F1 American GP Thread - Contains spoilers - Sponsored by Corn Dogs & Bourbon

[Fernando]

Only yesterday Austin was the new kid on the block, this weekend F1 returns to the Circuit of the Americas for the fourth time.

The venue made its debut on the F1 calendar in 2012 and was the scene of Lewis Hamilton's last victory in McLaren colours.

Drawing inspiration from tracks around the world when it came to designing the corners, the Circuit of the Americas has quickly become a favourite among drivers and fans.

The 2015 US GP in a nutshell

Track: Circuit of The Americas. Permanent circuit.

Race start time: 7pm UK time Sunday (2pm local).

Laps: 56.

Track length: 5.513 km.

Tyre allocation: Yellow (soft) and medium (white).

DRS Zones: Two with separate detection spots (Pit straight and between turns 11 and 12).

Driver steward: TBA.

Lap record: Kimi Raikkonen - 1:39.347 (Lotus, 2012).

2014 pole: Nico Rosberg - 1:36.067 (Mercedes).

Weather Forecast - Friday - Wet - Saturday - Wet - Sunday - Sunny with chance of showers - http://www.accuweather.com/en/us/austin-tx/78701/daily-weather-forecast/351193?day=1
Sky Sports F1's schedule

Thursday October 22

5pm - Drivers' Press Conference - Live!

Valtteri Bottas (Williams), Marcus Ericsson (Sauber), Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari), Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull), Alexander Rossi (Manor)

11pm - Paddock Uncut

Friday October 23

3:45pm - US GP Practice One - Live!

7:45pm - US GP Practice Two - Live!

10pm - Team Principals' Press Conference - Live!

Eric Boullier (McLaren), Matthew Carter (Lotus), Christian Horner (Red Bull), Vijay Mallya (Force India), Franz Tost (Toro Rosso), Toto Wolff (Mercedes)

Midnight - The F1 Show - Live!

Saturday October 24

3:45pm - US GP Practice Three - Live!

6pm - US GP Qualifying - Live!

11:25pm - Ted's Qualifying Notebook.

Sunday October 25

5:30pm - The 2015 US GP - Track Parade - Live!

6pm - The 2015 US GP - Pit lane - Live!

6:30pm - The 2015 US GP - Race - Live!

9:30pm - The 2015 US GP - Paddock Live!

Monday October 26

12:45am - Ted's Race Notebook.

Form guide

Lewis Hamilton is the most successful driver at the Circuit of the Americas having won the race on two of the three occasions the US GP has been held at the venue. Sebastian Vettel is the only other man to have stood atop the CoTA podium.

2014 result: 1. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes); 2. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes); 3. Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull); 4. Felipe Massa (Williams); 5. Valtteri Bottas (Williams); 6. Fernando Alonso (Ferrari); 7. Sebastian Vettel, (Red Bull); 8. Kevin Magnussen (McLaren); 9. Pastor Maldonado (Lotus); 10. Jean-Eric Vernge (Toro Rosso).

Last five winners in the United States of America: 2014: Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes); 2013: Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull); 2012: Lewis Hamilton (McLaren); 2007: Lewis Hamilton (McLaren); 2006: Michael Schumacher (Ferrari)

Tyre allocation

As was the case in 2014 Pirelli will bring the yellow-marked soft and the white-banded medium tyres to Texas.

[Fernando]

Vettel gets Engine Penalty.

[dyrewolfe]

Any news about Red Bull?

They are supposed to be getting engine penalties too if they run with their upgraded power units.

[Fernando]

They don't believe it's worth the penalty. Toro Rosso have decided against using it for the rest of 2015 too.

[Fernando]

Heavy rain forecast for this weekend have prompted weather forecasters to issue flash flood warnings for all of south Texas.

The heaviest rains, swirling in from the Gulf of Mexico, are expected to fall on Saturday, perhaps into Sunday, according to the National Weather Service. The service predicts that one to three inches of rain will fall along the Rio Grande, and five to seven inches may fall along the state's coastal bend.

[Fernando]

Well practice 2 ain't happening & tomorrow is due to be worse

[Guest]

What happens if the race is abandoned, the whole weekend looks bad on the weather radar. Imagine Hamilton winning the title like this, guess it would pretty much conclude what has been a pretty poor season. Shame too for F1, in it's attempt to break the American market.

[Fernando]

Jolyon Palmer to race for Lotus in 2016

[Guest]

The weather system causing the hurricane is massive if the rainy weather in Austin Texas is the periphery.  The hurricane is currently in the Pacific yet Austin is on the other side of the continent close to the Gulf of Mexico.

If the Austin US race is cancelled then Hamilton will still be 66 points ahead of Vettel and 73 points ahead of Rosberg with three races to go and 75 points on offer.  

Assuming the US race is cancelled:
1) If the Mexico City F1 race is also cancelled in slightly over two weeks time then Hamilton becomes this year F1 champion.  
2) If the Mexico City race goes ahead then Hamilton needs to finish at least ninth to knock Rosberg out of contention even if Rosberg wins - because at best Rosberg could only tie on points but could not match Hamilton's race wins.  If Vettel wins then Hamilton would need to finish fifth or better to win the championship.

Looking at current path predictions for Hurricane Patricia - it looks like the Austin race will likely be cancelled as it is on the predicted path of the Hurricane, while Mexico will be in the throes of the aftermath of the Hurricane - so weather wise the Mexican F1 race could go ahead depending on flooding and damage.  As a guess I would say the Austin race will be cancelled, while the Mexico City race go ahead will depend on whether Mexico could host anything in the aftermath:  F1 Teams would be expecting to shift out of Austin Texas after the race on Sunday to make their way to Mexico.  That will certainly be delayed by several days.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-34624245

[Guest]

Wet weather for FP3. Predictions are qualifying likely to be a washout so that FP3 positions will determine the race order.

[Guest]

If that's the case, Hamilton will be pole, he just annihilated the rest of the field in FP3, by 0.8 seconds in wet conditions. Hulkenberg will be second, after Vettel's penalty & Rosberg down in ninth.

[Guest]

Looks like the Hurricane fizzled out over Mexico so the Mexican Grand Prix should go ahead. US race may go ahead under wet conditions.

The BBC are providing weather forecasts for the US race.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/34622733

[Guest]

Q cancelled until 2pm tomorrow

[Guest]

Just a farce all this stop start. Q3 been red flagged, got to be a question mark about whether the race will even go ahead, if they are stopping now.

[Guest]

Q3 cancelled. Rosberg on pole & Hamilton second. Imagine it will be a safety car start, if if ever gets going.

[Guest]

Should be a good race this one.....hopefully

[Guest]

Virtual safety car is so suspect for me

[Guest]

That VSC killed Hamilton ending 3/4 of the way around his lap, but Kyvat crashing has now turned that on its head. Basically Hamilton now behind Rosberg with 10 laps to go. Been a entertaining race so far

[Guest]

Rosberg mistake has gifted Hamilton the lead. So amateurish

[Guest]

Hamilton wins & becomes a three time world champion

[GSC]

Congrats to Hamilton.

Meh in general. F1 needs a major rehaul.

[Mad for Chelsea]

well that was a fun race, probably the best this year. Lots of action with the changing conditions suiting different teams.

Rather fitting that it was a poor error from Rosberg that gifted Hamilton the title. Make no mistake, Hamilton has been superb this season, but Rosberg simply hasn't been good enough to challenge.

Here's hoping the Ferrari (or any other car really) can be competitive next season. I'm a Hamilton fan, but swapping one team's outrageous dominance for another's can't have been what the powers had in mind when they changed the regs...

[Guest]

I wouldn't even rate Rosberg as a second tier driver. The face of Wolff & Lauda after the mistake, said it all. Hamilton is enjoying what Vettel had at RB over Webber, it's now just a question of how long it will last, probably until 2017, when the next substantial regulation change comes about.

[titaniumjaw]

Hamilton winning the world title was like usain bolt running the 100m against a load of toddlers.... A once horse race. Never has championship been so uncompetitive. Plus after netting him last year he's an arse to boot

[Guest]

Hamilton winning the world title was like usain bolt running the 100m against a load of toddlers.... A once horse race. Never has championship been so uncompetitive. Plus after netting him last year he's an arse to boot

For all Hamilton's dominance, points difference between him & Rosberg last year was small & went to the wire. Even this year, it's never been above 50 points, until the last couple of races & Nico has had some DNF's. Never has a championship been so uncompetitive, is way off the mark, you clearly forget it never saw the Schumacher days or even recently Vettel's dominance in 2011, when he won six of the first eight races & won the championship by well over 100 points. Good to see you throw in the Hamilton bashing at the end & showing us hatred, jealously or bias against him.

[GSC]

Nicos in a car that makes him favorite for 2nd if he doesn't have issues. Without driving Vettels style, the Red Bull was close enough to the cars behind that Webber didn't have the same luxury. Easier to separate when the cars behind fight amongst themselves.

That said a world title is a mega achievement regardless of circumstances. Nobody should discredit that.

I do wish for much more entertainment next year though.

[Guest]

 Plus after netting him last year he's an arse to boot

That's your opinion, I don't like making snap judgements on people & calling them asses, when in reality, I don't know them & I doubt you do either. I met him at Goodwood & spoke for about 10 seconds, seemed genuinely happy to engage with fans and, as a fan, that's all that matters. He's the only driver communicating with fans, through various social media platforms, at least he's promoting himself & the sport, unlike Vettel, who was very unwilling to help the sport attract new fans & break new markets, as Bernie suggested. 

Just seen 'cap gate' too, Lewis shouldn't of thrown the cap, but Nico's reaction was a bit petulant & slight sour grapes. Not sure why he's angry at the first corner move by Lewis, this is F1, you have to be ruthless, if you're not, you end up forgotten & thrown out the back door.

[GSC]

You don't like it when its someone you like

[Guest]

I do wish for much more entertainment next year though.

Just don't see what you expect really. F1 has always been about era's of domination, you rarely get two or three teams capable of fighting for a championship, maybe one season a decade? There's been five or six very good races this season, that's pretty much what happens every year, you can't get exhilarating races like Austin every week, just like in football, sometimes you get a Newcastle vs Norwich thriller or a dull Man U vs Man City. Basically F1 is about changing the regs, one team dominates, they change the refs again to stop that team & the next era begins. That's how it works & that's why the constructors history down the years, reads as it does.

[GSC]

I hope for more than a few watchable races a year. Perhaps not a great title battle but the majority shouldn't be a complete procession.

[Trebs]

I do think it was overly aggressive from Hamilton, I would argue that if Rosberg was not his team-mate, then it would have been a penalty. There was a lot of luck involved throughout, the defining bit being the final safety car period, which allowed Hamilton to pit and attack Rosberg. It was a bad mistake but I think Hamilton would have made the overtake either way as he had the better tyres.

As for the incident with the cap, I think Hamilton knew what he was doing, it's the way he throws it without really acknowledging Rosberg. Had Rosberg accepted it we're all saying he's not got any fight in him. He's clearly angry because he should have won the race. His interviews and body language after the race, you can tell he's going to have plenty to say with Mercedes internally.

[GSC]

Gut says Rosberg was told to move over. No real evidence but he should be over the opening corner move by then.

[dyrewolfe]

Gut says Rosberg was told to move over. No real evidence but he should be over the opening corner move by then.

Do you mean his off-track excursion that allowed Hamilton & Vettel through? If so, it was a well-disguised execution of team orders...and also a bit sad that the team told him to move over. If it had been me, I might have refused (turnabout being fair play etc.) It would still only have delayed Hamilton winning the title.

On reflection, I thought exactly the same thing. Apart from the start Nico drove a brilliant race...for once winning an on-track duel with Lewis and managing both the re-starts perfectly. He seemed to be totally in the zone pretty much all weekend. Then again, Lewis was catching him pretty rapidly and he does have a history of messing up under pressure. So not sure whether to feel sorry for him or exasperated with him for yet another unforced error.

Anyway, conspiracy theories aside that was one hell of a race...easily the best of the season IMO. Hopefully that will have won F1 a few more fans Stateside. Lots of overtaking, spins, crashes, safety cars...shame more races can't be like this (maybe Bernie is on to something with his on-track sprinkler system ).

Lewis drove a great race himself and thoroughly deserves his 3rd title...it was only ever a matter of when, not if.

Great drive by Vettel to get a podium, despite starting well down the grid thanks to Ferrari's engine penalty.

Also fantastic results for Verstappen and Perez. Thought they maybe qualified out of position, with there being no Q3, but Sergio held his 5th place and Max put in another blistering performance to move up 4 places.

Last but not least a big shout out to JB for pulling off a 6th place finish, despite running with the old spec Honda engine...5 places ahead of Alonso, who was given the improved engine. Good points finish for Sainz too after binning his car in quali and having to start 20th.

[Guest]

I do think it was overly aggressive from Hamilton, I would argue that if Rosberg was not his team-mate, then it would have been a penalty. 

As for the incident with the cap, I think Hamilton knew what he was doing, it's the way he throws it without really acknowledging Rosberg. Had Rosberg accepted it we're all saying he's not got any fight in him. He's clearly angry because he should have won the race. His interviews and body language after the race, you can tell he's going to have plenty to say with Mercedes internally.

You must be joking. The stewards were not even remotely interested in the incident. The move was, at that point, a potential race winning manouevre. It's those overtaking moves, which win championships, to take that away & punish a driver would be absurd. If Hamilton had got penalised for that contact, then it would of been an embarrassment & I'd suggest the sport should just pack up & stop altogether.

The difference between these two drivers is one is fighting for a championship, willing to make aggressive, ruthless moves, that past greats have done throughout the history of the sport, whereas the other, just wants it handed to him on a plate & not wanting to get involved in any sort of wheel to wheel racing whatsoever. Hamilton is a three time champio because of these moves, Rosberg doesn't make these moves or doesn't have the required driving skill & that is ultimately reflective, of why he has zero world championships to his name.

As for the cap incident, blown up by the media obviously, but neither should of done what they did. Whatever camp you're in, you see it differently. Hamilton fans see it as Rosberg having sour grapes & spitting the dummy out, whereas Rosberg fans will say it's pure arrogance from Hamilton & basically the action was him saying, 'here Nico, here's your usual second placed cap' etc.

As for conspiracy theory, pure nonsense. Rosberg saw Hamilton on fresh tyres in the mirrors & the pants became brown rather quickly, like in Monza, whereby he made more mistakes in gifting Hamilton a win. He crumbles under pressure & it's a shame because he had the pace to win, but once again proving he doesn't have the ruthless streak in him to capitalise on a situation & to keep kicking Hamilton, when he is down.

[Fernando]

Ah you guys make me chuckle

Hat wise - Everyone wants to win he's hardly going to sit their happy as day about coming 2nd when he should of won. Id have launched it at his head tbh it's just a competitor being grumpy really

Start wise - It was naughty by Hamilton if Rosberg drove for Ferrari/Williams then he gets a time penalty or a drive through it's alright forcing someone out of road until you contact them, Was unnecessary contact and even Toto said they would talk to Lewis over it.

[dyrewolfe]

As for conspiracy theory, pure nonsense. Rosberg saw Hamilton on fresh tyres in the mirrors & the pants became brown rather quickly, like in Monza, whereby he made more mistakes in gifting Hamilton a win. He crumbles under pressure & it's a shame because he had the pace to win, but once again proving he doesn't have the ruthless streak in him to capitalise on a situation & to keep kicking Hamilton, when he is down..

Thats nonsense. If Nico couldn't handle pressure he wouldn't be in F1 in the first place.

Secondly, he and Lewis have been racing together since they were in karts. I hardly think Nico is any more scared of Lewis than Lewis is of Nico. If he got brown trousers all the time, he wouldn't have won that on-track battle (granted the first one he has won).

That said, I do think you sort of hit the nail on the head (nearly) in that Nico does seem to have some sort of psychological problem when it comes to Lewis. Its no secret that over their careers Lewis has usually got the better of him, so now maybe its become a kind of mental barrier that he struggles to overcome.

That doesn't make him a bad driver, but it does seem he doesn't have the outright ruthlessness and focus that separates the great from the merely good.

Even Lewis said (only half-jokingly, I suspect) that he is probably the worst team mate anyone could have, because of his ultra-competitive nature.

In all honesty, only the likes of Vettel or one of the new up-and-comers like Verstappen could live with him. Even Alonso jacked it in after one season...though how much of that was down to Hamilton personally and how much of it was team issues, I suspect we'll never know for sure.

[Guest]

I do think it was overly aggressive from Hamilton, I would argue that if Rosberg was not his team-mate, then it would have been a penalty. 

As for the incident with the cap, I think Hamilton knew what he was doing, it's the way he throws it without really acknowledging Rosberg. Had Rosberg accepted it we're all saying he's not got any fight in him. He's clearly angry because he should have won the race. His interviews and body language after the race, you can tell he's going to have plenty to say with Mercedes internally.

You must be joking. The stewards were not even remotely interested in the incident. The move was, at that point, a potential race winning manouevre. It's those overtaking moves, which win championships, to take that away & punish a driver would be absurd. If Hamilton had got penalised for that contact, then it would of been an embarrassment & I'd suggest the sport should just pack up & stop altogether.

The difference between these two drivers is one is fighting for a championship, willing to make aggressive, ruthless moves, that past greats have done throughout the history of the sport, whereas the other, just wants it handed to him on a plate & not wanting to get involved in any sort of wheel to wheel racing whatsoever. Hamilton is a three time champio because of these moves, Rosberg doesn't make these moves or doesn't have the required driving skill & that is ultimately reflective, of why he has zero world championships to his name.

As for the cap incident, blown up by the media obviously, but neither should of done what they did. Whatever camp you're in, you see it differently. Hamilton fans see it as Rosberg having sour grapes & spitting the dummy out, whereas Rosberg fans will say it's pure arrogance from Hamilton & basically the action was him saying, 'here Nico, here's your usual second placed cap' etc.

As for conspiracy theory, pure nonsense. Rosberg saw Hamilton on fresh tyres in the mirrors & the pants became brown rather quickly, like in Monza, whereby he made more mistakes in gifting Hamilton a win. He crumbles under pressure & it's a shame because he had the pace to win, but once again proving he doesn't have the ruthless streak in him to capitalise on a situation & to keep kicking Hamilton, when he is down.

Completely agree. People asking for a penalty for that, the is F1, this is motor racing & the absolute pinnacle. Forcing someone wide, OH MY GOD, send Lewis to prison or something. Senna will be turning in his grave. Thankgod the stewards & people with a brain saw that as nothing more than a great, attacking, ruthless move of a great champion, the reason we go and pay to watch in the first place

@dyrwolfe - how is it nonsense exactly. Every time Lewis is in the mirrors, Nico manages to make a mistake, goes wide & avoids the wheel to wheel defending? You say it's nonsense, it's the reality, because of the psychological impact Lewis has over him now, that you admit yourself.

[Guest]

 even Toto said they would talk to Lewis over it.

As if, the guy has just won another championship for the team, they don't care one bit. This is what Toto actually said post race, in regards to the turn 1 non- incident.

Wolff said: "It is what we want to see and it is what we owe to the fans. It is what racing is about. We don't want to have remote-control puppets who drive around with a metre distance between themselves. It is not how these guys are calibrated and it is not what people want to see and we don't want to see it either''.


Nothing wrong with the move at all, I know it, the stewards knew it & every single past world champion, including Senna in his grave knew it. The only people actively seeking a penalty for that non- incident, are the anti Hamilton brigade & people who have no actual idea what motor sport or racing is or have a recollection of any of its history.

[AlciG]

 even Toto said they would talk to Lewis over it.

As if, the guy has just won another championship for the team, they don't care one bit. This is what Toto actually said post race, in regards to the turn 1 non- incident.

Wolff said: "It is what we want to see and it is what we owe to the fans. It is what racing is about. We don't want to have remote-control puppets who drive around with a metre distance between themselves. It is not how these guys are calibrated and it is not what people want to see and we don't want to see it either''.


Nothing wrong with the move at all, I know it, the stewards knew it & every single past world champion, including Senna in his grave knew it. The only people actively seeking a penalty for that non- incident, are the anti Hamilton brigade & people who have no actual idea what motor sport or racing is or have a recollection of any of its history.

I don't even think that's the case... I think the same people calling for a penalty now would be screaming if he was handed a penalty stating that they should let the drivers race and not have processions...
Some people just like to complain 1 way or the other

[Mad for Chelsea]

oh FFS. With John and Liam on this. If we start giving penalties for that sort of non-incident, then we might as well ban overtaking altogether. You can't have fans calling for more excitement, wheel-to-wheel racing, and then saying Hamilton should have been penalised. A tight first corner duel will always result in the driver on the inside pushing the guy outside him wide, just the way it is.

Rosberg should have recognised that once Lewis got up on his inside it was Lewis's corner. The response in that case should have been to brake earlier and try to get him on the cut back, as Lewis was always going to run slightly wide on that line. Unfortunately Rosberg isn't that natural a racer, so he didn't react quickly enough to the situation. That's what cost him, not Lewis's supposed over-aggressive driving. Was it aggressive? Certainly. Name me just one world champion who has done it without pulling off similarly aggressive moves (OK maybe Button in 09...); it's what differentiates the champions from the rest.

I don't really mind Rosberg's comments, or even his reaction. He was obviously very disappointed at the way it panned out, and understandably so. Equally as fans we can't ask for F1 drivers to be more "interesting", and complain when one of them shows some emotion. Of course, Rosberg really only has himself to blame for losing this one. Yes Hamilton was on the newer tyres, but only by a few laps or so, and Rosberg's tyres were not exactly ancient. Really, if the situation were reversed, would people have expected Rosberg to get past? I doubt it... Shows the gap between the two.

[Guest]

I seem to recall Rosberg being gifted the Monte Carlo grand prix victory with all its attendant privileges this year. Rosberg's toys out of the pram outburst at least proved he didn't purposely give Hamilton the race. It was just that after being superior in the middle part of the race, Hamilton's pace kicked in towards the latter part of the race.

Hamilton's early racing career in F1 was hit by various penalties that only seem to apply to him for what were described as aggressive overtaking manoeuvres rather than the fact he was black (its F1 FFS everyone wants to see good overtaking).  He lost the F1 championship in his rooky year by one point because of the outrageous attitude of Alonso - who almost sunk McClaren in the process.

[GSC]

Probably best for all that I don't touch this one, but again its the usual suspects it seems.

[Guest]

you're not touching this one, because you know your wrong. You found that evidence yet of Rosberg being told to move aside? Thought not.

[Fernando]

 even Toto said they would talk to Lewis over it.

As if, the guy has just won another championship for the team, they don't care one bit. This is what Toto actually said post race, in regards to the turn 1 non- incident.

Wolff said: "It is what we want to see and it is what we owe to the fans. It is what racing is about. We don't want to have remote-control puppets who drive around with a metre distance between themselves. It is not how these guys are calibrated and it is not what people want to see and we don't want to see it either''.


Nothing wrong with the move at all, I know it, the stewards knew it & every single past world champion, including Senna in his grave knew it. The only people actively seeking a penalty for that non- incident, are the anti Hamilton brigade & people who have no actual idea what motor sport or racing is or have a recollection of any of its history.

It seems everywhere you go Toto changes he's mind  

"Wolff said the lap one clash: "Nico has reason to be upset for that particular incident. It was too hard and we need to pick it up and discuss it."

^ I have seen that on a fair few motorsport websites this week, Like i said before you can shove people off the road all you want you shouldn't make contact though your asking for trouble If Lewis raced for another team Mercedes would of been straight onto the Stewards.

Also stop trying to bait GSC into an argument cos your lose badly

[GSC]

My feelings are, anything more than a 5 second penalty was probably slightly harsh. It was a little bit too aggressive.

But he should've let Nico through. As Nando says, had he done it to anyone but his teammate the stewards would've probably had to act.

[Guest]

it was never a penalty, the stewards didn't not even attempt to investigate the incident. Stewards don't take a blind eye, because it's teammate on teammate, that take each incident on its own & decide which penalty they see fit. Seeing as they didn't do so, categorically ends this debate.

I see you needed your football thread friend, to come & support you on here, GSC. As for your 'usual suspects' comment, that just stinks of arrogance, implying that we're talking nonsense again, which couldn't be further from the truth, seeing as myself, John & Mad for Chelsea were all in agreement about the incident & why, given the history of the sport & what previous champions have done, proved it was never a penalty.

[GSC]

John, Dyre and Craig if hes about will know exactly what that comment is about fella.

I'm sure they enjoyed it as much as I did after all. Nando probably less so.

[Guest]

had he done it to anyone but his teammate the stewards would've probably had to act.

No!  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqHG256arrc

Look at this. An aggressive, ruthless overtake, that fans love to see & it helped Lewis gain a podium place, after starting from the back of the grid in Hockenheim. He touches Kimi & NO PENALTY. This is F1, fighting for championships, not a casual drive on a sunday afternoon. Thankgod you have no say in F1, otherwise we'd be going down the route of punishing drivers for such minimal contact & denying ourselves the chance of witnessing such brave, skilled drivers at work. Talk about wanting to kill a sport.

[CaledonianCraig]

Congratulations on Lewis Hamilton wrapping up a third world title.

Sure he is wrapping up these titles in the best car on the grid but what else is new? Vettel and Schumacher also did the same so nothing has changed.

As for the first corner move - it was aggressive by Lewis but equally timid by Rosberg. He just has not got a world champion's balls and is why he will never be world champion. In any case he had the win in his grasp and blew it later with an embarrassing mistake. Whatever people's thoughts on the first corner it had no affect whatsoever on the title's destination - that has only been going one way since mid-season.

[dyrewolfe]

 even Toto said they would talk to Lewis over it.

As if, the guy has just won another championship for the team, they don't care one bit. This is what Toto actually said post race, in regards to the turn 1 non- incident.

Wolff said: "It is what we want to see and it is what we owe to the fans. It is what racing is about. We don't want to have remote-control puppets who drive around with a metre distance between themselves. It is not how these guys are calibrated and it is not what people want to see and we don't want to see it either''.


Nothing wrong with the move at all, I know it, the stewards knew it & every single past world champion, including Senna in his grave knew it. The only people actively seeking a penalty for that non- incident, are the anti Hamilton brigade & people who have no actual idea what motor sport or racing is or have a recollection of any of its history.

It seems everywhere you go Toto changes he's mind  

"Wolff said the lap one clash: "Nico has reason to be upset for that particular incident. It was too hard and we need to pick it up and discuss it."

^ I have seen that on a fair few motorsport websites this week, Like i said before you can shove people off the road all you want you shouldn't make contact though your asking for trouble If Lewis raced for another team Mercedes would of been straight onto the Stewards.

Also stop trying to bait GSC into an argument cos your lose badly

Thats actually a very good point and the reason I hope Mercedes do find a way to deal with it. Not only that but I'm sure Lewis would've been equally unhappy, had their positions been reversed.

I know it was a wet track, but from what I saw there was absolutely no need for Lewis to go that wide and force Rosberg off. At no point did he look like he had lost control of his car, so I don't see why he couldn't have left some room for Rosberg, as the rules require.

In the end the first corner incident is a moot point, as Rosberg actually fought his way back and passed Lewis on track. Still Mercedes need to do a bit of fence mending, if they want to keep things from escalating. Same thing with the cap-throwing incident. Think it was a tad insensitive of Lewis, to say the least, given he must've had an inkling that Rosberg probably was not in a great mood.

[Sponsored content]