Do you have a link for this info -- one that doesn't come from the British motoring press?
If Rosberg admitted intentionally hitting Hamilton then FIA will have no choice but to sit Rosberg out for several races ending his chances for the title.
So, with that in mind I call BS...
Brian
http://www.mercedesamgf1.com/en/news/2014/2014-belgian-grand-prix-team-statement/
Since this went to the board room, we can be sure it was a serious incident within the team, and not just hard racing. Since Nico was disciplined, we can be sure that it was not quite an accident on his part. The mention of a commitment to "fair racing" also indicates that the incident was intentional.
Or you could just want to look for every evidence that he purposely took out a team mate.
Here are 2 known facts about the incident that every F1 driver and fan knows.
1. Outside a handful of drivers with only one of them being in middle of a season (NP's kid) no driver is going to initiate contact that could break their car. If LH hits Rosberg any harder it could have taken his wing completely off or worse.
2. Wing to tire hits happen all the time. Sometimes several times during the first lap. Most wing to tire contact does not puncture the tire. It has happened before and will happen again but its not a given. But it would be silly for a driver to assume that if they hit their wing on a tire anything but a broken wing for themselves would happen.
None of those should alleviate Rosberg's guilt for causing the incident. But once you understand that and the inaction from the Stewards. You see what Alonso was getting at. Rosberg is either a super genius with precision control of an end-plate on his wing to break apart perfectly and slice LH's tire all in milliseconds. Or he is a huge idiot that goes around slapping his car into others for no other reason than hoping to ruin their races while leading a championship with 7 races to go. He may be capable of Schumi/Prost/Senna move in the last race or so. But he isn't going to do that now.
What is more likely to have happened is that Rosberg admitted to keeping is wing along side LH going into the turn to force LH to keeping the door open. Screwing up LH's line and making it easier for Rosberg to pass after the apex. That's probably not a "team" move and not "fair racing" for Merc.
Or you could just want to look for every evidence that he purposely took out a team mate.
Here are 2 known facts about the incident that every F1 driver and fan knows.
1. Outside a handful of drivers with only one of them being in middle of a season (NP's kid) no driver is going to initiate contact that could break their car. If LH hits Rosberg any harder it could have taken his wing completely off or worse.
2. Wing to tire hits happen all the time. Sometimes several times during the first lap. Most wing to tire contact does not puncture the tire. It has happened before and will happen again but its not a given. But it would be silly for a driver to assume that if they hit their wing on a tire anything but a broken wing for themselves would happen.
None of those should alleviate Rosberg's guilt for causing the incident. But once you understand that and the inaction from the Stewards. You see what Alonso was getting at. Rosberg is either a super genius with precision control of an end-plate on his wing to break apart perfectly and slice LH's tire all in milliseconds. Or he is a huge idiot that goes around slapping his car into others for no other reason than hoping to ruin their races while leading a championship with 7 races to go. He may be capable of Schumi/Prost/Senna move in the last race or so. But he isn't going to do that now.
What is more likely to have happened is that Rosberg admitted to keeping is wing along side LH going into the turn to force LH to keeping the door open. Screwing up LH's line and making it easier for Rosberg to pass after the apex. That's probably not a "team" move and not "fair racing" for Merc.
Nah, it's quite simple. He was fined, because he didn't back out a move that was never going to work, and thus risked contact with his team mate.
Arguably, Hamilton's crowding out of Rosberg in Hungary was an act of similar stupidity, but luckily for Mercedes nothing more happened in that instance.
The move was basically Rosberg bullying Hamilton, Hamilton was hardheaded about it, and then cried when he got unlucky. Personally, I would have fined Lewis just as much as I would have fined Nico. Not only because he clearly could have tried to avoid contact more, by driving less defensively, but also because he blabbed about internal meetings, and even made up blatant lies about his teammate to garner some media goodwill. The latter was just ridiculous and far more unsporting than the light contact we can blame on Rosberg. I don't know why Mercedes management chose to not take the hard line with Hamilton, but he's definitely having his way with that team. There's no I in team, but plenty of them in Lewis Hamilton...
It was 97 and only after the same trick worked in 94. In all those cases it was the last race and the drivers who forced contact made a simple mathematical decision. If both drivers went out they won the WDC.Remember though that Schumacher took himself out of the Japanese Grand Prix in '96 in a collision with Jacques Villeneuve which handed the WDC to Villeneuve (provided he finish the race higher than I think 4th place).
Crashing into your teammate is not a viable race strategy.
Not sure why you addressed that to me.
I was asked to provide a source other than the Brit press, and I did.
It is personally hard to believe that they brought the 2 drivers to the board room over this, unless there was more to it.
I have no problem with Nico "taking out" Hamilton, if he did. I only wish it happened more often.
I'm certain that lots and lots of drivers have "initiated contact that could break their car", I see it all the time. They may not have thought very far ahead. It's a tendency of some drivers.
Plus, a pit stop for a new wing and new tires may not be that bad if your car is way faster than the competition. :hmm:
You keep calling it intentional. This isn't Nascar or some other douche sport where the governing body looks the other-way with contact because it "makes things interesting". In F1 even non contact stuff that could have caused an incident is reviewed and the drivers sometimes penalized. Then you add on how sensitive and fragile these cars are, his wing could have come completely off, punctured his tires, and possibly destroyed his suspension if he rolled over it. Then add the fact that its open wheel racing and the ever present possibility that the next accident you have will end the 30 dry spell on driver fatalities in the sport.
When was the last fatality in Nascar?
There is a couple after that actually some of them might not count because they might be feeder or non point races or something like that. I don't follow it. It has been a bit, but not the thirty years F1 has.The last driver fatality in any of Nascar's top series was Dale Earnhardt Sr in 2001.
There is a couple after that actually some of them might not count because they might be feeder or non point races or something like that. I don't follow it. It has been a bit, but not the thirty years F1 has.
As for this particular accident. You posted about it as Rosberg admitted to purposely causing the accident and infered that it was the case based on statements from Merc. Whether it's your actual opinion that he purposely let Hamilton hit him or your just posting your interpretations of news articles, the idea is silly on every level I posted about and should be obvious to anyone who watches F1 regularly.
It was 97 and only after the same trick worked in 94. In all those cases it was the last race and the drivers who forced contact made a simple mathematical decision. If both drivers went out they won the WDC.
Senna and Prost did it once as team mates and once as opponents.
Agreed.But yeah 7 races to go you don't start punting yourself into team mates and Rosberg is to smart to be doing that on purpose.
Felipe Massa was nearly killed in 2009.
Maria De' Villota was seriously injured during F1 testing in 2012, and died as a result of those injuries in 2013.
We have had the spectator injuries in Nascar recently as well.
We had the Indy car incidents recently also.
Racing is dangerous.
maria de villota's accident was very strange - during a test, she hit a truck in the pits. afaik, how she lost control and what the truck was doing there during track activity were never answered.
Nah, it's quite simple. He was fined, because he didn't back out a move that was never going to work, and thus risked contact with his team mate.
Arguably, Hamilton's crowding out of Rosberg in Hungary was an act of similar stupidity, but luckily for Mercedes nothing more happened in that instance.
The move was basically Rosberg bullying Hamilton, Hamilton was hardheaded about it, and then cried when he got unlucky. Personally, I would have fined Lewis just as much as I would have fined Nico. Not only because he clearly could have tried to avoid contact more, by driving less defensively, but also because he blabbed about internal meetings, and even made up blatant lies about his teammate to garner some media goodwill. The latter was just ridiculous and far more unsporting than the light contact we can blame on Rosberg. I don't know why Mercedes management chose to not take the hard line with Hamilton, but he's definitely having his way with that team. There's no I in team, but plenty of them in Lewis Hamilton...
Felipe Massa was nearly killed in 2009.
Maria De' Villota was seriously injured during F1 testing in 2012, and died as a result of those injuries in 2013.
We have had the spectator injuries in Nascar recently as well.
We had the Indy car incidents recently also.
Racing is dangerous.
Wasn't some track personnel killed last year when a hoisted car after a wreck fell as well? Don't recall where.
It has only been 20 years since a driver was killed in F1. Less than that for a corner worker.