F1 2016 Formula 1 Season
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Formula 1 news, races, teams, drivers, technology, strategy, and discussion.
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chonkoa
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It is as clear as daylight.
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chonkoa
Aerodynamic Artisan
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Where are the fog lights?
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Fortunately they don't need 'em.. Lewis's talent shines that brightly that it burns off all surrounding mist and fog
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This came out of nowhere, I wonder how much notice did Rosberg gave Mercedes. The phones will be in melt down by now. The off season will be VERY interesting.
I honestly didn't expect him to retire so early and so suddenly, I thought he will build on his achievement this year, and become even stronger for next year. I suppose the competition between him and Lewis was too much, after 2 years of heart break and finally got one over Lewis, I don't think he can take another defeat in the future.
I honestly didn't expect him to retire so early and so suddenly, I thought he will build on his achievement this year, and become even stronger for next year. I suppose the competition between him and Lewis was too much, after 2 years of heart break and finally got one over Lewis, I don't think he can take another defeat in the future.
chonkoa
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My take is that Nico may have hinted at quitting during the last contract negotiation, definitely a decision was made during that process.
It was decided to send him off with a big bang, so the wheels were put in motion.
1. Swap garage
2. Sabotage Lewis with all sorts of twisted convoluted gremlins you can find in the known universe.
3. Of all the cars on the grid with Merc engines, only one driver had 8 recorded problems( some will call it bad luck, I call it a trend)
4. Toto Wolfe calls Max Verstappens dad to ask Max not to interfere.
5. Calling a driver leading the race to speed up so as not to jeopardize his own race- does not make sense at all unless the race they were alluding to is that of the person in P2.
6. Telling the Rosberg that 3rd place will be good enough to win the WDC when they knew Hamilton was fighting to retain his title.
We will only find out the truth when LH writes his book in 10 years.
It was decided to send him off with a big bang, so the wheels were put in motion.
1. Swap garage
2. Sabotage Lewis with all sorts of twisted convoluted gremlins you can find in the known universe.
3. Of all the cars on the grid with Merc engines, only one driver had 8 recorded problems( some will call it bad luck, I call it a trend)
4. Toto Wolfe calls Max Verstappens dad to ask Max not to interfere.
5. Calling a driver leading the race to speed up so as not to jeopardize his own race- does not make sense at all unless the race they were alluding to is that of the person in P2.
6. Telling the Rosberg that 3rd place will be good enough to win the WDC when they knew Hamilton was fighting to retain his title.
We will only find out the truth when LH writes his book in 10 years.
slicknick
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Kind of hope they go for Max, but I frankly don't see RBR ever releasing him
Wunderkind
Chicane Challenger
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Three very tough years and Nico appears mentally exhausted. I think he knows the 2017 season will be very tough and Nico knows Mercedes may have a tough fight to retain their constructors and drivers titles with the new rules and regulations.
Wise choice to 'retire' or take a sabbatical to recharge his batteries and have a great time with his young family.
Wise choice to 'retire' or take a sabbatical to recharge his batteries and have a great time with his young family.
D
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You know i thought this was a satricial fake news and i was staring a couple of minutes at the bbc site address to sport the fake part.
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I don't think so
And completely off topic, but I'd love to hear your insights about the crashed plane in Colombia!
Well, I know it's off-topic but it's a really quick and easy response, so I'll answer here.
It's clear the aircraft crashed due to fuel starvation. The reason for the fuel starvation is unclear though. Had enough fuel been loaded? Was there a leak? That will hopefully become clear eventually.
Here's the transcript and recording of the communications between the controller and pilots. At 4:50, the pilots announce they have lost electrics and fuel, although in the panic they forgot to declare "MAYDAY". They probably lost the electrics due to the lack of fuel, and therefore the four engines powering down weren't generating any power. That's also why the controller lost radar contact at 5:06, as the transponder on the aircraft will stop functioning.
EDIT: I've just found out some more information. The plan by the team initially was to use this charter airline to fly directly from Brazil to Colombia. Due to the bilateral agreement in place between Brazil and Bolivia (the home nation of the airline in question), they were not allowed to carry passengers between Brazil and a third country (Colombia). So, the team flew on a scheduled flight from Brazil to Santa Cruz, Bolivia, where they then boarded their charter flight to Medellin. The aircraft didn't have enough range to fly nonstop between Santa Cruz and Medellin. The plan was to stop in a place called Cobija to refuel, but due to the late arrival of the team from Brazil on the scheduled flight, this plan had to be scrapped because Cobija is only open during daylight hours, and it would be nighttime by the time they arrived there to pick up fuel. Instead the plan was to stop in Bogota to refuel before flying on to Medellin. Why they didn't do this is unknown. According to the flight plan of the trip which has been leaked, the captain was really pushing it. They assumed a "best-case scenario" for their flight, in that the weather would be perfect, and they would get short-cuts, and no holding, in which case they would be able to do the flight nonstop. Unfortunately, they were put in a holding pattern before landing at Medellin, and it seems their fate was sealed. The air traffic controller has received death threats apparently, because some unknowledgeable people are blaming her for the accident, when it appears to be a very optimistic Captain. The captain was also the owner of the airline, so there may have been attempts to save money by avoiding a refueling stop.
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IIRC Nico signed his 2017 contract with Mercedes before Lewis did. We don't know what incentives were put on the table from either side, we likely never will. Officially Nico was racing for Mercedes next year, and officially Toto only found out about Rosberg leaving after Abu Dhabi, any other viewpoint needs some evidence to back it up... or else it's tin foil hat time again...
Not that much of this matters anyway, they had a dominant car, Nico had signed, and doubtless Lewis was asking for more money.. there are FAR simpler ways of achieving 1 - 2 status within the team (if that's what they wanted) then the elaborateness that you suggest... however... since you bought it up...
I'm not even sure what this is about to be honest, I've not followed the season closely enough to be honest. I recall them saying on TV that Rosbergs race engineer has been with him since he started, other than that, I'm not sure what personnel changes were made.
Both Nico and Lewis used up more powertrain components than all the other Mercedes powered teams... Williams and Force India managed to use identical numbers for all their drivers, possibly because they managed what they had... perhaps Lewis was as quick as he was because everything was at 100.1%.... except his clutch finger... And everything got used up faster. Besides which - someone has to have the most failures, for two years prior it was Nico IIRC.
Plus, I have it on reasonable authority from a good friend and drinking buddy, who supplies Mercedes High Performance Powertrains, that integration of the energy recovery systems and the ICE is a major headache for Merc, and one they took very seriously.
Perhaps he wanted a fair fight for his drivers, or perhaps he didn't want Red Bull getting a win... mind-games and so on... who knows, but hardly a defence of Nico over Lewis.
Maybe he didn't want Nico calling for an investigation and penalty for Lewis (had he won) for breaking FIA sporting regulations, having the title decided by the FIA stewards, and having Mercedes looking even more incompetent at driver management and strategy than they already do... also, don't the teams get a payout dependent on points?
Statement of fact, 3rd place would have been good enough, what does this prove? Have they never tried to keep Hamilton calm via Radio messages before?
We'll get Lewis's opinion on it, but we already know why, "someone up there doesn't want him to win"... simples
It's clear what's going on from all the German flags being waved by the
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I am surprised that the general consensus amongst the media is that it's a "smart move" by Nico. To me it seems like he's a bit of a coward to not defend his title. And I'm more of a Rosberg fan than a Hamilton fan.
Bottas looks to be an early candidate. He's managed by Wolff.
Bottas looks to be an early candidate. He's managed by Wolff.
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"Quit while you're ahead" is a reasonable mantra. Why put his family, and himself, through all that again just to do something he's already done.. so the ROS camp and HAM camp can continue to bicker endlessly - I'm sure his 1 year old daughter and his wife are worth more to him than his fan legacy - or at least they should be.
edit:
Also @Betty Swollocks good shout on Bottas, he'd be a good choice I'm sure.
