[deetjohn]

Here is that crash from yesterday. Looks like Nico didn't even wanted to make that corner.

https://streamable.com/suds

I really hope Mercedes lets them race and not impose team orders too soon.

[danlalan]

11 points is the difference going into silverstone. Which is only a couple of days away. Hopefully Lewis takes lead of the championship here.
And then there will be no looking back to the 4th Championship.

Austria could have gone horribly for Hamilton actually with him running a longer stint on those set of tyres and also the pit crew fumbling with that rear tyre. And the big bang with rosberg could have ended his race totally. But some how he managed all that and came atop to be a winner. Now thats a champion.

[pganapathy]

I can only imagine the de-brief in the Mercedes room post the race. Toto Wolff would have been livid, to put it mildly. Can see him telling the team that if there is one more crash, team orders will definitely come into effect. How dumb were both of them to almost take each other out here and do it in that previous race.

For me, the fault simply lies with the tyres on Rosberg's car. They were probably at the end of their life which is why in that first corner Hamilton found himself able to overtake and with Rosberg pushing hard to regain the spot in the same turn, he lost control and the crash occurred.

[avdhesh15]

Rosberg was clearly trying to daunt Lewis by going straight on. There was ample gap left and only he's to blame which was later justified by the stewards. He went on harping about the brake issue just to try and remove the spotlight. Lewis summed it perfectly when he said that he was on the outside.

But hats off to Mercedes ... they let their drivers race despite these collisions. I guess in part is because they know probably no one is in a position to challenge them this year again for the driver's and the constructors championships.

On the crowd, well Austria is more German than English and they probably wanted Nico (or RBR) to win. Having said that, if he gets on the podium next week, expect some major booing and sledging!

As for the rest of the field, very ordinary day for Ferrari but super day for Max. He seems to be in the right spot at right time! Three cheers for Manor as well in taking their first points. Force India was a disappointment but Button did a fab job.

Looking forward to next weekend now!

[ajmat]

I loved this tweet!

Mercedes announces A-class Rosberg Edition: http://bit.ly/29dZmbC

[mayankk]

The more you see the video, especially the cockpit cameras, the more it looks deliberate. He never even tried to turn, compared to the previous lap. It was a line into the run off! And that he just didn't count on coming off worse for the crash. Look at the front left on rosbergs car after the crash,and the wing scraped it. Had there been one more lap, that would have blown for sure.

[jfxavier]

I think this picture is going to be on every McLaren fans mind for a while now.



Probably this weekend's results will give the extra push required for them to accelerate their development plans on the PU side.
Nobody can claim they lacked bringing new aero updates week after week.



Hope to see more of these types of radical solutions from McLaren

[deetjohn]

That's how much Nico wanted to make that corner. The racing line can be clearly seen and #6 is nowhere near the apex.



Nico is under severe pressure as his contract talks are also going on now.

And I really liked what I saw from the young Mercedes protege and 2015 DTM champion Pascal Wehrlein this weekend. Including that reversal onto the starting grid.

Took the first points of the season for Manor. Reminded me of Jules' 9th place finish at Monaco for Marussia in 2014.

[shibujp]

What a comeback from Nico and my heart does go out to him for the effort he put in to get where he was in the race. However, he is letting Hamilton get to his head and rather than live to fight another day, he decides to go for an all or nothing push often ending up on the loosing side.

Originally Posted by deetjohn

That's how much Nico wanted to make that corner. The racing line can be clearly seen and #6 is nowhere near the apex.

I don't he he even tried. After the mistake in Turn 1, he just did not have enough grip in his supersofts to defend the corner. So his only objective was to defend the corner as well as he could. In hindsight if he had done that, his lead in the championship would have been more than the 11 points it is now.

Regarding the Mercedes pairing, I think what they have now is the best. I don't think any other driver is going to be ready to play second fiddle to Hamilton and if he is as good as Hamilton flash points like this are going to be expected. The Vettel-Webber situation at Red Bull was pretty much the same.

To avoid these, Merc will have to go for a Schumacher-Massa like combination. Sacrifice driver ability for
team obedience. Hamilton obviously is not going to play that role.

Drive on,
Shibu.

[Hatari]

The last lap incident seems like the least controversial one.
Everyone is convinced Nico was to blame, except the man himself!

Originally Posted by jfxavier

Hope to see more of these types of radical solutions from McLaren

They didnt use it in the end, hope they bring updates that work.

[sgiitk]

I am no fan of Lewis H but this takes the cake in selfishness. I must say as a team driver his performance was pathetic. I am glad the crowd booed him.

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by sgiitk

I am no fan of Lewis H but this takes the cake in selfishness. I must say as a team driver his performance was pathetic. I am glad the crowd booed him.

Well, he is racing and gunning for a win is not really selfish. In comparison I felt Nico is just trying to be the obedient child and get some brownie points from the team higher ups. Hamilton's answer for the booing crowd was spot on indeed!

[Mohan Mathew A]

From the car camera it is clear that Nico didn't try to make the corner in the racing line and he was trying to squeeze hamilton of the track. To me it is clear that it is deliberate and not due to tyre ware or brake issues

Pretty stupid of Nico to try what he did. I think both Nikki Lauda and Toto Wolff have been clear in saying that they consider that it is Nico's fault. I am sure he would have got an earful.

No matter what formula is agreed before hand, team orders are going to be difficult to enforce since there is no clear No. 1 driver and with both of them so close to each other in points and since no realtime instruction can be passed on the radio, both will race each other and try to push the limits of what is acceptable and agreed.

I hope the rest of the races become more interesting.

[jfxavier]

This is the analysis posted at Formula1.com



http://www.formula1.com/en/video/201...explained.html

Media reports and Niki Lauda's interview with Red Bull’s Servus TV suggests that there is more than what meets the eye happening behind the scenes at Mercedes. Apparently Lewis thrashed his room at Mercedes motor-home after he lost pole position to Nico at Baku.

“He [Hamilton] told me not to come in because he was going to destroy everything. This is how it was. He’ll have to pay for that [the destroyed room]. You can count on that”. But he believes it is part of Lewis's methods to deal with his struggles on the track. “He does what he can. The fight gets hotter the longer Nico is in front.”

It's possible that Toto Wolff and Mercedes may not be impressed with Lewis Hamilton’s decision to turn in on Rosberg, despite being deemed’ in the right’ by the race stewards. .
The past incidents must be playing in their mind.

At Suzuka and Austin and in Montreal this year, Lewis has claimed the ‘inside line’ into corners and run Rosberg off the track. Had Nico 'turned in' on these occasions like Lewis did at Austria, there would have been three more Mercedes collisions.

When being interviewed by Channel 4, Hamilton was asked why he was not covered with champagne as usual and how was the mood in the Mercedes garage?

“Its.. erm… interesting.. to say the least,” he said slowly.

“I don’t know if you’ve heard what I’ve heard?” added Hamilton, “..since… erm… after the race. But it’s pretty heated.”

The British F1 press today are filled with threats that one or both Mercedes driver may be stood down for two races in future, possibly a leak from Mercedes AMG F1.

Hamilton says he will try to persuade Toto and the team not to introduce team orders, while Rosberg has indicated he will do as instructed.

The Times F1 correspondent Kevin Eason writes today, “Insiders say that Wolff is in despair after seeing his drivers throw away 60 points in the constructors’ championship in five grands prix because of their private war and is also sick of the poisonous atmosphere between the pair.”

Following today’s revelations about Hamilton’s behaviour in Baku and the more compliant nature of Nico Rosberg within the team, it may be that Mercedes decide in the longer term to back the driver who is more in keeping with their global corporate image, rather than the one who is more popular in the media.

Another interesting thing is that Gerhard Berger who is part of Nico's contract extension talks believes team orders would solve some of Toto’s problems.

“it would be a good idea to do so but only in the last few laps if necessary, If you’re leading in a team with one-two in the last lap after a race like this, and you say ‘keep position’, I think people would have much more understanding.”

Interesting times ahead as the British fans are waiting to "welcome" Nico at Silverstone.
Hope Mercedes doesn't introduce team orders there at the British GP.

[arvi86]

What an enthralling race this was. I'm gutted for Nico because he did all he could and was supreme for 70 of the 71 laps. But it all just went wrong completely in the last lap. It was very clear Nico was desperate to cling on to the lead of the race and the championship but came off worse in that Turn 2 collision.

Having said that, I'm quite amazed at the support Lewis Hamilton receives from the press and some of the fans. I mean, how many times in the past Lewis has done something similar forcing his rivals (including Nico 3 times in the last 1 year) to go off track? What if his rivals had turned in just like Lewis did in Turn 2? I am a Kimi fan and have nothing against these two guys but I can safely say if their roles were reversed in the very same incident, Nico wouldn't have turned in but ran off track and avoided a collision. Of course, Lewis won't do that because he is who he is!