Webber V Rosberg

[SetikX]

In the predictions thread I recall someone saying that they are unsure who will win out between this duo. They say it will be very close, but webber will "only just" nip it.

I am of the belief that Webber needs to DOMINATE Rosberg. In every way. Especially towards the start of the season. Rosberg is young and is at the team for long term glory. This year will be a transition year and he will be learning alot.

I believe that if Webber does not convincingly dominate then either Rosberg is 100 times the driver I suspect, or webber should look to a midfield team where his real skills could be utilised.

My question is; a) will rosberg have a chance against webber, and b) if rosberg just beat webber, then what? It doesnt speak very good, does it?

[OZ_HCR32]

Any establised driver worth his salt would be expected to be quicker then a rookie team mate at the start of the year.

Any establised driver would be expected to outscore his rookie team mate over the course of the year.

Between two drivers in competitive team , you would expect the established driver to win a GP before the rookie team mate.

Mark and Nico are no different in my eyes. Nico does have some credentials and ability. Both drivers have something to prove and a job to do. Ill sit back and see who is worth the wraps they both have received.

[Nado]

I agree that Webber really needs to dominate, unfortunately I have a funny feeling about Rosberg.

[garcon]

I know very little about Rosberg, except that his performances in lower series do seem to justify a chance in F1.

Unless Rosberg is the next Senna or Schumacher, one would expect Webber to dominate. There is definitely a degree of pressure on Webber to start delivering to the potential he showed at the start of his F1 career. However, he strikes me as a genuine team player, and I think Rosberg will benefit a great deal from having Webber as a team-mate and mentor.

[Swiss]

As you said this has been debated elsewhere and at times become heated whenever Webber has been criticised.

Personally I think Webber really has to perform this year to maintain his standing, I think that he made too many mistakes last season and was outperformed by his team mate Heidfeld if you look at reputation at the end of the campaign. You are quite right in saying Webber needs to stamp his dominance over Rosberg in the way in handles himself by presenting himself as the team leader and translating that on the track in qualifying and race performance. I suspect that if Rosberg starts well and either beats Webber or is very close to Webber then cracks will show .....

Its going to be an interesting season across the board thats for sure ...

[OZ_HCR32]

Originally Posted by Thanh Ha

... I have a funny feeling about Rosberg.

Me too. It will be interesting to see if Webber is that special, or is Nico...or either of them.

I have more faith in Webber this year after how in my eyes he was quicker then NH. That surprised me as i thought NH would show him a clear set of heels since they were both new to the team and i had always thought NH was a great driver in need of a good seat.

SO my expectations of Webber have increased this year in light of what i saw in 2005.

...and i have at times defended Webber, not because im a fan, but i think the attackes were not justified. I have no problem at all with people questioning whether Webber is a better driver then Nico or vice versa. I do object to people saying he is a hack or not a good driver.

[ozrevhead]

hear we go again....but I will play along...

This is a big year for Mark - its a shame it has to come when Williams are getting brand new engines as there will surely be a transitional period.

I know most on this forum would love to see Nico dominate and we will see if they get their wish. I dont need to tell you that I have faith in Mark to deliever what Williams want - and few actually realise it will take more time than you think....Its not a sprint, its a marathon

[Kirk]

I think potentially both of these guys are "special". Webber showed some definite signs of maturity towards the end of last year, and with a year at Williams under his belt could have an outstanding year. Nico has the blood and he should adapt well to F1. I look for him to be near Webber's pace by mid-season, and I agree with Garcon, in that his teaming with Mark will be to his benefit. One day soon, this tandem may be considered amongst the best in F1.

[BootsOntheSide]

If either of them is 'special', I think it's more likely to be Nico - he was hguely successful in a very competitive and close GP2 season, whilst Webber has some ragged edges and flaws to his driving even now, without showing more than flashes of amazing speed. However, Mark should be faster at the start of the season, which is likely to vbe when Williams are the most competitive - by late season, the factory teams may have caught up on reliability and overtook them on pace, so any points lead Mark has mid-season may be safe, evne if Nico is outpacing him by then.

[sonic]

Nah, Rosberg is obviously good, but IMHO he's far from the new alonso / kimi.

Webber will dominate him.

[mp356a]

I would like to see Williams (and especially Cosworth) have a good year. I am worried that if Nico is really quick early, Mark will not handle the pressure well and under-perform, again. I know that Nico looks at his teammate as an adversary and Mark does the same thing. In my opinion, these attitudes do not bode well for a team in transition. I am more of a team player myself and I'd be more inclined to see them working together to move the team forward but I so not think that Mark will help Nico much as his own career is at stake and I cannot see Nico helping Mark either.
Again, IMHO, I'd rather see something like the combo at BMW/Sauber. These guys, I think, will work together to move that team forward.
Of course I could be wrong....
Mike

[OZ_HCR32]

...and good news for both Willaims drivers is this statement:

"Industry analysts believe that Renault has probably done the best job with its 90-degree V8 for 2006, although Cosworth's engine - mounted in the FW28 Williams - is also so far surpassing expectations."

From Here

[Nado]

Originally Posted by mp356a

I am more of a team player myself and I'd be more inclined to see them working together to move the team forward but I so not think that Mark will help Nico much as his own career is at stake and I cannot see Nico helping Mark either.

I can't see Mark doing so like he used to do Jaguar because he's on the second year of a two-year contract and his seat is on the line and don't think he'll take Nico "under his wings". Webber being more experience probably won't be after advice from rookie Nico, and Nico even if he thinks he's better (which like any driver he should and does) probably even understands that.

I think there's a similar thing @ Sauber. Heidfeld is on 3 years so he's more likely to play the team player, but Villenueve, being on one year and like on year only, I don't think he could care less.

My opinion for this year. If Williams can keep their cars at the pointy end (i.e., top 3) for most of the year where a Williams really should be, you won't she Webber as frustrated as he was last year (I don't think he was really rattled by Heidfeld), what with DC making that sneaky move in Australia, qualifying great only to be watching a Panasonic rear wing, and fighting with the Red Bulls and Saubers.

[OZ_HCR32]

Agree again. I dont see any of Webbers poor performances resulting from pressure from Hiedflield. Typically when Webber threw away positions NH was at best one or two cars behind him. NH inherited positions and results when Webber binned it.

Webbers best races happened to be the last few races, ppl seem to think that has something to do with NH being MIA, i think it has more to do with him not beign parked behind Toyotas.

Webber wasnt making mistakes trying to keep up with NH, in my eyes his main mistakes were tangling off the line a few times. Touch ups mid corner etc is not good, but its racing.

[Russ-Turner]

Yes Nico was good last year but he was very inconsistent in the F3 Euroseries the year before. Nico has an engineers brain and from what I've heard knew he had to work his way to Formula One where as Piquet Jnr. sees it as a given that he will be a Formula One driver. I think that not only is Webber mentally tougher than he comes across, his hard racing and not giving an inch reminds me of how Schumacher used to be when he had worthy competition. I don't care who comes out on top, I just want to see Williams back where they belong.

[hotwheels]

I would bet on NIco. He is smart enough to let Webber dominate him outside the track. Webber won't find any Pizzonia again.

[Spudgun]

I can't see him upstaging Webber next year no matter how good he is. He will need time to find his feet. After all it is his first season in F1 and won't really experience it 'in anger' until Bahrain.

[FPV GTHO]

I'd like to see Nico have a good first year, but i'd also like to see Webber have a smooth year, so i'd initially think that experience would win over pace. For that then i'd have to say Webber will easily outpace Nico, although they might find themselves qualifying close to each other time to time.

[spectator22]

So now theres Rosberg, who won his GP2 title with a team which sprung cheating, bit like another former F3000 champ who didnt last a year at Jag against Webber. Hmmmm. Dont think theres a serious challenge there. Webber has generally beaten all his team-mates, the only times he was really 'beaten' by NH last year was when perhaps pushing too hard to make up for the cars deficiencies, making a mistake, thus allowing NH to Cruise and Collect. Think Frank Williams prefers the more aggressive approach. Sorry all you bashers Rosberg is going to be another MW victim IMO.

[GTRMagic]

Williams will be in the hunt (with Webber and sometimes Rosberg) in the first part of the season... while the boys at Honda and Mercedes get their fingers out and the powerplants improve, while the Cosworth stays largely unchanged...

I dont think Webber is the next Senna, its not likely a bespoke customer Cosworth in the back of his car will do what the yellow helmeted one did in the McLaren in 1994 and win races against the opposition....

He will do well, but the package is not good enough to be a WDC contender...

[Mark Webber]

god this did take to long to surface !!!!!!!!!!!

Mark will do the job plain and simple while I have no doubt that Nico is a talent at the end of the day Williams will be the telling story Mark will drive 100% even if the car can not as last year showed .

The telling question is can frank's now little outfit keep up with the MIGHT of the Car companies all year

[SetikX]

For all those Webber fans who think this is beating a dead horse- I disagree. My question was "what if" Webber is beaten.

I am extremely curious as to how each sides sees it. For me, I think if he is beaten- then it REALLY slims his career down to, at best, a midfield driver. But winning against Nico brings no pride or reward. For a Webber fan, I am curious if you agree with this?

[FPV GTHO]

Well certainly if Webber gets beaten by Rosberg, but Rosberg continues to go on to be thrashed by midfielders then Webber is left with nothing. If Webber has another average season yet Rosberg has a stunner, lets say he gets 50 points which i think is about double what most think he needs to get in order to have eclipsed Button's rookie season with Williams, does that become a seperate situation?

[SetikX]

FPV: I dont think so, because I would argue that Williams have given him really good machinery, yet he did not deliver. If Nico gets 50+ points, and webber gets the same points (ie, 55 for mark, 56 for nico) then its a different issue. But if the gaps any greater then 4, he has alot of explaining to do in my oppinion.

[Mark Webber]

the issue of how many points is useless a win is a win if is 1 pts or 100points it make 0 differance as F1 has many resaon for a driver not to score or be favoured its not just that simply to say "oh well he won by x amount of points he must be soooo much better "
F1 is to compelex back door deals ,driver instructions,late pitstop changes,other driver hitting you can all cause a different outcome.
Mark is far from a midfeilder he has proved that to the pepole that count and Nico is yet to show but I'm sure his up to it but he won't catch Mark and until the car is up to the job its way to early to bag the drivers