In reply to Iusedtobefast:
Actually, it was a good question. Both drivers had a fresh set of super soft tires, and given what we have seen, it appeared that those were the correct choice.
The TV guys were questioning the choice the entire time until the pass attempt, too. Pointing out that conspiracy theorists had a big one to go with.
It just took a few laps to be shown Lewis' tires were the correct ones.
In reply to DeadSkunk:
Except I thought it was rear when it was the front tire. 
dean1484 wrote: About the tires. I bet the were hedging there bets. If the suppers softs were to give up they had a backup car on the softs. The problem is Hamilton is not going to play the roll of backup. Mercedes needs to move on from one of them and get a "backup" driver to stroke the ego of the primary driver.
That would spoil my fun. I'd also argue that Nico IS the backup and just hasn't realized it yet. Or, leave them alone and occasionally lose the second place points due to some impetuous racing because a true backup quality driver might not get as many second place finishes.
Also of note, Kimi did not look thrilled with third. I guess when you know you are on the way out, nothing will make you happy short of a win.
Iusedtobefast wrote: I find it funny that Lewis is always questioning the team's calls. They do seem to try to put him behind the ball so he not only has to beat his teammate but his own team. I don't think I've ever seen that happen so often in any racing like Mercedes is doing this year. Almost like they want Nico to win every week. :D
It is cheaper for the team for Nico to win... Simple economics.
Again, it was both that crashed. Nico blocked mid corner and Lewis cane down on him. Stupid by both. Lewis was lucky and Nico unlucky. I don't think Nico intended contact
Intended or not it was a dick move on Nico's part. He was behind Hamilton at that point so Hamilton could not see him. Hamilton did not turn down he was taking the outside line. You could have fit a third car under Nico because he basically got beat and instead of being a man about it tried to block the whole corner and drive Hamilton off the outside. In my book there is no place for that kind of driving at this level of racing. Hell he had the better tires and after the back strait he would have had the advantage through the rest of the course.
markwemple wrote: Again, it was both that crashed. Nico blocked mid corner and Lewis cane down on him. Stupid by both. Lewis was lucky and Nico unlucky. I don't think Nico intended contact
We are going to have to disagree on this. I see it as Hamilton gave all the room he could short if driving off track. Nico crashed in to Hamilton. If it was bad brakes or a driver that was pissed that he got beat is subject to debate but I don't see how Hamilton could have done anything different.
Nico and his excuse that "because I am the leader" just does not cut it. It was funny to listen to the guys on Extra almost laughing at that. The basically pointed out that Nico's interview was a bunch of BS.
Had Nico just said that he was having brake issues that would be perfectly acceptable. Pushing a little to hard to defend with brakes that have gone in to passive mode would explain everything but instead he is blaming Hamilton in the post race interview. The dude needs to man up. He got beat and it appears that his little temper tantrum almost took both Mercedes out.
I think it was Nico's fault but the main cause is the ridiculous drs making the guy ahead a sitting duck. You build a lead and another ridiculous rule takes it away.
Thing about the DRS zone, one is the main straight, the other is after turn 2.
And since the accident took place in turn 2, that straight didn't have a DRS zone for Hamilton to close and pass on. Yet he did, anyway.
So you can't blame it on that.
Also, if you BUILD a lead, then the DRS zone is irrelevant, as you should be able to build and maintain a one second lead. Nico was ahead by over that for most of the last laps after they cleared all the cars they passed. Since Hamilton closed, he was the faster car on the track.
Interesting to watch it happen though. It was absolutely going to be bad behavior from one of them. This time Nico was out of line...
Seems like had Nico turned in, lewis probably would not have passed.
And he may have had Hamilton slow enough to negate the DRS zone
So he could have won.
I thought they said that the drs kicked in for Hamilton comming out of T1. I will have to go look at that again.
Nico thinks he's Ayrton Senna, he's barely Bruno Senna.
markwemple wrote: Again, it was both that crashed. Nico blocked mid corner and Lewis cane down on him. Stupid by both. Lewis was lucky and Nico unlucky. I don't think Nico intended contact
There was two car widths between Nico and the apex. Not even close to being Lewis' fault.
racerfink wrote: Nico thinks he's Ayrton Senna, he's barely Bruno Senna.
Now that is funny
Seems like we're forgetting that Nico had brake failure, and again team couldn't tell Nico or Lewis. Stupid rule.
markwemple wrote: Seems like we're forgetting that Nico had brake failure, and again team couldn't tell Nico or Lewis. Stupid rule.
They were fine the corner before AND he did slow for the corner (unlike Perez). Just didn't turn.
Rosberg was penalized, but 10 seconds didn't change the order. And he was reprimanded for spreading debris over the track.
http://www.formula1.com/en/latest/headlines/2016/7/rosberg-penalised--stays-fourth--after-hamilton-clash.html
No mention of brake failure by the stewards and they even stated that they reviewed the telemetry of the cars.
What they said in a round about way was Nico drives like an idiot.
I don't like conspiracies, but I still think the team is trying to NOT let Lewis catch Nico and win the championship. I just saw a little of the interview Toto Woulf gave and he said he blamed them both, but why mention Nico had brake problems, and never mention the bad stop the team had and why they put Lewis on softs instead of supersofts like Nico. If I were Lewis, I'd beat Nico to the championship, then tell Mercedes to stuff it and go somewhere else and really beat their ass. Ferrari will need a driver and they are due for a comeback year.Just thinking out loud...
Wow. So you had your foot on his brake pedal. That's amazing since his teal confirmed brake loss and you could see a lot of dust off his brakes during the race.
My tinfoil hat is still fitting nicely.
The team wants to win the championship 1 and 2. That is a given.
However one driver will cost them a lot more money to win than the other.
So as long as they have 1 & 2 covered, I am certain they will "help" themselves to the more economical solution. When the drivers start rubbing on each other it throws a wing in the teams plans.
To demand that the drivers do anything but drive for the win results in a braking a drivers spirit. A couple of examples are Weber who left the sport, and Masa who left his team. I'm sure there are others, the bottom line is the bottom line as far as the teams are concerned and they have to learn how to manipulate the drivers or equipment without causing strife. Or they have to just let things play out and bite the bullet financially. I recall a while back when the very successful Kimi was owed a great deal of coin buy the team he took to the podium, I never heard if he got paid or not.
The teams are in a pickle, they can't get a good driver without certain financial obligations to the driver, and they can't meet those obligations without sponsorship that comes from winning. To complicate matters, Sponsors are a fickle bunch and the volatility of the sport does not guarantee bang for the buck. Especially when the teams are capable of plowing through metric tons of cash.
Maybe if they restructured the winner coverage to the top ten to spread out the TV time beyond the top three? Or make the sponsorship deals scaled to finishing position to cover driver expenses?
You would think the official assessment of the incident would say something about it yes? They saw the telemetry and spoke with the drivers and the team. If it was a brake issue he would not have been reprimanded for the incident. So no my foot was not on the peddle. Nore was yours. But going by the report I think brake failure is a very thin argument.
I think the brake issue may be Mercedes trying to mitigate that there may be a driver issue. Sounds much better if it is an equipment problem.
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