I am still on the fence on his Ferrari Factory arrival. THE big problem, is the clothes he wore when he fist appeared at the Factory. Everybody freaked, I know, and someone shoulda coulda told him. It was not a 'fashion statement' it was the 'malocchio' (the evil eye) He was dressed as an 'undertaker', and knowing Italians, that was a sign of bad luck. Superstition is still a major # 1 issue in Italy. Coulda, shoulda wore a red tie. Oh well. Let's see if the old black cat, broken miroor, etc. is true. That was my first thought when he arrived. Everyone ' made the sign of the horns' "Fare le corna – literally, “to make horns” – is a widespread custom in Italy, though its significance changes depending on the context. Generally, Italians reach for the horns when they want to ward off the evil eye, the malocchio, in situations that might potentially involve bad luck." Image Unavailable, Please Login
Until Max makes good on his retirement 105 isn't safe. He's 27... That's less than 4 wins a year if he races to 40 like Alonso and Ham(which he can of he wants)
As @Bas pointed out in another thread, 2026 looks like a rubbish formula. It may be a watershed season for some veteran drivers who decide to just chuck it?
I can't see Max driving until he is 40 !! I says it himself : he is tired of F1 and wants to try different disciplines in motorsport. I can't blame him for that.
Well, I think the race was less than ideal, and from the radio traffic with Hamilton Ferrari has to get someone who: 1. Speaks clear and better English 2. knows what is going on in the race 3. Hamilton has a very open honest relationship with. All that has to happen pretty fast.... it seemed to me both sides were just talking into the wind. If this continues till mid summer, I'd say Hamilton's time with Ferrari will be over very shortly.
This illustrates one of my biggest gripes with the state of F1 today: drivers can't function without having Mission Control in their ears for the entire race. Scott Dixon finished 2nd and damn near won the Indycar race at St. Petersburg without a radio. He did it by using his head and driving.
Thanks to technology and over 300 sensors in the car and hundreds of people on laptops at the pit wall and at HQ all of which are seeing real-time information being transmitted in Gigabytes per second. Wait till F1 gets into A.I.
I’ll leave you with this: When Lewis Hamilton first joined Mercedes in 2013, he did so as a World Champion desperate to regain a winning streak that had defined him on the world stage, then slipped through his fingers. It took Hamilton until the 10th race of the season to win a race, and even then, his performance throughout the rest of the season was nothing to write home about. https://www.planetf1.com/features/lewis-hamilton-ferrari-debut-australian-grand-prix
F1 should be simplified. Only radio traffic allowed from pit to car should be a warning regarding SC/crashes or to park the car if it's on fire. Driver to team to tell them he's pitting.
Also don’t forget he was twelve years younger. Most athletes begin to see a noticeable drop in ability and reaction times by the time they hit 40. This is definitely one of the sports that favors the young.
True and Charles should do well against him overall. The 'era' will be defined how close or effective LH is for the team and against Charles.
I totally agree with this. I've stopped Kart racing, as I have noticed the G's are too much, and the aching after a race is not worth it. I cant imagine at 40 in an F-1 car.
Yet Time magazine quotes Hamilton saying 'Retirement is nowhere on my radar. I could be here til I'm 50....who knows.' And 'The old man is a state of mind. Of course your body ages, but I'm never going to be an old man'.
I hear you! It takes me two days to recover now at 54. Karting is so physical, an F1 car has to be brutal. That's all just warm and fuzzy "positive" thoughts. Reality is a lot different. I still do lot of strenuous physical activity but if I told you "age is just a number" I'd be lying. I use to compete at beach volleyball long ago. I still play today but I'm no where near as fast and good as I used to be. Literally every joint aches after. I admire drivers for not wanting to admit defeat but eventually reality is going to give Lewis a nice, big smack in the face. Just like the Champions before him.
They can say whatever they want, the only real attractive Formula would be smaller, lighter cars with NA engine and bio fuel. Period.
But it's strange that none of the present teams voice an opinion about that. I really don't know if a "low-cost" formula with less technology would keep or attract car manufacturers in F1. Everything tend to demonstrate that the audience, the viewership and the number of GPs has increased since F1 went hybrid. Coincidence ? Maybe ...
Do you really believe this is because this new generation is in love with hybridization ? Frankly I don’t buy it. Nimble cars with attractive sound would be a lot more attractive to my humble opinion.
Constructors prefer hybridization because they can learn something from it which is relevent to their street car production. The public will like what F1 offers them, whatever; all it wants is entertainement and an occasion to take selfies.
