Consider Sunday's race just the latest proof: the only thing the F1 media likes more than an upset victory over the dominant pairing at Mercedes AMG Petronas is when said titans are just plain upset.
If Monday's headlines are any indication, Daniel Ricciardo's victory at the 2014 Belgian Grand Prix matters about as much to the paddock as Marcus Ericsson's skill as a driver does to his race seat at Caterham. The Australian came from fifth on the grid to take an improbable victory at Spa, and yet the biggest story of the race is not Ricciardo crossing the finish line in first, but what transpired 42 laps earlier. It's a story so big you'd almost be forgiven for forgetting who won the race (luckily I haven't), so let's get to that, and the other big talking points to come out of the weekend.
Hamilton-Rosberg Beef Wastes No Time Going from Bad to Worse
Something tells me Nico Rosberg should not be expecting a Christmas card from Lewis Hamilton this year.
After getting off to a first-lap flier that saw him take the lead from his pole-sitting teammate, on lap two Hamilton would fall victim to a passing attempt from Rosberg that can only be described as 'heavy-handed' at best. Trying to beat his teammate round the outside at Les Combes, the German channeled his inner Maldonado as he clipped Hamilton's left-rear wheel, both puncturing the tyre and taking a chunk out of the car's floor. Going from favourite to win to limping back to the pits, the Brit's race was ruined, while Rosberg would be forced to pit on lap eight for a new nose and surrender his lead for good.
The thing is, whether or not the coming-together was intentional by Rosberg is actually irrelevant to the facts of the case. Rosberg was extremely overzealous in attempting that pass, both where he did it, and when he did it. Coming on lap two Rosberg can't even argue it was a necessity to ensure preference in the first round of pit stops, and being about half a second behind his teammate, the logical move was to line up a pass in the next few laps when he could employ DRS to at least get alongside Hamilton through the preceding Kemmel straight.
There's little doubt that the incident cost Mercedes a probable 1-2. Their pace all weekend had been just as superior as it had been prior to the summer break, and their closest rivals at Red Bull had a car that was not exactly suited to the track. But besides the obvious loss of championship points, this incident could prove extremely costly for Mercedes in the long run.
Any trust built up - both between the drivers themselves and the team to each man individually - is now gone. Hamilton believes Rosberg will stop at nothing to secure the driver's championship (he said as much after the team's post-race meeting), and doesn't think Paddy Lowe and Toto Wolff have enough power over Rosberg to stop that from happening. How else would he reason what transpired on the second lap of the race? For someone of Hamilton's temperamental nature, he would have justification to respond in kind any time he saw the opportunity, but more importantly, to ignore team orders. For all the issues on track this season, from both sides, Hamilton can argue he was never the one to actively ruin the other's race. We don't know for sure if Hamilton refuses to be a team player, but it's easy to believe Rosberg does.
Of course, being a year in which one of them is assuredly going to win the constructor's title, this matters more for the drivers than it does the team. However looking to next year, with the reliability problems, the strategy mishaps and the way this relationship is heading, Wolff and Lowe have some serious work to do if they want keep Mercedes at the top.
Once Again, Mercedes Misfortune is Ricciardo's Gain in Belgium
After Sunday's stellar drive, Daniel Ricciardo confirmed that were Mercedes to somehow leave the door open for a spot in the WDC top two, it would be himself who walks on through.
At this point there's no denying that the 25-year-old is the best-of-the-rest in 2014. Snatching one win during the season would have been an accomplishment that confirmed his talent and rightful place in the Red Bull team, yet now he has three - not to mention a comfortable lead on his teammate Sebastian Vettel - and the only question left to ask is how high can he go?
Furthermore, what made Ricciardo's drive on Sunday particularly remarkable is how unlike his other victories it was. He did his fighting early, and then drove the sort of controlled race from the front that was a hallmark of teammate Vettel's time at the top. From matching the pace of fastest-lapping Kimi Raikkonen to maintaining steady times under the threat of a charging Nico Rosberg, Ricciardo delivered a three-second win that was essentially devoid of drama.
And while the chances of it happening are certainly still slim, it's fair to ask just what Ricciardo can do in the rest of this season. After Monza, F1 visits two tracks Red Bull has recently dominated in Marina Bay and Suzuka. Two wins there and the Mercedes drivers would have every right to feel nervous.
To Boo, or Not to Boo? That is the Question
If Nico Rosberg is to take the title this year, he got an early taste of what to expect as a German champion during the podium presentations.
Perhaps unsurprisingly in the wake of his incident with Hamilton, Rosberg was greeted by a cascade of boos from the assembled fans several times during the ceremony. And while Eddie Jordan managed to settle them down in his own inimitable way, it seems doubtful that will be the last time this season Rosberg can expect such a reception. But were the fans right to boo?
For his part, Rosberg dismissed the boos as 'British fans' showing support for their hero Hamilton, but that seems a far too simplistic way to look at things. The real reason was actually hinted at in Jordan's defense of Rosberg - that is, as to why the fans should boo, when he argued Rosberg had been responsible for putting on a 'spectacular race' for the fans. Rosberg's actions had actually deprived the fans of the on-track battle they all came to see, making the race less 'spectacular' than it could have been were we to get more Merc-on-Merc action.
For my two cents, booing a driver is a sign of disrespect that they rarely deserve, and Rosberg's actions did not qualify as such on Sunday. However, converse to what Jordan wanted, he wasn't deserving of admiration either. As long as a driver competes their hardest they deserve our respect for risking their own health to provide us with a product that we are able to enjoy each race weekend, but when they do something that diminishes or taints that product, we have every right to be displeased. So maybe the best response to Rosberg would have been no response at all.
Got any thoughts about Rosberg v Hamilton? How high can Ricciardo go? Is it OK to boo drivers on the podium? Let me know below.
, ahh reminds of prost and senna in someway...great championship this year btw
