[Official] Driver of the race: German Grand Prix 2014

[beau1]

Quite a few contenders today:

Hamilton - A great drive from 20th to 3rd but ultimately the car has such an obvious advantage that this isn't a great achievement. I also thought some of his overtaking was overhasty and he was lucky to not cause a crash when he was out of control sliding passed Kimi.

Rosberg - Again a dominant win but wasn't troubled due to a car advantage.

Riccardo - Some excellent passing and clever defensive driving against Alonso. He is probably my driver of the season so far.

But in the end I went for:

Bottas: Three podiums in a row and he's suddenly emerging and the next stage of F1. The most impressive part of his drive was the last 5 laps of so when he did hold off Hamilton in a fair fight. It shows that the Williams has a fair amount of pace.

[Neil22]

Louis, superb drive. Valtteri and Ricciardo also impressed.

[JacobP]

I chose Hamilton. It's one thing to cruise along in the front of the field. It's a lot harder to charge through the field, even with the best car on grid, on such a difficult race track. After the race, Hamilton's front wing looked like the wings of allied bombers returning from a bombing raid on axis, and I have lost the number of times his tired rubbed other cars.

[Biscuits In A Red Bull]

Originally Posted by JacobP

Hamilton's front wing looked like the wings of allied bombers returning from a bombing raid on axis

Shhhh! It was the German Grand Prix

But imo the incident that caused the damage was needless when JB gave Hamilton 2 car widths and he still couldn't brake early enough to get through the gap!

[Kempi]

Originally Posted by TrapezeArtist

However I have voted for Hamilton. A scintillating drive through the field, only slightly curtailed when he couldn't make the front tyres last with his "lightweight" front wing. Yes, one or two of the overtakes were a bit leary, but there's no other way of getting from 20th to 3rd. Anyway, the one that broke his wing was mostly down to JB.

I cannot really understand the argument that "he managed to get to p3 despite a damaged front wing."

The damaged front wing was noone's fault but his own. He locked up his fronts when doing the doubletake of the red boys and slid into Kimi. Kimi had nowhere to go but straight, which he did, and yet Hamilton slid into him.

Also, the car he has he should easily be able to do the same 20-3 without any rubbing cars. Schuhmacher and Barichello did it twice with their prime cars 2001 in Malaysia and 2002 in Monza (or was that 2004 with Massa in the second Ferrari?) where they both dropped to the back of the filed after rains and then drove through the whole field to the front without sliding into people. Hamilton has a similarly strong car and the track would have allowed for no crashing. He was being impatient, the impatience resulting in the damaged front wing. If he had been down on top speed, ok, but he was not.

[Biscuits In A Red Bull]

Originally Posted by Kempi

I cannot really understand the argument that "he managed to get to p3 despite a damaged front wing."

The damaged front wing was noone's fault but his own. He locked up his fronts when doing the doubletake of the red boys and slid into Kimi. Kimi had nowhere to go but straight, which he did, and yet Hamilton slid into him.

Also, the car he has he should easily be able to do the same 20-3 without any rubbing cars. Schuhmacher and Barichello did it twice with their prime cars 2001 in Malaysia and 2002 in Monza (or was that 2004 with Massa in the second Ferrari?) where they both dropped to the back of the filed after rains and then drove through the whole field to the front without sliding into people. Hamilton has a similarly strong car and the track would have allowed for no crashing. He was being impatient, the impatience resulting in the damaged front wing. If he had been down on top speed, ok, but he was not.

This is what I feel and I feel the 2 incidents he was involved in were nobody else's fault but his. JB's comments that Hamilton's driving was "strange" is, imo, agreeable.

[JamesH]

Originally Posted by Biscuits In A Red Bull

This is what I feel and I feel the 2 incidents he was involved in were nobody else's fault but his. JB's comments that Hamilton's driving was "strange" is, imo, agreeable.

But all the cars involved finished the race, and LH was third starting 20th. Nothing to see here...

Lary driving? Strange? Possibly. Also quite exciting to watch...he needed to do something spectacular to get in to the top 3, and he certainly did that!

I think some people here need to step back and decide what they want. Exciting racing, with overtaking and risk taking, or not.

[jedrinck]

I also thought Hamilton was unnecessarily aggressive. The situation required measured risk during overtaking. He was never going to catch Rosberg who could have sped up if necessary so avoiding contact with everybody else should have been his priority as the Mercedes allows swift and safe passing. He was lucky his misjudgements were of little consequence to him.

[Kempi]

Originally Posted by JamesH

But all the cars involved finished the race, and LH was third starting 20th. Nothing to see here...

Lary driving? Strange? Possibly. Also quite exciting to watch...he needed to do something spectacular to get in to the top 3, and he certainly did that!

I think some people here need to step back and decide what they want. Exciting racing, with overtaking and risk taking, or not.

There is a difference in risk taking where it is necessary and where it is not. With the Mercedes, there is no risk necessary and those (including me) who are criticizing him are only pointing out that aspect.

If he had a car that was equally slow as the Ferrari or the McLaren, the risk would have been necessary. He does not, though. Being so aggressive anyways is either red mist or stupid and certainly not a great drive.

[Ryan Smith]

Originally Posted by beau1

Quite a few contenders today:

Hamilton - A great drive from 20th to 3rd but ultimately the car has such an obvious advantage that this isn't a great achievement. I also thought some of his overtaking was overhasty and he was lucky to not cause a crash when he was out of control sliding passed Kimi.

While I agree with you here, you have to take into account that he had a massive weight on his shoulders to perform at this Grand Prix given his team-mate could have raced away on the points, so it's understandable that he wanted to get past the seemingly slower traffic early on. Some of his passes, especially on Kimi as you point out could have been done cleaner but in the heat of the moment he would have wanted to make mince meat of the midfielders and tried to battle his team-mate towards the end.

[IceMan_PJN]

I'm a bit surprised Ricciardo didn't get more votes than he did.

Originally Posted by TrapezeArtist

I don't understand why NO-ONE has voted for Rosberg. What more was he supposed to do!?

He hasn't really done much of anything this season. Had Lewis qualified up front and Nico had then won, he'd have accomplished something, but his better fortunes once again ensured an uncontested win. Worse, however, is that Lewis outperformed the crap out of him during that race. By my count, Lewis had to take one more pit stop, meaning upwards of twenty extra seconds added to his race time, and he had to do much of the race with a damaged front wing and consequently poorer pace, and still got within twenty or so seconds of Nico... from the back of the field. Had he not damaged his wing, he might have won it from the back, and had he qualified up front his superior pace would likely have dominated Nico, but Nico's better luck ensured this never happened.

It's the story of the entire season from race one, really. Nico has the points, but not by having earned more than his teammate. He's just been blessed with better luck than his teammate. In Germany, all Nico had to do to take pole and win was to show up. Luck took care of the rest.

[Biscuits In A Red Bull]

Originally Posted by IceMan_PJN

I'm a bit surprised Ricciardo didn't get more votes than he did.



He hasn't really done much of anything this season. Had Lewis qualified up front and Nico had then won, he'd have accomplished something, but his better fortunes once again ensured an uncontested win. Worse, however, is that Lewis outperformed the crap out of him during that race. By my count, Lewis had to take one more pit stop, meaning upwards of twenty extra seconds added to his race time, and he had to do much of the race with a damaged front wing and consequently poorer pace, and still got within twenty or so seconds of Nico... from the back of the field. Had he not damaged his wing, he might have won it from the back, and had he qualified up front his superior pace would likely have dominated Nico, but Nico's better luck ensured this never happened.

It's the story of the entire season from race one, really. Nico has the points, but not by having earned more than his teammate. He's just been blessed with better luck than his teammate. In Germany, all Nico had to do to take pole and win was to show up. Luck took care of the rest.

Maybe Rosberg has done exactly what he has needed to all season whilst Hamilton has suffered from a mixture of mistakes and bad fortune? Plus, when you finish 2nd having run over half a race in a completely broken Merc, that's making the most of a situation, something Hamilton hasn't done all season.

[Kempi]

IceMan: ever heard of the concept of "win at the slowest pace possible"? If measured by that, yes, Rosberg did make a mistake: he won by 20 instead by 1s. I hardly would call what he did underachieving, though.

[JamesH]

Originally Posted by Kempi

There is a difference in risk taking where it is necessary and where it is not. With the Mercedes, there is no risk necessary and those (including me) who are criticizing him are only pointing out that aspect.

If he had a car that was equally slow as the Ferrari or the McLaren, the risk would have been necessary. He does not, though. Being so aggressive anyways is either red mist or stupid and certainly not a great drive.

I disagree that there was no need to take risks. I also disagree that the risks he took were particular bad ones.

As a racing driver, LH knew he had to get to the front as quickly as possible in order to get on the podium. The fact the the Merc is faster than the rest (well, most of the rest - the Williams is clearly very good in the hands on VB/FM) doesn't negate the fact he needs to get through the field as quickly as he can before the front runners bugger off in to the distance. There's no point is being cautious. That's not going to get you on the podium because it wastes too much time. Fast and decisive is what gets you on the podium.

[Grandpa_Rob]

Thought Ricciardo's drive was worth the honours he continues to impress.

[JamesH]

Originally Posted by Kempi

IceMan: ever heard of the concept of "win at the slowest pace possible"? If measured by that, yes, Rosberg did make a mistake: he won by 20 instead by 1s. I hardly would call what he did underachieving, though.

Agreed on the win at slowest pace possible, but he clearly didn't have the same overall level of achievement as others in the race, simply because he didn't need to.

[Kempi]

Agreed on that. His drive was, at least judging by the standards set here in the forum for drivers in dominant cars last year, nothing that could achieve DotR. I guess hardly anyone can sitting in a dominant car mid season or later, starting from pole and winning without being challenged, because they simply do what is expected. It is not underachieving, if they do just that, either though.

[Mekola]

If Bottas continues in this mood, his win will be in the horizon. I voted for him.

[chillibowl]

went for Bottas. quickly becoming my favorite driver on the grid.

Originally Posted by stripedcat

Ahhh, much like Silverstone - there are a lot of drivers to chose for DOTOR again.

indeed. despite one team enjoying such an advantage, in terms of the driving contest, we really have been treated to some stellar driving and battles this season.

[Articus]

Originally Posted by Mekola

If Bottas continues in this mood, his win will be in the horizon. I voted for him.

When Hamilton and Rosberg finally come to blows on the track, Bottas will be there to pick up the pieces.

[Aysedasi]

Originally Posted by JamesH

I disagree that there was no need to take risks. I also disagree that the risks he took were particular bad ones.

Jeez. Me too. What do you want people, 'After you Claude' - 'No. after you.....' ??

If you're at the back of the grid in a car that should be at the front and you desperately need to mitigate the loss you're going to make to your teammate and your only rival for the championship, of course you're going to take risks - may as well not be out there otherwise. As to the damage, Button left the door wide open and then closed it as Hamilton came through. But then we're talking about Lewis aren't we and views are just as polarised as they were with Vettel.....

[TrapezeArtist]

Originally Posted by Kempi

I cannot really understand the argument that "he managed to get to p3 despite a damaged front wing."

The damaged front wing was noone's fault but his own. He locked up his fronts when doing the doubletake of the red boys and slid into Kimi. Kimi had nowhere to go but straight, which he did, and yet Hamilton slid into him.

Also, the car he has he should easily be able to do the same 20-3 without any rubbing cars. Schuhmacher and Barichello did it twice with their prime cars 2001 in Malaysia and 2002 in Monza (or was that 2004 with Massa in the second Ferrari?) where they both dropped to the back of the filed after rains and then drove through the whole field to the front without sliding into people. Hamilton has a similarly strong car and the track would have allowed for no crashing. He was being impatient, the impatience resulting in the damaged front wing. If he had been down on top speed, ok, but he was not.

But the front wing damage didn't come from passing Raikkonen! It happened when he passed Button. And there was nothing reckless about that move: it was just a misunderstanding between two drivers. The classic "racing incident".

[wnut]

Originally Posted by TrapezeArtist

But the front wing damage didn't come from passing Raikkonen! It happened when he passed Button. And there was nothing reckless about that move: it was just a misunderstanding between two drivers. The classic "racing incident".

Lewis wacked his front wing on Raikkonen and Button.

What I liked about his drive is that he did not use the damage as an excuse but kept right on going!

Have to wonder how much the Merc has in reserve given he set the fastest race lap in a car carrying quite a bit of damage.

[Articus]

Rosberg was in total cruise mode at the front. Lewis spent the entire race with a damaged car in dirty air. We'll never know.

I loved Lewis's drive. Kinda like a big middle finger to the rest of the field . They might as well have been backmarkers.

[Kempi]

Originally Posted by TrapezeArtist

But the front wing damage didn't come from passing Raikkonen! It happened when he passed Button. And there was nothing reckless about that move: it was just a misunderstanding between two drivers. The classic "racing incident".

I only saw that incident in detail when catching some of the rerun on TV. I agree it was not reckless. It was unnecessary as well, though. He was not yet in a true position to make a move, made it anyways and cocked up. Actually, even more a prime example of what you should not do if you have a far superior car.