The Official 2016 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Thread **Spoilers**

[ukaskew]

PhillipM said:

Do you reckon Ferrari's strategist found Lewis's phone number and asked him to slow down so they could not look quite as st for a race?

Realistically RB/Ferrari are targeting 3rd. Ferrari got that job done today with a great bit of work.

[ukaskew]

A few things to consider as it seems F1 fans are often at odds with themselves when it comes to 'the show', particularly if a driver they don't like is partly responsible for that show...

- Without Hamilton backing up the race would have been beyond dull, rather than just dull with a good little bit of tension/excitement towards the end. We'd also have very little to talk about now.

- Do we really want the drivers at the top of their game to conform, be corporate drones etc? Everyone says no...until somebody (Hamilton in this case) steps out of line. Historically the best drivers have been somewhat divisive to say the least. Most of them get where they are exactly because they have that about them. Even Toto alluded to this when discussing potential punishments for Hamilton, why employ a driver if you're going to take away who he is?

I don't follow any particular driver aside from wishing Force India to do well (family connection), but it was pretty obvious to me that without Lewis being Lewis yesterday would have been a massive anti-climax right from the start.

[ukaskew]

RYH64E said:

Someone has to make it clear to Hamilton that the team is owned, financed and run by Mercedes...At Mercedes he's an employee, nothing more, and he needs to follow instructions, like it or not that's the way it is.

On the flip side, they employed arguably the best driver in the sport. There are enough guys on the board and in the team with enough experience of absolute top-tier talent (over decades) to know exactly what they're getting when they sign a Hamilton.

As it turns out due to their absolute domination, two Rosbergs in the team would still have won them both championships comfortably (assuming we ignore any impact Hamilton may have had on the team as a whole), but more often than not two Rosbergs are not what makes a great team, or a team great.

Very few drivers over the history of F1 with the potential for multiple WDCs just turn up, do exactly as instructed, don't question anything, then go home and tuck themselves into bed each night, that mentality simply rarely fits with somebody who has made it to the pinnacle of their discipline (and you can apply that to most sports). Where F1 differs from other sports is that it's a team sport for individuals, so those personality traits are magnified immensely.

Edited by ukaskew on Monday 28th November 11:39