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[Hammer278]

Let's put it this way, these guys are out there to make a name for themselves in F1. They want to be seen winning, and they will win with whoever delivers the WDC for them, but they also take into account their ROI.

They've invested heavily in Lewis (I'm sure his paycheck trounces Nico's) so the expectations are naturally higher. The business needs it's returns, the employee with the higher pay check has the higher responsibilities...it's the bottom line. Just like how it was when Lewis and Alonso were teammates and Lewis was paid peanuts compared to Alonso and overachieved, they'd now expect him to beat Nico since it's what their investment requires. Favouring Nico will mean Lewis has failed badly on track and that will reflect badly on Lewis than Mercedes since they've essentially wasted their investment, pure and simple.

Very well argued!!

Just one question:
Does that mean fans expect Hamilton to be given preferential treatment,
considering the higher expectations and how much more there is riding
on him than on Rosberg?

This doesn't make sense. The reason they're paying 1 driver more than the other is because they believe that driver is essentially better. Why would he need preferential treatment in this case? Give both drivers 10/10 and the driver with the higher pay gives you back 10/10 while the other might give you 9.5. Good enough. This puts the pressure on Lewis and it's up to him to deliver.

[CookinFlat6]

I think Merc are real pros. They know what it takes to win depending on the competition and will do what it takes because of the way the management is structured. Theres no allowance for subjective or disturbing preferences.

Its down to Lewis to assert his superiority if any and make certain decisions easier if they have to be taken. Merc know that the best performance will be from 2 guys pushing each other and allowed to compete. Unlike the situation at Ferrari where 1 driver was humiliated and used as a water carrier. Why wont they do the same as Ferrari? Because it didnt work

[sagi58]

... Why wont they do the same as Ferrari? Because it didnt work

Yeah... I guess winning BOTH championships for FIVE years in a row wouldn't be considered a success!!

[CookinFlat6]

Things change quickly in F1. What worked a decade ago didnt work for the last 5 years. Also didnt Reubens actually win some races when partnered with MS?

[racechick]

Let's put it this way, these guys are out there to make a name for themselves in F1. They want to be seen winning, and they will win with whoever delivers the WDC for them, but they also take into account their ROI.

They've invested heavily in Lewis (I'm sure his paycheck trounces Nico's) so the expectations are naturally higher. The business needs it's returns, the employee with the higher pay check has the higher responsibilities...it's the bottom line. Just like how it was when Lewis and Alonso were teammates and Lewis was paid peanuts compared to Alonso and overachieved, they'd now expect him to beat Nico since it's what their investment requires. Favouring Nico will mean Lewis has failed badly on track and that will reflect badly on Lewis than Mercedes since they've essentially wasted their investment, pure and simple.

Very well argued!!

Just one question:
Does that mean fans expect Hamilton to be given preferential treatment,
considering the higher expectations and how much more there is riding
on him than on Rosberg?

My answer to that question ABSOLUTELY NOT! I abhor unfairness. I want Lewis to win on merit not because of favours, and judging by his demeanour after the team orders last year ( even though they were given for the good of the team) I think Lewis feels the same. I want Lewis to be seen as the best, because I think he is. He won't be considered in that vein if he's favoured unfairly. And he doesn't need that. All he wants....and it's what he stipulated when he went to Mercedes........is a level playing field.

[sagi58]

What a lot of people don't seem to understand about Ferrari's philosophy is that they recognize that one driver is stronger than the other.
Ferrari also doesn't have a problem with making decisions for the team, which may seem to be preferential to one driver.

Let's face it, any one of us would do the same thing if the decision was up to us.
There is a lot of money, time, effort and prestige that goes into winning one/both titles.
You'd be hard pressed to find anyone who would let either slip through their fingers in the interest of fairness.

And, please, don't come back with that's what McLaren did, because we all know how that ended up.
Neither title because they couldn't make the hard decisions when it was necessary.

Different philosophies. Neither is perfect.

[CookinFlat6]

Different philosophies. Neither is perfect.

Except with one the fans get to see competition and racing on track, and with the other the fans got to see a fix as one driver pulled over, and at other times wasnt even allowed to start on the grid like a real driver

[sagi58]

Just one question:
Does that mean fans expect Hamilton to be given preferential treatment,
considering the higher expectations and how much more there is riding
on him than on Rosberg?

My answer to that question ABSOLUTELY NOT! I abhor unfairness. I want Lewis to win on merit not because of favours, and judging by his demeanour after the team orders last year ( even though they were given for the good of the team) I think Lewis feels the same. I want Lewis to be seen as the best, because I think he is. He won't be considered in that vein if he's favoured unfairly. And he doesn't need that. All he wants....and it's what he stipulated when he went to Mercedes........is a level playing field.

My apologies, RC... I wasn't clear. IF there was a situation where Hamilton was slightly ahead of Rosberg in the standings,
and the differential were such that, with the double points in the last race, a win would give Hamilton the title; but, Rosberg
would fall short of a third driver winning it. You don't think that the expectation, within the team and between the drivers
would be that Rosberg should "hold station" and let Hamilton past?

e.g.
Standings before the race:
221 Alonso
202 Hamilton
201 Rosberg

Rosberg is ahead of Hamilton in the last race, with Alonso in 3rd.
Rosberg stands to tie Alonso, if he wins this race; but, with more race wins, during the season, Alonso gets the WDC.
However, if Rosberg "holds station" and lets Hamilton through, Hamilton gets the crown.

You don't think the team/drivers/fans would expect that?

I know I would!! Why? It's a TEAM sport!

[racechick]

It's a team sport but I'm primarily a driver supporter, so I look at things a little differently.
As I said before at the end of a race...end of the season...if a team order secures points, championships, then I understand it. My objection is to setting out to favour one driver from the off rather than see which naturally emerges as the stronger.
In the situation you gave where one Merc driver couldn't win the title but was ahead on the track, whilst the other driver could win the title if the place was conceded to him, I doubt either Lewis or Nico would require team orders to let his team mate past.

[RyRy]

Rosberg is ahead of Hamilton in the last race, with Alonso in 3rd.
Rosberg stands to tie Alonso, if he wins this race; but, with more race wins, during the season, Alonso gets the WDC.
However, if Rosberg "holds station" and lets Hamilton through, Hamilton gets the crown.

Of course the team would make the team order in that situation and the drivers would obey, I'm pretty darn sure that both Rosberg and Hamilton would do the right thing without being promoted if they knew the points and scenarios.

Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk

[LewEngBridewell]

Best times overall during the second pre-season test in Bahrain:

1. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) 1:33.283

2. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) 1:34.263

3. Kevin Magnussen (McLaren) 1:34.910

4. Jenson Button (McLaren) 1:34.957

5. Nico Hulkenberg (Force India) 1:36.445

6. Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) 1:36.516

7. Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) 1:36.718

8. Felipe Massa (Williams) 1:37.066

9. Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber) 1:37.180

10. Valtteri Bottas (Williams) 1:37.328

11. Sergio Perez (Force India) 1:37.367

12. Felipe Nasr (William) 1:37.569

13. Pastor Maldonado (Lotus) 1:38.707

14. Daniil Kvyat (Toro Rosso) 1:38.974

15. Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull) 1:39.837

16. Kamui Kobayashi (Caterham) 139.855

17. Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) 1:40.340

18. Adrian Sutil (Sauber) 1:40.443

19. Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso) 1:40.609

20. Romain Grosjean (Lotus) 1:41.670

21. Marcus Ericsson (Caterham) 1:42.130

22. Max Chilton (Marussia) 1:42.511

23. Robin Frijns (Caterham) 1:42.534

[sagi58]

It's a team sport but I'm primarily a driver supporter, so I look at things a little differently.
As I said before at the end of a race...end of the season...if a team order secures points, championships, then I understand it. My objection is to setting out to favour one driver from the off rather than see which naturally emerges as the stronger.
In the situation you gave where one Merc driver couldn't win the title but was ahead on the track, whilst the other driver could win the title if the place was conceded to him, I doubt either Lewis or Nico would require team orders to let his team mate past.

Mercedes is lucky to have two fairly equal drivers. Ferrari haven't had that luxury, these past few years,
so, if they put all their eggs in Alonso's basket, there really shouldn't be anyone who is surprised.

[racechick]

What Ferrari do is their business, they'll do what they think is best for them. All I can say is after the last few pre Mercedes years for Lewis I'm delighted he's being treated equally in his current team ( and in the years I refer to he was the strongest driver)
You are right, Merc have the luxury of two very competent and fast drivers. I'd give Lewis the edge, but if I were the TP, that edge would not confer any favours on him. Because that would be unfair demotivate Nico.

Going back to Ferrari, as you say, Alonso was the strongest driver, but you have to ask how mush Felipe was demotivated by some of the calls Ferrari made. He's the sort of guy who needs boosting not de motivating. I know the accident may account for some of his drop of pace but I don't think all. He beat Kimi remember and nearly won a championship.

[Hammer278]

Fuel consumption 'a big challenge'

Two of the drivers who completed a race distance in testing last week are expecting fuel consumption to be a challenge for teams next year.

The new V6 turbo engines and advanced energy recovery systems are more fuel efficient than the old V8s, but under the regulations are restricted to just 100 litres of fuel per race - a cut of roughly 35% on last year. Mercedes and McLaren were among the teams attempting a race simulation last week in Bahrain and both Nico Rosberg and Jenson Button said the teams have a long way to go to get the most from the engine over a race distance.

"Bahrain is the worst track, so today it was tough to get to the end of the race with 100 litres," Rosberg said. "That's going to be a big challenge in Melbourne and that's what it was about today, to try and judge that and make sure that you get the quickest from the beginning to the end of the race while keeping the fuel consumption consistent."

"I finished the grand prix distance, but in testing it's relatively easy to do because you just drive around really slow," Button added. "I think we are all going to find it tricky and there is a lot of fine tuning that's needed from everyone. I think for most people it's trying to get the car to run for a race distance - that's the biggest issue!"

Rosberg said it's not as simple as driving to a set speed throughout the race.

"You can put your fuel consumption on the dash, but when you have a heavy car it takes a lot more fuel to get this car around the track, even though you're going slower than it does at the end of the race when you have a light car," he explained. "It's not necessarily targeting the same fuel consumption form beginning to end, it varies. It's quite complicated and definitely we will need a lot of help and advice from the engineers."

Button said the lighter fuel load meant the strain on tyres is not as pronounced as it was between qualifying and race conditions last year, but added that there are challenges with the all-new formula.

"The tyres struggled with 150 kilos of fuel [last year] so the cars were a hell of a lot slower [in the race]. Now you are only putting 100 kilos in the car, so there is a smaller difference when you get into race conditions. In a straight line it's a hell of a lot slower and the engine is doing so many different things, and it's doing something different every single lap of the race. That's difficult for a driver to get his head around, because what he felt on the previous lap under braking has completely changed the next lap around. Braking points are so tricky and I think that's the weirdest thing in the race."

_____________________________________________

Rosberg's said some things which made me learn a couple of things I didn't know and Button has his same old yadda yadda yadda going on every time he speaks.

[cheekybru]

It's a team sport but I'm primarily a driver supporter, so I look at things a little differently.
As I said before at the end of a race...end of the season...if a team order secures points, championships, then I understand it. My objection is to setting out to favour one driver from the off rather than see which naturally emerges as the stronger.
In the situation you gave where one Merc driver couldn't win the title but was ahead on the track, whilst the other driver could win the title if the place was conceded to him, I doubt either Lewis or Nico would require team orders to let his team mate past.

Mercedes is lucky to have two fairly equal drivers. Ferrari haven't had that luxury, these past few years,
so, if they put all their eggs in Alonso's basket, there really shouldn't be anyone who is surprised.

Your Sig just made me notice - F14T hahaha they are good names this year