. The odds are that a Mercedes will win every race for the remainder of the season. The odds are much greater that whatever driver is leading after lap two, he will win. No battles for the lead, no challenges, nothing but the desire to turn the TV off after lap two because we know who the winner will be.

 

OK back to Hamilton. There have been times in the last two years when he was told to hold station, and instead ignored their request and went on the attack (or didn't just allow Rosberg to drive past just because he had better tires). I criticized him, but in hindsight, I was wrong. He was not an aggressive idiot just charging without regard to his car's health, but instead he realizes that if he follows their instructions all the time, he will never be allowed to close up and battle Rosberg for position. He wants to be the master of his own fate.

 

Hamilton is not there just to drive around, he is there to race, to win, because he is a RACER.

[rhukkas]

Good for you

[CARLO55AINZ]

I've always thought he was pretty good, what he is doing now just solidify it.

Almost like a reward for when he wasn't in the best cars.

[aramos]

Hamilton passed Rosberg on track several times last year. It's not all won on Saturday.

[P123]

So this is just a long winded way of complaining about what you perceive to be the way Mercedes operate.

[SophieB]

 

But at times I am critical of his decisions, and although I still hold true on some, when he sometimes decides to ignore his instructions from the pits, I applaud the man. He is there to win, not just drive around.

 

Yeah, that IS quite the change of mind from 2 weeks ago when you called his loss of a race win at Monaco 'Karma' for not obeying the pitwall all the rest of the time.

[MikeV1987]

driving aside, it's his whole celebrity obsession that irks me.

[aramos]

driving aside, it's his whole celebrity obsession that irks me.

I don't love his celebrity life style, and I certainly prefer the more down to earth drivers like Button and Webber, but I'd prefer a public but strange lifestyle like Lewis to some other drivers you never hear from outside of a race. He is in the entertainment business after all.

[SophieB]

Discuss the OP's specific points, please rather than turning the thread over to a general driver thread. So no more 'here's why I like Lewis' or 'here's why I don't like Lewis' stuff please.

[hollowstar]

I feel like this thread is about Merc having just one strategist more than about your (change of) opinion about Hamilton.

I share your opinion that Merc doesn't fully allow their drivers to race one another, although they want people to believe so.

Engineers telling drivers to wait for the end of the race before trying to get past, or to let Nico through a la Hungary 2014 after an amazing recovery from Lewis, is the opposite of racing IMO.

One strategist, in the heat of the race, will always focus on one driver more than the other. I don't get Toto's stubbornness in this regard.

Regarding Lewis he's definitely matured and gained more fans since his move to Merc. Almost makes me wish Ron had sent him to Williams for a couple years before signing him at Mc. But then who knows? He may never have been a World Champion.

[MikeV1987]

What I find funny is - knowing that Nico will look at his data - he will always leave a bit of time in the bank and unleash it for Q3. It always leaves Rosberg so confused in the press conference, makes me lol every time.

[mclarensmps]

He's my favourite current F1 driver. Has been since he joined F1. However, personality wise, he's become more and more dislikeable year after year, which is unfortunate. I guess money does that to a lot of people. 

[hollowstar]

He's my favourite current F1 driver. Has been since he joined F1. However, personality wise, he's become more and more dislikeable year after year, which is unfortunate. I guess money does that to a lot of people.

Really? Even as a fan I would have thought Lewis became more and more likeable. Seems like he's more himself, more relaxed, and just overall happier these days. While he used to be a tad insecure at Mc.

[Exb]

I don't think it is unique to Mercedes to try and stop the 2 cars racing - Red Bull are very good at managing their race so the drivers don't fight.

(and when the driver behind doesn't like it you end up with Malaysia 2012)

 

Sorry - was confused as to what this thread was about and figured it was about team stratagy seeing as driver threads are banned, however I can see I was wrong

Edited by Exb, 09 June 2015 - 16:13.

[Brazzers]

Hamilton is that kid at school who just has it all, you're not sure how and why but it's something you can't take away no matter how hard you try to replicate. 

 

I do feel for Nico, he's essentially against arguably one of the best drivers on the grid with Alonso. 

[vowcartaGP]

I don't love his celebrity life style, and I certainly prefer the more down to earth drivers like Button and Webber, but I'd prefer a public but strange lifestyle like Lewis to some other drivers you never hear from outside of a race. He is in the entertainment business after all.

Well said. I don't care for some of the people he hangs out with in front of the cameras but at the end of the day he gets himself noticed. It's good for F1 to have a star driver in the public eye. In fact we need more. We need Headlines of an F1 boys night out in London a week before the British Grand Prix, with some terrible shallow sexy people who are always in the spotlight draped in their arms. It all helps exposure despite the horrible shallow naffness of it all.

I did see one of those terrible magazines with a picture of the spicy pop lady getting married to Christian Horner the other day. Again this kind of crap helps exposure.

[aramos]

Well said. I don't care for some of the people he hangs out with in front of the cameras but at the end of the day he gets himself noticed. It's good for F1 to have a star driver in the public eye. In fact we need more. We need Headlines of an F1 boys night out in London a week before the British Grand Prix, with some terrible shallow sexy people who are always in the spotlight draped in their arms. It all helps exposure despite the horrible shallow naffness of it all.

I did see one of those terrible magazines with a picture of the spicy pop lady getting married to Christian Horner the other day. Again this kind of crap helps exposure.

Absolutely. The drivers are paid such huge amounts of cash effectively as brand promotors. It seems particularly alien to me when they don't have any social media presence. Hamilton does a good job, he doesn't even seem as douchy as people like to make out.

[redreni]

I feel like this thread is about Merc having just one strategist more than about your (change of) opinion about Hamilton.

I share your opinion that Merc doesn't fully allow their drivers to race one another, although they want people to believe so.

Engineers telling drivers to wait for the end of the race before trying to get past, or to let Nico through a la Hungary 2014 after an amazing recovery from Lewis, is the opposite of racing IMO.

One strategist, in the heat of the race, will always focus on one driver more than the other. I don't get Toto's stubbornness in this regard.

Regarding Lewis he's definitely matured and gained more fans since his move to Merc. Almost makes me wish Ron had sent him to Williams for a couple years before signing him at Mc. But then who knows? He may never have been a World Champion.

 

I also agree that Mercedes does not totally allow its drivers to race each other, in the sense that it will give instructions and make strategy calls aimed at gaining or defending positions against rival teams, which may have the effect of limiting competition between their drivers or, in some cases, giving one of their drivers an advantage over the other. One example that has cropped up a few times this season is responding to Ferrari's pitstops by bringing Rosberg in from P2 so that Vettel won't jump him, when normally Hamilton should get priority as he is leading.

 

Furthermore I agree that Mercedes tries to give the impression that it doesn't do any of the above. And, in fact, I think there is probably some tension within the team between the stretegists, who are naturally more concerned about beating the competition than they are about keeping the intra-team battle pure, and the bosses, who aren't the ones directly making the call and who would prefer to live in a simpler, more idealised world than the one the strategists live in, wherein the interests of having a fair fight between their two cars, and beating the competition, don't come into conflict.

 

As to whether we need to re-evaluate Hamilton, I for one have never been in any doubt that he's extremely quick. I've expressed scepticism in the past that he's really, on average, any quicker than other top drivers like Alonso or Vettel, and I don't think the current period of Mercedes/Hamilton dominance tells us anything new in respect of this. As, with the passage of time, Hamilton gets nearer to the age at which you would expect his performance to peak, and Alonso gets further away from that age, you would expect Hamilton to get quicker relative to Alonso, but as we have no proper basis of comparison which isolates driver performance from other factors, we just don't know. People tend to assume the driver that's winning is performing better than the driver who's at the back, but the reality is Hamilton is only doing what he has to to beat Rosberg and driving to the deltas whereas Alonso is having to push like hell to try to get ahead of the Saubers. Basically, all we know about Hamilton now that we didn't know for sure a couple of years ago, is that he is consistently quicker than Rosberg  over a race distance and, more often than not, over a single lap.

 

Hamilton, like any other driver, has also occasionally shown weaknesses in the past in terms of unnecesary incidents, poor tyre management and occasional poor radio comms and judgement (e.g. the Trulli "lie-gate" incident). I don't think his weaknesses were ever that much more egregious than other top drivers' weaknesses, and I think he's been relatively free of such difficulties for long enough now that he has to be given full credit for having learned from his mistakes, and for performing to a consistently high level. Anyone who thought Rosberg would be able to beat Hamilton in races by looking after his fuel and tyres better has been consistently proved wrong throughout the last two years. On that basis I've changed my opinion on Hamilton as well, over the last couple of seasons.

[Briz]

I think he is best of his generation with the pedals, maybe not the most precise with steering the car though, I mean in close quarters situations other drivers like Alonso, Raikkonen and Vettel seem more graceful and precise to the centimetre, it looks like they are dancing with their opponents, while Hamilton kinda punches through almost blindly and makes contact more often. That's the only thing that I personally dislike in his driving, that his wheel to wheel seems a bit erratic and arrogant (move out of my way!) at times. But it is working for him, only in 2011 everyone seemed determined to school him that this is not the right way ).

[GoldenColt]

I think he is best of his generation with the pedals, maybe not the most precise with steering the car though, I mean in close quarters situations other drivers like Alonso, Raikkonen and Vettel seem more graceful and precise to the centimetre, it looks like they are dancing with their opponents, while Hamilton kinda punches through almost blindly and makes contact more often. That's the only thing that I personally dislike in his driving, that his wheel to wheel seems a bit erratic and arrogant (move out of my way!) at times. 

 

This is so far off reality, it almost pains me. No hard feelings though. 

[TomNokoe]

He's always been brilliant.

[mclarensmps]

Really? Even as a fan I would have thought Lewis became more and more likeable. Seems like he's more himself, more relaxed, and just overall happier these days. While he used to be a tad insecure at Mc.

 

He hasn't become more "himself", he's just become a typical celebrity with a fake and gaudy lifestyle. 

[Mart280]

Always been a very good driver, ask Sir Frank if he could have any current driver in one of his cars and the answer is always "Lewis" I didn't like him much as a person in his early years but since his move to Mercedes he has matured especially in the last year or so.

[mathewking21]

Ofcourse . He is always brilliant.

[Reinmuster]

Early this year when doing some commercial for Petronas at local fuel station in Kuala Lumpur, I managed to see Lewis and have a bit chat with him, among other question I've asked Lewis, 'how do you plan to defend your world title?'

 

and he said,

 

Win the race, and try to Win the crowd..

 

It seems that having crowd at his side also important to him..

[RedBaron]

People bemoan today's drivers compared to how they were back in the day, wishing they'd have personalities outside their sponsored overalls and comparing them to the playboys of the 60s and 70s.

 

Lewis brings models and huge music stars (whether you care for them is irrelevant, they're the stars of today) to the track and off track, he's flown in on his private jet and relaxes on his boat with stars. He attends celebrity events and parties. Instead of hiding away and only popping his head out for corporate events splashed with sponsors.

 

...yet people moan about him doing it and find a negative.

 

F1 fans are either impossible to please or jealous.

[Jon83]

Yes yes yes Hamilton is incredibly amazingly brilliant.

[Fatgadget]

BlinkyMcSquinty.....Maybe you should take your message to those Spanish fans that made an epic fail of parodying Hamilton during that epic debut season of his  back in  2007.?

[RacingDuck]

Almost like a reward for when he wasn't in the best cars.

When was he ever not in a car that was the best? 2013 is all I can think of

[BlinkyMcSquinty]

So this is just a long winded way of complaining about what you perceive to be the way Mercedes operate.

 

I had two agendas. In light of new information and being willing to examine things from different perspectives, I am not afraid to admit I was wrong and changed my mind. And secondly, I did want to highlight my beef against the lack of on-track competition. I don't want that to be discussed much here, that is for another time and place. But I could not arrive at my new perspective without discussing the way Mercedes conducts their business, because it is relevant to why and how Hamilton does certain things during a race.

 

I'm not the kind of person who just proclaims "so-and-so sucks" but rather give reasons for my opinion.

[Brackets]

ROS, operating under the safe and comfy cushion of his team doing "everything possible to make sure that their drivers never get close to each other, that they never fight each other. [leading to] everything becomes a game of stasis [after the first two laps]", still managed to run off-track twice in Monza. In the process, he gifted his place to HAM, even though "the status quo is maintained [by the team]".

 

In short, you're wrong.

 

you are of course right about MGP trying everything in their might to make sure they don't take each other off. You make it sounds as if that is a bad decision.

 

 

(I do LOL uncontrollable at his choice in personal attire)

[Nonesuch]

I was wrong. He was not an aggressive idiot just charging without regard to his car's health, but instead he realizes that if he follows their instructions all the time, he will never be allowed to close up and battle Rosberg for position.

 

The two are not mutually exclusive, though. I would not use the words you did to describe it, but wilfully ignoring instructions that are rooted in a desire to achieve the best result for the team is something that one could find good reasons to criticize. It's a bit pointless to do so, however, because it's Mercedes' problem. Hamilton's aggressive stance in the second half of last season has been vindicated by the results, but it could easily have swung the other way as well.

 

It's also not much of a unique character trait that Hamilton wants to race and win. These are all guys who are obsessed and in love with racing. Even the midfield drivers in F1 have had succesful careers and fought for wins and titles in other categories. They don't have the equipment to replicate those goals in F1, but it'd be very odd to suggest any of them are "there just to drive around".

 

F1 fans are either impossible to please or jealous.

 

What they are is diverse, with diverse tastes and diverse opinions.

 

Even the so-called stars have a relatively small audience. It's no wonder a lot of people think very little of them, and have no interest in seeing them around the F1 track. You can be an international music star with an audience of a couple million people. That's like some random Chinese suburb.
 

[REDalert]

I guess my opinion changed gradually, at same rate his fame rose up to his head.

Edited by REDalert, 09 June 2015 - 15:53.

[CARLO55AINZ]

When was he ever not in a car that was the best? 2013 is all I can think of

 

2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013.

[robefc]

Merc could have operated a number 1 and number 2 driver status and guaranteed themselves both titles last year and this with no stress.

I think you're being completely unfair to them and underestimating the issues they face in trying to allow their drivers to race whilst also maximising the team's result.

[RedBaron]

What they are is diverse, with diverse tastes and diverse opinions.

 

 

You are far too kind with your description of F1 fans there. 

[sennafan24]

I have to give a   to Blinky. I think it's admirable that his opinion has developed. Not just because he is praising my favourite driver, but very few change their perspectives, and end up set in their ways. It shows he has an open mind.

 

In regards to Lewis's celebrity lifestyle. I quite like it. I like to see a driver embrace his surroundings and be in the public spotlight. I think it is good for the sport, or at least not a detriment. I could have done without the drama of his love life splattered everywhere, but these days, Lewis just looks like a guy having fun. But hey, it's what you like 

[Ben1445]

I have gone up and down. In 2007 I was not a fan at all, but that was more down to me being a fan of Alonso. That said at the time I still saw him as smug and that he didn't appreciate his privilege. 

By 2013 I thought he was wonderful. Move to Merc was inspired, acting very calm and collected. 

By mid 2014 I had unfold his twitter owing to many pictures of "Look what I bought with my money. #Blessed." 
And now I find him annoying again. 

Basically. 

[P123]

Yeas, 'basically'... who gives a f.... flying pig. We could all list what we like/ dislike/ what irritates us about all drivers, if so minded.

[f1supreme]

Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton MBE is arguably the most talented road racer of his generation. To watch him carry his car late into a corner, brake so late, make the transition appear perfectly precise, seamless and effortless before getting on the gas to drive out of the corner is a pure joy to watch. This is a skill very few can do, and he does it every lap. Amazing, the man was born to be a racer, it is in his DNA.

 

But at times I am critical of his decisions, and although I still hold true on some, when he sometimes decides to ignore his instructions from the pits, I applaud the man. He is there to win, not just drive around.

 

The men who run the Mercedes AMG Pertonas Formula One team, namely Toto Wolff and Niki Lauda have just one simple mandate from the Mercedes Board of Directors. Finish each race 1-2, win both titles. Now it gets ugly, in how they implement this policy. Instead of two separate sides of the garage that compete against each other on race day, they have just one strategist and all decisions are centralized. What does that mean?

 

In qualifying, all is fair and equal, the better man on that day is rewarded by starting ahead of his teammate. So far so good. On the start of the race, the drivers are expressly forbidden to make contact. Not allowed, there will never be a repeat of Spa. And this is when the stench begins to register, something putrid and unacceptable. Once the race is underway, the team does everything possible to make sure that their drivers never get close to each other, that they never fight each other. After the first two laps, everything becomes a game of stasis.

 

The current regulations, definitely the tires, are there to create situations of an ebb and flow in pace, where a driver may choose to start on the slower tire and be fast at the end, or vice versa. And at times, it has delivered some wonderful races where a driver charges through the pack and we the fans get to see some quality action. Not the boring and mind-numbing situation where the order after the first pit stop is the same when the checkered flag flies.

 

But under the Mercedes practice, if one driver makes a change and actually attempts to close up with his team mate ahead, the team just inform the driver ahead to mirror his actions, and the status quo is maintained. We saw it in Spain, where after battling to get back to second place, Hamilton was told to just hold station. He attacked, attempted to close the gap on Rosberg. And Rosberg just picked up the pace, the gap was stabilized, nothing happened. In Montreal Rosberg had to conserve his rear brakes. But once his car was healthy enough, he attempted to close the gap on Hamilton, trying to close up, and battle for the win. And what did Hamilton do? Yup, he picked up his pace.

 

All of this was dictated by the pits.

 

So although the Mercedes team is to be applauded for building and running an utterly dominant car, they have decided to implement a method and strategy that creates a boring scenario where the possibility of the drivers actually battling for the win becomes improbable. The odds are that a Mercedes will win every race for the remainder of the season. The odds are much greater that whatever driver is leading after lap two, he will win. No battles for the lead, no challenges, nothing but the desire to turn the TV off after lap two because we know who the winner will be.

 

OK back to Hamilton. There have been times in the last two years when he was told to hold station, and instead ignored their request and went on the attack (or didn't just allow Rosberg to drive past just because he had better tires). I criticized him, but in hindsight, I was wrong. He was not an aggressive idiot just charging without regard to his car's health, but instead he realizes that if he follows their instructions all the time, he will never be allowed to close up and battle Rosberg for position. He wants to be the master of his own fate.

 

Hamilton is not there just to drive around, he is there to race, to win, because he is a RACER.

if lewis comes from behind in a race to beat nico this season,like he did last.your thoery wiil be squashed.

[f1supreme]

He hasn't become more "himself", he's just become a typical celebrity with a fake and gaudy lifestyle. 

its not really fake if he's living it.his friends happen to be celebritys,because thats exactly what lewis is.i think lewis has definitely matured over the years.he doesnt let things get to him as much.he gets over disapointment alot quicker.

[P123]

I had two agendas. In light of new information and being willing to examine things from different perspectives, I am not afraid to admit I was wrong and changed my mind. And secondly, I did want to highlight my beef against the lack of on-track competition. I don't want that to be discussed much here, that is for another time and place. But I could not arrive at my new perspective without discussing the way Mercedes conducts their business, because it is relevant to why and how Hamilton does certain things during a race.
 
I'm not the kind of person who just proclaims "so-and-so sucks" but rather give reasons for my opinion.

But what is the 'new information'? Because Nico followed closely without an attempt to overtake? I seem to recall Spain, where Hamilton followed closely without an attempt to overtake. That was against Vettel. Was he not allowed to race then too? Or is it only a conspiracy and shameful when it's somebody not making their way past Hamilton?

As Nico explained, Lewis had the exact same tools as him, so he could counter his moves, plus Hamilton did display greater pace, so could turn on a bit of pace to keep him at arms length when needed.

Mercedes do deserve criticism for the approach of having one strategist only, as it has it's limits (such as Hungary last season, failing to account for the potential adverse affects of Hamilton's race by asking him to slow). And the policy of always having them run on the same engine mode is slightly contrived, and actually gave rise to a bit of intra-team tension in Bahrain and Spain 2014. Strangely enough, the only time I've noticed that be thrown out the window was in Canada at the weekend when the team reacted to Kimi pitting by telling Rosberg to up his engine settings and push. That continued after Kimi spun, and seriously eroded Hamilton's advantage.

There does still seem to be the mentality that saving fuel/ saving tyres/ attacking later is best (from both sides of the Merc garage), but I think Hamilton has shown that is not always the case, especially as Pirelli have binned the cheese tyre approach.

[f1supreme]

When was he ever not in a car that was the best? 2013 is all I can think of

2009,2012,,car kept breaking down,button struggled to make it into q2 and q3 often.ferrari won more races in 2007 and 2008.

[f1supreme]

I have gone up and down. In 2007 I was not a fan at all, but that was more down to me being a fan of Alonso. That said at the time I still saw him as smug and that he didn't appreciate his privilege. 

By 2013 I thought he was wonderful. Move to Merc was inspired, acting very calm and collected. 

By mid 2014 I had unfold his twitter owing to many pictures of "Look what I bought with my money. #Blessed." 
And now I find him annoying again. 

Basically. 

in other words youre envious.

[DampMongoose]

How lovely. Long winded but lovely.

[sennafan24]

2009,2012,,car kept breaking down,button struggled to make it into q2 and q3 often.ferrari won more races in 2007 and 2008.

Don't forget 2010.

 

In my opinion, 2014 was the first time Lewis had the best car. 2007 and 2008 are admittedly debatable. 

[RealRacing]

I don't love his celebrity life style, and I certainly prefer the more down to earth drivers like Button and Webber, but I'd prefer a public but strange lifestyle like Lewis to some other drivers you never hear from outside of a race. He is in the entertainment business after all.

No he's not, he's in the racing business, but Bernie has made some lost minds believe that F1 should be entertainment, Hollywood style that is. The fact that HAM is frequently seen with celebrities does not mean F1 is in the entertainment business, but that HAM wants to be in it from fame acquired in a different activity, namely, "sport". How many F1 drivers these days are close to celebrities in some sort of way? I'd say the minority, which tells me that it's not the entertainment business that's trying to get close to F1, but one or two drivers, HAM included, that are trying to get close to the entertainment business.

 

On the other subject, there does seem to be a marked difference between the level of "racing" between the Merc drivers this and last year. Although it can be possible, I don't think that HAM suddenly became so much better than ROS in comparison with last year, but that Merc, after they saw them getting too close for comfort last year, have applied some kind of policy which clearly is affecting racing. Of course, current regulations do nothing but support this as it gives the team any excuse to prevent them from getting into serious wheel to wheel action: conserve fuel, tyres, brakes, steering wheel buttons, pedals...If F1 were to have only one rule, it should be that teams can't prevent their drivers from racing each other. However, as there are, incredibly, many fans of this sport that still support TOs, I don't see what many are complaining about.

[mclarensmps]

its not really fake if he's living it.his friends happen to be celebritys,because thats exactly what lewis is.i think lewis has definitely matured over the years.he doesnt let things get to him as much.he gets over disapointment alot quicker.

 

It is my opinion that a celebrity lifestyle is a fake and pretentious lifestyle. You may or may not agree with it, but that's why it's an opinion.

He's not friends with the people he used to be friends with growing up, and only associates with people who recognise him for his money and fame. Calling them friends is a stretch. 

We can agree to disagree, I think. I've had my say.

 

He's still, in my opinion, probably the best and most exciting driver of the lot, to watch, and on that front I cannot fault him at all. 

[P123]

On the other subject, there does seem to be a marked difference between the level of "racing" between the Merc drivers this and last year. Although it can be possible, I don't think that HAM suddenly became so much better than ROS in comparison with last year, but that Merc, after they saw them getting too close for comfort last year, have applied some kind of policy which clearly is affecting racing.

Nico tried to pass Hamilton in 2/19 races last year. Where is this change you speak of? "level of 'racing'" "don't think" "some kind of".... You're reaching. You know, in the golden age of 'real racing' cars used to follow each other all race without a sniff of an attempted passing manoeuvre.

Edited by P123, 09 June 2015 - 18:34.

[Jordan44]

Did you not watch last year? Nico started on pole more often than not, and Lewis was able to overtake him in the races more than not. Mercedes have not created a situation impossible to overtake on track. It's a myth.