[india008]

Found this one in YouTube. A Compilation of all the races of 2014. The Friendship that turned rivalry between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.
Its a good watch. In most of the races Nico was P1, but he failed to convert those into wins.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhSDGA5nrzw

Don't know if its posted in here before. If Yes please delete it.

[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by india008

Found this one in YouTube. A Compilation of all the races of 2014. The Friendship that turned rivalry between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.
Its a good watch. In most of the races Nico was P1, but he failed to convert those into wins.

Thank you for sharing this. I wonder if there's any compiled video of 2007 and 2008 championship races - both years the fight for the drivers' champion went to the wire with the winner in both years winning by just one point. Hamilton lost in 2007 by one point and then won it in 2008 by one point.

[sen2693]

In hindsight, for me the most sad part about Rosberg retiring was him not being present in the 2017 and 2018 seasons when Vettel also had a competitive car (and Max, Kimi and Danny chipping in as well). The battle between the trio could have been legendary. Sigh.

Just want Russell, Leclerc and Max to put up an epic title fight at least once in future.

[ChiragM]

Nico is a good driver, but no where near as Hamilton is. However, I must say, he knows how to win a championship against Hamilton, something that Bottas doesn't seem to be capable of, however good a driver he is.

Originally Posted by sen2693

In hindsight, for me the most sad part about Rosberg retiring was him not being present in the 2017 and 2018 seasons when Vettel also had a competitive car (and Max, Kimi and Danny chipping in as well). The battle between the trio could have been legendary. Sigh.

Agreed, but I feel that the effort he put in to the 2016 championship took a lot out of it, and he dint want to go through that again. These guys put in a tremendous amount of hard work and don't like to come second. Rosberg just wanted to prove he is championship winning material and he did just that. He quit when he was ahead.

[ajmat]

Originally Posted by ChiragM

Agreed, but I feel that the effort he put in to the 2016 championship took a lot out of it, and he dint want to go through that again. These guys put in a tremendous amount of hard work and don't like to come second. Rosberg just wanted to prove he is championship winning material and he did just that. He quit when he was ahead.

Rosberg is actually having a very satisfying life. Spending time with family, investing in tech companies, leading a team in Extreme E, mentoring drivers. I respect him for having the guts to quit while he was ahead and knowing to pick his battles

[Vijin]

Thank you for providing the link. Though I am not a big F1 fan, the Netflix series "Drive to Survive" has me hooked on all the rivalry and epic races.

[sandpkd]

agreed that lewis is a good driver, but most of his wins are attributed to the car. IMO verstappen is much better driver than lewis. lewis wins the match now due to his car and not by his driving skills alone. In f1 nowadays toto decides the terms and there is always partiality to mercedes by f1 bosses.

[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by ajmat

Rosberg is actually having a very satisfying life. Spending time with family, investing in tech companies, leading a team in Extreme E, mentoring drivers. I respect him for having the guts to quit while he was ahead and knowing to pick his battles

Completely agree. Also remember reading somewhere from an retired driver (can't recollect the name but he was one of the prominent ones) that the politics and mind games behind the scenes take a lot of toll on these drivers. It was a very mature decision on his behalf plus he achieved the ultimate goal - winning the driver's championship and probably that's all that mattered to him. Something that was also echoed by Niki Lauda about his rival James Hunt.

Originally Posted by sandpkd

agreed that lewis is a good driver, but most of his wins are attributed to the car. IMO verstappen is much better driver than lewis. lewis wins the match now due to his car and not by his driving skills alone. In f1 nowadays toto decides the terms and there is always partiality to mercedes by f1 bosses.

I don't think it's that simple. I remember listening to an F1 based podcast about the Mclaren - Ferrari spygate issue. That was the year when Hamilton joined the Mclaren team. They had someone as a guest who was part of the Mclaren support team who mentioned how Hamilton was never the best driver out of the gate but he was a very fast learner picking up from his co-drivers too, something that Alonso realized and complained a lot internally.

People forget that Hamilton has been in the game for years and focus on Vettel and Alonso saying these oldies need to let go and give their spots to the new drivers. But Hamilton has been surviving and still winning by a huge margin. A lot of the times, he wins from behind, catching up and overtaking his peers. That has to be more than just the car.

Yes, there are fantastic drivers in the lot - a clear example was Russel last year when he was given the opportunity to race in a Mercedes car and almost won the race fair and square.

[petro_phoenix]

Originally Posted by india008

Its a good watch. In most of the races Nico was P1, but he failed to convert those into wins.
Don't know if its posted in here before. If Yes please delete it.

FLoz videos on F1 are some of the best out there. There is another one about Vettel vs Hamilton which is equally good. Nico was definitely equal to Hamilton in all aspects, save for talent, where Hamilton was ahead. Despite Nico working his way in the simulator, testing, and practice sessions to squeeze in a hundredth here and there and getting the setup right, Hamilton would deliver when it mattered. Many old Mercedes engineers and team members have talked about how Nico was more articulate and would be methodical in extracting performance. But Hamilton would magically eke out tenths every lap through sheer talent. Even today, Hamilton reportedly doesn't spend as much time in the simulators. Most other drivers, including Bottas would wither in the face of such pressure. Having a teammate who is doing better in equal machinery and not knowing how he does it or how to improve one's own performance would take a toll on one's sanity. This difference in performance is publicly scrutinised if both of them are competing for wins and titles, adding to the pressure.

That Nico managed it for three years(2013, I imagine, wouldn't have been as stressful as they weren't fighting each other for the Championship and they didn't have the best car) is reason enough for placing him among deserving champions. He showed how perseverance and single-minded focus can help you achieve greatness despite not being the most talented.

[ajmat]

Originally Posted by sandpkd

agreed that lewis is a good driver, but most of his wins are attributed to the car. IMO verstappen is much better driver than lewis. lewis wins the match now due to his car and not by his driving skills alone. In f1 nowadays toto decides the terms and there is always partiality to mercedes by f1 bosses.

This can only be proven if they race in identical cars. Based on my observations, Verstappen possesses superior reflexes and aggression but it is no match to Lewis's co-ordination with the team on strategy and the ability to preserve his tyres. Additionally, Lewis has strong tactical thinking - see how he can come out in front from most setbacks. I dont recall Verstappen matching this.

Saying that, Verstappen is Lewis's closet competitor, he will pick up. Remember, Lewis got his first World Championship in 2008 through skill and some dumb luck. It took another 4-5 years to start producing results.

The rules shakeups for cars next year and may be a change in team, coupled with a lot more experience will see Max bite in!

[ScorpioYadav]

The worst part (or the best, as one looks at it) of Nico’s retirement was, it prevented Hamilton’s sacking for unsportsmanlike behaviour when, in the last race that year, he deliberately slowed down as a leader when the safety car was about to end, forcing the whole grid behind him to slow down & his car definitely had a better pickup as the safety car went in.

I wished Rosberg had continued just for that reason as the murmurs were already there before he made his announcement.

[SAK-XXVII]

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

Yes, there are fantastic drivers in the lot - a clear example was Russel last year when he was given the opportunity to race in a Mclaren car and almost won the race fair and square.

George Russel was given the opportunity to race in a Mercedes car. It was the Mercedes AMG W11 and he replaced Lewis Hamilton in that race. He almost had the race win in his hand but tough luck that day.

I believe Lewis is going to get that 8th title this year. He is simply on top of the game. Many attribute his success to the car, but i would say he has what it needs to be that A grade driver. Car positioning, defenses, his composure and skills. He won his first championship in his second season of F1 carrer. That speaks for itself.
On the other hand Max is too good. He is an all or nothing man. He has that aggression to beat lewis, but what cost him the most last year was his aggression. It cost him lot of positions in some races and eventually the championship. A bit more composure and good races for Redbull, they will back. Things may turn around, at least next year.

[india008]

Originally Posted by ChiragM

Nico is a good driver, but no where near as Hamilton is.

There is no second opinion about that. Nico's single lap pace is good, but pushing like that lap after lap, looking after tires is not his sort of game.

Originally Posted by sandpkd

agreed that lewis is a good driver, but most of his wins are attributed to the car. IMO verstappen is much better driver than lewis.

I have a different take on that. Just look at the last race, [Spain 2021], where he was pushing Lewis out of the track in the first turn. Hadn't been Lewis in his sense to hit brake, both would have be out of race. Lewis was like that initially, now he is a much more matured driver managing his tires and winning races in not so optimal situations too.

Originally Posted by ChiragM

Rosberg just wanted to prove he is championship winning material and he did just that. He quit when he was ahead.

Originally Posted by ajmat

I respect him for having the guts to quit while he was ahead and knowing to pick his battles

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

Completely agree. Also remember reading somewhere from an retired driver (can't recollect the name but he was one of the prominent ones) that the politics and mind games behind the scenes take a lot of toll on these drivers. It was a very mature decision on his behalf plus he achieved the ultimate goal - winning the driver's championship and probably that's all that mattered to him

In 2016 Nico won the championship not because of his superiority to Lewis Hamilton, but Hamilton's sheer lack of luck or if i want to touch uncharted territory, conspiracies against him in the team to favor Roseberg. Like changing 5 Hamilton's crew members to Nico Roseberg side at the start of the season.

Hamilton got 4 major engine and power unit issues compared to none of Nico.
To understand its significance you have to refresh your memory to recollect how many points difference was there after the final race of 2016. Its just 5 (Roseberg 385 : Hamiltom 380)

In Race 3 China
Power unit problem in qualifying left him last on the grid. Also had a five-place gearbox change penalty.

In Race 4 Russia
Power unit problem in qualifying left him tenth on the grid

In Race 7 Europe
Spent part of race in wrong engine mode as team were not allowed to tell him how to change it.
Roseberg had same engine mode problem as Hamilton but after a settings change which he was able to reverse.

In Race 12 Belgium
Started last after taking a grid penalty for power unit component changes

In Race 15 Malaysia
The Final Blow : Engine failed while leading. Retired

To add to this there were 5 bad starts to Hamilton when ever he was in P1, loosing a good number of places in the race starts. Don't know why he only was having bad starts. I am not going to speculate here

Once Nico got an unbeatable lead, these engine issues and bad starts were no where to be seen. Strange. [ Just Spicing up things ]

The 2016 championship win was not because Nico was better. It was mainly because of the bad luck Lewis Hamilton endured. I think it would be much harder for Nico to win any more championship (without luck) even if he continued.

No Race driver will leave just like that after winning a Championship, if he really believes in his abilities. May be he was not mentally strong to go through all these again on a daily basis, but then why he wanted to be a Race Driver?.
To races again and again, isn't that a real race drivers dream. Win and championship is just part of that dream. Even our poor old kimi can't think of not racing, just like Alonso and even Schumacher.

[india008]

Here is the compilation of all the races of 2016.. Its been taken down from Floz channel because of issues with F1. But managed to find it after some search

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtj9GDUWuJA