2017 AMG Mercedes F1 Team - Mercedes

[Manoah2u]

About that oval thing

http://en.f1i.com/news/283120-hamilton- ... uting.html

Lewis Hamilton has revealed that he had enjoyed an "interesting' time running a Formula 1 car on a US oval track this week.
"Just the other day I happened to get to drive a Formula 1 car on an oval, which was interesting," he said.

No official details have been given about the test. Hamilton himself posted a teaser video clip on Twitter with the caption "Top Secret - Shhhhh."
But reports on social media suggested it took place at Pocono Raceway in Pennsylvania and involved a Mercedes W07 - last year's race car.

Pocono is known as the 'Tricky Triangle' due to its unique configuration as an oval with only three corners. That's very different from the more conventional Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which hosts the Indy 500.

"Maybe one day I’ll day I’ll have some fun and go out," he added. "Obviously I get lots of opportunities to do those things. But I have no plans to go there and do anything serious."

and

https://nesn.com/2017/10/lewis-hamilton ... -f1-texas/

Lewis Hamilton posted a video Wednesday teasing a “top secret” video project that he shot in Pennsylvania on Tuesday. The video doesn’t give away many details about the project, apart from the fact that it involves the W07 race car, which won Mercedes-AMG Petronas its third consecutive title in 2016. Based on Hamilton’s Snapchat story from Tuesday, however, we know the race track at the end of the clip is Pocono Raceway.

Unless the video was to promote some sort of partnership between Pocono and Mercedes, we haven’t the faintest clue what it pertained to, or why that was the location for the shoot.
Perhaps F1’s new owner, Liberty Media, got its wish for a second U.S. race, and it will take place at Pocono.

[NathanOlder]

Cheers for that

[Restomaniac]

I can't see the problem of having 1 American speedway track added to the calendar.

It would just add to the mix of track types.

[Just_a_fan]

The cars aren't designed / built for super-speedway tracks. They'd need to do some serious engineering, not to mention the tyres aren't designed for it either.

[NathanOlder]

Id say add Indy to the calendar in a few years so teams and Pirelli have enough notice. Would make an excellent race. And surely unpredictable

[Manoah2u]

Does anybody know whether COTA will remain contracted for the coming years?

Could we actually see COTA be replaced with Pocono, perhaps 1 year POCONO, next COTA ?

[GPR-A duplicate2]

Mercedes claims fourth F1 constructors' championship in Austin

[media]https://twitter.com/MercedesAMGF1/statu ... 6541384705[/media]

[marvin78]

The most dominant car(s) of all times. I am fascinated by the works of that team.

[ripper]

Amazing job and well deserved title!

[garyjpaterson]

It seems inevitable that Lewis will wrap up the drivers championship at Mexico, so now its all about where Valtteri can finish, and preparations for 2018.

How likely is it that Merc, having wrapped up both championship begin looking towards 2018, perhaps taking engine penalties to test next year components/concepts? I mean in previous years with the regs remaining so stable and their dominance so great that there was little to no incentive to forfeit more record breaking results to benefit the upcoming season, but looking at how close in performance its been this year, could Merc forget this year and basically start testing for next?

And assuming Merc don't bother testing for next year, how likely do you think Merc will push for Valtteri to close up on Vettel? And do you think Lewis would give up on a win to do so?

[Gerhardsa]

Bottas is simply not quick enough to come close to Vettel now. Don't think he will overtake Vet for 2nd place this year.

[digitalrurouni]

Bottas is simply not quick enough to come close to Vettel now. Don't think he will overtake Vet for 2nd place this year.

Or next year I think - though I still keep having high hopes for Valterri. Perhaps it's because of his demeanor!

[Schuttelberg]

Well, I never thought I'd say this, but I miss Rosberg. Bottas is just AWFUL!

[ringo]

I don't think he is awful. Rosberg never faces as much competition from the rest of the field as Bottas did.
We only got glimpses of Rosberg under pressure from the other cars, and it didn't looks as strong as Bottas in some cases.
Bottas can race hard, his main issue is dealing with the tyres. And that's not a bad problem to have in your first year in the team. When the tyres work, he can be very quick and aggressive.

[Phil]

I like Bottas too, especially his honesty, although that could be his biggest weakness. I am not sure Rosberg would have ever beaten Hamilton to a WDC if not for the psychological warfare, despite his pace. Fair play to him for that.

Bottas is way more likeable IMO and i am not saying this cause i am a Hamilton supporter. And even if he is currently struggling, Mercedes did just win their 4th consecutive WCC with 3 races to go. Bottas has done more for Mercedes than Kimi has for Ferrari.