2021 AMG Mercedes F1 Team

[Just_a_fan]

I wouldn't be surprised to see George "do a Lewis" on Lewis in the first corner of the first race in 2022, just as Lewis did it to Fernando way back in 2007. Imagine how this forum will react if he does that.

He needs to work on his starts more over the winter then, I haven't been very impressed!

I think the first thing Merc should do for George ( well, any young driver ) is get him 'an Angela' like Lewis. (remember early Lewis?)

He seems a bit hot headed and seems to get would up easily (Bottas smack on helmet). Anything that can keep his concentration on the track and not have to be concerned about trivia will make him better.


PS I think her role with Lewis is highly under rated

Agreed. She is his right arm (no, not like that you naughty boys!) and really does take the load off him (no!) and helps him produce his best on track.

[Gillian]

He needs to work on his starts more over the winter then, I haven't been very impressed!

I think the first thing Merc should do for George ( well, any young driver ) is get him 'an Angela' like Lewis. (remember early Lewis?)

He seems a bit hot headed and seems to get would up easily (Bottas smack on helmet). Anything that can keep his concentration on the track and not have to be concerned about trivia will make him better.


PS I think her role with Lewis is highly under rated

Agreed. She is his right arm (no, not like that you naughty boys!) and really does take the load off him (no!) and helps him produce his best on track.

This made me laugh too hard lol.

2022 will be interesting. I think if the car isn't competitive, Lewis will retire. I can see him competing for a few more years if the car is competitive. With competitive I mean fighting for podiums minimum. I mean, if anything this season has shown he is still one of the best on the grid.

I also really don't see Russell beating Hamilton. I am afraid Russell is going to have a rude wake-up in 2022. Feel free to quote me on this if I am proven wrong next year.

[dans79]

I wouldn't be surprised to see George "do a Lewis" on Lewis in the first corner of the first race in 2022, just as Lewis did it to Fernando way back in 2007. Imagine how this forum will react if he does that.

He needs to work on his starts more over the winter then, I haven't been very impressed!

It probably has more to do with Williams hardware than George himself. When he sat in that Mercedes for that one off race, he did get a brilliant getaway. Then there is a good chunk of winter testing available to learn the Mercedes hardware in that regard.

I don't have exact numbers on hand, but he hasn't done very well compared to his teammate(with regards to starts) if memory serves!

[Gillian]

He needs to work on his starts more over the winter then, I haven't been very impressed!

It probably has more to do with Williams hardware than George himself. When he sat in that Mercedes for that one off race, he did get a brilliant getaway. Then there is a good chunk of winter testing available to learn the Mercedes hardware in that regard.

I don't have exact numbers on hand, but he hasn't done very well compared to his teammate(with regards to starts) if memory serves!

And look at Hamiltons start the last few races. Insanely good.

[Ryar]

He needs to work on his starts more over the winter then, I haven't been very impressed!

I think the first thing Merc should do for George ( well, any young driver ) is get him 'an Angela' like Lewis. (remember early Lewis?)

He seems a bit hot headed and seems to get would up easily (Bottas smack on helmet). Anything that can keep his concentration on the track and not have to be concerned about trivia will make him better.


PS I think her role with Lewis is highly under rated

Agreed. She is his right arm (no, not like that you naughty boys!) and really does take the load off him (no!) and helps him produce his best on track.

Psychologically, different athletes are wired differently. What worked for Lewis, doesn't necessarily work for George too. Success can help an individual be in a rhythm and suddenly everything looks like perfectly setup. But if the car is not upto the mark and there are struggles on the track, then it can affect the mental aspects that the support staff may not be able to address. It's a tricky one to say if "an Angela" like would have the same impact on George. Ultimately, the right equipment matters more to the mental well being of a driver.

[Just_a_fan]

I think the first thing Merc should do for George ( well, any young driver ) is get him 'an Angela' like Lewis. (remember early Lewis?)

He seems a bit hot headed and seems to get would up easily (Bottas smack on helmet). Anything that can keep his concentration on the track and not have to be concerned about trivia will make him better.


PS I think her role with Lewis is highly under rated

Agreed. She is his right arm (no, not like that you naughty boys!) and really does take the load off him (no!) and helps him produce his best on track.

This made me laugh too hard lol.

2022 will be interesting. I think if the car isn't competitive, Lewis will retire. I can see him competing for a few more years if the car is competitive. With competitive I mean fighting for podiums minimum. I mean, if anything this season has shown he is still one of the best on the grid.

I also really don't see Russell beating Hamilton. I am afraid Russell is going to have a rude wake-up in 2022. Feel free to quote me on this if I am proven wrong next year.

Good - the aim was to inject a bit of light-hearted humour. We need it sometimes, I think.

If the car isn't competitive, I think Lewis will see his contract out. So long as he beats his team mate, there's nothing else that can be done. All drivers see it that way - your most important opponent is your team mate.

I'd love for Lewis to be able to maintain his current record of having a win in every season in F1, even if he doesn't take another title. He would be the only driver to have done it, so it really would be a nice little thing to achieve.

I think Russell is the real deal. I think he'll push Lewis as hard as Nico did. If I'm wrong, do remind me of this post.

[Ryar]

One thing I can promise - if it even looks like Lewis has been given a better call than George before the season has panned out, Lewis's haters will fill the web with invective.

Don't blame them. Its you guys who have strongly built that narrative that Mercedes is a equal opportunity employer of their drivers. So any fall in that standard, will be called out.

[Just_a_fan]

One thing I can promise - if it even looks like Lewis has been given a better call than George before the season has panned out, Lewis's haters will fill the web with invective.

Don't blame them. Its you guys who have strongly built that narrative that Mercedes is a equal opportunity employer of their drivers. So any fall in that standard, will be called out.

Up to now, that's the way the team have operated. Bottas was allowed to take wins even when Lewis was fighting for titles - or do you forget the Hungary race where he let Lewis through on the understanding that Lewis would let him back if he couldn't make any more headway than Bottas had? And what happened? Lewis let him back through. No "multi21, Seb, multi21" at that race, eh?

[Ryar]

One thing I can promise - if it even looks like Lewis has been given a better call than George before the season has panned out, Lewis's haters will fill the web with invective.

Don't blame them. Its you guys who have strongly built that narrative that Mercedes is a equal opportunity employer of their drivers. So any fall in that standard, will be called out.

Up to now, that's the way the team have operated. Bottas was allowed to take wins even when Lewis was fighting for titles - or do you forget the Hungary race where he let Lewis through on the understanding that Lewis would let him back if he couldn't make any more headway than Bottas had? And what happened? Lewis let him back through. No "multi21, Seb, multi21" at that race, eh?

Let's not open the "Valtteri it's James here" can now. There are too many worms. Let the situation prevail and let the discussions take their course. All said and done, George at Mercedes is an exciting prospect. Hopefully, George doesn't let a new can called, "George this is James here" be created.

[Just_a_fan]

Don't blame them. Its you guys who have strongly built that narrative that Mercedes is a equal opportunity employer of their drivers. So any fall in that standard, will be called out.

Up to now, that's the way the team have operated. Bottas was allowed to take wins even when Lewis was fighting for titles - or do you forget the Hungary race where he let Lewis through on the understanding that Lewis would let him back if he couldn't make any more headway than Bottas had? And what happened? Lewis let him back through. No "multi21, Seb, multi21" at that race, eh?

Let's not open the "Valtteri it's James here" can now. There are too many worms. Let the situation prevail and let the discussions take their course. All said and done, George at Mercedes is an exciting prospect. Hopefully, George doesn't let a new can called, "George this is James here" be created.

Those messages were when it was obvious who was going to be taking the fight to the opposition. They were also after the pit stops if memory serves. Did any of those messages happen in the early laps of a race early in the season when both drivers were competitive against other teams? I can't remember either way.

[Ryar]

Up to now, that's the way the team have operated. Bottas was allowed to take wins even when Lewis was fighting for titles - or do you forget the Hungary race where he let Lewis through on the understanding that Lewis would let him back if he couldn't make any more headway than Bottas had? And what happened? Lewis let him back through. No "multi21, Seb, multi21" at that race, eh?

Let's not open the "Valtteri it's James here" can now. There are too many worms. Let the situation prevail and let the discussions take their course. All said and done, George at Mercedes is an exciting prospect. Hopefully, George doesn't let a new can called, "George this is James here" be created.

Those messages were when it was obvious who was going to be taking the fight to the opposition. They were also after the pit stops if memory serves. Did any of those messages happen in the early laps of a race early in the season when both drivers were competitive against other teams? I can't remember either way.

You should watch 2017 Spanish GP again!

[Just_a_fan]

Let's not open the "Valtteri it's James here" can now. There are too many worms. Let the situation prevail and let the discussions take their course. All said and done, George at Mercedes is an exciting prospect. Hopefully, George doesn't let a new can called, "George this is James here" be created.

Those messages were when it was obvious who was going to be taking the fight to the opposition. They were also after the pit stops if memory serves. Did any of those messages happen in the early laps of a race early in the season when both drivers were competitive against other teams? I can't remember either way.

You should watch 2017 Spanish GP again!

Lewis was ahead of Bottas in the standings and fighting with Seb who was leading the standings. The team were fighting Ferrari in the team title too. So the call goes in the way that helps both the team and the leading driver.

Perhaps if Bottas hadn't spun behind the safety car in China and ended up only 6th rather than third or second, he'd have been with or even ahead of Lewis in the title race going in to the Spanish race.

The little details make the difference when calling these things out.

[Hammerfist]

Agreed. She is his right arm (no, not like that you naughty boys!) and really does take the load off him (no!) and helps him produce his best on track.

This made me laugh too hard lol.

2022 will be interesting. I think if the car isn't competitive, Lewis will retire. I can see him competing for a few more years if the car is competitive. With competitive I mean fighting for podiums minimum. I mean, if anything this season has shown he is still one of the best on the grid.

I also really don't see Russell beating Hamilton. I am afraid Russell is going to have a rude wake-up in 2022. Feel free to quote me on this if I am proven wrong next year.

Good - the aim was to inject a bit of light-hearted humour. We need it sometimes, I think.

If the car isn't competitive, I think Lewis will see his contract out. So long as he beats his team mate, there's nothing else that can be done. All drivers see it that way - your most important opponent is your team mate.

I'd love for Lewis to be able to maintain his current record of having a win in every season in F1, even if he doesn't take another title. He would be the only driver to have done it, so it really would be a nice little thing to achieve.

I think Russell is the real deal. I think he'll push Lewis as hard as Nico did. If I'm wrong, do remind me of this post.

I think Russell is going to be overwhelmed. I've watched a lot of his onboards this year. His race craft is just not there, loses too many positions he should not be, his race pace is almost never great, and he is a pretty dreadful starter as well. He is just really quick in one lap. Whether that is good enough to beat Hamilton on Saturdays remains to be seen, but on Sundays I have little doubt he isn't in the class of Lewis. If Russell was the real deal he would already have some memorable races, even in a Williams. Imo he should always finish in front of both Alfa Romeos and his teammate. That just wasn't the case. I was more impressed by how the late Jules Bianchi performed in a Manor than I am at Russell at Williams.

[ringo]

Brasil they took 3 points away for 0.2mm

That was fair though. The wing was out of spec, and therefore they lost their place in sprint qualifying.

But when Max overtakes the leader at the SC they say no advantage gained.

What advantage?

I like to try to look at things objectively. I agree with some of your other points, but the points above were fair IMO.

What i am saying is 0.2mm is immaterial, but its a black and white regulation.
So it is for overtaking the race leader. We have seen it in the past. Its immaterial if you put a nose ahead.. but it's still as much a rule as the white lines are used to define the track.

[Gillian]

Agreed. She is his right arm (no, not like that you naughty boys!) and really does take the load off him (no!) and helps him produce his best on track.

This made me laugh too hard lol.

2022 will be interesting. I think if the car isn't competitive, Lewis will retire. I can see him competing for a few more years if the car is competitive. With competitive I mean fighting for podiums minimum. I mean, if anything this season has shown he is still one of the best on the grid.

I also really don't see Russell beating Hamilton. I am afraid Russell is going to have a rude wake-up in 2022. Feel free to quote me on this if I am proven wrong next year.

Good - the aim was to inject a bit of light-hearted humour. We need it sometimes, I think.

If the car isn't competitive, I think Lewis will see his contract out. So long as he beats his team mate, there's nothing else that can be done. All drivers see it that way - your most important opponent is your team mate.

I'd love for Lewis to be able to maintain his current record of having a win in every season in F1, even if he doesn't take another title. He would be the only driver to have done it, so it really would be a nice little thing to achieve.

I think Russell is the real deal. I think he'll push Lewis as hard as Nico did. If I'm wrong, do remind me of this post.

I think Russel won't do much better than Bottas in the races. But I think it's hard to judge because of the car he has been driving. But it's my gut feeling. Will depend on the relative performances too ofcourse. I think that's something that is forgotten by some who compare Bottas and Rosberg. The gap Mercedes had to the next best was a lot bigger when Rosberg drove than when Bottas drove for Mercedes. On average. But we'll see!

And it's a deal. I'm digging up this post somewhere half way the season next year.