Unfortunately the biggest headlines to emerge from Belgium this weekend was not Daniel Ricciardo’s emphatic victory, becoming the first Aussie since Sir Jack Brabham in 1960 to win at the historic Spa-Francorchamps circuit.
The contact between Mercedes AMG teammates Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg was the talking point by the end of the 44-lap race, and will be the centre of debate among fans and the media until the next race in Monza.
So what exactly happened?
On the second lap of the race, Hamilton was leading Rosberg, who started on pole position for the seventh time this season. On the run into Le Combe, Rosberg made a lunge to pass his teammate and fierce championship rival.
Hamilton, who was entitled to that racing line, had without a doubt closed the door on Rosberg which in that situation and the way both cars were positioned, was right to do.
What happened next sent shockwaves through the Mercedes AMG camp.
Rosberg clipped Hamilton’s rear, resulting in the latter to sustain a puncture which ended his hopes of winning the race.
The Briton ended up retiring from the race on lap 38 after pleading with his engineer Peter ‘Bono’ Bonnington to allow him to park the car in order to save the power unit components. This was a good move from Hamilton who was a unit down to Rosberg after the fire to his chassis in Hungary qualifying.
Rosberg on the other hand finished second in the race, despite a strong final stint which saw him take more than two seconds a lap off Ricciardo’s lead. The German had to pit three times in total, with one stop seeing the team replace his damaged front wing as a result of the incident with Hamilton.
After the race things really escalated. Upon his entry to the podium, Rosberg was greeted with a reception of boos from the crowd and his team managers Niki Lauda and Toto Wolff both expressed their remorse for Hamilton and strictly emphasised that what Nico did was ‘unacceptable’.
After the intra-team debrief, with both drivers and the management team discussing the incident, Hamilton said to the press that his teammate admitted that he made that move “to prove a point”.
Was this a revenge of sorts for Hamilton not letting Rosberg past at the previous race in Hungary? Or even what transpired at the Bahrain Grand Prix?
There is a going to be a hefty amount of tension between the two teammates at the next meeting in Monza. Will Mercedes AMG have to enforce strict team orders in the future to prevent situations like this?
Until now, there was high praise for the way both Wolff and his colleague Paddy Lowe had managed both drivers. But with the stakes as high as they are, does the team want to risk more non-finishes?
The answer to that would be a solid no. Any team’s target in every race is to score the maximum available points and at the Belgian Grand Prix for Mercedes AMG, there was the potential to score the full 43, regardless of which of the two teammates won.
In the championship, Rosberg has extended his lead over Hamilton to 30 points, but with seven races to go and double points on offer at the final race in Abu Dhabi, the 2008 world champion still has everything to race for.
The question is now whether Mercedes AMG’s clear policy on ‘letting the two race’ will alter in the remaining races, in order to minimise the risk of more race retirements, which would open the door for someone like Ricciardo to creep up within 50 points of the leaders by the final race of the season.
Bayden Westerweller
Roar Guru
Yes he is definitely worthy of another outing if it is feasible. Can't say I've ever heard of Merhi, but he must be OK to be in contention, whilst Sainz must be getting desperate for any gig after being overlooked once again by Red Bull/Toro Rosso.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
It'd be great to see Lotterer back in the car again, perhaps at the Austin round seeing as it comes after the WEC visit there? Unless there's a clash between F1 and the WEC schedule, because I know there are a few round in November. As for Ericsson, there's a strong chance he'll be ousted too. Carlos Sainz Jr. and Roberto Mehri from Formula Renault 3.5 have been said to be in contention to get a drive each this year with Caterham, whether that's one at a time or both together.
Bayden Westerweller
Roar Guru
One thing is certain, Alonso wouldn't complain if somebody told him "four world championships is as far as he may get!" It's a natural cycle with Vettel's decline after so many years at the top, as was the case with Schumacher, whether it's temporary or permanent we can't judge definitively for another twelve to eighteen months to be fair. Whether Red Bull is in the same decline is questionable, they certainly aren't in free fall with three victories. Teams ultimately endure, drivers come and go, but who knows how long the energy drinks company will be hanging around! Either way, there's an exciting future in store with Dan, Bottas, K-Mag, Kvyat and Verstappen already establishing (will likely establish in the latter's case) they're here to do much more than make up the numbers
Bayden Westerweller
Roar Guru
Ericsson's time in F1 does appear limited, whether he'll see out the season is questionable. On that note, it would be a shame if Belgium is the first, and last time we see Lotterer in F1, he appeared more than competent.
Mark Young
Roar Guru
Being outqualified by Lotterer who had ten minutes experience in an F1 has basically ended his career
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Thanks Mark, always love to hear your thoughts. As I said above somewhere, Seb's era at Red Bull is coming to an end and in a way that also means it's unlikely we'll see him dominate in the same way he did in 2011 and 2013. Wherever he goes next, if they have a race winning car he will win races and contest for the championship, but with the new crop of stars such as Dan, Valtteri and then potentially Kevin Magnussen, Max Verstappen and Daniil Kvyat, four world championships is as far he's may get.
Bayden Westerweller
Roar Guru
A prime example of adapting successfully would be Schumacher in 2003. Despite the help towards the end of the season with the Michelin tyre debacle, the rules which were enforced that year really set him and Ferrari back, and whilst his campaign wasn't pretty, he found a way to win. Even in his early Ferrari years he was extremely competitive despite a poor car. I agree that Alonso is the only man on the grid who improvises when something goes wrong, as Schumacher again did so wonderfully many times, both almost lift to another level when problems occur, it's when they're at their absolute best. And yes, Ericsson, he won't be winning a race anytime this century!
Bayden Westerweller
Roar Guru
Vettel now knows what it was like for Webber when Pirelli came in, it's an entirely different game now, it's up to him to adapt otherwise he'll get left behind. Ferrari, or McLaren as has been speculated, a change in the next year or two would be good for his image, but it'd be nice to see him get closer to Ricciardo before it happens, if only to prove he wasn't just in the right place at the right time.
Bayden Westerweller
Roar Guru
It can't have helped his cause, but he is still generally not on the same page as Ricciardo. He's definitely picked his act up a bit in the past few races though, as Kimi has, it would be pleasing to see both near the front as the season winds down.
Bayden Westerweller
Roar Guru
This season undoubtedly is more about Dan's competence than Sebastian's incompetence with the new cars, if Vettel was good enough he would done the hard work and won those races. He going to have to find another gear if he wants to compete with Ricciardo. Dan has the world at his feet, the leveraging power he'll hold if he keeps these performances up is going to have him set up for an extremely fruitful career.
Bayden Westerweller
Roar Guru
The next ten days could be the defining moment of Mercedes' campaign. They need to set it straight asap. From Ricciardo's and RB's perspective, even besting one of the Merc drivers would be a huge accomplishment in itself from the situation circa Malaysia.
Mark Young
Roar Guru
Sorry, Short verson of the above is that Vettel is good, but not that good. Nice work Jawad, another good read Buddy
Mark Young
Roar Guru
The thing that separates the very good drivers on the grid, to the brilliant driver/s on the grid, is their ability to get the best out of their car when the car doesn't suit them. Look at Jenson Button in the Brawn, Felipe Massa in 2008 Ferrari - They were untouchable at the front of the field. But when the car doesn't suit them, suddenly, a whole lot less impressive. Take Button, whom I am a huge fan of. He has struggled for years to deal with cool temps and hard tyres, just unable to get the heat into the boots for fast times. But when things are suiting him BANG as fast as anyone on the grid. This year we have two stark examples of this. Ferrari have given a fairly underwhelming car to Kimi and Fred. Kimi has been terrible all year and finally roused himself to a good finish on his favourite track. Fred has driven the absolute wheels off the thing. And over at Red Bull, SebV has suddenly found himself in a car that doesn't suit him as much as the last few years, and a guy who barely bested Vergne in a Torro Rosso is suddenly a whole lot faster. I would argue that any driver on this grid (with the possible exception of Marcus Erricson) would win a race if you put him in the fastest car and let him go from pole position. But only Fernando Alonso can drive around any issue in any car. I would have said Hamilton is as capable, but the fact he didn't destroy Button suggests he is not quite there.
Brando Connor
Guest
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Brando Connor
Guest
It looked to me like Vettel damaged the bottom of his car going over the speed humps after getting his overtaking move wrong on Hamilton. He seems to be getting his mojo back.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Agreed, with Seb finding his mojo it'd make for a stellar 2 vs 2 in the championship for 2015. But still Dan has exceeded all expectations of him this year and on paper he's beaten Seb which should be enough for him to gain equal status. Seb's era with Red Bull is coming to an end, when his contract expires at the end of next year he'll want to go off to a Ferrari or McLaren or even Mercedes AMG. By putting Dan on equal status with his four-time championship winning teammate, it'll show to the competition that Dan is the future of Red Bull and prevent potential poachers from getting near.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Thanks Bayden, I definitely agree that the management's biggest challenge now is to remind both Lewis and Nico what is at stake now. Dan slowly creeping up on Lewis should act as a warning that if both of them don't get their composure together, he could potentially take second in the championship.
Distant Knight
Guest
I think the regulations were changed due to the dominance of the Red Bull car, not the annoying finger that was lucky enough to be driving it. I admire your optimism, but unless they suddenly allow them to bring back the exhaust blown diffuser this could be the status quo at Red Bull. At least until Vettel heads to Ferrari anyway. Just my opinion though of course.
Bayden Westerweller
Roar Guru
I can't see Vettel getting on top of Ricciardo as it stands, for him to tumble down the field from second at Belgium whilst Ricciardo went the other direction. Unless something fundamentally changes in the next few races in terms of Vettel's ease with the new regulations or the RB11 is an entirely different beast to the RB10, it will be more of the same. In the name of competition, you'd hope Vettel regains his mojo and produces some spectacular racing next season alongside Ricciardo and Mercedes, as a four-time champion you'd expect him to, but right now, it doesn't look good.
Frankie Hughes
Guest
Sorry Bayden but Ricciardo is a long way short if greatness. Need I remind you Vettel was so good for 4 seasons that the FIA had to change the regulations to stop him winning. Roll back to 2005, Schumacher's domination was again ended by the FIAs regulation change. Yet in 2006 he fought until the end with Alonso to win the title. Vettel will be top dog at Red Bull next year, by a long way might I add.