Seb out of SF for 2021

Possibly, IF Toto leaves then it COULD BE in 2022. By then, Sebs "market" value will have significantly dropped even more so.

 

Is Hamilton out of contract at year-end 2020 or whenever this F1 season is concluded; and how much say-so will have regarding a teammate if there is no contract in force? If he expects a 2 year deal at 40 or 50 million per, Toto can probably sign Vettel for half that amount or less. As with Seb, Lewis has nowhere else to go--it's Mercedes or bust for each of them.

 

Yes it was exactly that...and I don't think Lewis/Mercedes expected them to be so close to each other. Had Rosberg stayed in F1 I'm sure Ferrari would've won 2017 or 2018.

 

Agree...Alonso or Seb for peanuts, pay them big money per point or something. Both Alonso and Vettel want another title.

 

Good points. The only thing that makes me think they would rather keep Hamilton is his marketing value on social media with a younger and more hip and urban demographic.

 

Austria Q2, we all know that was a sham and a non issue. Sainz got through and he was surprised Vettel got a penalty. You can't see **** all through the mirrors so it was the teams fault not giving him information Sainz would be on a lap.

Germany...ever changing conditions, leaky williams went round just before him. Willing to give him benefit of the doubt on that one.

Canada 2019 was a sham as well. We all know that. Utterly bizarre that got a penalty.

Brazil...as Danny Ric himself said, that was the unluckiest puncture from such a minor touch. Vettel is entitled to cover Leclerc off, and is something he should do anyways if you want to make an overtake stick. Neither driver gave each other any room.

---

Vettel entered Ferrari who was constantly changing round management. Montezemelo got Vettel in, but before Vettel could even start the job, Montezemelo was already gone. We then went through a series of oustings and (brief) hirings of management. None of this does the team any good, not any development. Vettel wanted to do a Schumacher, by effectively managing the team. Schumacher had Todt, Todt made sure that Montezemelo & co didn't stick their beaks in. Marchionne had a huge influence over the team, and thought the best way to manage it was to rule by fear. No results? Mass sacking. This stabilizes the team hugely. When Marchionne died, there was no leadership of Ferrari or in fact, the team. Vettel took it upon himself to try and lead a team, whilst his every move was covered by the Italian media. It's a hugely tough job mentally. Aldo Costa recently revealed how much the team changed after Todt/Schumacher etc left. With more influence from Montezemelo, a culture of fear started to come...It just doesn't work.

I'll miss Vettel at Ferrari. Yes he made mistakes, frustrating ones also...but the team was in such disarray I'm utterly amazed that he's done so well all things considered. The team is not championship winning material. If the team had a decent manager leading the team and keeping Ferrari Brass out, the pressure would've been less and at least 1 title would've been gained.

 

Perhaps, but Mercedes never planned it that way.

Introducing Vettel at Mercedes would probably means the winners of 10 WDCs fighting it out, sharing the points and ... missing the title !!

That would be daft to the extreme.

Don't you remember Piquet and Mansell doing that at Williams when they had the best car, and Prost taking the title in the end !!!

 

Really great points here, I appreciate hearing your point of view. I hope we can start racing again this year, and I'll still be rooting for Vettel this year. If he wins it all, I'll be the first to jump and be ultra happy for him (and us.)

Cheers

 

Just some click bait from some unknown hack ..nothing to see here .

 

Fingers crossed!

I've no clue where Ferrari will head in the future...Ferrari is traditionally strongest with a driver ''in charge''. The internal squables really hurt Ferrari as the Italians are such passionate people, and it affects their work. Whilst I'm convinced in their admiration for Leclerc, and that could rivitalise a team, especially Ferrari, a bad season can quickly turn things.

Seb was very good at working with the team, getting to know each and everyone (a la Schumacher), but the top brass interfering and constant changes pretty much destroyed all that hard work.

This is also the reason why Lewis at Ferrari would never work. He's too vocal, too self involved. If he where to enter Ferrari with a winning car, it would be easy, but to work at it? No. At Mercedes he is forgiven so to say for his destructive criticism, because the team itself is massively strong and they win 90% of the races anyways, so they can take it on the chin and not care. If they weren't winning so much, the team would prefer and do a better job working with the guy they get along with (See Mclaren & Jenson Button).

 

How was that any different from the years that preceded Vettel? From Montezemolo, to Domenicalli, to Mattiaci to Arrivabene. Alonso ringed out points and wins for the team that had no place of winning to begin with during those tumultuous times, and we did not see him make errors that even remotely compare to Vettel’s. Let’s not forget the margin Alonso excelled over Kimi...Vettel did not exhibit the same margin Alonso did against Kimi, very dismal in comparison in fact.

Rarely do we get a constant benchmark / measuring stick between two different drivers but in this case we have in the form of Kimi, and I’m pretty darn sure Ferrari took this data to heart when making the decision to commit to Leclerc.

 

Agree. Mercedes Brass is looking for a way out of F1, not spend more time/money!

 

Because Alonso is Alonso. Vettel is a much more emotional guy and wants to build a team. Alonso wants to get in and do what he's best at: Racing. He doesn't think about other things that go on.

Vettel is very, very good, after his first title in Red Bull he was practically unstoppable as he learned how to work with a team and Red Bull had great management in place. I genuinely believe Alonso alongside Vettel in Red Bull would've made it a very, very hard job for Alonso to beat Vettel consistently...as Vettel had the team around him, because of the person he is. At Mclaren 1st time, Hamilton had Ron in his corner and around his finger, and Ron made it clear that the team was to support him and not Alonso. Neither did Alonso make it easy for himself at Mclaren. Even with all the support to Lewis, already clear Alonso was on the way out (thus missing out on crucial information), Alonso gave him a seriously hard time.

Had Alonso learned team politics a little better, he'd have many more titles.

 

Woulda, coulda, shoulda...maybe if Seb hadn’t spun so much he could’ve added 2 more titles to his name...maybe if Ferrari didn’t bring Leclerc into the team he could’ve stayed...and so on to infinity.

 

Agree! Excusing some errors by Charles, add 2 more wins vs Vettel he should have had and the defeat of Serb is far worse. The team know this and include stupid team orders and more so Vettel is beaten. Hence Vettel essentially forced out.

 

Charles the 'movie star' - Sorry Seb......lol


https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/149554/leclerc-set-for-remake-of-controversial-driving-movie

Charles Leclerc could be set for a starring role in a remake of the controversial driving short movie 'C'etait un Rendezvous', with filming set to take place this weekend.

According to reports in the French media, the roads of Monaco will be shut for several hours on Sunday morning to allow Leclerc to help film scenes from a new project being put together by legendary director Claude Lelouch.

Monaco authorities have confirmed that roads will be closed to motorised and pedestrian traffic between 6.45am and 9am on the morning when the Monaco Grand Prix was supposed to take place.

Lelouch shot to fame in 1976 when he released a short movie that captured a high-speed drive across Paris.

The nine-minute blast across the French capital was done in a single take without special effects, using a camera that was strapped to the front of Lelouch's own Mercedes 450 SEL.

Beginning in Porte Dauphine, and featuring some close calls as the car tops 145mph at times through the city streets, the film ends with the driver meeting his girlfriend at the famous Sacre Coeur basilica.

Image Unavailable, Please Login

C'etait un Rendezvous shot to infamy, with Parisian authorities not impressed with what had happened. A request to shut the streets of Paris for filming had been refused, but Lelouch went ahead anyway early one Sunday morning.

Amid furore at the release of the film, the police later briefly arrested Lelouch and confiscated his driving licence but it was swiftly handed back to him.

The film only existed in pirate copy format for many years before a DVD of it was released in 2003.

There continues to be a host of conspiracies surrounding what really happened with filming, especially because the movie never reveals the car used and is dubbed with the sound of a Ferrari 275 GTB.

While Lelouch has always insisted it was him driving, there have been suggestions that it was an F1 driver, with Jacques Laffite having been linked with the project.

Share this article on

 

I wonder if Vettel would cost much more less vs Hamilton at Merc. The Merc is a well oiled winning machine. Could they they ditch Hamilton for Vettel, who potentially is a cheaper option?

 

Why when LH has made fewer mistakes and won titles. Hard to give up LH at this point. LH takes the good car and wins. Vettel is mistake prone and has gotten worse not better over time.

 

Mercedes Benz has a strong anti drug use policy across their entire company.

What this means is no one is going to be stoned enough to swap Hamilton for Vettel.

 

+1 Vettel did what to deserve an upgrade?? LOL!! He failed at Ferrari and was replaced in less than 48 hours. Fired is what happened.

 

Easy to look faultless when you're in the best car under no pressure.

When Vettel was at Red Bull he was practically faultless after his 1st title. Hamilton on the other hand, made mistake after mistake, leaving Ron to make a 5m offer to him to continue racing (unsure on duration of that contract) and Hamilton jump ship to mercedes.

 

I fully agree with Bas. Hamilton is under no pressure at all. Of course there's no mistakes then. The Merc is being sandbagging the last couple of years now. Lewis can start every race last position, and i'm pretty sure he can win the race if he wants to.

 

What a strange idea; exchanging a winner for a loser !
What are you smoking?
I don't think the Mercedes management will ever be so stupid.

 

That says it all.

 

The fault it Ferrari and its mistake prone, recently fired driver, poor strategic decisions from management. All teams look better in comparison. Ferrari made Mercedes look superb. LH did what he was paid to do. Vettel did not. No one FORCED errors from Vettel alone in the cockpit. When handed a winning car - YOU SHOULD WIN??????????? YES is the only answer.