https://www.autosport.comc/f1/news/133723/mercedes-will-prioritise-hamilton-in-2018--massa Mercedes will prioritise Hamilton for 2018 Formula 1 title - Massa
No real surprise. Last year after the Australian GP, I said that Valtteri was told to hold station (Mercedes-AMG denied this) and that he would become the defacto number two.
Only Mercedes really know the answer to this question of who is priority. Lauda will tell you that there is not one. Given the problems Bottas faced after the summer pause, they did not need to enforce a rule. LH was the better driver.
Who cares what merc do? We should be worrying about what Ferrari will do. Obviously Vettel is number 1 driver, but can they motivate Kimi to be a useful number 2 or is he going to waste his seat and our chances of the wcc??
ya think!!!! They are the ones that should be more worried. F1's new three-engine limit not "reasonable" - Honda https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/honda-three-engine-rule-unreasonable-992389/ … via @motorsport
So what changes from 2017 then? According to Lauda himself the car was developed in the direction of Lewis´driving style so what would you call this other than favouritism? I do not want to say that otherwise Bottas would be equal but this myth of Mercedes not prefering one of their drivers is only a myth after all for many years now.... There are only two parties who still want to believe this: Mercedes themselves to underline their sportsmenship and TeamLH44 as it suits their arguments (as long as he is winning, different when loosing as seen in 2016)...
I believe that they gave Bottas a fair crack,then when he was theoretically out of contention points wise,they were open to put everything behind Lewis ,including team orders if necessary.As previously pointed out Lewis is currently on a different level to Bottas ,but that could also change.
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/motor-racing/Formula1/f1-bahrain-grand-prix-2017-valtteri-bottas-lewis-hamilton-mercedes-team-orders-a7687126.html Yes ,Bottas got pole,the reason they asked him to move over was due to incorrect tyre pressures at the start ,then lack of pace for the rest of the race etc.
Had certainly absolutely nothing to do with No.1 and No.2 driver Ferrari never said "Kimi, get the **** out of the way of our No.1 driver" either but still everybody knows that it was team order but for some reasons when Mercedes does it it is something completely different....Double standards as usual, nothing new in LH44-country
No, but you and them try to sugarcoat it like they would never do this under normal circumstances It is like: "Look, Mercedes is doing it too" followed by "Yes, but only because of blablabla"...
If Mercedes favoured Hamilton how did Rosberg manage to win the title in 2016? He must be about the only "number 2 driver" ever to become world champion.
I guess by accident...if you have ever saw an interview with Toto Wolff during these years or his reaction in several situations, how can one doubt that he favoured Lewis??? But after Lewis engine failing it was impossible for Mercedes to deny Nico a WDC without loosing their face! Difference between those years and 2017: this favourism did not result in team orders (apart from Monaco 2016) as they were simply not necessary as there was no opponent outside the team...This year there was and so Bottas was told to play second fiddle. As said numerous times before: Nico was never intended to be a team leader or No.1 driver at Mercedes, otherwise they would have bought in a No.2 after Schumacher left instead of putting Lewis in front of his nose. I guess one can easily see the value they saw in their drivers simply by comparing their salary.
JANUARY 3, 2018 Williams set to announce Sirotkin deal Williams looks set to announce a two-year contract with Sergey Sirotkin. Earlier, the British team dithered over its choice of replacement for Felipe Massa, also seriously testing and considering the former BMW and Renault driver Robert Kubica. But Russian Sirotkin, backed heavily by the Vladimir Putin-linked SMP Bank, appears to have won the day with a two-year deal now being reported by Auto Bild. However, former Swiss F1 driver Marc Surer thinks it could still go either way. "You could actually toss a coin," he told Bild am Sonntag newspaper. "One has a great story and the other a lot of money. But neither is in the category that you absolutely have to take him." Massa departed Williams declaring that he was not surprised about the team's deliberations, saying it's "all about the money". And Williams' last title winner, 1997 champion Jacques Villeneuve, is also not surprised. "They already sold their soul to the billions of Lawrence Stroll, who only cares about his son," he said. "Even Massa was faster than Lance. His podium in Baku does not convince me as it was pure luck," added Villeneuve.
Jacques Villeneuve thinks so. JANUARY 3, 2018 Bottas only number 2 driver says Villeneuve Valtteri Bottas is a "solid number 2" for world champion Lewis Hamilton. That is the view of 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve, who is never shy to offer forthright views about F1's teams and drivers of today. "Mercedes won because they still have the best engine, but only Hamilton was able to take advantage of it. Bottas' performance was almost embarrassing," he told Auto Bild. "He is a solid number 2 and no more. I would have chosen Wehrlein," Villeneuve said. The French Canadian said Kimi Raikkonen is also a good number 2 driver for Ferrari, but that Finn is "much better than Bottas".
So JV (who?) had a good pop at Massa/Bottas/Stroll and tips Werewolf ? If he was any good he would be sitting in a MB already ..as it happens his career in F1 is finished. Not surprised JV (who?) was banned from the Stroll camps' motohome.What a Plonkerrrr!
Always a tempting, but difficult exercise; read it, and make up your mind. I kinda liked it.... https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/opinion/f1/how-did-bottas-stack-against-hamilton-f1-2017 Rgds
The comparison by JV is interesting and flawed. Bottas shows up with very little time to adapt and gains wins and poles. Kimi has been beyond his prime and is somewhat consistently inconsistent. The paddock knows that implicitly. Embarrassing would be how badly Kimi was beaten by FA at Ferrari. Id take Bottas over Kimi and that is because Kimi is much beyond his prime. This year will be the the one to assess Bottas fully. He will have very little room to escape criticism if he does not improve over this just completed season.
Briatore ‘very sorry’ Kubica sensational F1 comeback failed Flavio Briatore says it’s a shame Robert Kubica will not make a sensational return to formula one in 2018. A source close to Kubica, the former BMW and Renault driver who almost lost his arm in a 2011 rally crash, admits the Pole’s comeback bid is now “game over”. Other sources claim Williams has definitely signed up Sergey Sirotkin, the Vladimir Putin-linked Russian driver. https://www.thisisf1.com/2018/01/04/briatore-very-sorry-kubica-sensational-f1-comeback-failed/
You must be seriously kidding!!! A "link to prove it"....yeah right, it is only true when it is written somewhere in the net. But let me guess, just like further down with Villeneuve it is only true if it suits your arguments, otherwise it is "fake news"....I guess it does not make any sense to argue with someone like this! But please provide a link that officially quotes Arrivabene that "Kimi is only the second driver and has to get the **** out of the way when Seb is behind him"!!! If you can not provide this I guess it is also only another (incorrect) assumption that Kimi is No.2 or is it not? Bottas had to compromise his own strategy in order to hold up Seb more than once this season and Lauda said the car was developed in the favour of Lewis and you need a "written proof" that Bottas was second driver??? Again: you must be kidding!!!
