[ATTACH]
It’s not race day yet, but Russell is proving to be as competent a driver (so far) as we all believe he is. I don’t think your exercise properly captures the situation though. Let’s say, it’s 2004 and Michael Schumacher has just won his 7th WDC. Ferrari has its eyes on Kimi Raikkonen, so they decide not to keep Schumacher for the next season, hiring Raikkonen instead, feeling he represents the future (and saves $$$) How would that have gone down? I can’t see any team aiming for the PR damage that would result from terminating a record-setting driver. Even as his success began to wane, Ferrari still took a lot of damage for forcing Schumacher to “retire” in 2007...and their fortunes have been crap since.
That loss of 2% goes from WDC and WCC to 5th in the WDC standings and 3rd in the WCC. Look, Niki Lauda made the following statement in his book on Grand Prix Racing:: (paraphrased) ,Look you are already spending $400M to be on the grid with 2 cars capable of winning WDC and WCC, what is another 10% to actually win WDC and WCC !
Thanks for your concern. The 2 things I see for review are the following. 1) Hamilton has contributed enough to England to deserve a knighthood. Researching the process, there are categories - 'Sport' falls under "arts and entertainment' - there is literally a different category for "Political." As long as the discussion averts Hamilton being knighted because he's black or poor (versus his 7 championships), no harm, no foul. 2) Hamilton inspires ethnic kids. I don't know about this one, does he not? (Not being sarcastic) I'm sure some kids hate him. The statement doesn't seem political or religious, as if one said Micheal Jordan inspires black kids. Do you disagree? Or was there something else that you referred to as being inappropriately P&R?
https://twitter.com/karunchandhok/ deleted a tweet: "Here’s a thought - Lewis & Toto negotiating new deal. Toto puts GR in to show LH that they can still be 1-2 without him & therefore don’t have to agree to all his terms / salary demands. Ultimately I think Lewis will re-sign with Merc but this will help Toto’s position"
What if Russel blitzes the weekend though? Could he risk losing him to another team (Red Bull) for next year?
Yes imagine that? Lewis is getting near retirement age...2-3 years tops. Does Merc have another driver if they lose Russell? I don't think so. What are their options then? Leclerc tied up. Verstappen if Red Bull improves, won't go. Mercedes need a replacement for Lewis. If Red Bull (Who still need a driver) picks up Russell, that leaves Merc F'd. Russelll has clearly demonstrated his race pace is already as fast as his Lewisness.
I don’t think on the track he has done anything wrong, in fact I have repeatedly said that to me he is a great driver and deserves all his successes. Like our very own Bay Area Draymond Green said: you don’t mistakenly become great. Yes over the past years his car has been mighty good but he has won on every stage, every level so in his case he is one of the best or the best driver in the best car. He is not Mika hakkinen, Damon hill who were WC mostly because of their cars. Hamilton , let’s not forget, was pretty darn good from the get go in 07. I understand the nostalgia and believe me I am no Schumacher fan but it’s what it is. Both in their prime Schumacher would beat him easily. People , often the younger ones, didn’t see the older guys drive and revisit history based on just stats. I see it with basketball and le fraud James but Schumacher what he did in 94,95, and also 96 in his first year at Ferrari was just special...some of his races in the wet were just amazing....yes Hamilton won some very nice ones too...but the way Schumacher would anhilate everyone was just crazy: you just knew If it rains it would be game over. Frankly the only thing I think I don’t like about Lewis is that he seems (to me) flaky but good for him for Leaving his dream and inspiring! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
That's like saying - post-Germany 1999 - "Salo has clearly demonstrated his race pace is already as fast as Michael's"
Agreed we can’t make an example out of one race, but clearly If il bottas il not sleeping well tonight. And since Toto was so happy In his interview to see some variety on the podium, I replace bottas with russel so that next year, if Lewis wins it, at least he had some competition Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Yes I'm on board with this. Of course from my ''it's the car!'' posts, doesn't take away from Hamilton that he is a very good driver. But as you perfectly say about Schumacher, the stuff that he's done was truly special, and on so many occasions...the ''problem'' I have with Hamilton is that he very rarely puts in a seriously note worthy drive. And you're quite likely right on the people that so often insists Lewis is the GOAT didn't really see Schumacher and just look at his wikipedia. Schumacher may have had great cars underneath him, certainly 2002 and 2004 stand out...but in those other years he had very serious competition, and didn't exactly have a car that was head and shoulders over the rest. Since 2014 Hamilton has been given a car that's 2002-4 levels of performance over the rest of the field (and more races per season). And we know that since 2017, his teammate is an incompetent moron (which he demonstrated very nicely at Sakhir). At the very least, 14/15 he had to really fight his teammate for it. People often say the same about Schumacher, that he was given idiots for teammates, is far from the truth. Special focus is especially on Barrichello. It was thought at the time by many insiders he would be truly a force to be reckoned with, as the opinion on Barrichello was pretty damn high in the paddock. Wikipedia trawling F1 fans are way too quick to write him off as a ''dedicated number 2''... I understand why Mercedes gave Hamilton a moron as a teammate, but it pisses me off...we're already relegated to the Mercedes show...at least they could've given us a real fight between 2 worthy drivers.
Barrichelo was legit he was going good stuff since 94 in his Jordan! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Exactly! He drove very well at Ferrari, too...especially his 2002 season was very good and riddled with bad luck. That car suited him so well. The final points tally didn't do him justice. Same goes for his year at Brawn...
I too agree, and not much to say bad about him. I rarely look to actors, singers, or sports figures and place much weight on their socio-political endeavors. To me, it simply is what he does no track. 7 Championships is 7 Championships.
I doubt Hamilton is losing much sleep over Russell. As long as he signs a contract, the 2021 wdc is his. That will make it 8x wdc, and no records left to break. Game over. I expect him to retire at the end of the season, and to declare that intent by September. He has all the records. He has all the money. There will be nothing left to motivate him in F1. He can step aside easily and Russell can take that seat for 2022. That’s the easy part. The harder question for Mercedes will be who to put in as the second driver? Bottas is clearly toast. Perhaps Norris? Checo? I doubt Ham will care by then.
Bottas is the perfect #2 driver for a guy like Hamilton, and in fact the only kind of teammate that Hamilton can tolerate. Doesn't even pretend to be a threat.
he's only a good teammate because Merc is all-conquering. They have such a margin over the rest that they can still comfortably win every race without needing the #2 to cover others from under/overcuts or fighting too close...If it was a more level playing field he'd be screaming for a better teammate.