90% of the drivers would win in the Mercedes-Verstappen

For sure he’s trying hard showing up with other celebrities at all kinds of events but wouldn’t be surprised if those and big part of his online followers are just a construct by some showbiz agency looking after him, as it happens with many other “famous” people.
Contrast that with someone like Valentino Rossi without whom Motogp loses a third of the views and don’t see Hamilton bringing new fans to F1 or being able to sell much of other products, contrary to what who pays him might believe. He has 0 personality

 

yes agreed on that. Didn't Lewis have a ''celebrity'' manager work for him? All to do with "making" him the superstar. Not through his personality.

 

Pretty sure he’s had more than one and wouldn’t be surprised if they use on him one of those professional companies giving free social media followers and engagement for thousands pounds a month, like they do for the Bilzerian and Kardashains of the world. Now it’s all starting to come out but still, idiots in marketing departments of big companies are ready to throw millions after a digital illusion of popularity.

 

Talking of Japan lets not forget James Hunt ..todays drivers are a bunch of *****s in comparison ,he would wipe the floor with the lot of em!

https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/formula-1/formula-1-ace-james-hunts-9133348

 

The facts are that these athletes have no real influence on people’s lives. Populations have other very real problems that are economic survival.

 

I mean, they are/were all strong drivers, just not as great as they are made out to be.

Vettel - won quite a few championships in the right car with the right team, then challenged with a strong car/weird team. Now he's struggling with a weird car/weird team.

Hakkinen - possibly one of the most overrated drivers. Won with a super dominant car, then again with a car that was the best of the field but struggled to do so. I recall watching him race Schumacher and being upset at what seemed like stupid mistakes as I wanted him to win against Schumacher at that point.

Hill - Possibly one of the most underrated drivers on here. Definitely one of the least impressive backstories as it seems he almost came out of nowhere to get a test driver job at Williams though he obviously delivered. Mostly podium finishes in 1993-96 (7 finishes outside the podium, one of which should probably count as a DNF really). Should have had at least two titles bud bad luck (1994) and ****ty employer (Williams kicking him for 1997) ensured that didn't happen. I am a bit biased, Hill is my favourite driver (something about the helmet, the number "0" and driving for williams I suppose, possibly an underdog thing as well, I'm not sure why exactly).

These guys are probably on a very similar level. Not the stuff of legends but also not the guys who just never manage to put in a good drive. I suppose I am more than a bit unfair on Alonso but it's difficult to respect him after the McLaren/Honda years (not for the performance but for the behaviour) and very easy to dislike him. I sometimes read that Alonso could have been a 5x WDC with a bit more luck in picking a team and not having the wrong opposition. Same goes for a lot of WDC's before and after. A bit more luck and they could have had many more titles. A bit less luck and they could have had none.

 

I'm sure our friend here, Andreas, can win in that Merc too.

 

If you think about it, Alonso's 2 titles where a little lucky. Don't get me wrong I think he is an incredible driver, despite not being a fan of him at all (right until halfway through the Mclaren-Honda saga I suppose), but his talent was undeniable.

But his titles are a bit lucky...:

2005 Bridgestone produced that awful tyre, that didn't work in quali or race. Ferrari evolved/adapted the F2004 to 2005 rules, the F2004 was so good there's no way in hell Mclaren/Renault caught up all by themselves...

2006 Schumachers engine exploding when he was leading, with just 1 race to go and Alonso and Schumacher level on points, and again in the final race Schumacher engine problem in quali...with Fisichella delivering the final stab by hitting Schumacher at the start puncturing his tyre.

That said, thoroughly deserved championships, and I don't think they where both won purely on luck.

It's actually quite scary to think how close Schumacher came to winning 10-11 titles:

97: Much slower car than the Williams yet challenged till the very end
98: overheating cluch, eventual car failure (and that Coulthard move in Spa...)
99: Broken leg. Even Irvine (who was well down on Schumacher pace) only 2 pts behind Miki
06: Engine failure
07 + 08: De Montezemelo playing games led to earlier retirement than perhaps expected

 

spot on
Alonso is well know for not being a team player but what a racing beast !
2012 is one of my favorite season because of this.
A shame Romain hurt him in spa !

 

Special mention to Kimi for me for his supreme 2003 and 2005 season. 2003 especially, his fantastic consistency in what was essentially a 2 year old car leaving him only 2pts short of winning the title, despite only 1 win, was fantastic.

 

Image Unavailable, Please Login George ? here hold my porridge!

 

Well, with George Russell on board the Merc, we'll have some proof to go with Max's assumptive statement.

Who here thinks George will win Sunday?

 

Gasly already did it !

 

He "just" have to beat the other Mercedes so ..
I think he will win Sunday.

 

We still don't know if he's in the 10% or 90% so anyway it won't validate Max's assessment

 

If he has Max in his rear view mirror I'll be well impressed.
A win is a bridge to far IMO..hopefully I maybe proved wrong.
Whatever the case it would not change my mind on Hamilton's skill as a driver, as being one of the very best.

 

Win:: less than 20% likely
Points:: greater than 90% likely
Podium:: a bit over 50% likely

Beat Max:: a bit less than 50% unless Max has DNF

 

George just has to brake a bit later and accelerate a bit earlier ...pole will be his no sweat!

 

You are correct.
Hamilton hanging around with hot females is nothing more than image management.

His non-race activity is a carefully manicured stage act.

 

I'm going to say just one thing that I knew was coming this weekend. We all know the mercedes is the most dominant car that is not a disagreement.

Think for a minute where you rank GR as a driver. I mean seriously think about it...who would put in front of him?

He is easily a top 10 for me. Arguably pushing into the top 5 with regards to driver talent. What do you think will happen when you put such a driver in a good car.

But who needs logic hamilton sucks. Senna is the GOAT. Etc etc...