Bas, I think we are in complete agreement on all fronts. I will say it’s exciting as a racing fan to see Leclerc v. Hamilton. As a Ferrari supporter, I can’t help but think this is going to be the motorsports equivalent of Rome burning.
Thank you for writing French ! Better compared with my English I guess Last year I was very upset about the repetitive mistakes Charles did. But after reading some technical comments from Scuderia aerodynamicists about the dramatic aero instability of the SF23 I tend to believe he was just trying to push harder a very unbalanced and unstable car.. We will ponder this better when Ferrari will provide him a more stable and competitive package. If so.. Don’t get all the negativity about Hamilton coming. Guys we will have fun if Vasseur managed to definitively improve the team !
OR ... The "arrival" of Sir Lewis the Petulant doesn't really change Ferrari's winning statistics He brings more negative, ego-centric turmoil to the team than positive results Those of us who don't like or respect him will continue with the same criticisms He leaves the team after a couple years The only "gymnastics" on display will be from the Hamilton fanboys How will this ultimately play out? Only time will tell
I don't even think it matters at Ferrari these days if someone like Hamilton wins the Championship or even races. Hamilton is obviously a great driver with 7 World Championships with great teams. I don't care for Hamilton and all his drama and never will. He was hired for what he stands for. He's King of the woke. He'll follow the company line, no matter what he really thinks. Ferrari has turned from a race team that builds expensive and exclusive cars for Kings and the elite to a corporation that builds high end expensive cars and race cars for advertising and their image. I think Red Bull is more of a hard care racing team then Ferrari is now. I hope I am wrong but I doubt Ferrari will win another World Championship in the foreseeable future. Can't really just blame Ferrari. Formula One is now more entertainment then do or die competition.
Yeah for 2025. That's a good point actually. Imagine the 2024 car is better than expected and Charles, or even Sainz, wins the title...lol
They won't leave him out of all the upgrades, the team needs the point he can still deliver. But keeping him out of engineering discussion when he is scheduled to depart to a rival is just normal business practice for any company that produces any product intellectually or physical.
I remember hearing and I am not sure how true the rumor was that Hamilton wanted an all black pit crew and mechanics at one point. Having a race based mechanics may be kind of difficult. Most teams are very international with people from all over the world.
Sainz wins and things will surely be nuts. This totally brings us back to the years of Michael and Eddie. Particularly 1999 when Schumacher broke his leg and Irvine came close to the Championship. The variables for how this year can affect next year is just crazy to contemplate.
You know for decades the teams were all white and would not have considered a single black pit teammate or mechanic. Having a team of all African decent might be tough, having a team all of POC would not be and would give hope to billions of kids around the globe.
Hamilton called out Ferrari for not being [P&R] enough several years ago. Now I don't know about you but have you ever seen a native born black Italian man or woman in any role in F1 speaking Italian? I haven't seen it.
As do yours based on your statement that they would never consider a colored person for pit crew. Why cause you say so?
Because for the first decades of Grand Prix racing the teams were all white. It is just historical fact. Honda came along and brought some non-europeans to the mix in 1964. There have been all Asian teams, There have been all white teams. There have even been teams that were majority hispanic. There has not been an all black team.
I thought that's what I said. That many folks don't like Ham personally. There's nothing wrong with that! No rules are broken for hating any sports personality on this forum.