2024 Mercedes-AMG | Petronas F1 Team

[Just_a_fan]

Do you want me to count Lewis' or Max's first 6 years?

Lewis in Qatar is correct. He himself admitted after the race it was his fault.

It has been counted. Lewis had 33 crashes in his first 5 years.

To his credit, he went onto become a legend.

What is disappointing is the efforts to run down George as some ordinary talent. Except for a genuine couple of mistakes, his races have been squeaky clean. He doesn't push drivers off the track while battling like the other proven drivers do or mindlessly crashe into others (the only racing incident was Imola 21). This blind disregard for a strong talent makes it for awkward dicussions. I don't like to hate or disregard other drivers, because those drivers a problem for my favorite driver.

Running down George is a way for some people to attack Lewis. If George is "average" (as these people contend) then Lewis must be rubbish because he's got fewer points. Simple hater logic, basically.

[AMG.Tzan]

It has been counted. Lewis had 33 crashes in his first 5 years.

To his credit, he went onto become a legend.

What is disappointing is the efforts to run down George as some ordinary talent. Except for a genuine couple of mistakes, his races have been squeaky clean. He doesn't push drivers off the track while battling like the other proven drivers do or mindlessly crashe into others (the only racing incident was Imola 21). This blind disregard for a strong talent makes it for awkward dicussions. I don't like to hate or disregard other drivers, because those drivers a problem for my favorite driver.

Yeah. I wasn't even a fan of George early on until i seen how much ppl were trying to pass him off as an average driver for some reason. He was the original Antonelli and he proved it. Yet here we are pretending that he is average.

https://i.postimg.cc/Kc3qyxnv/tdk11gt31pt41.jpg

He isn’t anywhere near average! I was also so excited for him to join and I wanted him in the team badly after Bahrain 2020! But what is it that makes people hate him?

Well for my part it’s his obsession with Lewis and wanting to just finish ahead of him irrespective of what’s best for the team! I mean yes every single driver wants to finish ahead of his teammate I understand! Not to mention embarassing himself whenever he opens his mouth…

But then you look at Zandvoort 2022! That’s where it all started! The guy destroyed any chance Mercedes had of battling Max for the win by doing his own strategy just to finish ahead of Hamilton! He could have been defensive by using Hamilton’s DRS to keep Verstappen behind…yet he chose a 2nd place just so that he can finish the season ahead of Hamilton (through shear luck really)!

2023 pretty much gave everyone an answer of what happens when in equal footing with Hamilton…

[SKYnRacing24]

"But then you look at Zandvoort 2022! That’s where it all started! The guy destroyed any chance Mercedes had of battling Max for the win by doing his own strategy just to finish ahead of Hamilton! He could have been defensive by using Hamilton’s DRS to keep Verstappen behind…yet he chose a 2nd place just so that he can finish the season ahead of Hamilton (through shear luck really)! "

Yeah that was some BS. Lewis rightly was pissed but everyone was laying into him. After Lewis is gone i am intrigued to see what the dynamic for Russell will do for him as the main focus. Imo he will grab it with both hands. He still one hell of a driver on track but still lacks the finesse with these Pirelli tyres unlike Lewis....When i saw that gap dropping back from Max and Russell had Lando and Lewis in his DRS. I had a feeling if it was Lewis up ahead he wouldn't of fallen off the cliff of pace like that. Lewis pretty much confirmed it himself tbh but Russell knows his consistency on Sunday needs to be worked on. Hopefully with the car being more stable that should aid that but ironically Lewis said this car only likes to be setup one way after all these years of testing (Yes he even mentioned 2022)

I find that very intriguing. He's obviously been trying to mold his driving style around these ground effect cars and in my honest opinion.....he still hasn't felt at home with theses regs, i guess its a testament to how he can adapt but fundamentally he cant utilise his driving style with these cars, there too stiff imo and can't rotate the rear like he could with the previous gen

[ab_f1]

Well for my part it’s his obsession with Lewis and wanting to just finish ahead of him irrespective of what’s best for the team! I mean yes every single driver wants to finish ahead of his teammate I understand! Not to mention embarassing himself whenever he opens his mouth…

The outlap after first stop was quite telling. He gave it everything to be ahead and then immediately calls in for team to intervene and prevent Lewis from overtaking.

[CHT]

“Max wont make a decision on his future until 2026 earliest. By then Mclaren Merc, Ferrari etc will all have a vacant seat for him for 2027, if he decided to leave RB”.

If the Rb project is a dud he could very well be coming off a poor season by ‘27. It won’t stop him finding a seat, but I believe the Verstappen group are trying hard to craft a legacy that’ll paint VER as the best-to-ever-do-it by end. They can’t afford a let down from the heights they’re currently enjoying. Which is why they’ll manoeuvre before ‘26 if they’re unsure about the Rb project/convinced in the Merc one - no time for wait & see, they’ll be bold.

How do you reckon Max camp would be unsure about RB project? Nobody knows what's in store with 26 engines or the chassis. Considering it's ex-Honda and ex-Mercedes guys building engine for RBPT, how different would it be from Mercedes or Honda building their engines. Taking risk by moving out before 26, would be stupid. In 26 atleast they would know the performance landscape and Max can choose where he wants to go. He leaves Red Bull by end of 2025 and joins Mercedes, but Red Bull comes up with a stunner, there is no going back! There is a huge risk involved in making a hasty decision.

Totally agree, no one know for sure how 2026 is going to turn out.

As the saying goes "one accurate measurement is worth a thousand expert opinions"

[Mansell89]

Since the updates which put Merc on the podium in Canada and Barcelona, as well as pole in the former, what are the car strengths it has now?

I thought their Barca pace was very positive given that circuit is a thorough test of your aero. So makes the Canada pace an unlikely one off.

Is the Austria altitude likely to enhance performance or detract from an efficiency strength?

[ringo]

It seems to be very good in middle of low speed corners and on straights. Not so great exiting the corners and in the highspeed. I would say average. No longer weak at anything, but not the best at anything either.

[Dunlay]

It has been counted. Lewis had 33 crashes in his first 5 years.

To his credit, he went onto become a legend.

What is disappointing is the efforts to run down George as some ordinary talent. Except for a genuine couple of mistakes, his races have been squeaky clean. He doesn't push drivers off the track while battling like the other proven drivers do or mindlessly crashe into others (the only racing incident was Imola 21). This blind disregard for a strong talent makes it for awkward dicussions. I don't like to hate or disregard other drivers, because those drivers a problem for my favorite driver.

Running down George is a way for some people to attack Lewis. If George is "average" (as these people contend) then Lewis must be rubbish because he's got fewer points. Simple hater logic, basically.

Both. One side that doesn't like Lewis, wants to project George as average to claim Lewis is being beaten by average driver and there is another side that is hardcore Lewis fans that feels annoyed to see George ahead of Lewis and hence run him down.

If you are a Brit and support all your drivers on the grid, then you are annoyed with both sides.

[Mansell89]

It seems to be very good in middle of low speed corners and on straights. Not so great exiting the corners and in the highspeed. I would say average. No longer weak at anything, but not the best at anything either.

So decent in the Austria long straights but perhaps not so good in the other bits?

Think they will have their work cut out against McLaren then here perhaps.

[ringo]

McLaren and Redbull will smoke mercedes in Austria.
As much as McLaren was hyped in Barcelona, Redbull was 100% full throttle in some of the corners. I dont think they were going all out in that race. Austria will see redbull win by 20 seconds. Mercedes will be 5th and 6th if Piastri and Perez sort themselves out.
We could get a podium again though if the second drivers slip up.

[HungarianRacer]

It seems to be very good in middle of low speed corners and on straights. Not so great exiting the corners and in the highspeed. I would say average. No longer weak at anything, but not the best at anything either.

Disagree, beside Max and - funnily enough - Sergio, George was the only one who took both T9 and T14 completely flat in qualifying, those are areas of heavy management in the race, but qualy is enough to show that the car now has plenty good high-speed cornering ability, at least in long-radius, non-connected corners. T5 and T10 never looked great, nor in race or qualy, so I'm not sure where you got that idea from...

I don't think high-speed, low-speed(... etc., you name it) prowess is anywhere near as deeply rooted in a car's 'DNA' as it was in pre-2022 regs anyways, nowadays it feels like a single upgrade package, or even just the car setup that teams settle on in a particular race weekend can shuffle relative strenghts and weaknesses around quiet significantly.

[mkay]

McLaren and Redbull will smoke mercedes in Austria.
As much as McLaren was hyped in Barcelona, Redbull was 100% full throttle in some of the corners. I dont think they were going all out in that race. Austria will see redbull win by 20 seconds. Mercedes will be 5th and 6th if Piastri and Perez sort themselves out.
We could get a podium again though if the second drivers slip up.

The rear-limited nature of Austria will truly test the progress made by Mercedes to cure their rear tyre overheating issues.

[justin2102]

McLaren and Redbull will smoke mercedes in Austria.
As much as McLaren was hyped in Barcelona, Redbull was 100% full throttle in some of the corners. I dont think they were going all out in that race. Austria will see redbull win by 20 seconds. Mercedes will be 5th and 6th if Piastri and Perez sort themselves out.
We could get a podium again though if the second drivers slip up.

I wouldn't say smoked because there are some low to medium speed corners which Mercedes excelled in Canada and i do not remember Mercedes being too bad in the high speed because amongst the top 4 runners i only saw Max, George and Lando take the fast corners flat out plus plenty of straight line and possibly upgrades to come

[RacePaceDemon]

To his credit, he went onto become a legend.

What is disappointing is the efforts to run down George as some ordinary talent. Except for a genuine couple of mistakes, his races have been squeaky clean. He doesn't push drivers off the track while battling like the other proven drivers do or mindlessly crashe into others (the only racing incident was Imola 21). This blind disregard for a strong talent makes it for awkward dicussions. I don't like to hate or disregard other drivers, because those drivers a problem for my favorite driver.

Running down George is a way for some people to attack Lewis. If George is "average" (as these people contend) then Lewis must be rubbish because he's got fewer points. Simple hater logic, basically.

Both. One side that doesn't like Lewis, wants to project George as average to claim Lewis is being beaten by average driver and there is another side that is hardcore Lewis fans that feels annoyed to see George ahead of Lewis and hence run him down.

If you are a Brit and support all your drivers on the grid, then you are annoyed with both sides.

George is an elite driver. The fact he can even be near Hamilton in a race is a testament to his great speed. And this is coming from a big Hamilton fan. People assume max would come and wipe the floor but I disagree.

[Formula 1 fan]

Approximately what could be the upgrades that Mercedes will bring for the race in Austria?