Verstappen to Mercedes

But I would not overestimate what Toto says... he was very fast in blaming the driver that left over the one that stayed when asked who was responsible for the tension. Toto was very happy that Nico left because this solved the question how to treat Lewis for his behaviour in the final race of 2016

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And shoving Rosberg off the track a few times too.
I never approved of these tactics.
Hamilton has calmed a lot since, and has shown that you can win without being a complete ******* on the track.

 

+1 yes he did.

 

I would have to accept it if that ever happens (Max at Mercedes), but I doubt he would bring the same level of success as Hamilton.

Max is too rough compared to Hamilton who is more, shall I say, polished.

 

many thought LH made a big mistake going to Mercedes in 2013 but seems like it was a career making move. I am no fan of LH, even though he is a Brit but you have to hand it to the guy, runner up in his first season and missing out by one point to Kimi for the WDC. Raw talent and made good use of it with a world beater car and team.

MV was beaten by Riciardo in his first season with red bull so he isn't exactly "exciting" material in my book, just bullish and we have seen plenty of those over the years.

Just my opinion guys!

tony

 

Exactly.
And Max is younger than Hamilton was when banging Massa.
He is also the victim of a bullying father.

On balance I'd say the kid is doing pretty well so far, and has plenty of time to keep improving

 

Hamilton absolutely should be more polished than a 21 year old

 

I am glad Lewis became such a fair driver, since he is always driving at the front he barely drives other cars off the track....
Oh, wait... watch at 3:42....

 

5 more years of Mercedes dominance is the unlikely part. Teams never dominate for this long as the rules will (have to) change, significantly so that it hampers the dominating team.

 

will it though? I bet there are a whole raft of engineers in Mercedes working on the next generation while the other teams scrabble around to catch up this year. Ferrari for all its status in the sport cannot compete against such a large organisation.

Tony

 

I only assume this as per what history has shown us....and one team being the utter dominating factor with zero competition is (very) bad for business.

 

The the FIA cared about what was bad for business, they would have dropped Todt into an abandoned mine shaft years ago.

 

As we have seen before, it can take just one change for success to halt in sport.
One key person departed the mighty Manchester Utd and it's downward spiral commenced.
It can happen in any organisation.

 

In fairness, rules shouldn't be raised against one team because it does a better job.

It's up to other teams to catch up. That's the whole point !

 

Depends on the situation I think. Back with the Ferrari dominance and Red Bull, things where pretty equal (especially in Red Bull era), Amount of staff was more or less the same, budgets where (not counting the ones at the very back), hell neither Ferrari or Red Bull enjoyed the luxury of the best engine. But the rules where changed anyways.

IMO the biggest reason the rules has to be changed today is purely because it's unsustainable right now and the focus on extreme aerodynamics is largely to blame for that and the poor racing. I see no reason that once we have a stable set of rules that allow for great racing and sane spending, to change the rules. Rule changing typically is not cheap, especially the ones that have led to the current fiasco.

 

yes - but the FIA have pulled the plug on Ferrari's previous dominance by suddenly changing tyre regs to suit Michelin teams.

Brawn's podcast is quite fascinating, and reveals that Michael would have likely won 10 WDC's had the FIA not played tricks.

 

I rather think that if Ferrari had won the last 5 WDCs and 5 WCCs, we wouldn't have that discussion.

Be honest about it !!

 

Honda is here to win. They are here for the long term. Bank on that.

 

Yep, agree, but allow much more testing and engine development. The gap will NEVER close if the teams can’t practice, make trades, etc. Imagine any other sport were a team cannot practice, make trades, etc.

2009 Brawn had the double diffuser but by the end of the year RB had closed the gap thanks to development. Can’t do that now and sorry, computers cannot simulate real world testing. Real world testing would allow teams to develop a better under understanding of the tires, encourage different solutions, innovation, etc. Sad what it has become.

 

You might on MercedesChat !

 

Just remember how suddenly they left F1 twice in the past.
That may moderate your views about Honda.
Honda is not a reliable player in F1, as history has shown.
Last time, they abandonned a complete team, hundreds of staff and terrific installation, and sold the lot for £1 !!!

 

I think Ferrari and Honda are catching up technically, but are failing in their organisation.

Mercedes has continuity, Ferrari hasn't, and Honda has changed Partner.

The drivers strength has also been Superior at Mercedes, whatever some say on this forum.

 

McLaren dominated the relatively unregulated CanAm series from 1967-71. In 1972 Penske introduced the Porsche 917/10 turbo and devastated the opposition; McLaren folded their tents and went home. The following season Penske entered the 917/30, the front of the grids were all 917 Porsche. Porsche did such a fine job that it killed the series. By 1974 it was effectively dead.

 

It's a pity no one took up the challenge.
It was a terrific series, but at that time, everybody was afraid to adopt the turbo.
Some turbo V8s would have been more powerful than the Porsche engine.
Even F1 wanted to kill the turbo at one point, when Renault started winning.

I think CanAm was the best series ever, and if it had been promoted better, it would have attracted more constructors than just Porsche and become a world series challenging even F1, I think.
We had the equivalent in Europe, called Interserie, based in Germany and I saw some terrific races. The freedom left to designers and team would have caught on.

 

Easier for drivers to grow in strength when the car and organisation is spot on.

Lewis was pretty variable when at McLaren.

With Mercedes he has found the perfect environment to evolve his performance.

He was never able to perform in a ****box like Senna or Schumacher.
He had such a ****box McLaren for half a season and scored a total of 9 points IIRC.