hrd-hr30

like They did put on a good scrap for us! I bet Checo enjoyed rubbing McLaren's nose in it lol

Magnussen deserved a penalty - the other car was fully alongside - you can't just run them off the road in that situation. The only harsh part is that one certain other driver has been getting away with the exact same thing all season for some reason... And yeah, Lewis knew it was the best time to put pressure on - when they had told Nico to save some fuel. That's the best chance to pass him... Rosberg cracked though. Mercedes were trying to make it a fair fight at the end, but Lewis decided to take any advantage he could.

I'm a little surprised Williams couldn't beat Merc to the front row like they did in Austria. This track should have suited them better than Spielberg. Parabolica is ruined - everyone's raping the track limits there. Challenge, gone.

they've dumbed down the Parabolica. Boo!

Same thing lots of people have been saying on forums. Rosberg's sick of Hamilton chopping his nose off and decided not to GTFO of his way next time. He said himself he felt he needed to make a point. It's plainly obvious what that point was. That article is pretty shit. "Hamilton... was poised to seize the title lead for the first time in Belgium." Really? He was 11 points behind Rosberg, so he need to win and for Rosberg to finish 4th or worse. Not sure how poised to happen that was considering they were over 2sec faster than the rest of the field! And it wouldn't have been the first time he led the championship anyway.

the faster cars didn't need to shed wing for speed. Their top speeds were within a km/h or two of Red Bulls' despite carrying all that wing! Look out for them at Monza!!!

yeah they normally go well at the high speed tracks, and were strong at Canada. But they didn't do as well as hoped at Speilberg... Hopefully they realise it's their best chance of a podium and have been putting everything into their Monza spec!

the only reason RBR were as fast as the others in a straight line at Spa was they used thier Monza wing and all their ERS to defend on that one straight. At Monza, everyone will be using those low downforce/drag wings and there's 3 straights...

There's still a question mark over Merc rear brakes after Canada. Monza has a monumental stop for the first chicane at the end of the main straight, followed by another big stop for the next chicane not long after. not sure how much they're allowed to do mid-season to fix that issue. I think brake dimensions are fixed for the season, which would be very good news for Williams. I'm keen to see how the other Mercedes runners of Force India and Mclaren match up with Ferrari and RedBull. FI were up there in Canada, but have fallen behind since. Low downforce might suit them. McLaren are the opposite, improving as the season goes on and should be more than a match for Red Bull here I think. Ferrari are hard to get a read on for me. Torro Rosso went well here last year too - if that's any guide they might even be on Red Bull's heels this weekend. How many sleeps is it? I love Monza!

I get the impression he was on Skysports weekly F1 show... Monza - Williams, this is your chance! You know, for a win, not a "good points haul" in 3rd place like Spielberg. Time to step up and stop acting like a midfield team with your pit calls.

lol maybe he would have if Kimi had already run him off the road several times that year!

deadset! he totally deserved that penalty for cutting the chicane and getting a run on Kimi to pass him half way along the short Start Finish straight! Only passed him because he cut the corner. video: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xscqcb_f1-2008-r13-hamilton-vs-raikkonen-battle-for-win-spa-onboard_auto what a cock saying he really won that race coz he didn't deserve a penalty! The good thing is, if he's still hung up on that from 6yrs ago, he's never going to get over losing this WDC! lol

You neglect to mention the guy in front get's the first option on pit strategy. Pretty important. Even more important after Hamilton defied team orders to let his team mate on an alternate tyre strategy past in the previous race. One might even say it was crucial to get in front. And the opening laps have always been one of the best times to try and make a pass. And it's not like Lewis needed to push him that wide either, fwiw... he'd already won the corner.

it means they are trying not to be seen to be taking sides with ze German. Seriously, how upset are Mercedes really with the Greman kid leading the WDC for the German marque with both drivers stil pretty comfortably 1-2... They can't afford too much more of it though. I reckon team orders along the lines of whoever leads into the first turn stays there. Status quo until the last stint. And no more splitting strategies unless it's due to circumstance beyond their control.

I've said it before - Mercedes: too many cheifs too often contradicting each other.

lol fkn poms! yeah, Lewis is coming across really well in the media - as a cry baby!

clarification

true. definitely that lockup trying to pass Vettel that forced another pitstop was the one that cost the race. and at the end of the day, it was his poor start that led to the situation of needing to pass Hamilton in the first place. It was a scrappy race from Rosberg. But at the end of the day, it wasn't a bad result for him.

I'm sticking with this being a case of Hamilton's usual chop-my-team-mate's-nose-off style. I can understand Nico being sick of that bullshit considering how agressive Hamilton has been in a few previous incidents, including the last race when Rosberg was fully alongside. this paints a good picture of the racing line through there: compared to this, I'm running you off the road again line: Hamilton knew what he was doing; "It's not your job to go massively out of your way to leave extra, extra room. And it wasn't one of those corners where there's a wall there or anything." Yes, he's entitled to do that, but I doubt that's any consolation to him at the moment. He could have left the extra foot needed and carried on unharmed, still in the lead. Just had to push the point to Nico, who decided to make one of his own... hehe Good on him, I say!

Even if you blame Nico and think he had no right to be there, Hamilton was aware of the fact he was there. He was 3/4 alongside on entry to the corner after Hamilton went defensive on the approach. He certainly knew he was there. And yes, Hamilton might have been within his rights to stick to the racing line, but look where that got him... I doubt it's any consolation to him now, knowing he was right. All for the sake of a foot of road. An experienced driver should know better. But that's Hamilton's style to disregard the other car on the exit. Guess what - sometimes when you're in front, you're the more vulnerable one if there's contact.

I don't buy it, on one of the many occassions he was whinging to his pits in that dejected voice that he wanted to park it, they responded by telling him the only guy lapping faster was Bottas. Meanwhile, Rosberg shows alot more class again, keeping closed team discussions private, instead of coming out running to the first reporter to cry about what wasn't even said... On the subject of everyone blaming Rosberg... it's like no other race driver ever clipped anyone while alongside ever before - certainly not Hamilton who "can't understand what Rosberg was doing". Everyone makes mistakes, contact between cars sometimes happens in racing. The argument that it's unacceptable on Lap 2, but OK at the end of a race is ridiculous. Particularly after Hamilton's actions in the previous race, getting first option on the pit strategy is the most important factor in the race between these teammates.

Buxton is obviously a Pom... another quality little cry from Homo too.

Homo's been slowly imploding for a while. Just been lucky. Last race his first lap effort throwing it at a scenery just didn't manage to get what it deserved. Scrappy in qualifying when the chips are down for a few races now as well. Pressure is getting to him. And unbelievably quick to drop his head, even immediately after coming from the back in the last race for a good result. He was friggen lucky to get the one championship he got, despite having the dominant car that year it needed a gift on the last lap of the season to get him over the line.

haha, I had a feeling I was putting the kibosh on him! Hamilton has been overly agressive on the chop chop with Rosberg all season. The only reason there hasn't been contact sooner was Rosberg being very compliant and getting the f**k out of his way. Sooner or later shit was going to happen the way Hamilton drives. Rosberg was pulling out of that move too, but Hamilton just had to do his usual chop chop job. And what a friggen sook! You tell 'em Eddie!