ON REFLECTION- Mexican Grand Prix

Somewhere inside Rosberg is a world class driver

After his Mexican masterclass it is fair to now ask, why can’t Nico Rosberg deliver when it really matters?

The German was unbeatable all weekend, despite what Lewis Hamilton believes might have happened if the team allowed him to stay out on older rubber.

His performance was world class and has underlined his quality when he needed. However, since the Hungarian Grand Prix before the summer break, Rosberg has been poor.

He has thrown away a win in the USA and failed to convert pole positions in Japan and Russia. He has almost willingly succumbed to the inevitability of a Hamilton win. He has driven like a reluctant number two driver.

However, the snarling 30-year-old bit back in Mexico. Hamilton could not match him. Only in Austria can Rosberg truly claim that at any other time this season.

In 2014, he showed he can take on Hamilton and beat him. He also had the consistency to take the title down to the wire.

This year that consistency has disappeared to the point where it has been asked if he is really that good at all.

Well, no driver who performs like that can be called anything other than extremely good. But he has to do it on a consistent basis next year. Only then can he be considered world class again.

Raikkonen is starting to look like Schumacher

Raikkonenen and Bottas collide

The Kimi Raikkonen saga is beginning to have a familiar feel. An ageing driver, who was once the darling of the sport, the coolest, the best and the most successful, now fading badly in front of out eyes.

It was painful to watch Michael Schumacher drive in those final three seasons.

Sometimes the old magic flickered back into life, but all too often it looked like he had turned up to a party and then realised that all around him were much younger, faster and hungrier.

What was evident with Schumacher was his problems in wheel-to-wheel combat. The spark has gone. The same could be said for Raikkonen.

Every man and his dog could tell that Valtteri Bottas had made the move stick. He had the racing line, the position was his.

However, Raikkonen turned in and they crashed. He claimed later the corner was his, which hints at a driver who is losing his touch.

The will for Raikkonen to return to his former glorious self is strong, but with each race and with each disappointment, reality nudges us to say that the best is sadly in the past.

Bottas needs more races like Mexico

2015 Mexican podium : 1. Rosberg 2. Hamilton 3. Bottas

It’s been a strange old season at Williams. They are no longer the second team behind Mercedes and are caught somewhere in the middle of front-end to mid-table runner.

Valtteri Bottas was one of the standout drivers of 2015, and comfortably beat the ageless Felipe Massa in the championship.

This year though, Bottas has lost some of his brilliance while the wily old fox Massa has levelled the playing field.

Bottas is a star of the future. But he needs to make more emphatic statements like his podium in Mexico if he is really going to force big teams to subscribe to his fan club.

2016 is likely to be the last season for Raikkonen at Ferrari, while Rosberg’s place at Mercedes could be under threat for 2017.

Bottas needs to force his way through the door. Two podiums next season won’t cut it. He needs to rediscover his golden summer of 2014.

Mexico is an instant favourite

Start of the 2015 Mexican F1 GP

What a fantastic weekend it was in Mexico. The race wasn’t a classic and the rain largely stayed away, but the welcome and enthusiasm from the fans and organisers made it great.

Mexico’s track was a hit. The podium celebration at the end was the best of the season and the passions from the stands was unrivalled.

If only more of the new venues could say the same.

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