HAAS sure knows how to pick drivers. Sigh.
HAAS sure knows how to pick drivers. Sigh.
Javelin (Forum Supporter) said:HAAS sure knows how to pick drivers. Sigh.
Could any two drivers be more opposite? On with a rich F1 family history and the other who seems like a spoiled brat who's daddy is just funding his hobby.
F1 drivers seem to hold each other accountable, so maybe they'll keep Mazepin in check?
I just hope his antics don't bleed into Schumacher's garage.
-Rob
“There are still some question marks over who will be in the car this weekend in Abu Dhabi,” said Wolff, whose team have won every Abu Dhabi Grand Prix since 2014. “Lewis's condition is improving, but we won't know until closer to the time if he will be driving. We'll do everything we can to get him in the car and we know he's determined to be back as soon as possible. But his health is our main priority, so we will see what the situation is and then make the call.”
Lewis cleared to race this weekend.
I wish Lewis would do some public service ads that Covid is real and protect yourself ,
Young Men will listen to him .....I think.....
johndej said:Lewis cleared to race this weekend.
Am I a bad person if I'm disappointed?
In reply to Keith Tanner :
We are a total Hamilton house and I was kind of hoping Russel would get another shot at it................so while you "may" be a bad person for a whole host of reasons, this isn't one of them.
I would have like to see Russel in the seat for one more race as well, however being the champ I can understand why he wanted to get back in the car for the final race of the season.
Hopefully it's another good one.
In reply to rob_lewis :
There are 24 million reasons for Haas to keep Marzipan
https://www.autoweek.com/racing/formula-1/a34928137/f1-former-russian-motorsport-official-respond-to-haas-driver-mazepins-groping-incident/
And it could be Haas becomes Marzipan Formula One in the future. Nyet?
Keith Tanner said:johndej said:Lewis cleared to race this weekend.
Am I a bad person if I'm disappointed?
No, I wanted to see Russell get another race too.
z31maniac said:Keith Tanner said:johndej said:Lewis cleared to race this weekend.
Am I a bad person if I'm disappointed?
No, I wanted to see Russell get another race too.
We'll get to see him race a Mercedes next year,,,,,,
In reply to DeadSkunk (Warren) :
that is a good point. You almost have to wonder why you wouldn't put the best driver you could in these seats instead of honoring contracts. You could make a case for punting Bottas for Russel, Albon for Perez probably a few other non pay drivers too. It seems ruthless and I am still unhappy that RP did that to Perez however I can understand, racing is pretty focused on winning, if someone gives you a better chance of that you almost have to put them in.
In reply to New York Nick :
Total business decisions. Sure finishing higher up the order can earn you more but if a guy brings 30-50 million dollars that's going to be more than you'd earn than with a faster driver in the same car. It's the same reason a company keeps that PIA sales guy everyone hates, he brings in more than anyone else.
Well, that plus contracts usually have some legal teeth so there are good reasons to honor them.
DeadSkunk (Warren) said:z31maniac said:Keith Tanner said:johndej said:Lewis cleared to race this weekend.
Am I a bad person if I'm disappointed?
No, I wanted to see Russell get another race too.
We'll get to see him race a Mercedes next year,,,,,,
You think they will just pay Bottas' contract to go away and sign George?
Keith Tanner said:Well, that plus contracts usually have some legal teeth so there are good reasons to honor them.
It depends a lot on the contract. I'm not sure if this is still true, but at one point driver contracts often specified only that the team was paying a driver for his services but did not require the team to actually put him in the car. If that's the case with Bottas' contract then so long as Mercedes keeps paying him they wouldn't be in breach...
Valteri Bottas still does not have #2 wrapped up. There's no logical sense at this point for Mercedes to take a chance on getting a clean sweep, again.
I want to see George drive for Mercedes, too- just have to wait until next year. Unless Lewis can't make it through P1.
In reply to z31maniac :
Oh, I doubt they would dump Bottas, he's been a perfect co-pilot to Hamilton. My statement was a little tongue-in-cheek because some of the British tabloid press has suggested Bottas could be driving for Williams next season. The more likely scenario is Mercedes use Russell as a bargaining chip when negotiating with Lewis, and as Keith stated, there are teeth in the contracts.
I'm pretty sure Kimi got some paid time off from Ferrari.
The only reason to replace Bottas with George in 2021 is to develop the next generation of driver, the post-LH lineup. Bottas has been great for Lewis, pushing him just hard enough. But when Lewis retires, Mercedes will want their replacement sharp. I think it's pretty likely that George will have the seat in 2022 as it is not yet signed. I don't see how Mercedes could put George in for 2021 unless someone showed up with a good financial incentive that let them boot Bottas. I'll bet Bottas is glad that George didn't get his shot at the Mercedes until after that 2021 contract was signed, though.
In an interview, it sounded like Russell was looking forward to driving the Merc this weekend because he'd be able to concentrate on setting the car up to suit him. Last weekend he was using Lewis' setup, so he wasn't as quick as he thinks he could be. Boy has confidence, you have to give him that.
Keith Tanner said:Boy has confidence, you have to give him that.
Every F1 driver, even the humble ones of the group, has to have a pretty solid ego, just to make it to that point. Some are better at tempering it than others (Lewis v Max, for example). George and Max are still in their early 20s, most of us were hotheads at that age too.
Confident doesn't mean hothead. You can have a strong belief in your abilities without being an ass.
DeadSkunk (Warren) said:In reply to z31maniac :
Oh, I doubt they would dump Bottas, he's been a perfect co-pilot to Hamilton. My statement was a little tongue-in-cheek because some of the British tabloid press has suggested Bottas could be driving for Williams next season. The more likely scenario is Mercedes use Russell as a bargaining chip when negotiating with Lewis, and as Keith stated, there are teeth in the contracts.
I don't understand this either.
How would he be used as a bargaining chip? To accomplish what? Sign LH to a shorter contract? Get him to take less money? I've seen that thrown around, but I haven't seen what the goal is.
Wow. Less than 2/10th from 5th - 12th in FP2.
I can't help but wonder what will happen at BWT Racing Point next year. Everyone keeps saying how Checo is at the top of his game (which I agree with), Perez outperforms Stroll most weeks, Leclerc outperforms Vettel most weeks. If Stroll outperforms Vettel will people (team management) chalk this shakeup up as a huge mistake? I can totally see that happening.
In reply to New York Nick :
I think they aren't worried. Vettel is more about brand marketing and recognition. You will be able to say AMR home of a 4x World Champion. I don't think there is any way AMR/BWT is competing for a Contstructors or Drivers Championship in the next few years. Even if Vettel cruises around at the back of the field and Stroll puts up consistent 5-10th place finishes the marketing as a "lifestyle brand" is still there. People will want to come be VIPs to instasnap with Vettel. I don't think as many will want to instasnap with Checo no matter how many races he wins. If Checo was the key to Actively winning a championship now that equation could change.
My thoughts.
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