Any F1 fans

[JBell]

Good but not great.

I think we'll find out how good Norris is against Ricciardo, a proven race winner who is every bit as good as Max and who deserves a top flight seat. You couldnt split him and Sainz but Sainz had a couple of years experience on Norris.

As for Sainz, he didnt match Verstappen at TR and I think he will struggle against Lec. Certainly over 1 lap qualifying at least.

Of all the young drivers out there, Lec and GR are the ones who will shine. Max is quick, very quick, but I think he lacks the mental stamina needed. Makes silly mistakes and doesnt play the long game. We havent seen him in proper combat yet either against Hamilton. Whereas Lec stood up very well in Monza in 2019.

I am looking forward to seeing how PER gets on at RB.

Max needs to cool down.

GR is with out a doubt the future at MB, there was talk he will be in there this year as MB don't want to pay HAM what he wants or for so long (£50m a year for 3 years).

 

[Steve@Avantgarde]

I am looking forward to seeing how PER gets on at RB.

Max needs to cool down.

GR is with out a doubt the future at MB, there was talk he will be in there this year as MB don't want to pay HAM what he wants or for so long (£50m a year for 3 years).

I think he will be the same sort of laptime off Max. That car is built to have a very pointy nose with rear grip coming from the aero load you can put into it on throttle. That is exactly how max likes to drive, Kart style. They wont build the car to suit anyone else. Perex requires a much more stable car which plays to his tyre management.

We will soon find out.

I cant see MB not signing brand Hamilton. They will make his salary back in marketing branding alone.

 

[umblecumbuz]

Give Russell a shot. Merc can't lose much if they did so - after all, they've got the best car for one more year.
Sorry Lewis, but you do seem to be getting too big for your ....

And the upside if Russell delivered would be a big new page, and very marketable.

 

[Ron240]

Just posted on official Mercedes AMG Petronas facebook page.
Ok so the message would appear to be clear...but they are obviously enjoying the teasing because no details have been published yet.
Just tell us FFS!

 

[Blobcat]

Just posted on official Mercedes AMG Petronas facebook page.
Ok so the message would appear to be clear...but they are obviously enjoying the teasing because no details have been published yet.
Just tell us FFS!
View attachment 65395

 

[John Laidlaw]

1 year, interesting....

 

[Ron240]

Yep thats what I suspected...but it would have been nice if the information came from the organ grinders and not the monkeys!
Seriously...why did Mercedes not just state that instead of putting up stupid teasers!

 

[Blobcat]

Yep thats what I suspected...but it would have been nice if the information came from the organ grinders and not the monkeys!
Seriously...why did Mercedes not just state that instead of putting up stupid teasers!

Because it makes peeps talk about it

 

[Ron240]

Because it makes peeps talk about it

Yep, which is all everybody has been doing for about 3 months!
I still say that Mercedes have handled this badly, because at least the most basic details of the signing should have came from them first.

 

[umblecumbuz]

Lewis could have got a better deal if he had signed last summer, rather than playing cat and mouse.
Russel in 2022 then?
That's what many are hoping.

 

[Ron240]

Lewis could have got a better deal if he had signed last summer, rather than playing cat and mouse.

I would be very interested to see evidence that confirms this.

 

[s5tuart]

I would be very interested to see evidence that confirms this.

If he wins the 2021 championship he will be worth more. Canny bargaining

 

[Ron240]

If he wins the 2021 championship he will be worth more.

Yes an unprecedented 8 time F1 champion...although it will still be all about the car and not the driver.
He could decide to retire at that point...but if he did he would obviously be a coward who is afraid of not having the best car anymore
Lewis Hamilton will simply never be good enough in some peoples eyes

 

[umblecumbuz]

Toto et al certainly played hardball with him this time. It seems he didn't get anywhere near what he really wanted.

 

[Ron240]

Toto et al certainly played hardball with him this time. It seems he didn't get anywhere near what he really wanted.

First of all I'm not having a go at you and this is a genuine question, but can you tell me precisely everything he was asking for and in detail what he actually got?
For instance how much is his deal worth?
Im not talking about speculation, but actual facts.

 

[umblecumbuz]

No, of course I can't give you 'precisely everything he was asking for and in detail what he actually got'.
Strange question. Probably few outside his close inner circle will know, and I'm not one of them. His final deal is clearly confidential.

I don't have masses of calculations referring to Lewis' deal. I can only surmise, like anybody else.
The news reports are sometimes guesstimates, and sometimes they unearth genuine facts and trends when it comes to negotiations.
From all those, and the late timing, and adding in Toto's unusually ambiguous remarks, it seems fairly obvious that Lewis was holding out for more than he got. That's probably as much as most of us know.

Bearing in mind Lewis' much earlier comments on how excited he is about 2022, and how he's looking forward to driving the new-age machinery, it does seem strange to me that, while other drivers have contracts encompassing 2022, Lewis does not, despite his earlier enthusiasm.
No doubt more details will emerge as the season gets under way.

 

[Ron240]

A genuine thank you for your reply.
It was a long way to admit that you do not know though.
This is what I was picking up on when you said "It seems he didn't get anywhere near what he really wanted"
The fact is nobody other than those parties directly involved know what he asked for and what he actually got, other than it's a 1 year deal.
The speculation on this subject over the past 2 months has been ridiculous!

 

[eman]

I been reading that Mercedes had no choice but to sign Hamilton as the cockpit for the car is to small for Russell and it’s not enough time to design a new one for him. Red bull had the same problem when Webber signed and had to extend the chassis but they knew he was coming so had the time. Now how true it is is another matter.

 

[malcolm E53 AMG]

Hope LH gets his eight title this season and it’s certainly something Mercedes want as well so the deal was a given in whatever form. I suspect as Tito has signed up for three years that was part of the deal it gives LH the option should he fail to win the title this year to compete until 2023 without losing a key member of the team.

The only real racing nowadays is between team mates with the same engine and chassis so I look forward to (hopefully) seeing Hamilton and Russell competing against each other it’s just the flame he needs to extend his career but who could blame him for calling it a day with an eight title

 

[JBell]

I been reading that Mercedes had no choice but to sign Hamilton as the cockpit for the car is to small for Russell and it’s not enough time to design a new one for him. Red bull had the same problem when Webber signed and had to extend the chassis but they knew he was coming so had the time. Now how true it is is another matter.

There was a tech reg a few years ago that stated the car had to accommodate an driver up to 6ft 2" as Adrian Newey is notorious for making the driver sit in a ridiculously small cockpit as it affects his design