Interpret as you like but I think the first part of that post-meeting quote from Rosberg speaks volumes. Drivers asked to tone down Pirelli criticism (racer.com)
SPOILERS below for anyone waiting to watch quali. . . . . . . . . . . You know there were a lot of grid penalties if Button qualified 16th and takes a grid penalty yet will start 15th! Wow! I don't know all the details but I read there were some teams/drivers that were planning to pull the same trick at Monza that McHonda did at Spa, strategically piling up grid penalties in one race to avoid them in others. Maybe that's what happened here? But at the front, there are all sorts of questions about how it will go tomorrow. Hamilton 1st and not as far ahead of Raikkonen (2nd) as one might have expected, esp. given Hamilton is using that upgraded Merc engine. Rosberg starting 4th using an old spec engine with 6 races already on the clock. Plus don't forget they had to swap Rosberg to the old engine because of a problem with the new version. Should this worry Hamilton? He says not but I'm betting Ferrari have all their fingers and toes crossed. Nico Rosberg worried about Italian Grand Prix prospects with old engine (espn.co.uk)
I was surprised to see how close the two Ferraris were at the end of qually, all weekend the Mercs had shown a lot of speed and seemed untouchable. If the Hamster gets a weak start, it could be a guy in Red Jammies on the top step tomorrow! What do you suppose will happen if the Ruby boys are running 1-2 at the end and Kimi's in front - do you think they'll ask him to slide aside since Vettel is such a wide margin ahead in the championship? Would Kimi do it if asked?
I think it is a good bet that a red car may well win. If Lewis blows the start, those red cars are going to be very hard or impossible to pass. If asked to move over I bet Kimi's radio stops receiving. :wink: Should be a good race. :biggrin5:
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYYDPzxUxN4"]Jean Alesi Celebrates the 'Temple of Speed' - YouTube[/ame]
He's only 21 points back. It is more than possible to take over 2nd. There are still 7 races left in the season.
If Rosberg has another no points race it sure is possible. I've never seen so many worried faces in the Benz garage.
The thing is, at the beginning of the season, they were 30 sec back over a race distance, today they were just over 25 sec back - not really a lot of progress, is it?
No not a lot, but I'm sure Ferrari thought they were close. I feel like Lewis sand bagged a wee bit in Quali. What a shock it must have been for Vettel to see Lewis blast off & not be seen again until the podium ceremony.
I know that they do those to make the drivers more accessible to the fans, but most of those podium interviews are awful.