The Roar
The Roar

Rodney Gordon

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Joined January 2014

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Co-host/producer of the Superlicense F1 Podcast

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Mercedes get 9/10 for managing their race performance and 3/10 for managing their drivers imho

Back to front: F1 season review — fight at the front

Not sure how Palmer got resigned, but here’s hoping Hulk can bring something in 2017

Back to front: Formula One season review — the battle at the back

Lol, Monaco qualifying 2014. Lol again.

Explain what the trick was in Belgium? Other than trying to overtake Hamilton and failing?

Rosberg made his own luck

An interesting angle on this is what would a lesser driver than Nico do? Having a clear number 1 and number 2 allows the team to load all of the points behind one driver to give them the best chance of winning the drivers’ title, but were it not for Rosberg’s determination and never-say-die attitude he wouldn’t be champion right now and that needs to be respected.

Hamilton's disobedience has probably already turned Mercedes against him

It’s a double edged sword having one of the best drivers in your team when he’s actively and intentionally working against the interests of the team and disobeying orders while demanding preferential treatment. It’s a very difficult situation.

Hamilton's disobedience has probably already turned Mercedes against him

Schumacher had the added benefit of knowing that driving into the other car and knocking them out meant that he’d win… not a position Lewis was in. I wouldn’t expect either Rosberg or Lewis to do that to be honest, although Hamilton cryptically said in 2014 he liked the way Senna handled situations like that

Hamilton's disobedience has probably already turned Mercedes against him

Yeah, so to threaten to walk out on the team that gifted you a car worthy of two drivers’ championships…. smdh

Hamilton's disobedience has probably already turned Mercedes against him

Yes indeed, and hopefully there’s at least some competition – whether that includes Mercedes or even Ferrari fighting Red Bull! (Alright, maybe not but I can dream)

Hamilton's disobedience has probably already turned Mercedes against him

Agreed I think he’ll see how next year goes, things might improve and he might stick around but if next year is anything like a struggle I doubt he’ll stick around after his current contract is done.

Hamilton's disobedience has probably already turned Mercedes against him

I guess Rosberg defined what it means for a teammate to be a threat this year.

Hamilton's disobedience has probably already turned Mercedes against him

What does “HAM lets me get excited instead of running his teammate off the road on lap one” mean? If you’re referring to Spain, Rosberg is completely entitled to shut the door and defend his position… that both drivers got knocked out wasn’t either’s fault in my eyes.

Hamilton's disobedience has probably already turned Mercedes against him

I’m not about bashing Hamilton, or anyone, without reason. And I’m not trying to fool anyone!

Motorsport.com have an article today going even further than I did and saying Mercedes might change their approach to how they handle pitstops and the rules of engagement…. maybe THEY should admit that when they write their nonsense that they don’t like Hamilton too?

Hamilton's disobedience has probably already turned Mercedes against him

Yeah it’s interesting, before this year I wouldn’t have thought retirement was on the cards. Now I’m not so sure. Certainly I can’t see Hamilton grinding away at a lesser team, like Massa has done since leaving Ferrari, for example.

Hamilton's disobedience has probably already turned Mercedes against him

But… i’m sure Hamilton would have been favourite for the title this year too?

Lewis' petulant behaviour leaves much to be desired

Reigning world champion Nico Rosberg? They are closer than people think.

Hamilton's disobedience has probably already turned Mercedes against him

It’s ironic that I heard some guff from the BBC pre-race suggesting it was in Rosberg’s character to crash into Hamilton and ensure the championship given his mishap in qualifying Monaco 2014 (yes, confirmation that they still haven’t gotten over it). You rightly point out that Rosberg is actually the good guy of the two who helps his teammate when it is reasonable to and can accept when he is beaten, which is really the ugliest factor of Hamilton’s decision for mind.

What next for Rosberg and Hamilton?

Well, talk about having solid reliability – Hamilton had one retirement in 2015 to Rosberg’s two. AND, if Hamilton had broken down in Russia instead of Rosberg it would represent a 50 point turnaround and the gap at the end of the season would have been only 9 points.

Is there such a thing as a deserving world champion?

Lol, if Massa had won in 2008 I’m sure you’d believe there are worthy champions :p

The truth is Rosberg was way closer to Hamilton in the last two years than most people are willing to admit. It’s also telling that people excuse Hamilton finishing behind Rosberg for the last three races last year when the title was wrapped up, but poo-poo Rosberg for doing to the same in his pursuit of the title this year.

Is there such a thing as a deserving world champion?

Very true, there aren’t too many drivers that have been with a team longer than Rosberg!

Attitude set to determine the 2016 F1 champion

Totally agree Bayden, over the last three years he has certainly changed his approach to racing (i.e. defending harder, etc.) and he always needed luck to go his way if he was going to win a championship, but he’s driven pretty well all year and put in the performance that just might get his the top prize.

Attitude set to determine the 2016 F1 champion

Thanks Mark, you make some good points of your own! As always I can’t fit everything I want to say in a succinct little article (and I don’t think anyone would want to read that anyway!).

Rosberg’s attention from the stewards wasn’t equally damaging as Hamilton’s retirement in Malaysia, that alone was truly devastating in terms of points and obviously crushed Hamilton mentally, as proven by his reaction post-race and in Japan.

I’m sure there are heaps of people out there who will say Rosberg doesn’t deserve the title (if he wins) but for me, he’s been determined and scrappy for the best part of three years and seeing him crowned champion will be a fitting way to end the season.

Attitude set to determine the 2016 F1 champion

Singapore is a great race, I feel though Bernie’s comments were more a desperate attempt to convince Malaysia to hang in there. With the announcement that Malaysia is planning to pull out after 2018 I’d bet we see Singapore continuing after their current agreement ends.

Value for money can work both ways in Formula One

Thanks for reading! But more races absolutely does not equal better.

More races not the answer to Formula One's problems

To be fair, I’ve never seen such unanimous disruption in the audience reacting to a red flag than we had in Brazil. I’m not saying the crowd should be the ones deciding if it’s safe to drive or not, just that it concerned me that they clearly felt something not right was going on.

I can only speculate, but it’s likely that the cars were being pulled in despite the fact that conditions were better than they had been when racing was actually happening.

I wouldn’t criticise the authorities for erring on the safe of safety, but it’s yet another example of an unclear application of the regulations. For what it’s worth, I didn’t feel the commentary was too bad – and I’m usually the first one to stick the boot in, but I was very tired :p

Formula One's infuriating obsession with yesterday

What annoys me is that drivers leaving the track, as well as stewards and most viewers for that matter, don’t consider that the driver would have had to slow down considerably to make the corner, so it’s not ok to just pull back on the track after cutting the corner and assume everything is fine. I’ve pointed to the “overtake of the year” from 2015 to prove this point where Verstappen left the track because he was going too fast and managed to hang on the car ahead as a result. Doing the “right” thing and sticking the road would have meant he could never have pulled off that overtake.

Will Bernie's wall make Formula One great again?

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