2021 AMG Mercedes F1 Team

[Hoffman900]

Lewis knows he is in a proper title fight this year and I think we are going to see his best year yet for performances.

Even if he loses, I hope we see some Senna ‘93 type performances. I think, as many pundits, regard that season as some of his best driving ever.

I think Lewis is hoping for that knowing he’s at or coming down from his peak as a driver, and now’s the time to put it all together and show what he’s capable of to cement his legacy.*

* I don’t think Lewis drives with his legacy in mind, but I think he just wants to battle. He seems to feed off the challenge.

[MKlaus]

Bottas really made his own luck somewhat, but I still think he is being judged too harshly. He's been right on it at Imola in free practice. In QF, he was compromised somewhat by having to do a second run on mediums in Q2 while Hamilton (and Verstappen) could prepare optimally for Q3 with a test-run on the softs.

In the crash with Russel, the issue was largely down to the layout of the track and the dry line. I wouldn't expect Bottas having to concede that line any more than he already did - and at those speeds and with a corner, you don't want to make sharp turns while two wheels are potentially outside that dry line. That could have been easily him losing his car in making room for Russel as it was for Russel reacting slightly more to necessary and getting on the wet patch himself. Overall, a very unfortunate racing incident with neither really to blame, just as unfortunate as Hamilton being held up by cars to be lapped and having to leave that dry line himself on slick tires into a braking zone. During those laps, any car leaving that dry line, especially in corners and braking zone was a big risk for everyone and I for one am surprised there weren't more collisions.

Also in regards to Bottas pace during the race - one shouldn't forget that Bottas had less of a chance at passing cars prior to his crash because DRS was mostly disabled and again, there was that big risk of what might happen when leaving the ideal line. I'm fairly confident there were less overtakes in the first half of the race vs the second half when the track was mostly dried out.

Last point - and the real reason why I am posting this here and not the race thread; Anyone else find Russel not being that likeable? I didn't really appreciate him going to Bottas for a fight after such a heavy high speed collision. I also started watching Drive to Survive recently (up to season 3 / episode 4 or something) and there was this episode, I think in season 2 (episode 9 I think) where he doesn't come across that well, when criticizing his own team and car. No matter how skilled Russel may be, he is still a rookie and is one of only 20 drivers to be fortunate enough to drive F1. The mentality of "I deserve more than to be driving at the back of the grid" IMO is misplaced and I would prefer to have a driver who stands behind his team and tries to help them improve, rather than acting like the spoiled talent who should be in a Mercedes seat.

Just my 2 cents.

a simple reason for all the fiasco is bottas' lack of talent to drive in wet. he was battling with a williams to save position is enough to say it!!!
but if you want a nice and affable guy, then he is your man. lewis didn't start as a likeable guy either. that's just a reference. even when he joined mercedes, to use james vowell's words, he was mercenary out there driving to win for himself. it's easy to help a talented driver be groomed for the rough edges in behavior, than making a nice donkey become talented. moreover, likeability is a subjective. different people see it differently.
luckily, perez did worse and that helped the wcc standing for mercedes, else that would have been a more severe issue to concede lead in standings. if perez gets it right often, bottas would fast become a liability, more so with field getting bunched together tighter.

[El Scorchio]

"So sorry guys."

Bang. No histrionics. No shouting and blaming anyone else. Hand up, my bad, sorry.

And then got the car back to 2nd place so no points lost. Yes, fortunate with the red flag, etc., etc., but still had to turn that good fortune in to points.

It was a shame about the off because it was possible that we'd have had a Lewis / Max battle for the lead in the closing laps.

That’s the highlight for him, not only how composed he was, but also that even when he realized that he was going to be one lap behind (or more) he didn’t gave up and tried to get back on the race... It would have been easy for him to just keep the car beached and give up


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That's where you make your own luck, to an extent. A lot of drivers would probably have stopped the car. He had the sense to get back in the race, even if it was going to be for 2-3 points for finishing 8th-9th.

If you just keep it going, then anything can happen. Thinking of Perez winning from 20th in Sakhir last season (incidentally with the help of a safety car or two along the way to close massive gaps to the leaders, which I don't think any of us thought was unfair....)

[dtro]

Last point - and the real reason why I am posting this here and not the race thread; Anyone else find Russel not being that likeable? I didn't really appreciate him going to Bottas for a fight after such a heavy high speed collision. I also started watching Drive to Survive recently (up to season 3 / episode 4 or something) and there was this episode, I think in season 2 (episode 9 I think) where he doesn't come across that well, when criticizing his own team and car. No matter how skilled Russel may be, he is still a rookie and is one of only 20 drivers to be fortunate enough to drive F1. The mentality of "I deserve more than to be driving at the back of the grid" IMO is misplaced and I would prefer to have a driver who stands behind his team and tries to help them improve, rather than acting like the spoiled talent who should be in a Mercedes seat.

Just my 2 cents.

Totally agreed
[/quote]

Bottas was barely in the points and in a losing position in a fight with a Williams, which leads to this quick question: why on earth was Bottas in that position, namely the one in which his teammate had lapped him just a few laps prior to the collision? Bottas is clearly no better than Vettel at this point. Any time it's less than dry Bottas is doing something especial. When Albon was P8 or some weak nonsense nobody waited to call him out, rather people continue the myth that the RB is somehow undriveable unless you're MV. When one car is getting podiums and the other car is somehow just scraping by with a couple points the car not performing is criticized.

Bottas under pressure is no Nico Rosberg. Alonso knows you always leave uh de space. Bottas should've left more space. Russell was absolutely correct to be ripsh*t with the Finn. That crash was avoidable if Bottas didn't have his head up his a**

[toraabe]

Bottas fault. He drifted over on purpose.. Not nice no respect.

[cheeRS]

Last point - and the real reason why I am posting this here and not the race thread; Anyone else find Russel not being that likeable? I didn't really appreciate him going to Bottas for a fight after such a heavy high speed collision. I also started watching Drive to Survive recently (up to season 3 / episode 4 or something) and there was this episode, I think in season 2 (episode 9 I think) where he doesn't come across that well, when criticizing his own team and car. No matter how skilled Russel may be, he is still a rookie and is one of only 20 drivers to be fortunate enough to drive F1. The mentality of "I deserve more than to be driving at the back of the grid" IMO is misplaced and I would prefer to have a driver who stands behind his team and tries to help them improve, rather than acting like the spoiled talent who should be in a Mercedes seat.

Just my 2 cents.

I disagree. I will say that Russel's response immediately after the crash was immature and unnecessary, regrettable even. A lot of damage can be done when emotions run high, and adrenaline is at its peak after a 200MPH crash.

Honestly, I would take EVERYTHING you see/hear in D2S with a grain of salt. The entirety of the content is taken out of context, from different races/interviews in order to generate the storylines and drama. Seriously, it's entertaining, but it's pretty much artificial. It really is.

For a better representation of Russel, listen to his Beyond the Grid feature: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y25uGLKnMzg

For being young, he's quite composed, quite polite. The Williams team (especially Claire, even if she's no longer there) have nothing but good to say about the guy.

Bottas, on the other hand, is just about the most unlikeable guy IMO. He has the personality and charisma of an office chair and brings nothing to the paddock really. Not that this means much, but I'd be willing to bet that he's got the worst sales of fan gear like shirts/hats/etc. He's only likeable to a very small population of fans.

[dans79]

Last point - and the real reason why I am posting this here and not the race thread; Anyone else find Russel not being that likeable? I didn't really appreciate him going to Bottas for a fight after such a heavy high speed collision. I also started watching Drive to Survive recently (up to season 3 / episode 4 or something) and there was this episode, I think in season 2 (episode 9 I think) where he doesn't come across that well, when criticizing his own team and car. No matter how skilled Russel may be, he is still a rookie and is one of only 20 drivers to be fortunate enough to drive F1. The mentality of "I deserve more than to be driving at the back of the grid" IMO is misplaced and I would prefer to have a driver who stands behind his team and tries to help them improve, rather than acting like the spoiled talent who should be in a Mercedes seat.

Entitled is the word that comes to mind for me. As i've said a few times, he's had several major screw ups that are all on him. Not to mention his one real stand out moment, was a good qualifying in a dominant car on what's easily the simplest track layout in the last 2+ decades.

I mentioned yesterday he could easily lose the Mercedes seat to someone like Lando, if he can't get himself under control.

[MKlaus]

https://www.grandprix247.com/2021/04/19 ... oss-brawn/

With regards to the biggest talking point of the weekend – the Valtteri Bottas collision with George Russell – Brawn said: “There will no doubt be an intense post-mortem of the accident. The positive thing is that both drivers escaped unhurt and the cars held up on impact to show how far we’ve come regarding the safety standards.

“Imola is quite a narrow track so there’s not much space. When you add wet grass either side from the rain, it becomes very, very tricky.

“I’m sure both drivers will analyse the incident and learn from it but it did look like Valtteri drifted across and left George nowhere to go,” ventured Brawn.

in my opinion, bottas' days are numbered. he would have been gone if not for claire holding on to george for 2021 when mercedes wanted to bring in george for 2021.

[diffuser]

Lewis knows he is in a proper title fight this year and I think we are going to see his best year yet for performances.

Even if he loses, I hope we see some Senna ‘93 type performances. I think, as many pundits, regard that season as some of his best driving ever.

I think Lewis is hoping for that knowing he’s at or coming down from his peak as a driver, and now’s the time to put it all together and show what he’s capable of to cement his legacy.*

* I don’t think Lewis drives with his legacy in mind, but I think he just wants to battle. He seems to feed off the challenge.

To date, IMHO, his best years have been the Alonso year and the Roseberg years.

[Phil]

Honestly, I would take EVERYTHING you see/hear in D2S with a grain of salt. The entirety of the content is taken out of context, from different races/interviews in order to generate the storylines and drama. Seriously, it's entertaining, but it's pretty much artificial.

Fair point. But he did say what he said and i doubt it was scripted (talking strictly about s02e09 and his attitude in the car which was a direct copy from his team radio etc and also the interview. I fully agree that Netflix has an interest in creating drama, but i believe that particular stuff was not taken out of context. It pretty much portrayed a character that is surfacing more and more - one that believes he should be in that Mercedes and that he should not be at Williams / it’s below him and he doesnt belong there.

I fully understand that it is frustrating to see the likes of norris getting a lot of glory - a driver he beat in F2 - while he is driving behind the pack at Williams, but he isnt doing himself any favors with that kind of attitude.

[SmallSoldier]

Honestly, I would take EVERYTHING you see/hear in D2S with a grain of salt. The entirety of the content is taken out of context, from different races/interviews in order to generate the storylines and drama. Seriously, it's entertaining, but it's pretty much artificial.

Fair point. But he did say what he said and i doubt it was scripted (talking strictly about s02e09 and his attitude in the car which was a direct copy from his team radio etc and also the interview. I fully agree that Netflix has an interest in creating drama, but i believe that particular stuff was not taken out of context. It pretty much portrayed a character that is surfacing more and more - one that believes he should be in that Mercedes and that he should not be at Williams / it’s below him and he doesnt belong there.

I fully understand that it is frustrating to see the likes of norris getting a lot of glory - a driver he beat in F2 - while he is driving behind the pack at Williams, but he isnt doing himself any favors with that kind of attitude.

Well, Russell beating Norris in F2 doesn’t necessarily make him a better driver than Norris... We have a tendency to think that driver performance is static in time, the fact that someone may have a better season (which in itself needs to be analyzed, since retirements, accidents and other factors play a role in the standings at the end of the season), doesn’t mean that they are automatically better for the rest of their careers.

Saying that will mean that the likes of Ocon is better than Verstappen and I believe we can all agree that isn’t the case (Ocon was the Champion during 2014 F3 season, in that same season Verstappen finished P3 in the Championship).


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[F1Krof]

Look at how Bottas was stuck behind Stroll, whereas Hamilton scythed through the field from ninth.

Hamilton is better at overtaking, but one thing is that the track was dry and DRS was available when Hamilton passed those people. Bottas not only had bad performance and problems getting heat into tires he had no DRS and there was the single dry line situation going on.

Mercedes has seemed to be much worse compared to Red Bull when behind other cars.

Fair point.

+1

[zibby43]

Last point - and the real reason why I am posting this here and not the race thread; Anyone else find Russel not being that likeable? I didn't really appreciate him going to Bottas for a fight after such a heavy high speed collision. I also started watching Drive to Survive recently (up to season 3 / episode 4 or something) and there was this episode, I think in season 2 (episode 9 I think) where he doesn't come across that well, when criticizing his own team and car. No matter how skilled Russel may be, he is still a rookie and is one of only 20 drivers to be fortunate enough to drive F1. The mentality of "I deserve more than to be driving at the back of the grid" IMO is misplaced and I would prefer to have a driver who stands behind his team and tries to help them improve, rather than acting like the spoiled talent who should be in a Mercedes seat.

Entitled is the word that comes to mind for me. As i've said a few times, he's had several major screw ups that are all on him. Not to mention his one real stand out moment, was a good qualifying in a dominant car on what's easily the simplest track layout in the last 2+ decades.

I mentioned yesterday he could easily lose the Mercedes seat to someone like Lando, if he can't get himself under control.

Last year, Lando had some flippant comments about what Hamilton had accomplished being not impressive, but expected, given his equipment. Probably the most disrespectful comments I’ve seen from any young driver. He later apologized.

Lando has had his own mistakes on-track as well.

I definitely agree that how George conducted himself in the immediate aftermath of yesterday’s incident was not his best moment, but he’s fast, he’s hungry/hard-working and at least willing to make a move on track.

I’m willing to cut all the young guys some slack. And I appreciate that George had a mea culpa today.



On a related note, I have supported Bottas for a long time. I think he was deserving of that support, too. But since the end of last season, he has been performing mediocre to below mediocre, and his penchant for letting mistakes snowball on weekends could easily cost Merc the WCC this year.

[Jolle]

Last point - and the real reason why I am posting this here and not the race thread; Anyone else find Russel not being that likeable? I didn't really appreciate him going to Bottas for a fight after such a heavy high speed collision. I also started watching Drive to Survive recently (up to season 3 / episode 4 or something) and there was this episode, I think in season 2 (episode 9 I think) where he doesn't come across that well, when criticizing his own team and car. No matter how skilled Russel may be, he is still a rookie and is one of only 20 drivers to be fortunate enough to drive F1. The mentality of "I deserve more than to be driving at the back of the grid" IMO is misplaced and I would prefer to have a driver who stands behind his team and tries to help them improve, rather than acting like the spoiled talent who should be in a Mercedes seat.

Entitled is the word that comes to mind for me. As i've said a few times, he's had several major screw ups that are all on him. Not to mention his one real stand out moment, was a good qualifying in a dominant car on what's easily the simplest track layout in the last 2+ decades.

I mentioned yesterday he could easily lose the Mercedes seat to someone like Lando, if he can't get himself under control.

Last year, Lando had some flippant comments about what Hamilton had accomplished being not impressive, but expected, given his equipment. Probably the most disrespectful comments I’ve seen from any young driver. He later apologized.

Lando has had his own mistakes on-track as well.

I definitely agree that how George conducted himself in the immediate aftermath of yesterday’s incident was not his best moment, but he’s fast, he’s hungry/hard-working and at least willing to make a move on track.

I’m willing to cut all the young guys some slack. And I appreciate that George had a mea culpa today.

https://twitter.com/georgerussell63/sta ... 41223?s=21

On a related note, I have supported Bottas for a long time. I think he was deserving of that support, too. But since the end of last season, he has been performing mediocre to below mediocre, and his penchant for letting mistakes snowball on weekends could easily cost Merc the WCC this year.

At the moment the WCC is quite safe-ish with RedBull and Perez dropping the ball now twice (last race the car, this race Perez).

[Big Tea]

Great recovery from Lewis, I think that's the first time I've seen a F1 driver need to use reverse gear and still finish second lol.

Apart from the cost of rebuilding Bottas's car I'm guessing he will need a new gearbox and possibly a new PU which will lead to a grid penalty, so that crash could end up being disastrous for Mercedes constructors championship chances.

Edit just seen photos in the W12 thread, maybe the rear end wasn't damaged as badly as I thought so maybe the gearbox and PU are ok.

If you don’t finish the race, you can fit a new GB without a penalty.

I think this is no longer the case. I believe you are now allowed 3 and that's it without a penalty.