Sousie

nico rosberg intently studying his racing gloves and socks and cutting off every unnecessary bit and piece to make his race starts flawless.

nico rosberg hiring a harvard sleep psychologist to ensure he doesn't waste time being jet lagged because of constantly shifting timezones.

nico rosberg going for runs at any time required even if it was 3am or 4am to ensure his body clock adjusted to the timezone of the country he would be flying to several days in advance before the race.

nico rosberg sleeping in a different bed from his wife and not talking to his family for months because he would devote every waking second to his training.

nico rosberg giving up cycling, an immensely important form of cardio, so he could lose leg mass to save him 0.03 seconds of time and winning one of the most critical races of his career by those 0.03 seconds.

nico rosberg locking himself inside a hotel room to force himself to push harder after he lost the championship to his teammate three times in a row.

how he was once just a young boy who wanted to make it in f1. how he was supposed to be the chosen one because his father was a world champion so he was inevitably expected to make it to and succeed in f1. how he ended up being teammates with one of the best drivers who has ever raced in the sport. how they grew up constantly competing with each other, as teammates, but also as best friends.

how growing up, all the people around them and their karting bosses would always say lewis was the faster driver.

what that would have done to a little boy.

sometimes i think about nico rosberg being unable to eat anything but kelloggs frosties, his favourite cereal that he shared with his childhood best friend and rival a week leading up to his last race in f1, and the last battle they would ever have together.

nico rosberg immediately retiring once he finally won.

nico rosberg's first championship also being his final one.

how even after their worst fallouts nico told the interviewers lewis would always be his best friend. how when the interviewers told nico that lewis had said they weren't friends he refused to believe lewis had said that. how nico's heart dropped when lewis called valterri his favourite teammate. but what about me?

LANDO

Pre-formation lap (FL): Is given tire info for the other cars, and asks what the plan is if they determine they should be on slicks instead. Tells his engineer Will that they should be prepared to box if need be.

FL1: Will asks if Lando has any feedback on the conditions, likely in response to Oscar’s feedback to his engineer, Tom. Lando says it’s only spitting. Track is visibly dry in most places.

FL2: Asks for updates on weather conditions, and when advised that the rain is not likely to continue for much longer, asks, “Are we happy with what we’ve got?” regarding the tires.

FL3: Asks what Oscar’s tire temps are, and is told they are similar to Lando’s. Asks if the plan is to box after first lap to change tires, and is told to give it a few laps, as they “have an advantage” in that other drivers’ tire temps are low.

L1-2: Is direct in stating that he is not seeing any advantage, and that the two Mercedes are catching up as their tire temps increase. Says he wants to box. Is not told whether or not that’s happening until he passes the start line into lap 3.

L3: Pits to change tires, comes out just ahead of Oscar, who pitted on lap 2.

OSCAR

PFL: Is given tire info for other cars. Asks for the plan with tire temps.

FL1: Says, “Looks pretty dry…I feel like I’m floating around quite a bit on these tires already.” Is told not to box.

FL2: Says, “Feels like the rain has stopped. What are we gonna do?” Tom gives him the forecast, says everyone will be struggling on cold tires. Says, “I think it’s time for slicks, we should just box.” Is told they can likely expect a safety car, so just hold tight for now. Oscar says, “Okay,” quietly.

FL3: Is advised the tire temps have dropped, everyone has cold tires. Oscar says, “If we pit now, we will have warm tires.” Says staying on the inters is a mistake. Is again told they are in the window for a safety car.

L1: Starts the lap in fourth, loses a position to a Ferrari. Tom asks if Oscar is noticing he has any tire advantage over others. Oscar’s reply: “No. Box.”

L2: Oscar pits going into lap 2.

L3: Lando pits, comes out just ahead of Oscar.

Like ffs, McLaren pit wall. You’ve got both of your drivers telling you the tires aren’t going to work. You had THREE formation laps, and could potentially have used two of those as opportunities to box, even if you had to double stack the cars and then have them start from the pit lane.