Nico Rosberg has admitted he currently has no answer to his Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton’s recent run of good Formula 1 form, as the British driver won for the sixth time in 2015 at the Belgian Grand Prix.
Speaking just before the Belgian Grand Prix last weekend, Rosberg admitted that he did not have an explanation as to why he had only beaten Hamilton to pole position once, at the Spanish Grand Prix in May, in 2015 so far.
He said: “I don’t know, I can’t explain it at the moment. I don’t understand it and that’s not great, but I have been stronger in the races this year and that is what I have been trying to do from last year because I needed to improve a bit in racing.
“I just need to understand how I can improve qualifying a little bit now. [I’m] chasing my tail a little bit."
After he was informed of his teammate’s remarks, Hamilton reckoned that Rosberg should focus on setting-up his car to suit his strengths, rather than going back to options from last season.
Hamilton said: “I think he shouldn’t chase his tail, I think he’s been driving really well. I get the car where I need it to be, and I think for him for sure that’s going to be hard.“It’s never good to be behind your teammate by that amount, but still regardless, he’s still close in the championship. It’s not the be-all and end-all, but it’s definitely good for me."
After Hamilton’s win in the Belgian race, Rosberg trails his teammate by 28 points with eight races left until the end of the season. The FIA had also implemented a new start procedure for F1 races at Spa, which handed control of the clutch settings back to the driver. Many had expected that change to suit Rosberg more than Hamilton – who had endured poor starts in Austria, Britain and Hungary earlier in the season.
However, it was Rosberg who got off the line poorly at Spa and he fell from second to fifth by the first corner. Although he recovered to within two seconds of Hamilton’s lead during the middle stages of the race and by the finish, Rosberg never looked like seriously threatening his teammate’s position.
Link; http://www.jamesallenonf1.com/2015/08/nico-rosberg-has-no-answer-for-lewis-hamiltons-recent-formula-1-dominance/
Furthermore, Rosberg was bragging about being a step ahead and offering Lewis his set up to copy from. One should learn in the future to be sensible when talking about your team mate. In any event, this lends credence to my belief that Mercedes need to get rid of this guy and bring in someone young and hungry who is not afraid of Hamilton.
Also it further emphasises that Hamilton is a lot more than what he seems to a lot of people. People view him as a "feel" driver but ignore how intelligent he is, the new regs were supposed to suit the smarter drivers, even a reduction in pitwall coms and the new start procedure.
Did anyone see the notes on Nico's sterring wheel? Come on Mercedes, we want a battle, sign someone like Ricciardo.
Your thoughts please
Rosberg = The 2nd coming of Barichello
posted on 25/8/15
he is comfortably in 2nd place in the championship ... from what i saw in Spa he drove pretty well tbh.
Hamilton and Nico are no longer "friends" but they are far from enemies and as far as a no 1 & 2 that are also each others main ricals on grid there relationship is actually pretty good compared to those gone by.
He obv knows the set up at Mercedes and has also been a big player in the build up to their dominance.
In the two seasons that Merc have been the top dogs they have been very comfortably 1 & 2 in terms of results... Why gamble and risk losing what you have
posted on 25/8/15
I do think Nico is an under-rated driver. Alonso and Hamilton are the top two drivers on the grid, then Vettel in third. But after that, the drivers like Rosberg, Raikkonen. Ricciardo all form a close group of similarly skilled drivers.
I do think this move to change the starts will suit Rosberg more than Hamilton in the long run. We have only seen one race, if it's the same in the next few, then I stand corrected.
Rosberg will win a few races between now and the end of the season. The title battle is not over, Hamilton has had his luck, look at what happened to Rosberg at the end of the Hungarian GP when he should have won or got at least second, making it extremely close going into the mid-season break.
posted on 25/8/15
I disagree with the starts trebs. The start is a lot to do with feel as well and Hamilton is more talented than Rosberg. I do not think it will be a factor.
I do believe Nico will win a few more races this season but he needs to up his game. He's beaten Hamilton in 2 races this season, Austria and Spain. Monaco was a farcical ck up by Mercedes.
Last year he looked more of a threat, just have this horrible feeling he has accepted he cannot beat Hamilton and that is not good
posted on 27/8/15
I think Rosberg is a lot closer to Hamilton than Barrichello was to Schumacher.
But that isn't all down to ability. Barrichello a clear number 2 to Schumacher
posted on 27/8/15
Just imagine, if Hamilton was not at Mercedes, people would be calling Nico great, kind of like someone that drove a fizzy drinks car
posted on 27/8/15
Infact I think Rosberg is a lot closer to Hamilton than Webber was to Vettel (apart from the season when Vettel won his first title)
Schumacher - Barrichello
Vettel - Webber (apart from the season I mention)
Clear No 1 and No 2 Drivers
Hamilton - Rosberg
Not a No 1 and No 2 situation, I think the gap is genuine and an indicator that Hamilton is the better driver. How much better it's hard to tell - unknown how hard Hamilton is currently being pushed by his team mate.
Rosberg better than both Barrichello and Webber IMO.
posted on 27/8/15
Having said that - Barrichello and Webber would have been closer to Schumacher and Vettel if not No 2 Drivers
posted on 28/8/15
To be fair MUDD no "driver" on their own wins a WDC its always a combo of team and driver always will be and always has been. Almost every single WDC has been won by a driver in the quickest/best car. In fact the car is more important than the car for eg we will never see A top driver win a WDC in dog of a car for eg Lewis hamilton would not be WDC in the Sauber but it would be posible for Erikson to win a WDC if he was the only driver at mercedes. So on that basis it could be argued that having a quick car is more important and give better results than having a quick driver.
posted on 28/8/15
comment by delboy82 (U7141)
posted 24 minutes ago
To be fair MUDD no "driver" on their own wins a WDC its always a combo of team and driver always will be and always has been. Almost every single WDC has been won by a driver in the quickest/best car. In fact the car is more important than the car for eg we will never see A top driver win a WDC in dog of a car for eg Lewis hamilton would not be WDC in the Sauber but it would be posible for Erikson to win a WDC if he was the only driver at mercedes. So on that basis it could be argued that having a quick car is more important and give better results than having a quick driver.
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e car is more important than the 'driver'
posted on 31/8/15
comment by Welshy (U1348)
posted 2 days, 18 hours ago
Having said that - Barrichello and Webber would have been closer to Schumacher and Vettel if not No 2 Drivers
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I don't know, I think its a bit of a contradiction that Rosberg is better than Barrichello and Webber, yet isn't a 'number 2' driver and that the other two would have been better.
Personally, I don't think Webber and Barrichello were anywhere near Schumacher and Vettel, 2 of top 5 drivers I've seen in my (young) era of watching Formula 1. They may have won a couple more races but I don't think it would have been significant, not like the amount Rosberg wins over Hamilton.
The other issue to consider is that it was more accepting for teams to have a number 1 and 2. If Mercedes today told Hamilton to go for 2nd with Rosberg winning, or vice versa, it would not be acceptable.