On the face of it you would think so. However Vettel was talking in English at one point to Rosberg. Not sure who switched to German first, will have to watch a replay to find out.
This goes back to when Rosberg and Hamilton were team mates as they were coming through the ranks. Rosberg knows around 5 languages, so he would talk to each driver in their mother tongue, this used to annoy Hamilton, which is why Rosberg did it. This is from an interview Sky did with Hamilton when he joined Mercedes. Some of the details maybe a bit hazy, not sure of Hamilton said 5 or 6 languages that Rosberg knew. Rosberg, is probably just trying to get under Hamiltons skin.
BinaryDad - cant argue with most of what you wrote. However the reason why the FIA brought in DRS, was to give the spectators more overtaking. It was one of the main complaints about F1 - the lack of overtaking. To cover up for lack of driver skill, may have been a consideration, but not the main reason for introducing it. I also think you are being a bit disrespectful to most of the drivers on the grid. Most of them, can overtake, and have the skill and racecraft to overtake. The biggest difference is the car. Put them all in the same car, and you will probably see a different side to them. I do agree, there are some dummies in F1 though, but not many.
On the face of it you would think so. However Vettel was talking in English at one point to Rosberg. Not sure who switched to German first, will have to watch a replay to find out.
This goes back to when Rosberg and Hamilton were team mates as they were coming through the ranks. Rosberg knows around 5 languages, so he would talk to each driver in their mother tongue, this used to annoy Hamilton, which is why Rosberg did it. This is from an interview Sky did with Hamilton when he joined Mercedes. Some of the details maybe a bit hazy, not sure of Hamilton said 5 or 6 languages that Rosberg knew. Rosberg, is probably just trying to get under Hamiltons skin.
Living in Germany, it can generally be considered rude and is often intended that way when people know that a non-German or non-native speaker is part of the group, and somebody switches the conversation to German. It's usually a very passive aggressive way to make somebody feel "left out".
From my own experiences, it's a common practice,and wouldn't surprise me in the least if either driver were to do something like that. To be honest, I would expect it more from Rosberg than Vettel. He may be good friends with Hamilton, but it's well known how Keke resisted a move to McLaren for Nico in 2010, scared that his son would not fare so well in comparison and that it may damage his career.
There are also rumors that Keke was *very* unhappy about Hamilton coming to Mercedes for the same reasons. It could be that Nico is feeding off that, and using small things to try and unsettle Hamilton. That's a lot of if's and buts and whacky theories on my part though.
BinaryDad - cant argue with most of what you wrote. However the reason why the FIA brought in DRS, was to give the spectators more overtaking. It was one of the main complaints about F1 - the lack of overtaking. To cover up for lack of driver skill, may have been a consideration, but not the main reason for introducing it. I also think you are being a bit disrespectful to most of the drivers on the grid. Most of them, can overtake, and have the skill and racecraft to overtake. The biggest difference is the car. Put them all in the same car, and you will probably see a different side to them. I do agree, there are some dummies in F1 though, but not many.
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It could be that I'm being very harsh, but I'm not so sure about that. I'm sure many drivers are capable of it, especially the younger guys who haven't been brainwashed by a period as a test driver. But look at Bottas on Sunday as an example - he clearly had more pace, but couldn't seem to make the pass. Now that could be a skill or confidence issue, it could be a tires issue. Hell it could even be a track issue. But even with DRS, he could pass his slower team mate.
The simple fact is, that in the DRS era, we're still seeing precious few passes on a STRAIGHT section of track. I think plenty of drivers have the required skill, they just don't have the ability to apply that skill with the current tires and extremely short braking distances.
Living in Germany, it can generally be considered rude and is often intended that way when people know that a non-German or non-native speaker is part of the group, and somebody switches the conversation to German. It's usually a very passive aggressive way to make somebody feel "left out".
From my own experiences, it's a common practice,and wouldn't surprise me in the least if either driver were to do something like that. To be honest, I would expect it more from Rosberg than Vettel. He may be good friends with Hamilton, but it's well known how Keke resisted a move to McLaren for Nico in 2010, scared that his son would not fare so well in comparison and that it may damage his career.
There are also rumors that Keke was *very* unhappy about Hamilton coming to Mercedes for the same reasons. It could be that Nico is feeding off that, and using small things to try and unsettle Hamilton. That's a lot of if's and buts and whacky theories on my part though.
To be honest I think it is considered rude in most if not all cultures. I am able to speak more than one language, but wouldnt switch to Punjabi or Urdu (unless there was a good reason) if there was a non-Punjabi/Urdu speaking person in the group.
I think mind games, are part and parcel of modern sports, especially in football (think Fergy, Mourinho) and cricket (sledging). Would not be surprised if its part of other sports as well. Nico, is playing these mind games with Hamilton. Is it unsportsmanlike? I am sure people will have differing opinions. I think its fair enough, I would have thought most of these drivers are mentally tough enough to not let it bother them. It would probably have more affect on a rookie, rather than a seasoned professional.
It could be that I'm being very harsh, but I'm not so sure about that. I'm sure many drivers are capable of it, especially the younger guys who haven't been brainwashed by a period as a test driver. But look at Bottas on Sunday as an example - he clearly had more pace, but couldn't seem to make the pass. Now that could be a skill or confidence issue, it could be a tires issue. Hell it could even be a track issue. But even with DRS, he could pass his slower team mate.
The simple fact is, that in the DRS era, we're still seeing precious few passes on a STRAIGHT section of track. I think plenty of drivers have the required skill, they just don't have the ability to apply that skill with the current tires and extremely short braking distances.
In the previous race, Bottas was able to overtake several cars without much problem. With the new boost and energy recovery systems, it seems the driver in the lead just needs to deploy the boost on the straights and that will negate the DRS of the leading car. Last year you only had 6 seconds of boost, this year its a lot more (cant remember the exact figure). However its plenty to use on both straights at Malaysia. Then again, Massa has a lot more racecraft, than most of the people Bottas overtook in the last race.
Interesting stuff from the BBC from Hamilton on his friendship with Rosberg. It might put the "talking in German" thing into perspective. (Lewis's quote in italics):
"With Mercedes currently dominating Formula 1, there is a lot of attention on the intra-team fight between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg. So far, the drivers and team have handled the issue expertly, by saying they will be free to race, and not trying to hide that there will be inevitable problems.
"On Thursday, Lewis Hamilton was refreshingly open and blunt. 'What people need to understand is, people are always talking about us being friends and all that kind of stuff; I can count my friends on the fingers of one hand and I'm sure Nico can do the same. And he's not in my five and I'm not in his,' Hamilton said. 'The rest doesn't matter; we're here to win, we are here to race. We have a great amount of respect for each other, that's all we need. We are going to race and we are going to come across issues and troubles and we will get past them and we will keep racing.'"
From what I know, Hamilton is also quite good friends or at least, gets along well with Vettel. Probably more so than with Rosberg.
I see Newey has been criticising the new engine rules. I wonder why? I suspect RB have finally realised there's only so much of the power unit deficit they can recover through aero so they are basically going to be running with a handicap all season now. Ironic that Newey is complaining when it was Renault who instigated the whole shift in the first place.
Also some interesting things being said yesterday about the fuel sensers, that it's really only the Renault runners who have had issues which means it's either a packaging issue or perhaps something to do with the actual fuel Renault use (Total). In any case it's looking more and more likely that there's no fundemental issue with the sensors themselves so RB's appeal is looking shaky.
Alonso said to Spanish media that he had problems with the engine (I guess the electrical) and the car each lap was slower.
Without problems I think he would have classified in a position close to Kimi.
But he knows the weaknesses of his car and even without problems, they have several teams ahead of Ferrari.
It'll be a difficult race and he has Vettel and Hulkemberg just behind his back.
We'll see.
Sky have a bigger love with LH. So much so at times its embarrassing to watch.
After the race, when the top three drivers were in the 'waiting room' just before they go out onto the podium, Rosberg and Vettel were talking in German, whilst Lewis just sat there. I think Rosberg has started with the little mind games.
That friendship wont last till the end of the season.
So Vettel blames brake issues for his bad display in qualifying yesterday. Did the team back this up at all? He's going to be getting seriously worried soon that his team-mate seems to have the measure of him over 1 lap. It's interesting that CH admitted the car was a dog this weekend and yet DR managed to get the 3rd best time. There seems to be a level of confusion in RB at the moment about just where they are.
We know that DR is a 1 lap specialist who doesn't tend to show the same pace in a race. We know the RB has good downforce but woeful top speed and that they've been flattered by the first 2 race weekends with wet qualifying and teams plodding through the race without showing much of their real pace. I suspect this may be the first race where Mercedes and perhaps one or two others push the envelope a bit in terms of race pace and strategy and we'll start to see the real pecking order . I wouldn't be surprised if the Mercs finish 30s or more ahead but I can see an almighty scrap for 3rd. Might actually be quite entertaining!
It seems that Mercedes is the best team (by far) . The problem in my humble opinion is that this car is more than 1 second faster than others, and that in F1 is a world.
Last season was RB with a car more than 2 seconds faster, and all of us remember how boring it was. It's true that this is only the beggining of the season, but with such a difference, this season might be as boring as last.
And it's a pity, because if we look at the cars behind Mercedes, we can see several very good fights: FI, Williams, McLaren, Ferrari >:( and RB.
On the other hand, now we'll see the real level of Vettel with a not dominant car. However, he already has 4 championships in his pocket.
It just looks really good watching the cars under the lights.
At least I'll get to see a night race in Bahrain seeing as I never could in the recent F1 games as I only do 50% or less races and it never got dark till after that.
At least I'll get to see a night race in Bahrain seeing as I never could in the recent F1 games as I only do 50% or less races and it never got dark till after that.
Comments
On the face of it you would think so. However Vettel was talking in English at one point to Rosberg. Not sure who switched to German first, will have to watch a replay to find out.
This goes back to when Rosberg and Hamilton were team mates as they were coming through the ranks. Rosberg knows around 5 languages, so he would talk to each driver in their mother tongue, this used to annoy Hamilton, which is why Rosberg did it. This is from an interview Sky did with Hamilton when he joined Mercedes. Some of the details maybe a bit hazy, not sure of Hamilton said 5 or 6 languages that Rosberg knew. Rosberg, is probably just trying to get under Hamiltons skin.
BinaryDad - cant argue with most of what you wrote. However the reason why the FIA brought in DRS, was to give the spectators more overtaking. It was one of the main complaints about F1 - the lack of overtaking. To cover up for lack of driver skill, may have been a consideration, but not the main reason for introducing it. I also think you are being a bit disrespectful to most of the drivers on the grid. Most of them, can overtake, and have the skill and racecraft to overtake. The biggest difference is the car. Put them all in the same car, and you will probably see a different side to them. I do agree, there are some dummies in F1 though, but not many.
Living in Germany, it can generally be considered rude and is often intended that way when people know that a non-German or non-native speaker is part of the group, and somebody switches the conversation to German. It's usually a very passive aggressive way to make somebody feel "left out".
From my own experiences, it's a common practice,and wouldn't surprise me in the least if either driver were to do something like that. To be honest, I would expect it more from Rosberg than Vettel. He may be good friends with Hamilton, but it's well known how Keke resisted a move to McLaren for Nico in 2010, scared that his son would not fare so well in comparison and that it may damage his career.
There are also rumors that Keke was *very* unhappy about Hamilton coming to Mercedes for the same reasons. It could be that Nico is feeding off that, and using small things to try and unsettle Hamilton. That's a lot of if's and buts and whacky theories on my part though.
[/quote]
It could be that I'm being very harsh, but I'm not so sure about that. I'm sure many drivers are capable of it, especially the younger guys who haven't been brainwashed by a period as a test driver. But look at Bottas on Sunday as an example - he clearly had more pace, but couldn't seem to make the pass. Now that could be a skill or confidence issue, it could be a tires issue. Hell it could even be a track issue. But even with DRS, he could pass his slower team mate.
The simple fact is, that in the DRS era, we're still seeing precious few passes on a STRAIGHT section of track. I think plenty of drivers have the required skill, they just don't have the ability to apply that skill with the current tires and extremely short braking distances.
To be honest I think it is considered rude in most if not all cultures. I am able to speak more than one language, but wouldnt switch to Punjabi or Urdu (unless there was a good reason) if there was a non-Punjabi/Urdu speaking person in the group.
I think mind games, are part and parcel of modern sports, especially in football (think Fergy, Mourinho) and cricket (sledging). Would not be surprised if its part of other sports as well. Nico, is playing these mind games with Hamilton. Is it unsportsmanlike? I am sure people will have differing opinions. I think its fair enough, I would have thought most of these drivers are mentally tough enough to not let it bother them. It would probably have more affect on a rookie, rather than a seasoned professional.
In the previous race, Bottas was able to overtake several cars without much problem. With the new boost and energy recovery systems, it seems the driver in the lead just needs to deploy the boost on the straights and that will negate the DRS of the leading car. Last year you only had 6 seconds of boost, this year its a lot more (cant remember the exact figure). However its plenty to use on both straights at Malaysia. Then again, Massa has a lot more racecraft, than most of the people Bottas overtook in the last race.
From what I know, Hamilton is also quite good friends or at least, gets along well with Vettel. Probably more so than with Rosberg.
Also some interesting things being said yesterday about the fuel sensers, that it's really only the Renault runners who have had issues which means it's either a packaging issue or perhaps something to do with the actual fuel Renault use (Total). In any case it's looking more and more likely that there's no fundemental issue with the sensors themselves so RB's appeal is looking shaky.
Oh how my heart bleeds!
EDIT: And Alonso 10th!
Is it my birthday?
Alonso said to Spanish media that he had problems with the engine (I guess the electrical) and the car each lap was slower.
Without problems I think he would have classified in a position close to Kimi.
But he knows the weaknesses of his car and even without problems, they have several teams ahead of Ferrari.
It'll be a difficult race and he has Vettel and Hulkemberg just behind his back.
We'll see.
Having lived in Switzwerland for nearly five years, Lewis Hamilton speaks German very well and gets by pretty well in French, Italian and Spanish.
We know that DR is a 1 lap specialist who doesn't tend to show the same pace in a race. We know the RB has good downforce but woeful top speed and that they've been flattered by the first 2 race weekends with wet qualifying and teams plodding through the race without showing much of their real pace. I suspect this may be the first race where Mercedes and perhaps one or two others push the envelope a bit in terms of race pace and strategy and we'll start to see the real pecking order . I wouldn't be surprised if the Mercs finish 30s or more ahead but I can see an almighty scrap for 3rd. Might actually be quite entertaining!
Would be good to see Williams or Force India there.
Bottom AKA Bottas will no doubt.
Perez could do it though. He's got just as good a car as Bottas I think.
Last season was RB with a car more than 2 seconds faster, and all of us remember how boring it was. It's true that this is only the beggining of the season, but with such a difference, this season might be as boring as last.
And it's a pity, because if we look at the cars behind Mercedes, we can see several very good fights: FI, Williams, McLaren, Ferrari >:( and RB.
On the other hand, now we'll see the real level of Vettel with a not dominant car. However, he already has 4 championships in his pocket.
I just can't see it happening. I reckon he'll put up a fight but drop back.
We'll see.
Why where they predicting that the McLarens would fall out of Q2? It never seemed an issue and they got into Q3 quite comfortably.
No idea. Crofty gets on my wick.
It just looks really good watching the cars under the lights.
At least I'll get to see a night race in Bahrain seeing as I never could in the recent F1 games as I only do 50% or less races and it never got dark till after that.
It's started already. lol
Singapore's my fave night race. I love seeing cars and buses driving over head and around the circuit.
There's only three in the season. lol
Yeah talk to the Hulk Martin.
Yeah well it's still my favourite.
Yeah our man HULK!
Yeah stop whinging Vettel.