Lewis Hamilton dominated the Styrian Grand Prix from start to finish to take his first win of the season. Valtteri Bottas passed Verstappen for second in the closing stages, making for a perfect result for Mercedes AMG F1.
You mean what happened at Ferrari last year? I get your point from a fan's perspective but when a team spends 400+ million they want safe, boring, consistent performance with zero drama and negative media attention.
Well, if not Verstappen (I acknowledge your point) then at least Russell. So the middle ground.
Russell is good when it comes to having mental stability and maturity. Performance is unknown vs Kubica and now rookie Latifi. Putting pressure on him this early with basically no experience will end up like Max vs Gasly. Also racing against experience drivers ruins careers. Alonso vs Vandoorne and Raikkonen vs Gio for example.
So exactly what IS their plan then? Leave him eternally at Williams?
True GOATs don’t need the help of superior material to win.
Not just Max' fans. They are losing TV-time and goodwill because the director will not show them when there way better nr.1 is 20 seconds in front.
Losing some are time here and there means a lot less than being able to roll Hamilton out in every marketing campaign under the sun.
So we agree that just like RB is fully focused on Verstappen, Mercedes is fully focused on Hamilton? Because that somehow gets denied alot around here.
If that makes you feel better feel free to interpret it that way cuz that's not anywhere close to what I said.
Well, if not Verstappen (I acknowledge your point) then at least Russell. So the middle ground.
Russell is good when it comes to having mental stability and maturity. Performance is unknown vs Kubica and now rookie Latifi. Putting pressure on him this early with basically no experience will end up like Max vs Gasly. Also racing against experience drivers ruins careers. Alonso vs Vandoorne and Raikkonen vs Gio for example.
So exactly what IS their plan then? Leave him eternally at Williams?
Maybe they should put Russell at RBR, so that Max gets a good run for him money
You guys should really take your personal attacks and beef to another topic.
Not for nothing, Rosberg's Championship is the only thing that lends credibility to Hamilton's recent success. Otherwise, he'd just be the guy who's had the best car. — bhall II #Team44 supporter
Losing some are time here and there means a lot less than being able to roll Hamilton out in every marketing campaign under the sun.
So we agree that just like RB is fully focused on Verstappen, Mercedes is fully focused on Hamilton? Because that somehow gets denied alot around here.
If that makes you feel better feel free to interpret it that way cuz that's not anywhere close to what I said.
It is 100% inline with what you said. Else you would have said Bottas/Hamilton in every marketing campaign.
True GOATs don’t need the help of superior material to win.
You mean what happened at Ferrari last year? I get your point from a fan's perspective but when a team spends 400+ million they want safe, boring, consistent performance with zero drama and negative media attention.
Well, if not Verstappen (I acknowledge your point) then at least Russell. So the middle ground.
Russell is good when it comes to having mental stability and maturity. Performance is unknown vs Kubica and now rookie Latifi. Putting pressure on him this early with basically no experience will end up like Max vs Gasly. Also racing against experience drivers ruins careers. Alonso vs Vandoorne and Raikkonen vs Gio for example.
Im not so sure. Putting all the pieces together here so bear with me.
In F2 he dominated both Albon and Norris. He has then consistently out-qualified his teammates every damn weekend for over a year now with one if them being his Rookie year. He then (please don’t laugh) seemed to just pick up Sim racing within weeks of never trying it before and started surprising and matching their best times. Those points show that he’s good, versatile and rather quick on the uptake.
It seems he can turn his hand to most things and can get the best of any equipment he’s given.
Hamilton did a very nice trick, well done to him, I don't know if he lucked into it, or simply planned it or he's just intuitive like that. Still, no one else did what he did so he deserves pole.
If you watch his onboard, he timed track position so the car in front was ahead just enough to clear the water off the road, but not so close that he had to drive in the spray. Because of this he was able to dominate in the final sector.
In fact, I suppose it’s possible Hamilton wins this year and next, retires, and then Russell steps on and carries right on where Hamilton left off. Could be that Verstappen never wins a world title.
Russell needs to be at the team next year, only that way he will be prepared to take the mantle when Lewis retires
Otherwise it will be overwhelming for him to fight for title
Can you all please stop the old repetitive discussion? Discuss the great qualifying and all the junior drivers doing stellar job. Ferrari and Racing point underperforming?
Every damn thread ends up aboit Hamilton. Not his performance, but just about everything irrelevant. So noisy.
Hamilton did a very nice trick, well done to him, I don't know if he lucked into it, or simply planned it or he's just intuitive like that. Still, no one else did what he did so he deserves pole.
If you watch his onboard, he timed track position so the car in front was ahead just enough to clear the water off the road, but not so close that he had to drive in the spray. Because of this he was able to dominate in the final sector.
It is something i have seen before in his other laps, for example in Monza 2017
He has some kind of intuitiveness to find the best possible track or and find the best possible patch of dry section... maybe it comes naturally for him, no wonder he is quick on most wet races
You guys should really take your personal attacks and beef to another topic.
Agreed.
This. Fully agree. We don't need this silly fanboying flame wars. Subtle jabs are fine between adults because no one takes it seriously and most are just happy to see good racing and close competition. This endless x is greater/faster/more talented than y is just derailing civil discussions and analysis on all forums over the web. It's just childish and silly.
“Hamilton’s talent is perhaps even more than that of Ayrton or Schumacher or Fernando." - Rubens Barrichello
Possible race strategies:
soft - medium
soft - hard
medium - soft
medium - hard
hard - softs
hard - mediums
If Hamilton starts on medium and Verstappen on softs, he may lose first position. Assuming then that Verstappen pits earlier (because his softs will wear out more quickly), he'll then be on a quicker tire relative to Hamilton who then would be leading on his more durable tires. Once Hamilton comes in, he'll be behind Verstappen and will have to pass on track. I see that as a huge disadvantage.
If Hamilton starts on softs and retains the lead, relative to Verstappen on mediums, then yes, he'll have to pit earlier, but he then has two options; Either he'll go to hards or go risky by going mediums. Either way, he'll pit and he'll then be faster than Verstappen, so that when Verstappen pits, he'll be back behind and then he will have to pass on track. Given I see the Mercedes as the faster car, I think this would be very unlikely.
Starting on softs of course has some disadvantages, that being that many behind him will be on mediums and there is a risk he'll get into traffic if he pits early. However, he should be in the fastest cars and be able to drive out an advantage. Bottas further behind might be able to also help, as he might be on the medium or even hard tires.
I don't know, I definitely see it as a no brainer to put Hamilton on softs no matter what and I think RedBull will put Verstappen on mediums. They could put Verstappen on softs to try to get into P1 at T1, but I think the Mercedes should be quick enough to hold off the RedBull, even when starting on the outside.
EDIT: Not to mention, if there is a safety car, it will always benefit the driver in the lead. That means that pos 1 is key, but could put the car starting on the more durable tire at a slight advantage for the short duration he'd be leading. But is the difference in durability that high between the medium and the softs? I didn't think so...
Just my 2 cents.
Last edited by Phil on 11 Jul 2020, 18:20, edited 1 time in total.
Not for nothing, Rosberg's Championship is the only thing that lends credibility to Hamilton's recent success. Otherwise, he'd just be the guy who's had the best car. — bhall II #Team44 supporter
Possible race strategies:
soft - medium
soft - hard
medium - soft
medium - hard
hard - softs
hard - mediums
If Hamilton starts on medium and Verstappen on softs, he may lose first position. Assuming then that Verstappen pits earlier (because his softs will wear out more quickly), he'll then be on a quicker tire relative to Hamilton who then would be leading on his more durable tires. Once Hamilton comes in, he'll be behind Verstappen and will have to pass on track. I see that as a huge disadvantage.
If Hamilton starts on softs and retains the lead, relative to Verstappen on mediums, then yes, he'll have to pit earlier, but he then has two options; Either he'll go to hards or go risky by going mediums. Either way, he'll pit and he'll then be faster than Verstappen, so that when Verstappen pits, he'll be back behind and then he will have to pass on track. Given I see the Mercedes as the faster car, I think this would be very unlikely.
Starting on softs of course has some disadvantages, that being that many behind him will be on mediums and there is a risk he'll get into traffic if he pits early. However, he should be in the fastest cars and be able to drive out an advantage. Bottas further behind might be able to also help, as he might be on the medium or even hard tires.
I don't know, I definitely see it as a no brainer to put Hamilton on softs no matter what and I think RedBull will put Verstappen on mediums. They could put Verstappen on softs to try to get into P1 at T1, but I think the Mercedes should be quick enough to hold off the RedBull, even when starting on the outside.
Just my 2 cents.
Mercedes will win, thus Hamilton.
Quote me on it.
True GOATs don’t need the help of superior material to win.
Hamilton did a very nice trick, well done to him, I don't know if he lucked into it, or simply planned it or he's just intuitive like that. Still, no one else did what he did so he deserves pole.
If you watch his onboard, he timed track position so the car in front was ahead just enough to clear the water off the road, but not so close that he had to drive in the spray. Because of this he was able to dominate in the final sector.
Which kinda proves the point that he’s a thinker behind the wheel.
