WHO TO REPLACE ROSBERG AT MERCEDES IN 2017?

+1 would love to see it

 

I'd love to see Carlos at Merc... if not just to land another d**k punch to Kvyat.

Horner seems pretty adamant though that Carlos isn't going anywhere... but it's F1 so who really knows.
Christian Horner plays down talk of Carlos Sainz moving to Mercedes

 

Same!

 

Toro Rosso claims they started development of next year's car before specs were even final. If true, they could have a pretty strong car and may not wish to lose Sainz. Just as another variable.

 

Most people started development of next years car. Everyone knew Merc was going to walk away with it this year.

 

I bet most started developing next years car in March, when any of us with a brain saw the writing on the wall confirmed that Mercedes weren't any slower, and no one was any quicker!

 

ESPN f1 now reporting Williams talking to Massa to come back so they can release Bottas to Merc.

 

Makes sense. No surprise. Massa was a good fit in the team. He has the experience to help them get the new car working. Bottas will be interesting to see at Mercedes if this effort is completed to gain him.

 

Yes a good fit but after Brazil I really got the impression that Massa's heart has left F1.
I do believe Bottas will get the drive. With Toto's shares of Williams, Paddy Lowe's services, Customer Engine costs and Pascal Wehrlein. There is still much room for negotiation.

 

Excellent quote by MS, and it recalls a time when skill was amplified. Technology is the great equalizer.

Mika actually would have returned, but he didn't want to go through the extensive marketing and PR campaigns. When he retired, he had just had a child with Erja and a second was either planned or on the way, and he wanted to remain with his family. As a DTM driver, he could spend lots of time with the family.

Ironically, it was this--spending too much time with Erja--that led to his divorce.

 

Williams admits it may allow Mercedes to sign Bottas

 

And what one should not forget when comparing the dominant Ferrari of the Schumacher era with the dominant cars Vettel and Hamilton have/had: Schumacher actually worked to make this car what it became whereas with the limited testing neither Vettel nore Hamilton did much more than rely on what their designers gave them...
When Schumacher returned to Mercedes he was not just past his prime but with the limited testing he was taken away one of his biggest strenght: addiction.
Schumacher was able to motivate his team by working hard in Fiorano showing that he was one of them and did not expect anything from others he was not willing to do himself. It is not a surprise that his mechanics loved him. Schumacher was the ideal driver in a time of unlimited testing who worked his arse off day after day to improve the car rather than going on holliday like some other drivers. When he returned to Mercedes this was all taken away from him and as far as I understood Michael never adapted to the driving simulators.
Maybe MS could have been successful even after his comeback if he would have been able to approach things the same way as before but maybe he would have not come back at all if this would have been required. Schumacher might have not been successful at Mercedes but I doubt that he ever thought of it as a waste of time as sometimes he seemed to enjoy just driving the cars with less time consuming testing, according to some he was far less obsessed and more easy going after his return.

This is one reason I rate Schumachers WDCs higher than those of Vettel/Hamilton: he was part of the team that made the car what it was, not just a quick driver sitting in a Newey/whoever car complaining about everything that is not 100%.

 

Good post, agree 100%

 

Without being able to test in real cars throughout the year, drivers have largely been robbed of the chance to be a part of the team in that way. I don't think the practice sessions are sufficient for that, since they're largely devoted to circuit-specific setup, and the simulators are no substitute for the real thing. So we're left plonking fast drivers in cars they haven't really helped develop and seeing how that goes.

All the best,
Andrew.

 

...Because they need the $$$ and know MB will pay big to break the deal

 

As mentioned a million times before: Team bosses want to maximize their chances so when they have a great car they want the best guy driving it. They don't put Joe Nobody into the seat when they have a chance at getting a super talent. Vettel and Hamilton earned their drives.

And before you go on to question how Hamilton earned his first McLaren ride: Lewis was Dennis prodigy who saw the super talent in him. Not unlike Briatore who instantly realized the super talent MS was at Spa in the Jordan and moved him into the Benetton.

Team managers recognize talent when they see it. Which is also why I actually care about their annual votes for best driver...

PS: The one thing I do give MS is that he developed the Ferrari (-team) from scratch. That was all his doing (plus the dream team around him). Vettel and Hamilton have not been in that situation and I'm not sure they would be able to pull off the same thing. So from that perspective MS was the more complete driver.

 

Sorry, but can you actually show me where I said different?
I did not say at all that Lewis, Fred or Seb are not great among the best of their era and that they do not deserve getting in the best car. But they rely much more on the car as is in the beginning of the season than Schumacher did. Times might be different and this is not their fault but still it makes a difference how they are viewed.
It also is not Lewis fault that the cars are much safer today but still it is less remarkable if he does a risky but successful manouvre than it was when Fangio did it by risking his life doing the same. The requirements today are different as it seems to count more having the one superb lap on Saturday than it was ever before but still the drivers look more replaceable than ever before. And it is absolutely ridiculous listening Lewis and Seb (and most of the others) in a car almost unbeatable every time things are not going 100% their way. I do not remember Michael moaning although he might have had more reasons in the beginning of his Ferrari years...no he went to Fiorano and tried to make things better next weekend.

 

Great points!

 

Your conclusion (the sentence Neuro marked in bold) makes it sound that Seb and Lewis just ended up sitting in the faster car and hence they won their titles. That's not the whole picture. They earned their seats.

And if you really like to nitpick: Personally I rate both of them higher than MS because they won their titles fair and square. Not that they (particularly Hamilton) are devoid of dirty driving, neither of them (nor any other driver for that matter) drove as dirty as MS. No wonder he remains to this day the only F1 driver ever to be stripped of all his season points.

 

Forza Michael...... GOAT....... SEVEN TIMES WORLD CHAMPION during a period where the racing was tough it took more than turning up to win a race

 

I think he meant more that Schumacher helped to develop his cars as opposed to just getting good cars.

 

No disagreement on that. My point is that you don't "get" a good car without good reason

 

You 'get' a good car by being a good driver, the difference is that Schumacher made any car he drove a GREAT car at times, and massively contributed to the success of the team, in all areas. He drove with conviction, aggression, and outdrove, outcalculated and outfoxed every challenger. When the car came up lacking, he tested tested and tested again until he had helped every part of the team get it right so that they could take the challenge against opposition that sometimes would have licked the lesser team.

The guy was fantastic, a true champion, and the likes of which none of the current crop will ever match for outright talent and ability..... numbers maybe since there's such a massive increase in points and races these days, and of course, domination is regulated and maintained by the ridiculously biased rules and block on development and ingenuity that exists and is unable to be changed without 100% agreement of every team, including the one that is reaping the rewards of winning every single race it enters with little and often NO opposition

 

True. They're obviously talented.

Damon hill

 

And yet werewolf was being hyped for the second mercedes seat - why will he get into a good car while showing less than stellar potential so far?