if Merc is a midpack runner, will Hamilton finish out the season?
Yes, I think his legacy is important to him. If he is to have a post-racing impact in business his image will be important, nobody likes a quitter.
Midpack? That would be impossible with the greatest driver of all time at the wheel, or so I have been assured.
Yes - Niki Lauda Packed it up at Montreal .... Mansell announced he was done at Ferrari mid season 90 - but then finished the year and the year after etc... Mansell again when he came back with McLaren left mid year ... so there is precedent I think for Hamilton to come back after all this drama will make him look bad.. so to me he's made the decision to leave.... why else speculate all this time. In my opinion he has about 2 - 3 weeks before Mercedes either forces him to drive or leave... they will have shown a car by then and will need to start testing a new driver ..
I think Hamilton and his "crew" are vastly over estimating his value to F-1. He needs F-1 way more than it needs him. ( or any driver for that matter) there will be another Hamilton coming along soon... most likely in China or Russia or the ME... its just taking time and $$$$ to get them there.
Well done, I forgot about Lauda and Mansell ! Can we say that Fangio also "quit" in 1958? He did one GP and then retired. Secretly, I wish that Hamilton could leave; he has cultivated an image which has become an unwanted distraction in F1. Whatever he achieves, Hamilton will never convince the doubters that he is a great champion anyway.
I agree. He has achieved a tremendous amount, but he's just never seemed to be focused on just the racing - the outside stuff I think will taint his legacy... while I'm not really sure its done anything but cost people a lot of money.... I guess time will tell. I know from experience as a person he's a very nice guy, and genuinely polite and approachable ( if you can get close to him ) I think that superstar mentality has damaged his "brand". He's also a very good driver - no doubt .... he's one of the greats.
Russell will be something different compared to Bottas I guess. I would like to see Lewis staying. He is a great driver and i want to see him fighting against drivers in equivalent cars. Not the easy way like the seven first years of the Mercedes era.
I think we'd all welcome the opportunity to see what Lewis can do in a car that isn't cruising comfortably at 1 sec/lap faster than the field. From what we've seen so far, he doesn't do so well with other cars around him.
Ham published his "masterclass" on how to deal with adversity. Let's see if he practices what he preaches
Keep up at the back Let's see if he implements his talk How to Deal with Failure Image Unavailable, Please Login Lewis Hamilton Lesson time 12:05 min While Lewis has won more races than anyone in F1 history, he has learned valuable lessons from losses along the way. Learn how to deal with adversity and failure, and how to use those experiences to help you improve and get stronger.
He seems to have made a great impression on you. I don't know much about Hamilton apart from racing and what I read on FChat.