F1 final race prediction ?
 

I'm throwing it out there... Rosberg's car breaks down, blows up, or he gets involved in a collision with someone and retires or does not finish, against all odds. Hamilton wins the WC (and I'm pissed off - not because I like ROS but because I dislike HAM).

A Mercedes car will win...yawn.

At first I thought Rosberg hangs back just enough to stay out of trouble but enough to win the championship. Then on second thought, no, he's going to take it to Hamilton. No big crash but not pretty either. Not to forget, Ver will be sticking his nose in there just to stir things up.

My least favorite track
 

Both Ham and Nico have wins there. Vettel very good there. I think Ham will win it, but not sure by enough to win title.

I'd like to see Nico win the race and title.

Nico will do just enough (what is it, P2? P3?) to win the title.

Hamilton will win the battle, Rosberg the war.

I think the guy with the most points will be the WC

What are the odds that Nico will pull a Schumi and take out both Mercs diving into turn 5 about 30 minutes into the race?
Bill K

If Nico wants to take out Lewis, he better do it in turn one because that's the last time he'll be that close. Still think they'll finish 1-2

Ya never know, man. Car failure is always a potential game changer. For example, had Ham's engine not exploded when he was handily leading the Malaysian GP, he'd likely have earned 25 points instead of zero.

I'm happy with the results. ;)

Ditto.

Another F1 drone and until next year, that's all folks.

exactly!

Wow... Imagine you are Rosberg for a minute... (stick one of your ears out a bit, there..) Your beat Schumi and everybody said he was old and that proved nothing. You get Hamilton in your team, a guy who is undoubtedly faster than you on pure talent, you know it, and he beats you 2 years in a row to the championship.. with all the acrimony and history between the 2... You could be a rich #2, but nope... You pick yourself off the floor countless times, and through hardwork and dogged determination, you finally get your chance... Last race... Your teammate backs your into the pursuers all race long. Ignores team instructions in order to screw you, like the selfish prick he is (and should be, F1 WCs are not choir boys). You pull a hairy pass on crazy Verstappen.... Vettel close enough to undo your gearbox's oil change plug.. And you still do it... The pressure must have been unreal. Well done Britney (as Weber used to call him), you may have never wanted for money or opportunities, probably aren't the most beloved driver out there, but you did it and that one is well and truly deserved. Man of steel !!!

PS: Thank you for giving me a pouty Hamilton face to look at...
PPS: If I was Paddy lowe of Wolff, I would tell Hamilton he can drive a bicycle next year for ignoring team orders... They pay your salary...

And everyone's hero - Senna - wouldn't have done EXACTLY the same thing? News flash, every F1 driver worthy of becoming a world champion is (and has to be) RUTHLESS. Mercedes knows that. It's racing at this level. Lowe will do nothing.

Congratulations to Rosberg. He earned it. http://forums.pelicanparts.com/support/smileys/wat6.gif

Hammy was leading the race and fighting for WDC too. The team can do nothing to him.

So where was Keke? Your son just won the WDC, you're a former WDC and you don't go to the race?

Just finished watching. GREAT RACE!

So glad Nico got this. He deserved it. A very worthy champion, IMHO.

Lewis... what can you say. I think his strategy of backing up Nico (which everyone knew he would do) was flawed. Let's say it worked and Nico finished 4th. Dayummmmm would he ever be hated for a dirty win. Can you even imagine? I'm glad it didn't go down to that.

Next year should be fascinating.

Yeah, backing Nico up almost into Vettel goes against the M.C. Hammy narrative of "me against the world", or "I will prove my critics wrong" blah blah blah as if anyone lives or dies by Lewis' imaginary scorecard of personal slights.

Not that I find Nico any more likable.

And then there was the interview with Chrisian Horner, who was critical of Toto Wolf for saying that Hammy's move may result in a talking to with their driver. I mean, it's not like Red Bull is anywhere near as valuable a brand as Daimer Benz. And their brand image is sort of quirky and irreverant anyway, so it's no sweat off of Horner's nutsack to zing Wolf. F1 would not be F1 without it's pert little brats poking each other in the eye.

I thought Hammy's move was brilliant. Failed, but brilliant. And if Nico had the pace, he should have closed and passed. Made for an interesting finish at least.

Don't forget about some of Nico's antics over the years, like parking his car on the track during qualifying at Monaco a few years ago. I didn't like that Hamilton was trying to back up Nico, but at the same time, it was the only shot he had. He feels the team did him wrong by giving Nico his mechanics this year. Suddenly, Nico has zero mechanical issues and Hamilton's car blows up while leading the a race.

?
THAT WAS HIS OLD TEAMMATE THE 7 TIME CHAMP
the one he beat before the ham showed up
who did the parking on track at MC
not nico

Schumacher may well have done something like that, but the event I'm talking about concerned Rosberg pulling a **** move on Hamilton.

Lewis Hamilton beaten to pole by Nico Rosberg in Monaco - BBC Sport

Schumi blatantly parked the car across the road and paid the price. Rosberg missed his braking point and took the car down an exit road but triggered a flags and killed Hamilton's qualy lap (which may or may not have beaten his)... Not exactly the same... It's one of those things that could be viewed as a racing incident or "on purpose" depending which driver you favor... I thought it could have been a mistake but then again I'm no Hamilton fan, so you decide... Also that was 2 years ago ?

I'm not 100% sure what to think of HAM's race. I thought HAM's backing of ROS into the pack was classless but then again that's nothing new, and in his shoes, convinced (wrongly) that the team had done him wrong with mechanical DNFs, what were we expecting? It's an indictment of the current F1 that a driver can speed up in passing zones and slow down just enough elsewhere to do that effectively. Also I don't know that his bosses will have appreciated the flagrant disregard of team orders. After all they have a car that can win WC by itself, and Alonso would eat his young to drive it instead of Lewis....

I'm just pleased that it did not work - a 4th title for HAM is less interesting than a new WC - and that the hard working but slightly less talented guy won one by hanging in there (though I'm not a fan). That race must have taken nads of steel for him. One gets the feelins Hamilton would rather be a music star than a driver... It might spur him into a stricter work ethic ? then again I hope Red Bull/MacLaren/Ferrari can make it a fight! Kinda tired of the Mercedes show...

Might be time for Ham to move to new team. It seems all the drivers want to drive for Ferrari or maybe put him in an up and coming Merc powered team, and Ham might be a big help getting a car with Merc engine sorted out and winning.

In any case I think he's done at Merc now.

I'm going way out on a limb and predicting that ham-bone will piss off everyone by acting like a spoiled classless entitled little baby, telling his team and the company he works for to go F off because it's all about HIM HIM HIM!

Mercedes could sanction Hamilton over 'anarchy' | PlanetF1 : PlanetF1

I obviously have not read his contract with Mercedes. I would guess that somewhere in there is a clause that the driver will obey team orders. Hamilton should be held to the terms of the contract. He is paid a LOT of money to do his job. It really is that simple, do the job you are paid to do, and if you don't follow the terms of the contract there should be consequences spelled out in the contract.

So what should the consequences be? Unless something is spelled out in the contract what are they to do, hit him with a fine of $500K? Make him sit out the first race next year? Don't think so. He is thier #1 driver. I agree he should follow team rules but this was a "no harm, no foul" issue. Nothing happened in the end.

Toto Wolf pointed out earlier in the season that they consider damage to the brand to be the most harmful. Examples of that would be cheating, unsportsmanlike conduct, etc. They are very much aware that they serve to promote the parent company as ambassadors of professionalism, dedication, and technical brilliance.

Wolf threatened race bans, not just a stern talking to by Lauda anmore.

I sort of see Wolf as acting with more authority during the later part of this season, compared to before. As a new team, MB was very permissive of Lewis' outbursts and immaturity. Now that they are a veteran team, Wolf is more committed to enforcing the team over individuality. He has built something that is bigger than the mood swings of it's drivers. That is why the mechanics and engineers were swapped from one side of the garage to the other. I don't expect that Wolf will put up with such amateurish and selfish behavior in light of how much he has extracted effort-wise from his team.

No way in heck would the do a race ban. That hurts their own race results. A nice little monetary fine as should be spelled out in the contract. 500K would be something he notices, but it will not change his bottom line much at all. Maybe donate that 500K to Rosberg's favorite charity.

That is a nice dress that girl is almost wearing.....

Any one of the drivers out there this year could have won in that car, it was that good.
If it is just as dominating next year they could replace him for a race with the friday driver for a race and it wouldn't hurt them a bit.

That douchebag owes everything to that team.
I'd like to see him get stuck in a McLaren honda type deal for the next couple of years like alonso did.
I can't guaranfookintee you he would not handle it gracefully.

If Senna's actions in similar situations are to be the measure of the worthiness of a world champion.....

Then Rosberg would have been well within his role fighting to lock in a World Championship by putting Hamilton and himself into the wall somewhere along the slower portions of the track in the final three laps as Vettel closed the gap. Both cars out...Rosberg wins Title...everyone remembers the McClaren incident in Japan 89, followed up by the first corner tete-a-tete in 1990.

These drivers are paid (very highly) to do the job of driving the most advanced race cars on the planet. They are members of a professional team, and need to conduct themselves professionally. Ruthlessness is no longer an admirable trait when representing global manufacturers spending hundreds of millions of dollars a year to field a competitive team. Hamilton's actions more closely resemble selfishness...something that Mercedes can do without.

Rosberg conducted himself with professionalism and dignity, both on and off the track last weekend, Hamilton did not. I don't know if he will face significant consequences or not. I hope so. I agree with others that his car is far more responsible for his success than he his. Alonso, Riccardo, Vettel, Verstappen, hell....even Raikkonen would compete for the title in Hamm's car.

Nico deserved the World Title this year. Congratulations!

He only behaves this way when he is winning. He is a moody and scheming when not winning. He has parked his car to deny Hamilton the pole. He has hit/driven Hamilton off the track on numerous occasions. It's great that he is a magnanimous winner, but he is a sore loser.

Almost all of the drivers are. Vettle is the very worst about that.

And now that Liberty Media is talking about making F1 more accessible, we may get to see driver's behavior unfiltered by team press departments.

Vettel's radio rants, which I find to be hilarious, come to mind immediately.

That right there is proof positive people can see the same accident and interpret it in totally different fashion, depending on who they support... But Rosberg a "sore loser" as opposed to Hamilton? I have no words... HAM whined about sabotage all year... Me, I was of a mind Rosberg actually needed to put HAM in a wall this season as payback for all the times Lewis almost did it to him, and all the times he gave up the corner to avoid a crash... I don't see Lewis' current attitude going over too well with Mercedes management... We'll see... I hope the new 2017 regs throw in a wrench in the order.

I admire Nico's strength of character, he's been *trounced* by Lewis quite badly (and I freely admit Lewis is more talented) but when his chance finally came, he was there to capitalize, and that last race must have been hell, mentally... I have never heard ROS whine about the team, or his results, but always acknowledge he was not fast enough when Lewis did beat him... the guy is a human bouncing ball, can't seem to stay down no matter how hard he gets smacked... I don't know if he's a nice guy or not, Grosjean seems to think so... If there's a whiny little B$$% in F1, it seems HAM has consistently been a better candidate just based on his *own*twitter....