Originally Posted by davyboy

They can play whatever national anthem they like.

Engines and cars are built in Northamptonshire.

Originally Posted by davyboy

They can play whatever national anthem they like.

Engines and cars are built in Northamptonshire.

Originally Posted by davyboy

But the employees are british....just how would that message get to the mechanics to favour Nico?

Originally Posted by davyboy

They can play whatever national anthem they like.

Engines and cars are built in Northamptonshire.

Originally Posted by f1_fan

Mathematics - Mercedes want the number 1 on their car and Rosberg will likely be the drivers champion given his 29 point lead and a reliable car!

Originally Posted by Blue by You

I suppose Red Bull are a British team as well then? British built by British employees, albeit with a Renault engine. Strange how all of Vettel's team wins were attributed to an Austrian team then.

Originally Posted by Blue by You

Why?
German team, German driver. What better combination would they want?

Originally Posted by chris j t

You keep saying this but lets not forget, the last race is double points, if Hamilton was to win the last race then that would only leave 4 points to claw back over 7 races.

Originally Posted by EddScott

Majority of people will view Merc F1 as German irrespective of where the cars are built.

Merc would choose Nico over Lewis for the German connection. Those that brought Lewis to Merc are no longer there.
.

Originally Posted by chris j t

Its a English team with a German name but its about selling cars, Hamilton is the most liked of the two and it was even discussed at the race yesterday that Rosberg doesn't have a good following in Germany.

Rosberg has a German passport but isn't really all that german.

Originally Posted by neil-h

Hate to say it but the theory of 'win on Sunday, sell on Monday' hasn't really worked for a while now. More watch manufacturers play off the Motorsport connection than car manufacturers these days.

Originally Posted by f1_fan

Mercedes are a massive exception to this which if you visit a Merc dealer even today you will see. When they have a championship under their belt next year it will be used massively in their marketing.

Originally Posted by f1_fan

The key word is 'if' and anyway your maths are wrong as you forget that even if Lewis wins he will only gain 14 points on Rosberg if Rosberg comes home seconds as he gets double points too.

Originally Posted by neil-h

But I'm not middle class enough to be hanging around Mercedes dealerships.

Originally Posted by chris j t

Is not bad maths, I was simply giving a example of the last race being a typical last race and things going off script.

Rosberg could have a dnf, iam letting my imagination run wild but strange things happen at the last races and you never know, plus not to mention the other races.

Originally Posted by f1_fan

Hamilton could just as easily DNF. Statistically more likely actually. The only thing that is a given is that Rosberg is 29 points ahead with 7 races to go.

Based on that he will more than likely be world champion.

Originally Posted by f1_fan

Believe you me from what I've seen they let anyone in these days, even Subaru drivers

Originally Posted by davyboy

Milton Keynes seems pretty british to me.

I do get it, but it's pretty silly that teams can change countries when the person writing the cheques comes from a different country.

Originally Posted by f1_fan

Believe you me from what I've seen they let anyone in these days, even Subaru drivers

Originally Posted by Blue by You

I don't think that bait is anywhere nearly tasty enough to get a serious bite

Originally Posted by Kwik

I'd imagine Mercedes would want the FIA to step in and take the decision out of their own hands so they aren't to blame if Rosberg is penalised and if he's not Lewis can't be angry at Mercedes.

Originally Posted by Kwik

I feel faint...

Originally Posted by chris j t

Bit of topic but as a long time fan iam just beside myself with excitement with the place that f1 is in at the moment.

Originally Posted by Joe Saward

In the meantime, don’t get too convinced about Ferrari drivers staying the same next year. On paper the drive line-up will be unchanged, but as they say in the opera houses of the world, the show isn't over until the fat lady sings. She should be warbling at Monza.

Originally Posted by Joe Saward (July 22 2014)

The greatest drivers in Formula 1 are able to achieve great things with cars that are deemed to be uncompetitive. They understand the problems and adapt to them. Admittedly, it is not possible these days for a great driver to win in a bad car. The car must be at least vaguely competitive. And this is where one must take off one’s hat to Fernando Alonso. He is already considered by many to be the best driver in F1, but this year he is adding to that reputation. He pedals the Ferrari F14T with verve and ability. He never gives up, rarely makes mistakes and he has scored in every race this year, an achievement that only Nico Hulkenberg can match.

Fernando’s best finish is third, his worst ninth and his average around fifth. If you asked people to rate the three best cars in F1 this year (thus the cars that should fill the top six finishing positions) I have no doubt that the Mercedes would top the list and that Williams and Red Bull would be next, with the challengers behind them being McLaren, Ferrari and Force India. This being the case, how it is that Alonso is fourth in the standings with an average finish of fifth and a points total of 97?

By the same token why is Kimi Raikkonen languishing in 12th with just 19 points, despite having had only one retirement? It’s not pretty when you look closely at the results. So what is the problem with Raikkonen? Does he get the same equipment as Alonso? Is he lacking confidence in the car? Is he simply past his best and not really interested? The official argument is that the car does not suit his driving style and that he is working to make it better and when he does that and feels confident then he will fly again.

Some say that Alonso has the emotional support of the team and that makes it tough for Kimi to do well. That is not very convincing when one considers Kimi’s apparently impervious nature. Is he secretly a little flower that needs to be loved and nurtured? Other more cynical folk argue that Kimi came back to F1 and found himself in an exceptional F1 car in the Lotus and was thus able to produce some astonishing results, which revived his career. The car also allowed Romain Grosjean to get close to victories, so perhaps this flattered Kimi somewhat.

I don’t claim to know the answer to this question, but Ferrari boss Marco Mattiacci says that Kimi is the driver that Ferrari needs. Quite how he knows this after 12 minutes in the sport is an interesting question. How does he know that Raikkonen is doing a better job than Nico Hulkenberg or Jenson Button would do in the same car, or Felipe Massa come to that? The word is that the choice of Raikkonen was made by Luca Montezemolo at a moment last year when he thought that Alonso was going to leave and Ferrari needed a star name. The big guns behind Ferrari would not be satisfied with a Nico Hulkenberg or a Jules Bianchi. So Kimi it was…

The big question now is what happens next? Ferrari has not managed to give Alonso a title in five seasons of trying and the Spaniard is frustrated. He will be 33 next week and it is fairly clear that his next career decision will probably be his last in F1 terms. He is also in demand. Ferrari wants to keep him. McLaren wants to sign him. Williams would love to have him. Fernando can pretty much name his price at the moment and, as I hear it, last weekend in Germany was pretty significant as Fernando’s contract has a clause in it that says that he is free to leave his team if it is not in the top three in the Constructors’ Championship. In Hockenheim Williams overtook Ferrari for third place… What we do not know is the date at which this proviso kicks in, but normally these things must be decided by September 1 and announced at the Italian GP.

Thus, Ferrari is now exposed and Fernando can make his own arrangements without needing to worry about contracts. The question for Alonso is really very simple: what engine does he think will be the best one next season? If the answer is not Ferrari then there is no point in staying on in Maranello. If the answer is Mercedes, he has only one choice if he is serious about winning. With Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton locked in at Mercedes AMG Petronas, the best available seat for Fernando would have to be one of the two Williams drives. Niki Lauda remarked the other day that he was happy that Alonso was not in a Williams, an indication that the old charger has spotted that possibility. Sir Frank Williams, who has been around the F1 block more times than Lauda, has almost certainly spotted that as well.

If Alonso’s answer is Honda, or he feels that Honda can win the title in the course of the next three years, then he should go to Woking. The past is irrelevant.

McLaren and Honda can afford Fernando, Williams cannot, but there is little doubt that if he did do a deal to go to Grove, then Santander would probably follow as soon as it possibly could. Martini could be convinced to double, treble or quadruple its sponsorship of Williams in such a circumstance, but that’s not very likely. It was a cheap deal and is giving the firm fabulous return on its investment. However, if Williams had a competitive car and Alonso, money would arrive.

Ferrari understands that it must now fight for his services. It can give him as much money as it likes. It is a rich team, but Fernando is so wealthy these days that he lives in Spain and does not care about having to pay tax. The key question is whether or not he is hungry enough to risk a move, or would rather settle for a big Ferrari cheque and hope that the arrival of some of his old muckers from Lotus will turn the team around. That is a big gamble. Ferrari has often been a battleground between the Italians and imported helpers. The only time when this stopped was when Jean Todt ring-fenced the team against all interference and ran things as he felt was necessary. That worked. Could Mattiacci do the same or would Luca Montezemolo still call a crisis meeting every six weeks and try to run the team from on high?

The decision that Alonso makes will start the market moving, or freeze it. If he stays at Ferrari perhaps Raikkonen would be paid off. Perhaps the team would hire a youngster to build up into a star so that they have a star when Alonso does eventually go. If that happens then a Hulkenberg or a Bianchi is worth a flutter. If Alonso goes then things will get lively in Maranello. The need for a star name and the underperformance of Raikkonen would create a problem. The team could change both drivers but who would you hire? Jenson Button might stay at McLaren alongside Alonso, creating a nice super team for Honda. That would move the spotlight to Sebastian Vettel, who is not having an enjoyable time at Red Bull. The Milton Keynes team has a conveyor belt of talent in waiting with Daniil Kvyat ready to jump up if required and Carlos Sainz Jr ready to leap into Toro Rosso.

If Alonso is not available for McLaren, Jenson Button would be likely be secure and logically the team would keep Kevin Magnussen for another year. If it was a choice between Button and Magnussen as Alonso’s team-mate, the folk in Woking would probably go for Jenson… at least at the moment. If Kevin becomes more consistent he will strengthen his position.

If Alonso were to take a risk and head off to Williams, a move that would allow him to revive his relationship with Pat Symonds, with whom he won the titles at Renault back in 2005 and 2006, would the team choose Felipe Massa, who knows how to work with Alonso, or would it go for Valtteri Bottas? Perhaps Team ***** would look at selling its Finnish rising star to another well-heeled team, thus raising cash to pay for Fernando…

That’s possible too…

Originally Posted by Blue by You

I'm not suggesting you shouldn't be enjoying F1, but I can't see 2014 ever being recorded as a vintage year for the championship.
The cars are about as ugly as they could be, the drivers can't actually race flat out because they have to save tyres and fuel (), one team is in a position to win everything if they get their collective act together, and the boss of the whole show has just paid 60 mill to prove to everyone what a thoroughly bloody nice bloke he is! (not news I know)

And this is supposed to be the very pinnacle of what motorsport could be. It's more like a bloody soap opera