The Roar
The Roar

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For all his vitriol, is Nico Rosberg too meek to win?

Nico Rosberg is behind Lewis Hamilton, and is unlikely to come back. (Source: GEPA pictures/Red Bull Content Pool)
Expert
16th April, 2015
1

If you’ve spent the week devouring the shots fired between Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton in the absence of any exciting on-track action in China, you will have undoubtedly come across multiple reprintings of Juan Manuel Fangio’s racing philosophy of “winning at the slowest possible speed”.

This paraphrased bit of wisdom from one of the sport’s greats has been thrown around in the past five days more often than the word “undercut” was used during the grand prix to describe Ferrari’s designs on victory.

And fair enough – it seems a succinct summation of Hamilton’s race ethic in Shanghai. But it does not capture the essence of the debate.

(Perhaps Fangio didn’t have the specifics of the 2015 Chinese Grand Prix in mind when formulating his approach to racing.)

“Nico is just a normal racing driver upset at finishing second,” said Mercedes non-executive chairman Niki Lauda as he stepped into the breach. “Was Lewis just looking after his own race? Yes, of course and he wouldn’t give a damn about Nico’s race.

“All racing drivers are selfish, egotistical bastards. That’s the only way you can win,” Lauda concluded delicately.

The psychological battle between Formula One’s foremost protagonists has taken an unexpected turn in 2015. Rosberg, though beaten to six of last year’s final seven, mentally bruising races, bounced back with such enthusiasm and a steely resolution mere days after losing the title. A fightback seemed certain.

Suspicions seemed corroborated when Lewis presented at his unresponsive, introverted best at the Australian Grand Prix, giving Nico the chance to build some mental momentum.

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But that’s where it ended.

Mauled in Melbourne. Silenced in Sepang. Shutdown in Shanghai. The dissidence between expectation and reality simmered inside him. For all his preparation, Rosberg was tearing himself apart on the inside. Finally, he burst.

Adamant that Hamilton was not merely beating him but also actively undermining his own competitiveness, Rosberg let fly at his teammate.

“It’s just now interesting to hear from you, Lewis, that you were just thinking about yourself with the pace in front,” he said, bristling with rage. “Necessarily that was compromising my race.”

The bastardy, since so described, had broken him – and Lewis knew it.

“It’s not my job to look after Nico’s race,” grinned the victorious Hamilton, before adding for good measure, “If Nico wanted to get by, he could have tried. But he didn’t.”

Rosberg’s outburst is more nuanced than Hamilton’s backhand suggested, but no less revealing. For all of Rosberg’s alleged development during the off-season – and I don’t doubt that he has improved many facets of himself since last year – he hasn’t been able to develop that killer instinct that turns winners into champions.

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Ayrton Senna had it. Michael Schumacher had it big time. Even Sebastian Vettel, the latter-day champion, has shown himself to be ruthless in the car. Japan 1990, Australia 1994, Malaysia 2013 – despite the ugliness of these moments, they all defined the insatiable motivation of iconic champions.

Hamilton has it down. He lets his racing, brutal and uncompromising, do the talking. Only when he has control of the track does he feel free to fire psychological barbs like those we’ve seen this week.

Rosberg, on the other hand, floundered when searching for that balance in 2014. His frustration with his teammate pulling moves he considered outside the realms of fair fighting were obvious, and it manifested itself in the ugly incident at the Belgian Grand Prix.

Worse for Rosberg than breaking his own rules of engagement – rules he believes Hamilton disregards – was that Mercedes management chastised him and hung him out to dry.

Perhaps the persistent hangover from that incident drives his meekness. Maybe, after taking such a battering in the second half of last season, he simply lacks confidence in his wheel-to-wheel racing abilities when up against his teammate.

But the reason may soon be irrelevant, because if Ferrari continues to breathe down Mercedes’ neck, the only sensible course of action for the Silver Arrows in its quest to retain its titles is to back one of its drivers’ championship campaigns – and only one man fits that bill.

“Nico didn’t try, they said maybe he was just comfortable with second,” said Hamilton, brimming with confidence.

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“I said, ‘Well, that’s the difference between us. I want to win always’.”

So will it be bastard or bit player for Nico in Bahrain? The 2015 championship clock is ticking.

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