2019 Bahrain Grand Prix (March 29-31)

shadowmarlin22 said:What a troll. Bringing up 2016 when Lewis had to retire in Malaysia because his engine blew while he was leading? That win and the championship should have been his easy...
And of course, he lost and missed out on the title against a guy in an equally dominant car. A car so dominant that most races ended in a Mercedes 1-2; retiring in that situation just hurts even more.

Exactly. Because the car was so dominant that they were basically cruising to 1-2 finishes all season, it’s an even bigger embarrassment for him...
Look, if a driver of Hamilton's caliber has one, two, or three DNFs in a car that dominant, it's brutal. Nico Rosberg wouldn't have stood a chance at the title even with one bad race or one DNF, let alone against someone like Hamilton. 🤦

To win that year, he needed to dominate almost every single race—like, 80-90% of them. He had to.

Rosberg is a driver on Mark Webber's level, not Fernando Alonso, Sebastian Vettel, or Lewis Hamilton.☕
Even in that dominant machine, Hamilton should have tucked Rosberg away in his pocket, just like Vettel handled Webber in 2011 and 2013 when they had that dominant car...
And yeah, Vettel had DNFs in both of those seasons, so what?
He could have had two, three, or four DNFs and still easily cruised to the title without Webber even sniffing it. ☕

Perhaps it escapes you that Nico Rosberg would have been lapping Sebastian Vettel regularly. Or let me clarify: if Nico Rosberg had faced Sebastian Vettel while driving for Mercedes-Benz, he would have secured all three championships with absolute dominance.
Next to Lewis Hamilton, he barely managed to scrape one title away.

This is where the mathematical portion of the equation that you fail to perceive comes into play.

As usual, you have missed the crucial piece of the puzzle.

And naturally, it slipped past you that Nico Rosberg is a top-tier driver. In essence, Ferrari made a massive blunder by not signing him immediately after his departure from Mercedes-Benz; had they done so, they would be sitting on a championship right now.
Who knows? Perhaps they made him an offer and he declined. It is merely speculation.

Sure, Nico Rosberg would’ve grabbed three titles if he had someone like Jolyon Palmer in his seat instead of Lewis Hamilton...
because Mercedes was so dominant back then that almost any driver could have lapped Ferrari and everyone else, especially during the Rosberg era from 2014 to 2016. There’s zero debate there.☕

But calling Rosberg some kind of elite tier? Not happening. He’s just a decent mid-field driver at best.
If we’re talking about him snatching a title in that monster German machine while racing against a guy like Palmer, it wouldn't just be Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso, Sebastian Vettel, Kimi Räikkönen, Sergio Pérez, or Max Verstappen who could do it... honestly, even Sergio Pérez, Valtteri Bottas, Felipe Massa, Nico Hülkenberg, or Carlos Sainz Jr. would have cruised through.
Rosberg belongs in that second group, not the first.

Saying he'd lap someone just means he's a talented kid. I mean, Brendon Hartley in a Red Bull Racing car in 2016 would’ve easily lapped Alonso too.
If you're struggling with the math, here it is: Hartley isn't actually a better driver than Alonso, just like Rosberg isn't miles ahead of the guys he was lapping...
He’s right there on their level, and in some cases, he’s actually slower and worse. And that’s assuming we’re talking about "standard" Formula 1 drivers—let's not even get into comparisons with Palmers and that crowd who shouldn't have even been on the grid.

What isn't up for debate is that Lewis Hamilton is significantly faster and a better driver than Rosberg. He should have won without breaking a sweat.
With a car like that, Rosberg didn't have the raw talent to close a 100-point gap to Hamilton, let alone take a title away from him.☕

Inaccurate data regarding Nico Rosberg. I have no idea why anyone would place him in a completely different tier from the rest of the drivers listed here.

No, it isn't that Lewis Hamilton is vastly superior to Nico Rosberg; he’s just slightly better. And we are talking about a very slim margin.

Those are simply the facts.

The data regarding Nico Rosberg is completely inaccurate, and I have no idea why anyone would place him in a different league than the other drivers listed.

No, it isn't that Lewis Hamilton is significantly better than Nico Rosberg; he's just slightly better, and even then, by a very slim margin.

Those are the facts.

Aside from Hamilton, he secured roughly 20 wins and about 30 pole positions.

If that leads you to believe Hamilton lacks true class, then to me, it proves that Rosberg possesses it.

In my view, nobody besides Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso, or perhaps Sebastian Vettel would have managed to take the title against Nico Rosberg. Nobody.
I simply don't understand why there is such an intense tendency to undervalue the guy.

mellowtiger83 said:Of course you missed the fact that Nico Rosberg is a top-tier driver. Honestly, Ferrari made a massive blunder by not picking him up immediately after he left Mercedes; they could have had a title right now.
Who knows? Maybe they offered him a seat and he turned them down, but that's just my guess.

You're guessing, and honestly, you're overthinking it.

Rosberg was still under contract with Mercedes, so Ferrari couldn't have signed him even if they wanted to. Besides, Nico always had one goal: retire the moment he became champion. That’s exactly what he did. There was never any talk of him continuing with anyone else, regardless of the money—not when Team Rosberg is doing so well that he doesn't need it.

In my honest opinion, Nico Rosberg belongs more in that upper mid-class bracket rather than being true top-tier elite. He might manage to snag a championship once if all the stars happen to align perfectly, but I just don't see him doing it twice. 😉

mellowtiger83 said:Total nonsense about Nico Rosberg. I have no clue why anyone would put him in a different league from the rest of the drivers listed here.

Look, Lewis Hamilton isn't leagues ahead of Nico Rosberg—he’s just slightly better. Marginally.

Those are the facts.

Besides Hamilton, he grabbed about 20 wins and 30 pole positions!

If that makes you think Hamilton lacks class, fine. To me, it proves Nico Rosberg is world-class.

Honestly, nobody besides Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso, or maybe Sebastian Vettel could have taken a title against Nico Rosberg. Nobody.
I don't get why everyone is underselling the guy so much.

Rosberg isn't a top-tier driver. You can try to convince yourself otherwise, but it won't change reality.
He's a very solid mid-tier driver sitting right at the top of that bracket, but he's not elite.
He's barely a step above Valtteri Bottas, not "just a tiny bit slower" than Lewis Hamilton.

As far as being Lewis Hamilton goes, he drove through most of the turbo era in Germany pretty poorly, especially during the Nico Rosberg years. That's why he looks way better now than he actually is...
Actually, "poorly" might be the wrong word. It's more like Hamilton was driving in some kind of sleep mode—doing just enough to get by, but nowhere near his actual limit.

Which isn't exactly surprising. Hamilton is the type of guy who wants to drive full throttle and live on the edge...
Because of that, he probably found it incredibly boring sitting in a car that Toto Wolff tunes before every race just to make sure they don't look *too* dominant...
And he would've been bored even if he went all out, because he wouldn't have seen a single competitor on track unless he was lapping them.

Basically, the guy just lost his drive.
He only found it again once Ferrari and Red Bull became competitive enough to actually pose a threat at certain tracks... before that, he was literally fast asleep.

stormyviper2 said:Nico Rosberg sits firmly in the upper mid-class tier, nothing more. He might snag a title once if the stars align perfectly, but certainly not twice. 😉

I’d have to disagree. You people are vastly underestimating Nico Rosberg.

The man secured wins in that Mercedes-Benz before they even established total dominance, and he took pole positions well before they became untouchable.

stormybadger8 said:Nico Rosberg isn't a top-tier driver. No matter how much you try to convince yourself otherwise, he didn't reach the summit because of talent...
Rosberg is a very solid mid-tier driver, sitting right at the upper edge of that group, but he lacks elite status.
He’s barely an incremental step above Valtteri Bottas, certainly not a fraction weaker than Lewis Hamilton.

As for Lewis Hamilton himself, his performance throughout the turbo era in Germany was actually quite subpar, particularly during the Rosberg years, which makes him look far more impressive than he truly is...
Perhaps "subpar" is the wrong term. It would be more accurate to say Hamilton was essentially driving in some sort of sleep mode—doing just enough to get by, rather than pushing anywhere near his actual potential...

It isn't really surprising. Hamilton is the type of driver who prefers to go full throttle and live on the absolute limit...
Consequently, he likely found it incredibly tedious sitting in a car that Toto Wolff meticulously tunes before every race just to mask how dominant they actually are...
And he would have been bored if he had pushed to the absolute limit either, simply because he wouldn't have seen a single competitor on track unless he was lapping them...

Essentially, the man simply lost his motivation.
He only found it again once Ferrari and Red Bull Racing became competitive enough to pose even a slight threat at certain tracks... prior to that, he was quite literally in a deep winter slumber.

That isn't true either! Hamilton was pushed to his absolute limit against Nico Rosberg, and he had to be, otherwise he would have handed over two world titles!

Nico Rosberg didn't exactly have the luck of sharing a seat with Lewis Hamilton, but honestly, when you look at the big picture, he earned that title fairly enough. I mean, sure, maybe Sebastian Vettel can be mentioned in the same breath as Nico once in a while—but comparing him to Lewis? Not even close. We've seen it play out over the last two seasons now, though—how much he struggles when the weather turns or things get messy out there... and I bet we'll see more of it soon enough.

mellowtiger83 said:Nebi is right there! I think you guys are selling Nico Rosberg a bit too short here.

That same guy actually took a win with Mercedes well before they became this absolute powerhouse, and he even snagged a pole position long before their era of total dominance started.

Personally, I have a feeling he's fully aware that beating Lewis Hamilton just isn't happening anymore, and that’s exactly why he decided to move on. 😉

Honestly, as the years go by, I find myself increasingly convinced that Sebastian Vettel just isn't on the same level as Nico Rosberg. I am absolutely certain that Rosberg wouldn't have made even half the mistakes Sebastian managed over those three years. Just thinking back to Baku and Singapore in 2017, not to mention all those spins during the last two seasons... man, what a mess. I really think young Charles Leclerc is going to dominate him. It’s just natural; he has more raw talent and a smoother driving style, much more like Lewis Hamilton or Kimi Räikkönen during their prime.

Vettel has this specific way of driving that feels inherently slower, kind of like how Fernando Alonso operates—he seems to prefer a bit of understeer.

All things considered, Rosberg went toe-to-toe with Lewis Hamilton and came incredibly close all three times, even grabbing a win. He snatched up a mountain of Pole Positions right in front of Lewis, who is clearly a better and faster driver than Vettel. Rosberg was only ever a tiny fraction behind Hamilton... I still remember looking at that telemetry comparison from 2015. He'd brake just a hair earlier or be a couple of miles per hour slower through the corner, and that was it—that's where that 0.1s gap came from.

As for Vettel... honestly, Lewis Hamilton would just blow past him. Maybe it's actually better if Lewis is the one to push him out of the way rather than some 20-year-old rookie.

Nico Rosberg possesses one distinct advantage: he is terrifyingly fast during qualifying. That was the area where Lewis Hamilton really struggled to keep up. He even managed to outpace Michael Schumacher in qualifying sessions because while their race paces were often comparable, Nico Rosberg was simply a beast when it came to single laps.

The guy had an incredible knack for dialing in the car's setup. It’s practically an open secret that there was a period when Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg weren't even allowed to look at each other's telemetry.
Hamilton ultimately beat him, but it was incredibly close, and he did so strictly because his race pace was slightly superior.

A lot of people claim that Lewis Hamilton lost the title due to engine issues in Malaysia, conveniently forgetting that a couple of years prior, Nico had that incident with the steering wheel resetting in the pits and things like that.

It is my own opinion that Hamilton would have pushed Sebastian Vettel just as hard, and likely wouldn't have faced significantly fewer problems than he did with Nico.

Nico Rosberg really poured every ounce of his mental strength into securing that championship title.
Sebastian Vettel basically cruised to his championship with about 5% effort, and honestly, I think that’s exactly why he’s struggling so much now.
In my opinion, Rosberg just possesses a much higher level of mental fortitude and composure than Vettel does. 😉

Nico has this whole situation where he was stuck driving a car against one of the absolute greatest drivers to ever sit in a cockpit (definitely top 10, if you ask me), whereas Sebastian was just going up against Mark Webber. It’s pretty obvious when you look at it that way...

Where did Nico Rosberg finish at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway? I missed it... ☕

mellowtiger83 said:A lot of people claim that Lewis Hamilton lost the title because of his engine issues in Malaysia—but they conveniently forget that a couple of years prior, Nico Rosberg had that whole mess where his steering wheel reset itself during a pit stop and all that.

Let’s be real: a couple of years before that, Rosberg didn't just edge out Lewis Hamilton—he beat him by more than two races worth of points, like 60 to 70 points.

The truth? Rosberg won because he effectively wore down the new engine Lewis Hamilton was using—the one that racked up all those penalties at Spa-Francorchamps. So, once again, it comes down to issues popping up too early in the season. Add in another one of Lewis Hamilton's DNFs, and there you have it. That’s the whole story.

The entire approach taken by The Best F1 seems to boil down to strategic mudslinging—tearing some guys down while lifting others up just to make Sebastian Vettel look superior and his rivals look incompetent. It’s a pattern: they constantly trash the management and strategy at the teams where Vettel drives, while praising the teams where his rivals compete. Sometimes they smear his rivals' teams, and other times they praise them—all just to make sure those rivals seem as close to his level as possible, even though they’re clearly a tier below him.

And of course, it never occurs to them that Vettel's own temperament—that constant irritability—is actually what's causing the friction within the teams. Teams that, for the last two seasons, have delivered cars so good that any world-class driver could have cruised to a championship in them.

gentlemoose57 said:A year or two before Rosberg beat Hamilton, it wasn't even close; he didn't lose by a hair, but by more than two races—about 60 to 70 points.

Rosberg won because he benefited from a fresh engine after Hamilton took penalties at Spa-Francorchamps. Again, it comes down to rushing things early in the season. Add in one more Hamilton DNF, and that's really the extent of it.

The entire TBFa body of work essentially boils down to strategically disparaging one side while elevating the other just to make Vettel look superior and his rivals look inferior. It’s a pattern: they constantly criticize the management and strategy at Vettel's team, yet praise the teams where his rivals drive. Occasionally, they smear his rivals' teams, or sometimes lift them up just enough so those drivers seem somewhat comparable to drivers who are clearly a tier below.

Naturally, it never occurs to him that Vettel's own temperament and nervousness are what actually rattle the teams. And these are teams that, over the last two seasons, delivered cars capable of winning a title with any top-tier driver behind the wheel.

Classic TBF modus operandi. We've seen this before and we'll see it plenty more; everything is done solely to glorify Vettel. It's quite obvious and lacks any semblance of objectivity.

They conveniently ignore the fact that Hamilton was competing against elite teammates, and everyone except Valtteri Bottas is a world champion.

And they purposefully omit the fact that two years ago, Vettel effectively knocked himself out of the title race through his own bizarre mistakes, despite driving a car that was absolutely championship-worthy.

To justify this, they concoct strange excuses and conspiracy theories, claiming Mercedes-AMG intentionally slowed down to create the illusion of a fight or suggesting favoritism.
If you play the tape backward, it becomes clear that Vettel is the one who squandered his own opportunities.
Furthermore, there's the constant claim that the people at Ferrari are idiots with idiotic tactics, asserting that Ferrari messed up a victory for Vettel every single time.
The latest argument is about tire performance being subpar, when in reality, everyone has the same rubber. Wouldn't it be simpler to just admit an obvious driving error?

It's the standard operating procedure that will likely continue, with claims that Ferrari favors Charles Leclerc, much like how the loss to Daniel Ricciardo was described in a similar fashion.

Typical stuff from my friend Tbf.

But hey, let him rock!

mellowtiger83 said:They’re conveniently ignoring the fact that Hamilton had to race against elite teammates, and everyone except Bottas is a world champion.

Sure, go ahead and repeat that 5,000 more times and maybe if you say it loud enough, it'll actually become true on a global scale...
And I bet you'd make at least a few thousand, if not a hundred grand, just peddling that nonsense. 🤣

Did someone steal your login, or are you just drunk again? 🤷🤣