With a month to go before the season opener in Melbourne, the first round of pre-season testing has been completed, and even though it is just testing, it already looks like Mercedes have followed on from last year, and will be the car to beat again. Last year, saw the Mercedes pair of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg dominate the season, winning 16 of the 19 races available, and breaking numerous records. What occurred was a titanic title battle that was only decided in the final race with Lewis been victorious. If Jerez is anything to go by, then we might find ourselves having a repeat of this duel. Here we shall take a quick look at where Nico lost the title and what he has to do to beat Lewis.
First of all, lets take a very brief look at how 2014 unfolded: it was a season of two halves. From the very first race, it was advantage to Nico, after Lewis had to retire. Lewis would go on to win the next four races to gain the championship lead, but in Monaco, on the last qualifying run, Nico, who had provisional pole, locked up and caused a yellow flag which prevented Hamilton was setting another time. It seemed a strange incident, and the feeling was it was an intentional act to stop Lewis from getting pole. Lewis also thought this, and it was clear that the season, and intra-team battle was hotting up. Lewis would suffer problems between car failures and human error in the next few races, whilst Nico was racking up the points to give him an advantage in the championship. Another incident in Hungary, where Lewis refused to let Nico pass him, whilst on different strategies, was the catalyst of what was about to happen in Spa. After a few weeks off, it still seemed that the events of Hungary lingered deep inside Nico, and on lap two, whilst chasing down Lewis, tried an audacious manoeuvre on the outside at Les Combes, that damaged both cars. Lewis had to retire and Nico went on to finish second, but the aftermath of this was huge. Nico was reprimanded by Mercedes, and he lost the support of a lot of fans. This is where the season turned. Lewis went on to win the next five races, and have a healthy lead in the championship. With two rounds to go, Nico won the penultimate race to take it to a decider, but Lewis, aided by Nico’s car problems, comfortably won the race and title.
So how had Nico lose his advantage? It was in Spa. It was the pivotal point in the season. Pre-Spa, each time Lewis and Nico had gone wheel to wheel, Hamilton always came out on top. This was no more evident at Bahrain, where the two constantly battled lap after lap. It was a great spectacle, which all the fans and critics loved, but what seemed evident was that Nico couldn’t live with Lewis at that level of racing. There was an unfair premise that Nico couldn’t wheel to wheel race. Clearly this was an unfair premise as Lewis is one of the best ever in wheel to wheel combat, and not many who have graced the sport would be able to match or beat him. However, been in identical cars, people were judging Nico on this, and even though he had a lead in the championship, the feeling was that he had to show he could beat Lewis in wheel to wheel combat to deserve his title. A completely unfair premise indeed, but what showed at Spa was that Nico had taken this to heart. He wanted to show the world and Lewis a lesson. The lesson been that he could stand up to Lewis in such combat, and that he could beat him. The lesson failed. The lesson that resulted in his own team reprimanding him. The fans, still questioning his actions in Monaco, turned against him. Nico’s confidence was knocked, and Lewis’ was rising in equal measure. Lewis was now a force, driven by the energy of fan support, and his belief that Nico was knocked down, and Rosberg couldn’t live with him. After that, the title was Lewis’.
Even though Nico had lost his advantage, and in the end the title, he still did had an advantage to begin with. Many will point and say that Melbourne hugely helped Nico, as Lewis had to retire with car problems, and that Hamilton went on and “dominated” the following four races, but did he “dominate”? Yes, in Malaysia and China he dominated, Nico was nowhere near Lewis, but in Bahrain and Spain, Rosberg was very much on Hamilton’s rear throughout much of the race. It was only Lewis wheel to wheel combat skills that saved him in the desert, and in Spain, it came out that Hamilton had used different mode settings to keep Nico behind. So it was clear that Nico had the race pace to beat Lewis. Lewis is known for his qualifying pace, he is fourth in all-time list for driver’s getting poles, but over the season, even after Spa, Nico had the edge of him in qualifying. Nico out-qualified Lewis a staggering 12 times, and even though some may argue that Hamilton suffered many problems during qualifying, Rosberg would still have had the better scorecard if you took those occasions out.
So what does Nico have to do then to beat Lewis and win his first title? First he needs to look at lessons of Spa and realise that he is his own driver, his own man. He doesn’t need to copy Lewis or anyone else’s style, as that it strays from his own abilities and values. There is nothing wrong with Nico’s style. Far from it. He is a guy who has won many times, with his own style, and that is where he secondly needs to look at his pre-Spa form, and see where it was doing right for him. He is a very calm, collective and calculating driver, who has been nicknamed, “The Professor”, for his understanding of how the car works, and what is needed to get the best result required. We only have to take a look at Canada for the best evidence of this. Both Mercedes suffered brake problems, and where Lewis couldn’t manage it,and had to retire, Nico could manage through it, and went on to finish a hugely impressive second. A drive that many critics credited him with later as been a drive of a champion. Last season Nico had many times the race pace on Lewis, and dominated most Saturdays. I also feel that this season will be closer than last, especially with Ferrari looking stronger, and Honda now in the fold (even though it remains to be seen how competitive they are), so the first few races will be crucial. If Lewis goes on another winning spree, then it could turn out like 2011 and a whitewash. On the other hand, if they are both sharing the spoils, and the rest of the field close up, what will Mercedes do then? Will they carry on their “let them race” philosophy, or will they be prone to get more tactical each race, and leave the lead car to lead, with no challenge from behind? If it is the latter, grid position will then be more crucial. And what about Lewis? I know many F1 fans hate tabloid news linked with the sport, but his split with his girlfriend, Nicole Scherzinger, can’t be dismissed. Rememberer his self-destructive year in 2011 when he was separate from Nicole. I’m not saying, and I don’t believe that we will see that Lewis back. He is older and wiser, but what can’t be ignored is he still wears his heart on his sleeve, he is still someone who needs to feel comfortable and loved to perform at his best. No more evident of this than there was was post-Spa, when the fans rallied round Lewis. Was it a coincidence that he put on his finest driving displays then. An unhappy Lewis means a possible vulnerable Lewis, and now is when Nico may need to pounce. And does a man going for his third title have the same determination than one going for his first? The difference last year with Nico was he had never been in a title scrap before. He neither had the experience or the drive from the hurt of losing one. Now he has. Now he has experience of been in a title battle. Now he has the hurt in losing out, and that will only drive him more. He will come back more determined than ever this season
Lewis may be the safe bet for 2015, but after a season that was so tight, intense, and full of drama, then who is going to bet against it not being even closer this year. Who is your money on?
Mercedes 2015 Season Preview
No. 44 Lewis Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton heads into his ninth season in the sport. From his debut in 2007, to his second title win last year, the first eight seasons have been eventful to say the least. Signed by McLaren at ten, he was up against double-champion Fernando Alonso in his first year. He was expected to play the number two driver, but shocked everyone with his pace and daring overtakes. He went on to record ninth consecutive podiums in his first races, and win four times from six poles. In the end, he only lost out on the title at the last race by a single point. In 2008, after taking five wins from seven poles, the title once again came down to the final race, and he won it in dramatic style on the final corner of the final lap. As youngest champion at the time, it looked like he would go on to win many titles and even challenge Michael Schumacher’s record. It didn’t work out that way. In 2009, Brawn and Red Bull set the pace, and Lewis, with two wins from four poles, came a distance fifth. 2010 turned out to be one of the most competitive and tightest championships, as five people could still win it by the penultimate race. Lewis, with three wins from a single pole, came fourth in the end, but with a season with so many twist and turns, Lewis, with five fastest laps and nine podiums, could easily have taken the title. 2011 was his most troubled year. With Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull setting and breaking records, just like in 2009, Lewis was not in title contention. His win and pole score was the same as the previous season, but with his troubled private life creeping into his on-track antics too, which resulted in numerous incidents, many question where the talent had gone. 2012 saw a much better together Lewis, and for a while he was in title contention. He won four races from seven poles, but due to reliability issues, his championship bid faltered and ended up fourth. It was during this time that Lewis decided to leave McLaren, and head to Mercedes. The view was that Mercedes would lead the way in 2014 with the new engine changes, and even though Lewis got five poles in 2013, he only claimed the one win. In 2014, the gamble paid off. Mercedes was by far the team to beat. The title turned into an inter-team battle, and Lewis, with 11 wins out of seven poles, took the championship at final race. Can Lewis carry this form into the new season and gain a third title?
No. 6 Nico Rosberg
Nico Rosberg has had a less dramatic, but still impressive rise to the top. The son of a former champion, Keke, he entered the sport a year before Lewis, with Williams, and stayed there for four seasons. In his debut season, he only scored four points, but did achieve a fastest lap, on his debut in Bahrain. In the next three years, he gained 71.5 more points, and one more fastest lap. He did though achieve two podiums in that time, both in 2008, with second in Singapore and third in Melbourne. In 2010, he joined Mercedes, with fellow compatriot Michael Schumacher. Michael had come out of retirement to spearhead Mercedes new untertaking into the sport, but it was Nico who outshone him. In their three years together, Nico outscored Michael by 324 points to 197, and also claimed five podiums to Schumacher’s one. It was in 2012 that his breakthrough came, where he claimed his first pole and win at China, and claim another two fastest laps that season. With Michael’s departure at end of 2012 paving way for Lewis, many expected that Lewis utmost talent would dominate Nico, but that wasn’t to be the case. Even though Lewis came higher in points standings, Nico outscored him in wins by two to one, taking victories in Monaco and Silverstone, and achieving three poles, and four podiums. In 2014, as we talked about, the inter-team battle hotted up, and became a fight for the championship. Even though Nico’s five wins and fastest laps weren’t enough to stop Lewis from taking the title, his 11 poles and 15 podiums show a consistency and speed that is on par with every champion, and you would be a fool to count him out for this year’s championship.
Pascal Wehrlein
Pascal Wehrlein was announced in September 2014 as reserve driver for Mercedes. That came into immediate effect in the second pre-season test, where he replaced an unwell Lewis Hamilton on Day One. He also drove the Force India in the test too. Pascal is 20 years old, and from Germany. He began karting in 2003, and finished fifth in 2009 in the ADAC Kart Masters. In 2010, he joined ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg e.V. in the ADAC Formel Masters, and gained a race win, a fastest lap, and a pole, and with getting on the podium four times, ended up sixth in overall standings. The following year, he went on to win the title with seven wins from seven poles. In 2012, he joined the F3 Euro Series, with Mücke Motor-sport. Even though he only got one race win, his ten podiums put him second in championship. The following year, he continued with Mücke Motor-sport, and entered the DTM championship.
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