Rosberg had “no chance of a surprise attack”

2015 Canadian Grand Prix lap charts

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[interactivecharts]Nico Rosberg admitted his options were limited in his effort to attack team mate Lewis Hamilton for the lead in the Canadian Grand Prix because of the open exchange of data at Mercedes.

Rosberg repeatedly came close to getting within a second of Hamilton – from where he would have been able to use DRS to close even further – but every time he approached it Hamilton was able to respond.

“The problem for me was to cool my brakes behind Lewis,” Rosberg explained. “I had to take different lines to get some fresh air.”

Rosberg had progressively fallen back from Hamilton in the first phase of the race when both were on super-soft tyres. But after switching to the softs Rosberg was able to close in.

“In the last ten laps I ramped up the pace and started to attack by using some of my electronic hybrid power, which I had saved until this point,” said Rosberg.

“But the problem is that your team mate’s engineers always have knowledge of your activities and can ask him to ramp up the pace too. So, he was mirroring what I was doing and there was no chance of a surprise attack.”

“That was a bit of a shame – but it is how it is.”

2015 Canadian Grand Prix lap chart

The positions of each driver on every lap. Use the controls below to show/hide different drivers:

https://www.racefans.net/charts/2015drivercolours.csv

012345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414243444546474849505152535455565758596061626364656667686970
Lewis Hamilton11111111111111111111111111111211111111111111111111111111111111111111111
Nico Rosberg22222222222222222222222222222122222222222222222222222222222222222222222
Kimi Raikkonen33333333333333333333333333444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444
Valtteri Bottas44444444444444444444444444333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333
Romain Grosjean5555555555555555555555555557666666655555555555555111111111111101010101010101010101010101010
Pastor Maldonado677777777777777771213121212111099987888888776666666666665555556666666777777777
Nico Hulkenberg7666666666666666666666666665999999988777777999999888888888888888888888
Daniil Kvyat88888888888888888778888888812111111111010101010101010101010101010101010999999999999999999999
Daniel Ricciardo99999999910101010111111111010101010101616161615141313131313131313131312121212121212121212121212121313131313131313131313131313131313
Sergio Perez1010101010101010109999991010999999915151513121212121211111111111111111111111111111111101010101010111111111111111111111111111111
Carlos Sainz Jnr11141415151515141413131313131313131312131313141312121216161515141414141414141413131313131313131313131313131212121212121212121212121212121212
Marcus Ericsson12121211111111111112121212121212121111111111121211111110151616151515151515151514141414141414141414141414141414141414141414141414141414141414
Fernando Alonso131111131414141313141414141414141414151516161615141414141314141616161616161616151515151516
Felipe Nasr141516161616161515151516161616171717171717171717171717171717171717171717171717171717171717161616161616161616161616161616161616161616161616
Felipe Massa15131312121212121211111111101099887777777765555555669999998888887777777777777666666666
Roberto Merhi16181818181818181920202020202020202020202020202020202020202020202020191919191919191919191918181818181818181818171717
Will Stevens17191919191919171719191919191919191919191919191919191919191919191919202020202020202020202019191919191919191919181818171717171717171717
Sebastian Vettel18161514131313202017171717171716161616161514131110101098777777998888887777776666665555555555555555
Max Verstappen19171717171717161616161515151515151514141415151413131311101010101112121212121216161616161515151515151515151515151515151515151515151515151515
Jenson Button20202020202020191818181818181818181818181818181818181818181818181818181818181818181818181817171717171717171717

2015 Canadian Grand Prix race chart

The gaps between each driver on every lap. Use the controls below to show/hide different drivers:

https://www.racefans.net/charts/2015drivercolours.csv

12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414243444546474849505152535455565758596061626364656667686970
Lewis Hamilton000000000000000000000000000012.27100000000000000000000000000000000000000000
Nico Rosberg1.031.3131.7161.6971.6562.0482.342.7822.8982.7842.9883.0283.1593.4923.4443.6253.6323.4083.9923.7583.6263.5564.194.4844.2354.1853.9633.30100.5162.3052.0521.1841.561.6451.892.3142.1751.8771.61.4681.1961.3691.3321.0881.2951.1391.261.5921.5251.2811.0221.2361.2871.1311.5351.4711.6851.7741.4291.6281.7421.2391.4282.1012.6193.4713.6043.5462.285
Kimi Raikkonen1.7182.2712.3162.5662.7123.173.5433.8094.3844.7835.3695.5245.9886.4066.7167.4287.8987.6248.2688.789.2449.28210.09810.45510.94827.32539.2639.32435.10720.44920.61921.09420.99921.85222.3123.13723.00522.29121.79538.14939.42637.94237.20536.74836.48536.28436.44736.79536.55437.09337.33937.41637.84838.14538.49939.13439.33539.40239.52539.02939.3639.99140.31540.49640.78740.83841.07741.13741.38245.625
Valtteri Bottas2.5933.6244.1654.3974.5734.9995.2775.5996.2516.6047.2017.6038.1628.7339.269.98810.74210.65911.36611.87813.39613.58514.50914.75315.27815.82216.88635.58633.54718.62118.5919.30619.25820.15520.57721.48521.3720.93820.4120.07920.5720.82921.31121.71222.01422.77923.1423.76924.12324.71925.16125.72126.6827.22328.06429.28429.94430.55331.08831.0331.62632.11832.35333.14934.02134.67234.85435.55336.88240.666
Romain Grosjean3.5864.7375.7136.7237.398.5549.57310.15811.06412.16713.57714.81516.1217.13717.99919.31120.36320.7221.75422.95824.21525.40427.06328.51731.34432.81750.79953.42149.52835.47336.43937.17936.99237.71238.68939.60840.02840.23340.80940.97541.1341.14941.71741.81342.13442.75643.3744.00379.38182.73882.43282.63483.37284.83985.91386.71186.9987.47687.87888.49489.02489.51590.08291.08591.51492.35292.97493.1694.18
Pastor Maldonado5.1296.3987.4018.2019.31210.85211.9113.20214.6515.53717.21318.65520.59622.26123.99126.32444.04146.847.90348.98949.97750.5652.32252.97353.34753.58254.08754.5353.33939.59640.19141.03340.85241.94242.41242.9343.0742.62242.60642.4842.58742.80543.2943.62844.02944.49545.45146.29747.41848.37748.48749.24750.09550.46852.01553.38754.20255.16655.98156.1356.93958.24559.57560.92462.04263.10564.16465.37566.44666.664
Nico Hulkenberg4.1045.386.5617.6678.65510.06211.25112.43913.78314.82316.43218.03419.70621.54223.50725.53127.1428.51230.2831.73533.17634.35136.34237.54538.60940.06142.11558.91757.8744.25945.39646.69747.16449.01149.81250.66650.9350.651.27551.351.25551.34662.15563.91564.05264.83665.62566.88367.63168.59369.54270.1370.90371.57972.18373.01373.53575.28975.85276.11376.85780.480.91382.04282.63483.25683.97384.38984.996
Daniil Kvyat5.687.8429.22910.95912.13313.64314.97416.37817.96319.53321.66223.45725.36526.79629.06631.20632.81233.93936.41238.93240.7242.36944.37445.62346.94948.14665.8469.00266.08552.05353.16154.85355.74257.43358.40160.12360.64261.51362.19563.75764.60965.78667.42868.20868.99570.19271.35672.64173.56774.38574.94575.69680.30181.6982.36583.78685.71886.77987.54987.84288.5889.11889.25890.06590.47291.4191.87792.30992.315
Daniel Ricciardo6.138.61610.56611.8512.9714.58216.28917.93120.29922.53524.60126.12628.85230.87733.21335.47937.44838.89840.53242.67444.62446.21364.83167.7268.39669.47270.91671.74169.67656.28257.93759.69460.461.99463.23664.4465.41967.8269.31770.54971.47172.4373.65474.45975.74377.23782.07183.84785.30686.80788.01189.74992.31594.48596.00297.82299.364101.342103.475104.668106.214107.738108.888112.611114.801116.601117.921121.933125.547
Sergio Perez6.7579.56911.42213.23314.6415.9617.13818.45319.62620.87922.63924.17826.07328.26431.05833.90335.8937.3539.39741.04542.83544.33946.80263.94967.07367.3586969.55466.57653.154.36855.82156.94858.33259.06460.60261.46662.11763.43964.57965.72366.85268.20469.39970.81872.01173.31874.38875.1976.39380.04481.50482.91784.32287.59190.05491.76893.04994.88895.8796.98698.17699.313101.473103.463105.918109.14112.014114.135
Carlos Sainz Jnr9.15611.94614.58917.28819.56822.05524.25126.57328.46530.2532.38534.08536.13538.31340.26242.60244.64146.28448.62250.64552.25554.90857.47758.760.1861.70480.10683.4780.32466.36867.268.18568.59371.9873.03174.16874.54974.36174.47574.87975.63776.50779.37581.08682.17783.18384.58485.67986.87388.1889.04290.22991.77592.93494.27695.93196.94698.12999.602100.288101.317102.677103.795106.841108.902110.686112.294113.559114.408
Marcus Ericsson7.70610.83912.96915.09916.91119.33521.3723.28626.23628.12430.21131.88833.80636.08638.17540.36241.99643.40945.28247.27949.91752.49255.4557.29759.07760.61462.64481.57981.95768.12569.82971.66872.61274.5976.15178.08382.27683.283.984.61685.54786.988.1588.95890.2591.2792.43593.48994.67896.38997.771101.255103.56105.609108.736110.762112.208113.177114.717115.208117.085119.843121.171122.766124.547125.94127.226129.389131.269
Fernando Alonso7.25710.49613.26516.58119.25721.5623.7726.0928.8443133.37635.35637.67940.01442.10444.56446.97449.29851.95154.2456.67558.44760.84662.4964.63166.68769.4171.44670.07757.54175.90781.40983.20885.81287.89790.11191.4292.21193.34694.48395.34596.83198.557102.616
Felipe Nasr9.48113.40515.95318.79921.01523.41725.54327.31529.98832.43435.89938.71341.8444.60747.88451.31154.37956.54759.50561.63664.01965.99269.49772.2877594.84699.915101.1598.51185.21286.86889.18190.20192.14893.84295.66696.7897.297.993100.065101.364102.868104.383105.976108.189109.643110.655112.364113.728116.581118.013119.822121.527123.366125.021127.55130.593132.473134.902138.649140.987142.189143.399145.953148.664151.273153.635159.075
Felipe Massa8.48311.06313.2515.25317.07419.47121.51723.39424.89425.34926.30927.00628.02529.09730.52631.97333.15434.21135.80336.72538.02839.07140.70441.23142.03443.07244.84946.0444.26931.80733.15834.63635.40937.1639.141.38759.06459.83159.08758.56558.38758.17558.78158.69758.74558.90758.68958.54358.62958.30457.94557.67657.93258.20958.00858.43458.31858.45358.37857.52457.66857.68157.29957.3857.74557.84757.70857.36157.10756.381
Roberto Merhi12.07316.43420.5624.5728.52333.17538.54943.70648.82153.00757.17161.07165.19269.03173.13977.37482.2986.56691.53295.05899.242102.973106.944111.169114.651118.954124.031128.468128.684119.449123.423128.029131.076135.048159.652164.751166.815168.485170.375172.714175.997179.483183.619187.58190.78194.284197.386200.481203.587207.565211.885215.833220.003223.496227.078232.051237.206
Will Stevens12.75617.46421.2325.1628.90633.43338.16242.30547.4951.57755.83259.55863.60467.42971.54975.78280.15984.72889.41894.68698.762102.181106.217109.706114.164118.686122.824126.263126.351115.562120.859124.831128.513155.85163.15165.866167.87169.389171.447173.957177.692183.156186.878190.371194.02197.595254.286261.732265.725268.538271.112275.843279.767283.769288.486294.256297.999302.007306.023309.18316.644320.363326.141330.182334.242338.549
Sebastian Vettel9.76812.19413.83116.12417.39519.66641.98244.15145.32845.06445.07744.99445.49845.68946.79947.32147.58849.5353.40854.14554.46154.24254.62154.353.77954.13554.62754.8951.13736.81537.79838.45237.77738.12356.09257.60256.34354.45453.00951.6151.50651.63852.93552.80652.38252.27851.87751.60952.52252.39851.92251.58351.88751.40151.37551.37351.23851.43350.70149.63549.5349.1449.06849.37749.41249.59949.8449.4949.02149.903
Max Verstappen10.42113.62816.08118.97521.33623.95826.28928.33930.53732.59234.76737.06939.3541.33243.38445.5547.24248.89350.7752.57854.98556.56658.60160.04361.55162.78964.26565.71463.57751.10452.73155.29357.30660.18661.99563.71365.0466.12795.83798.19699.03100.255101.272101.885102.962103.829105.067105.78106.357106.951107.404108.004109.045109.746110.456111.765112.589113.399114.981115.852119.026120.209121.534124.087126.017128.367130.016131.352132.422
Jenson Button21.05926.82229.68832.64734.92936.98639.24642.63546.04348.18850.73853.03555.73358.13160.80964.21867.11569.59672.55875.3179.6583.57786.87590.83193.5997.647100.714103.263101.47689.22791.56693.73695.14297.504102.306104.491105.936107.042107.948109.422111.005112.792115.811135.361139.294140.583141.637142.702143.471144.558145.461146.482148.354151.75

2015 Canadian Grand Prix

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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23 comments on “Rosberg had “no chance of a surprise attack””

  1. Haha, of course. But Sky sure tried to make it seem like Nico was going to. I remember hearing the words “battle royale.”

  2. Vettel’s third stint was awesome. Leaves you wondering if only he was up at the front.

  3. They need separate strategists. Maybe Stuttgart is not interested but we fans need it.

    1. @dmw Rosberg needs to try something different. Mirroring Hamilton has not once worked and Mercedes their idea of keeping things equal is nonsense. If Rosberg demands a different strategy he should be able to get one without Lewis knowing.

      1. It works both ways and Rosberg has benefited from the policy often.

  4. Rosberg should’ve pitted for new tyres on lap 52. P2 was in the bag, he should have tried something else.

      1. Well if you are not Lewis apparently…

    1. @kingshark Something I have been saying since mid last year. he can’t do it on pace, try something different…

      1. Even with Ferrari ‘closer’, P2 is still almost always granted.

    2. Imagine the PR disaster if Merc had then lost another 1-2 because of over-confidence. I do concur with your sentiments though. Lewis said Merc has 1 chief strategy guy yet at Mclaren each driver has his own strategy guys. I think that approach is certainly better. Toto Wolff claimed that wouldn’t do the team atmosphere much good to have two seperate strategy teams yet there are already two sets of mechanics, engineers etc that work on each car. So I don’t see any consistency in that.

  5. The only surprise was that there was no attack at the end. Rosberg needs to start taking his chances at the start of the first lap.

    After that it is a controlled procession.

  6. James Muscat
    8th June 2015, 11:14

    So, Nico wasn’t able to attack Lewis because every time Nico went faster, Lewis went faster as well? That’s kind of how defending your lead is supposed to work… Same team or not, when the guy behind you starts to push, your engineer would tell you to do the same!

  7. I remember Lewis’ engineer telling him that “the other car is OK on fuel but a bit worse on brakes” or something like that, and then a few laps later Nico asked “hows the other car on fuel” to get a reply from the pits “I can’t comment on that”.

    Anyone know how is this possible?

    1. Different people making different interpretations in the heat of the moment…. human error… reacting under pressure… one engineer being more conservative than another… Engineers are not robots or computers so it’s entirely possible.

      1. @tonybananas I haven’t read that commenting on the fuel of another driver is not permitted, so it seems like Mercedes selected to deny Rosberg information that Lewis had.

      2. They really should have that worked out though. What with not allowing differing strategies and all, they should be clear on both drivers being allowed the same info

        1. Or one engineer made an on the spot judgement based on his interpretation of the regulations in the heat of a race, rather than a labyrinthian conspiracy across the Mercesdes team who are paying Rosberg tens of millions of Euros for the next 3 years

    2. Just because you haven’t read it doesn’t mean it’s permitted. The regulations don’t necessarily go into the level of detail of every single scenario that could possibly occur so require some degree of interpretation

      1. It’s not on the list of what they crew can’t say to a driver @tonybananas, that’s what I mean.

        1. OK, that being the case would you say it was a mistake or a deliberate conspiracy against Nico?

  8. This is the race I lost any respect I had had remaining for Nico. He was only 1-1.5 seconds behind Lewis for over 30 laps and did not do anything to try to get by. I think once he got within DRS range, but that was it. He seemed to just coast behind and keep a gap of 1.5 seconds to not ruin his tires and do whatever the team said to keep him from even attempting to challenge Lewis. The team kept saying wait 10 more laps, and after those 10 wait even more laps, and he just kept on following orders.to not race Lewis. I don’t believe Nico ever really pushed until the last 5 laps or so as there is no way Lewis is good enough to always be exactly 1.5 seconds in front. If Nico pushed, that gap would have varied more. At the end Nico finally tried to attack Lewis, but because Lewis had also been coasting for 30 laps, he had plenty in reserve and stretched out over the last 5 laps or so.

    This whole thing just makes Nico look like an idiot. He just always follows orders and never tries to pass Hamilton outside of the start of the race. He just accepts finishing second, and then acts all upset that he couldn’t do anything because he had some problem with the car (in this case brakes). Guess what Nico, if you want to beat Lewis, you have to attack him. If you just coast around waiting for an opportunity, then Hamilton is also going to coast around saving his tires for your attack. When Lewis is behind, he does not wait, he attacks when he gets his chance (See US Grand Prix last year). Nico needed to try to get by Lewis immediately after the pit stops, but instead he just kept waiting for an opportunity that never came.

    Nico needs to stop following every team order like a robot. He needs to realize that the team does not care at all whether he passes Lewis or not, all they care about is a Mercedes 1-2, not the order of that 1-2. Mercedes and other teams now always seems to try to stop their drivers from racing by throwing up a car problem that the driver needs to look after instead of racing. In this case it was brakes for Nico, and fuel for Lewis. You never really hear a team say “hey driver, everything is perfect, tires, fuel, brakes, everything, go race your teammate as hard as possible”. Instead you hear the team always telling the driver that there is a problem with the car to try to keep them from racing. For Webber it always seemed to be the KERS had a problem when he raced Vettel. Even go back to Istanbul 2010, when Lewis and Jenson were dicing for the win, the team immediately got on the radio and said stop you need to save fuel to both drivers. Time to wake up and actually race Nico, you are my Donkey of the Race, all you do is follow.

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