In 2007, as the relationship between Fernando Alonso and McLaren worsened, we opined that in giving way to his 'demands' and installing an official within the team garage to ensure there was no 'hanky-panky' the FIA was only fuelling the flames.

It goes without saying that in our humble opinion the reaction in the wake of yesterday's qualifying session was somewhat similar, the governing body appearing to be led by outside influences.

As the twentieth anniversary of the death of Ayrton Senna passes into history, certain people appear to be getting their way and creating a rivalry similar to that of the Brazilian and Alain Prost.

The 'fire and ice' situation at Ferrari having proved nothing more than a damp squib, certain sections of the media are intent of creating a situation at Mercedes. Of course, they are aided in their efforts when Lewis Hamilton claims teammate Nico Rosberg had a privileged upbringing whilst he came from a far more working class background.

Other than the fact that Stevenage is hardly Toxteth, Moss Side or numerous parts of London, let's not forget that from his very early teens he had the full backing of McLaren. Not exactly the life of the son of a world champion but then again Lewis was hardly roughing it.

Sensing a second title following years of frustration, the Briton, rather than relying on his god given skills appears to be going the way of others we will not mention, using the media to his full advantage.

Whatever, happened yesterday, there was no need for his petulant reaction nor the grunts and silences that said far more than actual words.

The media fearing another season of domination, albeit by a different team/driver combination, was delighted, greeting every comment with a knowing nod and a wink, asking questions that were so loaded they groaned under the pressure.

When Hamilton subsequently mentioned Senna and Prost it was a case of job done, the hounds of Fleet Street (or wherever they peddle their wares these days), having rekindled memories of Suzuka and suggesting Ste Devote could be the scene of similar silliness, raised a glass or three... job done.

Then again, when the wife of the so-called boss of the sport tweets a picture of herself gurning inanely as she stands alongside Justin Bieber - who looks as if he has walked off the set of Walking Dead - is it any surprise?

Even without yesterday's nonsense we faced a thrilling fight between the two Mercedes protagonists who have both won here previously. At a time he looked to be allowing his head to drop under the pressure from his talented teammate Rosberg has hit back sending out the warning that he shouldn't be written off.

Putting aside the issue of a Suzuka-style clash on the first lap, much will depend - on this circuit where overtaking is nigh impossible - on strategy and good pit work. With that in mind expect Hamilton's radio calls to be even more tetchy than usual.

Over 0.4s off the pace, the Red Bull duo will need to look at all possible scenarios if they are to bring Mercedes winning streak to an end. Then again, Sebastian Vettel and Daniel Ricciardo have their own point to prove.

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by Robert, 26/05/2014 18:31

"Lewis was just simply wrong about Rosberg's hunger to win! But so what!?
Obviously every F1 driver on the grid is hungry to win, whatever their background! It may be the 'same' kind of hunger or a different kind hunger! And Nico may be even hungrier than Lewis as he hasn't been a Champion yet, and he also wants to make his father proud too!
Lewis is just saying what he feels in interviews but is now on a fast learning curve! But anyway so what, there's nothing malicious or wrong with what he says!"

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2. Posted by Francis, 26/05/2014 14:44

"Cav, I respect your perspective, but you are confusing two different aspects of life - preparation and motivation. Preparation for Lewis was the fact that Ron Dennis saw a fantastic talent and mentored it to be a future WDC capable driver, motivation is the reason why Lewis has been so successful in F1 despite the fact he was one of several F1 young drivers over the last ten years. Many people in sports are prepared for the challenges... very few have the motivation to rise to the pinnacle of their chosen profession - which will explain why upper level professional athletes are highly paid and highly prized. As Lewis said his hunger is driven (motivated) by a different set of factors from Nico's... again DIFFERENT not BETTER and not WORSE just DIFFERENT.
Further more, most people in F1 thought Lewis would be disadvantaged by this years "thinking man" F1... The bet was Nico's engineering background, cerebral approach, and ability to communicate in several languages would work to his advantage. Yet in reality most of those prognostications have failed to materialize... Were we not saying Nico's background and upbringing would help him succeed this year over Lewis? It seems everyone will see what they want but in all fairness the truth is if you read the complete article you will be hard pressed to see any slight to Nico or the other 22 drivers Lewis referenced in the piece."

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3. Posted by Robert, 26/05/2014 12:35

"THIS IS GOING TO BE VERY CONTROVERSIAL, because in my personally opinion, I believe that Mercedes has already play 'dirty tricks' to favour Rosberg!!! Come on, Rosberg is a German in a German team!!! As long as the drivers finishes in a 1-2, then Mercedes would prefer Rosberg to win!? Look, in the previous race, Hamilton had to use the higher engine settings to keep ahead of Rosberg due to the 'unfair' situation he was in! He is a racer, a winner, so why was he chastised for wanting to win? And why did he have to do all that himself, where in fact, the team themselves should had told to do so! And why did the team change Rosberg's tyre strategy so as to give him an advantage over Hamilton after the final pit stop!? Most teams would had kept the two drivers on the same strategy!
I don't know what is actually happening in the Mercedes team and what's going on between the two Mercedes garages, but I really hope that Mercedes is not favoriting Rosberg over Hamilton because he is German, like the Red Bull team 'openly' favoriting 'Golden Boy' Vettel over any of his team mates! This is just a warning to Mercedes that THIS IS NOT ON FOR THE WORLD'S VIEWING PUBLIC, let alone British fans! So, I hope Mercedes will be more like McLaren and let their two drivers race openly and fairly, with equal equipment and fair strategies, and we will support the team and the drivers!
Btw, nobody really believe that Rosberg made a 'realy stupid' mistake in the final seconds of qualifying in Monaco! Lol
As I have said before, what the FIA should do is to amend the rules slightly just for qualifying sessions, whereby the time is stopped for yellow flags! This is fairer for everybody and it will stop 'cheaters' even thinking about what Rosberg or Schumacher had done before, and, if it was a geniune mistake, then no other drivers are 'punished' for it!!!
Thanks for listening!?"

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4. Posted by cav, 26/05/2014 12:03

"As the article says.."let's not forget that from his very early teens he had the full backing of McLaren". Ron became his mentor at age 12.. in fact...with all the sponsorship, contacts and experience that goes with having the top (at the time) World Championship winning British team in F1 looking after his best interests.
No one that I know of in 40 years of my F1 experience ever arrived better prepared than Lewis did to F1.
Lewis opening his mouth to put his foot in it is only reminding people just the opposite to what he's saying...in fact everyone knows just how privileged he was to have had such backing from 12 years of age. One wonders where Nico would be today if he had the same breaks....he had to earn his entry to F1..never mind his father having been in F1."

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5. Posted by Francis, 26/05/2014 8:28

"First just found this site looks great...

One minor problem with the introduction to this race analysis, Lewis Hamilton attribute to his upbringing as a DIFFERENT source of hunger was another faux controversy in the world of F1 marketing. In America, sports fans see these type comments from most of our black athletes all the time. For us Americans sports is one of the few ways many urban and/or poor blacks feel they can get out of the less than ideal environment they grow up in. I assume European sensitivities about these things may be different but since Lewis does spend time in the US you should mark it up as more of the Americanization of Lewis than him being better or worse than Nico... Just different!"

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6. Posted by Silvereagle, 26/05/2014 7:18

"Hamilton really needs to get his act together
His rambling on about his life compared to Rosberg is pathetic.
We all wish we had Ron Dennis take us under his wing and I hear his earnings are 60 million!
Not bad for a deprived teenager who slept on his father's couch!
It just goes to show you can take the boy out of Stevenage but you can't take Stevenage out of the boy
And get rid of the earings"

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7. Posted by Kkiirmki, 25/05/2014 23:38

"One of the better Monaco GP's in a while. Well done to Rosberg, after looking like the number 2 driver for the last few races it's good to see him back on top. He'll be glad to have the ascendancy back in the Mercedes team. Could Hamilton have been any more of a cry baby during (and after) this race?"

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Rosberg wins as Hamilton struggles

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