Well folks, they did it again… Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton collided, this time on the final lap of the Austrian Grand Prix. It was a wacky race. Lewis set off in the lead, but the strategy turned against him as the team tracked Ferrari too closely and that allowed a two-stopping Rosberg to get ahead, aided by a glitch which cost Lewis time in his first pit stop. Later Lewis’s strategists changed the plan and in the closing laps we saw him close in on Rosberg, running on harder tyres. By the end they were together and then Nico had a brake problem and made a mistake in the first corner of the last lap. Lewis outdragged him going up the hill, on the outside… Nico forced him wide, so wide that Lewis was in danger of going off the road. He was ahead and turned in to claim the corner, but Nico did not back out. It cost him because Lewis suffered less damage and won the race, while Rosberg finished the race in fourth in a car that should perhaps have been parked. Those who understand the subtleties of racing, saw Nico as being to blame. The team was diplomatic but some fans booed Hamilton, which wasn’t really fair.
Behind them, Max Verstappen held off a charging Kimi Raikkonen for third. Further back there were points for Jenson Button in sixth in his McLaren; for Romain Grosjean’s Haas and for the impressive Pascal Wehrlein in his Manor-Mercedes, which lifted the small team to 10th in the Constructors’ Championship.
Also in GP+ this week…
– We talk to Carlos Sainz
– We worry about the impact of Brexit on F1
– We look back at the Austrian GP of 1976
– We tell the strange tale of the first president of the international automobile federation – and his wife
– JS looks at Alexander Rossi’s choices…
– DT wants to see the old circuit in Spielberg revived
– The Hack wonders if penalties for technical failures are fair
– And we have a rant about too many safety cars…
– Plus the usual fabulous photography from Peter Nygaard and his team
GP+ is the fastest F1 magazine. It comes out before some of the teams have even managed to get a press release out. It is an e-magazine that you can download and keep on your own devices and it works on computers, tablets and even smartphones. And it’s a magazine written by real F1 journalists not virtual wannabes… Our team have attended more than 2,000 Grands Prix between us.
GP+ is an amazing bargain – and it is designed to be, so that fans will sign up and share the passion that we have for the sport. We don’t want to exploit you, we want you to join the fun. You get 23 issues for £32.99, covering the entire 2016 Formula 1 season.
For more information, go to www.grandprixplus.com.
joeblogsf1 
I follow F1 to watch racing.
It seem’s that Mercedes F1 also shared that desire as they appear to be operating a handicap system to achieve that end.
It should therefore not be a total surprise if the superior but handicapped driver, by result of strategy, overcomes the handicap to achieve a deserved win.
Rosberg has repeatedly demonstrated that he needs to make his own rules to win. That is something that is more to be associated with another german car manufacturer than Mercedes.
The onboard shows what happened. Rosberg did not have steering failure.
If it were not that Mercedes would be accused of arranging the fixing of the Championship, given their previous assertions, they should state that Hamilton is their lead driver.
That he is inferior to Hamilton is obvious to everyone including Rosberg.
At the time of my writing it seems that Mercedes would appear, from their initial reactions that I have heard, to be in denial of the realities.
It is strange and not what one expect of a company of their global stature and integrity. Perhaps the next few days will correct that situation.
Sidney
Some were reporting that the track side announcers were flatly blaming Lewis for the incident and thus some spectators were booing, not that it in any way excuses that type of ignorance.
Rosberg was at fault. Did not even turn just used his car as a missile to tag Lewis.
But ended up damaging his car. It’s weird but he got of lightly with a ten seconds penalty ant 2 points on his licence. If that was the other way around Lewis probably get a 10 grid penalty and a start from the pit Lane for Silverstone. Seems Rosberg gets away with more and his reprimands are tame.
If it would have been the other way around, we could have heard :
1) I was on the racing line,
2) I had understeer / brake problems / … and
3) He hit me, Nico has hit me…
Yup… pretty much.
Epic win by Lewis! Not getting conspiratorial, but seemingly every mistake and weird strategy decision by his team goes to Lewis, and the man still drove his heart out for a win. I got a flashback to Villeneuve v. Schumacher in Jerez 1997 with Rosberg’s dastardly move in turn 2. Rosberg is acting like a desperate man of late, with too much of season still in play. The funny thing is, if he loses this WDC by a handful of points, he can look back to Austria and wallow in the self-goring truism, “mess with the bull, you get the horns.”
“some fans booed Hamilton, which wasn’t really fair.”
The fans weren’t booing Hamilton because they thought he was at fault. They were booing him because he is Lewis Hamilton. He’s a very polarising figure.
No. If that were true he would be booed at every GP. This was a case of a misinformed/mislead section of the crowd believing he had caused Rosberg to crash.
It happens. Rosberg got the same treatment in Spa. Doesn’t make it look fair, though.
Senna and Prost redux.
Nope Bob Wood, because Senna & Prost were more accomplished Champions than either of the Merc drivers.
‘Team was diplomatic’. Toto declared the move as Brainless but refused, at that time, to put the blame on either of them. He was absolutely furious though.
Won’t help Nico negotiations much… Gerhard Buhger was seen talking to Ron Dennis on the grid. Rosberg to McLaren…?!
On Sky TV they said that the boos for Hamilton were as a result of the Austrian on-track Public Address commentator blaming him for the crash.
You must have been pleased to hang around after the race for the Stewards to finish their deliberations over the Hamilton/Rosberg clash. I’ve heard that the long they pontificate, the smaller the penalty tends to be.
If Todt wants more power over F1, he needs to do something about regularising the powers the FIA do have. For example Lewis Hamilton was told by an official to reverse his car after a race and received a reprimand, Pascal Wehrlein reversed on the start grid yesterday and got away with his error.
Nothing in the regs about reversing on the GRID, which is what Wherlein did.
To be fair, the SKY commentators, and I believe the stewards, were expecting to find a rule in the regs about it, and were surprised when there wasn’t.
Not fair that Lewis got penalised if an official told him to do the reverse.
thank you joe
…happily, after baku, a cracking race with plenty of interest….and most commenters around agree with the published text of the stewards ruling on the final lap collision….just a week to silverstone and i much hope that mercedes don’t introduce team orders…
..yet again we see references to drivers having braking issues….but the pinnacle of motorsport continues to specify small 13″ rims and this remains for 2017 despite cars forecast to be both heavier and faster…..while performance road cars use 18″ and larger rims to accommodate substantial discs and calipers….
lewis hamilton said recently that the brake manufacturers cannot make the brakes any better and i believe when michelin expressed an interest on supplying F1, it was conditional on a move to larger rims….
brake failure is a cause of retirements and worse, cars leaving the track…yet it seems not to be viewed as a safety issue…..no discussion of larger rims ??
@Philip Massey
I’m not sure I want to see more efficient brakes. It would shorten braking area’s and therefore decrease overtaking opportunities. If some have heat issues with the current brakes, then they should improve their cooling (imho)
Given how most pundits and drivers see the Hamilton/Rosberg incident, you could have headlined this issue “Oops, I did it again”.
Was it me or did the grandstands seem particularly empty on the television? What with the boss of Silverstone mentioning tickets still available, the audience seems to be priced out of attending these days
Or to continue the Britney theme perhaps “Hit me baby, one more time”.
Second to last lap, I could not see Lewis getting past.
Forget subtleties of racing; in-cockpit view of Nico’s car and steering wheel showed him making NO attempt to take the corner till after he had speared Lewis off the road.
Nothing subtle about it.
Well done to Button and Wherlein for their points and performances.
Really, no rules or regs against reversing on the grid? Bet there will be soon.
I hope this is allowed, but…
They’re finally getting it (FOM and Youtube) !!!
Err no that’s blocked now……
Ha, finally getting it but you’ve got to go to YouTube to watch the bloody thing… worth it but that’s not the point!!!
Another great issue and an exciting race on many levels, thanks to the GP+ team.
I have been a rabid opponent of Lewis’ on track aggression in regard to his competition with Nico. And I have been waiting for Nico to counter punch in a similar fashion.
Having said all that Nico’s ham fisted collision with Lewis was NOT the way to protect his lead. He screwed the pooch on his way to turn 2 and was a sitting duck for the outside pass. For Nico to turn Lewis’ words from Canada in his own defense (I had the inside racing line) was lame and hardly comparable.
Amazingly US announcer Steve Matchette predicted the possible collision several laps before the occurrence, citing the Prost-Senna Suzuka precedent. A mutual non finish would preserve Nico’s points lead.
Nico was lucky he wasn’t DQ’d.
Stars Wars- The Return of the Brainless
Truth be told; Nico is a reckless and at times a dangerous driver. He has a limited skill set compared to LH who can drive in any conditions- the damp and wet in particular, has shown race skill and class in adverse situations where Mercedes has shown abject favoritism towards NR- pit stops, race strategy etc. Head to head, straight racing, LH has outclassed NR every time. Nico’s answer is to drive into LH whenever Lewis has a clean shot at a pass. Yesterday’s race dust-up and post race views from the cockpits unequivocally show Nico deliberately NOT turning into the corner but into Lewis who had the pace, the pass and gave Nico more than enough racing room to make the turn at the apex. Nico then left no room for LH to rejoin the track. So let’s count the transgressions here; 1. an undercarriage that was coming loose and should have been parked or at the very least pitted, 2. he deliberately hit his team mate which could have caused a double DN for the team- wft!!?, 3. gave no quarter for his team mate to get back on the track. Toto Wolf stated post race that Nico had break issues which indicates that NR leading the race and in clear air was overcooking his breaks, though in a post race, NR said he was in complete control in the turn and that it was LH who caused the accident. De Nile is not just a river in Egypt it seems. The stewards gave him a 10 second penalty which amounted to what???…….nothing. In fact, I believe rewarded him for “brainless” driving. By my count, the 2 driving fouls- causing an accident and then blocking the aggrieved driver back on the track should have been a 3-5 place penalty along with a grid penalty for the nxt race for not pitting a damaged a car.
Were I to me LH I’d be calling for a new team mate post haste. Nico can transfer to Ferrari to replace Kimi where he will be again out classed by Seb and if Toto and Nikki are so fixated on having a German driver on the team then they can offer Pascal Werhlein th seat who “plays well with others”. My bet is LH will win the championship and send Nico packing. Good riddance.
There is a picture of that crash, published on telegraph.co.uk where everbody clearly can see how Hammer boy deliberatley steers his car into Rosbergs driving line at turn 2, although there still is some space outside; so, if his desire would have been to avoid the crash he should have used it. So, entirely blaming Rosberg of that crash is nothing but Hammy fanboyish behaviour which sadly spreads up to Mercedes team Management. One must raise the question if such reckless behaviour like Hamilton shows on track (don´t want talk about that off-track) is in accordance with Mercedes compliance rules?
Booeing at the ceremony? Was justified, Being there too. 😉
Your post has no place here. I understand that fans always know best, but not one single person in the F1 paddock who I encountered felt anything other than it was Nico’s fault – and a deliberate move. You can call it racing if you like, and the weak penalty reflected that, but to call everyone fanboys just because you don’t agree is just offensive. If you had a clue about anything, you would know that the stewards have far better tools available than you do (not to mention, experience and knowledge), so you should accept that they have seen it from every angle, they have seen data on steering angles and all other driver input. They know and understand what they are talking about.
Well said, Joe.
Peter
MistralMike – what on earth are you talking about? You’re either trolling (very weakly) or you are so blinded by your animosity towards the F1 World Champion that you have taken complete leave of your senses. Get a grip man. You’re embarrassing yourself with this tomfoolery.
Hi all,
Given that ROS had a brake fault why didn’t he do the smart thing let Ham pass him and secure a solid 1 2 for the team, or was the brake issue smoke and mirrors on the part of the team to protect ROS?
Given the general consensus that ros was pretty much 100% at fault do toy think the team will openly exonerate Ham. I also think Ros continuing to protest his innocence brings his stock down even though I think the perception is that the team would prefer ROS over HAM, do you have a view on this
Because he is a racing driver
Monaco qualifying 2013
Spa 2014
Barcelona 2016
Red Bull ring 2016
After Monaco I was pretty certain from all the footage, especially on-board, that Nico parked. I gave him the benefit of the doubt.
Spa was clearly his aggression, but perhaps it was about their relationship and trying to even things up. A Senna moment … so okay.
Barcelona was almost like he lost control, but in truth he clearly used his car as a block to force Hamilton off the circuit.
Red Bull ring was even worse and than Barcelona and so obvious from the footage.
Conclusion? Nico has a similar streak to Schumacher, i.e., do what ever you have to, in order to cross the line first. That could be ensuring your team mate moves over to let you win, or parking at Monaco in qualifying, or deliberately using your car as a weapon to drive in to Damon Hill’s Williams and consequently ‘win’ the championship.
This is why, in my view and despite his titles, Schumacher was never a great, which is a shame, because he should have been. He cheated. Rosberg is of the same mould apparently. Mercedes should not be associated with that sort of behaviour and should not renew his contract. I hope we see Wehrlein in the seat next year. He seems to be a supremely talented, humble and decent young lad … as did Rosberg in his Williams days. Shame he has gotten so desperate that cheating has become a part of his game.
Yep. That’s about it.
@Gfs
Very well written. Your last 2 paragraphs completely nail it with regards to Schumacher’s faults. Could have been a total legend yet there’ll always be a shadow over his achievements.
Gfs. Well said.
Absolutely. I agree on all points.
I suspect Nico knows his best chance of winning a Driver’s Championship lies with Mercedes and time is slipping by. Losing 3-0 to Lewis would not look good on his CV and perhaps a measure of desperation is stepping in.
Ok, lets do some unbiased analysing now:
Monaco 2013: no bad intent proven hence no punishment by the race stewards.
Spa 2014:
A racing incident, didn’t even warrant an investigation by the race stewards.
Barcelona 2016:
Again a racing incident, as proven by the race stewards after analysing all the data available.
Red Bull Ring 2016:
Rosberg at fault, as the result of the investigation by the race stewards proved.
That said I really cherish your statement:
‘ A Senna moment … so okay.’
Brilliant!!!
As for the cheating, many have done it in the heat of the moment. Deliberate crashes, illegal blueprint copies, blackmailing, lying, white helmet testing. The list is long. I guess it happens from time to time when stakes are as high as they are in modern and commercialised F1. Wonder how Sir Moss would behave in our times.
No-one in F1 believes that there was no intent at Monaco in 2013. The fact it was not proven does not mean that it did not happen.
Hmmm …. there is a precedent, though. In 2006 the race stewards sent Schumacher back to the end of the grid because they analysed all the data and found something sinister. Probably they would have done the same with Rosberg if there had been something sinister too. Perhaps it was a honest driving error and that’s it.
“Perhaps it was a honest driving error and that’s it.”
Perhaps, but then that’s why we discuss. Because there is uncertainty.
I think you were referring to Monaco 2013 …
From my point of view there was serious doubt. I watched it over repeatedly, because there was something ‘odd’ about it. His movement on the steering wheel was strange. The impression I had in the end, was that he was ‘faking’ a loss of control. A subtle thing for sure, but it was odd.
That combined with subsequent doubtful behaviour encourages the thought that there is a pattern, which is why I wrote what I did.
You could be right. However on second thought one can easily imagine that the race stewards have more data available than us onlookers, so they would probably put at least a reprimand if not worse on Rosberg, especially considering how they grilled Schumacher in a similar incident, meaning there is a precedent which isn’t easy to wipe off unless the Rosberg incident is completely different.
A further aspect of Nico’s dubious tactics which occurs to me …
Monaco – worked out for Nico
Spa – worked out for Nico
Barcelona – half worked out (marginal gain in the sense that the points remained the same, but less races to go and he’s ahead – the Schumacher calculation on Hill)
Red Bull Ring – worked against him
So overall, the risk is perhaps not worth taking, if indeed he is taking it and perhaps he needs to rethink in view of the results.
Barcelona worked against him – he lost a win having been leading the race when the incident happened. What’s more it wasn’t even his fault, read Lauda’s comments about it.
I’ve heard that after Hülkenberg’s retirement Force India wanted to tell Perez that his brakes were likely to go the same way but The Man said “Not allowed”; likewise when Mercedes noted problems with Rosberg’s brakes. If this is the case then there needs to be a rethink on what a team can and cannot tell a driver.
None of which excuses Rosberg’s behaviour, both on the track and afterwards.
I’ve read that Whiting/FIA would not allow the brake problem message to be transmitted to the three drivers, because the teams may have used the opportunity to give the drivers other messages that are ‘banned’. If that is the case, there is no reason why Whiting/FIA can’t tell the team the exact wording of the necessary warning message to be given to the driver.
I’m convinced Whiting should be replaced ASAP. He has far too much influence on events and isn’t accountable for his actions. All too often he’s bought in changes that have had to be reversed shortly after. I wonder how much confidence the teams have in his work.
Mercedes’ F1 car is that good, that when you’re a driver of one of those silver arrows, the only real competition is your teammate. So there’s the occasional pushing and shoving. Sometimes it’s Hamilton’s fault and sometimes, for example now in Autria, it’ll be Rosberg’s.
I must add that Lewis executes his p&s a little more ‘concealed’ (Austin ’15 and Canada ’16) and as a consequence isn’t penalised for it by the stewards. In Rosbergs case it does look deliberate and he gets the penalties.
Some might say Hamilton crafted his profession during his quarrels with Massa a few seasons back 😀
It’s not that complicated.
As in Lewis being on top of his game, Nico a bit above his abilities and one doesn’t want to roll over for the other? Anyway, it may be a bit expensive for Team Benz and not what they want, but I sure like it now and than!
I feel for Nico a bit. if someone had been regularly beating me at 8 years old and was still there 20+ years later doing the same – worse still, in the same field leading car then the chances are you are going to make bad decisions at difficult times.
Not excusing his behavior, just trying to understand it without calling him ‘cheat’.
Anyway, we move on. F1 just got back its mojo!!
Joe…any chance that Lewis leaves Merc after he gets the 2016 WDC to join up with McLaren or Red Bull or Ferrari in 2017?
None at all
Why in heavens name would he leave? We all said the same when he left McLaren, but the MB team and car are demonstrably superior to all others. Even under new regulations you can look to them to be at the front. Ferrari, RB, and hopefully McHonda will close the gap, but his best chance for continuing success is MB.
IF he trashed his room in the Merc motor home after his failed Baku qual, as has been ‘reported elsewhere, why would anyone want him…..
He paid for the damage so it should be ok.
Why would anyone want Lewis? Do you think some busted up furniture would deter a top team from signing him if he can deliver wins and titles?? I think not.
Because he is the fastest racing driver in the world. That might be a reason…
Is he? Last time I checked he wasn’t the one who won most Championships of all the drivers on the current grid.
Obviously it is an opinion, but that is what an opinion is.
I understand. Honestly I don’t know who the fastest is, could be Verstappen? Not sure, though.
A late comment. An anti-Brexit rant is something that is fine for a blog – as was already done and provoked many comments. The article on the effect of Brexit on motorsport and F1 would have been interesting, especially from an expert, but the political anti-Brexit parts of the article are in my humble opinion not something that should be in a paid for F1 magazine. I can read the blog, which as you remind us is a personal opinion piece, the Daily Telegraph or heaven forbid the Daily Mail if I want the politics. Otherwise a good read as always.
It’s funny how everything is a rant if it isn’t your opinion… I felt it is s sensible assessment from someone who understands this from different perspectives. I don’t have an axe to grind.
The tone and wording of your “opinion” were not presented in a calm manner and were akin to a rant. Contrary to what you say, you seem to be holding a very large axe and wearing blinkers.
I am aware that you can say what you want in your mag but it is becoming tiresome.
A great shame that you spoil a normally otherwise excellent publication with what should have stayed in the blog. Please stick to the racing and race history in GP+
One man’s rant is another man’s solid argument. When a leave voters presents me with a sensible workable argument that doesn’t hurt Britain I will listen. This far all I get is people being rude to me. And consider perhaps that people who live on an island might have bigger blinkers than those outside. What makes you think you are so right when so many intelligent people tell you it’s wrong? I’d really love to hear. I have no axe to grind I just don’t understand the logic.
Pound loses value which in turn means that industry gains competitiveness as British products get cheaper on the world market. $350m per week gain for NHS. Tourism industry will blossom as trips get cheaper. Less migrants meaning less social costs. That are the major gains. However overall still a loss, since the young people’s chances for their future are crippled. Scotland probably to leave the UK will cost England a lot of the oil money as well.
banteamorders> $350m per week gain for NHS.
Surely you don’t still believe this bit? Especially after the Leave brigade basically disowned their own claim the day after the result?! Just google £350m NHS mistake to read about that,,,
I don’t think they can simply break that particular promise, which was elementary in winning them the vote, for they would lose their credíbility completely, something that would be highly suicidal for a politician.
But they have…
…to expand on that, they can do it because the people who made the promise (Farage and, I think, Johnson) have no further part in the process. Theresa May didn’t promise it, so it won’t really impact on her very much.
Well more intelligent people voted to leave than remain. (So we shall claim the intelligentsia) We did not vote out of logic, we voted for freedom from being governed by a foreign power, whose oft stated aim is to force all countries together politically into one massive cock-up. The initial part of this, the monetary union has failed
monumentally, and unsurprisingly if one considers the vastly different financial states, methods, average earnings, GDP and ethos of the countries involved, it was obviously impossible from the start. It has caused very serious damage to several economies which are repeatedly on the verge of collapse. Now to extend this chaos to a political union, forcing the same cultural views, and standards, ranks of officials and systems of local control upon vastly different cultures, (some of whom cannot even agree with their own current government and want to break away (ie Basques, Catalans, Scots etc. ) (probably spelt wrongly) is simply ridiculous.
Already we have literally thousands of EU laws imposed upon us and rubber stamped (mainly by the traitor Blair) Is anybody supposed to know what they all are, apart from job creation vehicles for bureaucrats.
So most of us (literally most of us remember, not just a few rebels) voted to get away from this foreign rule of our country. That was the fundamental aim.
But we are hamstrung by a generation or two who have not known the country outside the EU. Those such as yourself are obsessed with the loss of trading with the EU. Well most of it is not with the EU, already we have several major EU countries in talks to carry on trade independently of the EU, plus the USA and Canada (whose TTIP talks with the EU over trade have now virtually broken down) Then there are India and China now both eager to do business with us not to mention all the Commonwealth countries with whom we were forced by the EU to abandon trade. We have many new and bright prospects.
However with the press and I include you here are determined to cast as negative a picture as possible and saying things like “disaster!” “The pound will fall”, this is manner from heaven to the movers and shakers in the stock markets, it gives them a self fulfilling target. Sterling was obviously shorted or sold against the US dollar, major banks shares were shorted, this is a normal tactic by traders who then buy them back cheaper and make a fortune when they rise again. But it is not unexpected, it is only exaggerated “news trading” almost every day a figure of interest is released which affects the markets. For instance first Friday is US non-Farm Payroll and is one of the largest monthly influences. They act as a pack following a trend. That directly affects the cable rate and the Euro, the Yen and to an extent the Loony. These in turn affect Wall Street the DJIA, the FTSE. etc So we will have period of doom but far greater potential outside the EU.
EU nationals living here will stay here, why not? We have always had tens of thousands of foreign nationals living and working in the UK long before the EU existed. They just needed passports and visas, bureaucracy! The very life blood of the EU! In fact I suspect that we will just ignore them now, since the numbers are too vast to deal with. But we have control, not Brussels not Germany.
No, for a change we will enjoy being outside the tent, pissing in!
However there are moves afoot to undermine the democratic vote, to force a new act of parliament before exit and/or simply to ignore the referendum, thus it is essential that we get the right PM. Unfortunately the best qualified is not the one we want. Theresa, the home sec has failed miserably in a number of areas mainly due to EU interference it is true, but nonetheless she is a remainiac and cannot be trusted. No, we now need Andrea Leadsom to get us out, then someone else when we are safely out.
It is a great shame that today’s population seem so very polarised and must either love or hate, we were taught tolerance, responsibility and duty in our childhoods, while children of the Blair era were hardly taught at all, with teachers spending most of their time reading never ending new EU regulations. The result was a generation who could do whatever they felt like and it it was wrong it was someone else’s fault. We shall need far more tolerance and understanding in future.
A very interesting summary well explained. However what it doesn’t reflect is that the young generation voted remain for a better future for themselves. And it is the young ones who will be affected the most because they will suffer the consequences of brexit for most of their young lives.
They may suffer for a few years but no more than we did, in fact most probably considerably less. Why do you assume it is going to be bad and not good?
“Already we have literally thousands of EU laws imposed upon us and rubber stamped (mainly by the traitor Blair) Is anybody supposed to know what they all are, apart from job creation vehicles for bureaucrats.”
This is sadly a fairly typical idea of what the EU is about. The aim of the EU was and is economic. It’s about trade. Removing trade barriers to increase trading. If you are going to do this, then the absolute most important thing you must achieve, is a ‘level playing field for trade’. That means that in many languages and cultures, a spade is a spade. This is fundamental for one company being able to sell it’s ‘widgets’ across several countries where their descriptions of what constitutes a widget must match. Sort of obvious as a necessity and has made cross border trading massively more simple. All those EU norms, that we take for granted, such as for electrical goods etc.
As for other legislation that is of use to ordinary people, there has been tons of it over the years from which all Europeans have benefited. From maternity leave, to discrimination in the work place and worker’s rights. The banking sector brought under control from its free ranging, reckless, cartel centric systems of old. Communications companies prevented from creating monopolies and cartels, as is their wont … much like banks. France Telecom for example hit twice with heavy fines in the last 15 years or so for anti-competitive practises. The big 3 French banks prevented from doing what they always did and set the years policies over lunch between their 3 heads, once a year.
If you want a topical one that has touched many many people; mobile phone roaming charges will be ended EU wide in 2017. The prices have already been *massively* reduced in the lead up to this. It’s been hard to force it through … but who isn’t the happier for it (except the telecom company’s shareholders … and presumably you).
Yes mobile roaming charges have been slashed.
The idea of free trade was already accomplished when we joined the EEC many years before the EU. True there were new standards of quality and manufacture hence for us the BS/EN standards, bu these in turn were often part of ISO standards. In my particular Industry individual car manufacturers and countries also applied their own quality standards. For instance even though BS EN ISO 9001/2/3 were required, one also had to conform to VDAxx for GM QS9000 for Ford and their own for PSA/ Renault. So the concept of a single European standard did not hold up in practice. One major significant effect was that small component companies struggled to comply simply because of the amount of extra work involved, in many companies staff had to fulfil double or triple official roles. Thus a sales engineer may also be the design engineer and the project manager. This meant that the number of meetings to be attended officially was ridiculous. (Though of course eventually shortcuts were found which still conformed to the letter of the rules)
In most other industries the new EU standards increased costs or put small enterprises out of business.
Unfortunately many of our major UK enterprises have received EU grants to move their manufacturing out of the UK and into Slovakia and other eastern block countries.
How anyone can run a business now with all the allowances for leave is a mystery. This kind of thing again forces smaller companies out. Getting temp replacements is no substitute for people who are trained and know the job, again increasing costs substantially.
And no, you are right, I don’t use my mobile to roam, I am too old to travel far now, so the roaming charge reduction does nothing for me.
However in the spirit of this blog I do agree it must have helped F1 teams substantially.
Remember walls have ears and careless talk cost lives. (Went to Bletchley Park last week)
So to be fair there are some (very few) good things from the EU but overall our costs in most areas have increased.