KC Cantiaci
pfm Member
Another important point is that being on pole does not mean that you will be quicker than your team mate in the race because driving style affects how the tyres work over a stint. In Bahrain Nico was definitely quicker and in Spain the laptimes suggest that Nico was quicker.
But they were on different strategies so the tyres were operating under different weights and temperatures at different times during the race so how can you say with 100% certainty that Nico was quicker? At the beginning of the race, they started on the same tyre with the same fuel load and Nico didn't challenge Lewis for the 18 or so laps as Lewis got to over 2 seconds in front of Nico and out of DRS range and maintained it.
To me, they are fairly evenly matched and there's not a lot in it with neither being much quicker than the other. I would guess even pit stops could have a bearing if one is significantly slower or quicker than the other as nearly happened in Spain. To my mind, Lewis just seems to want it more. Either way, it's great to see competition and edge of your seat racing.
Drivers egos rarely allow them to say that other drivers are quicker than them!
Which reinforces my opinion that Lewis is a gracious guy and a team player as it was his team-mate he was talking about. I wouldn't expect Lewis/Mercedes to go the same way as RB and other teams have gone in the past with driver's criticising the team/other drivers and thereby undermining the team and I think Lewis understands this.
Lewis had a string of really bad pit stops affecting his races when he was in the last year or two with McLaren. I used to shout at the TV as I couldn't believe how many times he got screwed by a duff wheel gun or some such issue that delayed his exit onto the track time after time. To have two drivers competing as closely as Lewis and Rosberg and one driver ends up with significantly slower pits stops than his teammate (well down even compared to other teams), I'm not sure I would be so polite under the circumstances..... and this must add to the pressure when in the middle of a race. I think he's doing brilliantly and I hope he maintains it.