Silly season 2021-2022-2023

[Just_a_fan]

I bet Hamilton couldn't handle a similar situation that Alonso had in 2007, so it has been avoided at all cost.

I bet he'd handle it better than Alonso did...

We will see... History may show Russell was held in a Williams at Hamiltons requirement.

Someone will eventually spill them beans!

Yes, either way we'll see one way or the other. Russell is, I think, very, very good so it wouldn't be a surprise to see him do well against Hamilton. No doubt whatever happens will lead to opposing views of the outcome.

[dtro]

Verstappen is the biggest threat to Mercedes by a country mile. Signing Verstappen would kill two birds with one stone; finding a solution to the Hamilton problem, and distancing themselves from the competition.

It won't happen though, even if Verstappen's supposed "exit clause" permits it.

In reality, its probably going to be Bottas for another year.

If Bottas sinks the constructor's ship with abysmal performances that's going to be a hard ask. Merc will coddle their ubermensch but eventually they need to recognize that even if Ros/Ham probably gave everyone at Merc some extra gray hairs that combination was lethal in terms of how strong it made their push for the constructor's glory. Rus/Ham would probably be similar, only one letter difference.

[Fulcrum]

Russell is certainly more likely, but hiring Verstappen would be a decisive move on the part of Mercedes. It puts Hamilton on notice, gives Mercedes a clear path away from over-dependency on Hamilton, and undermines their competition substantially.

[qatmix]

I think looking a Bottas you can see in his body language he knows he is not there next year. Russell is on his way in. It makes sense and in reality Hamilton knows that he will still have an advantage as the Team is his, and he is still the best driver on the grid, even if he may not have the ultimate pace of some of the hotshots.

I think Redbull should go for Bottas, he is a great number two, Verstappen cannot cope with a faster team-mate, yet Bottas will still have a lot of knowledge on how their main rival works, and he is still quick.

[codetower]

I think looking a Bottas you can see in his body language he knows he is not there next year. Russell is on his way in. It makes sense and in reality Hamilton knows that he will still have an advantage as the Team is his, and he is still the best driver on the grid, even if he may not have the ultimate pace of some of the hotshots.

I think Redbull should go for Bottas, he is a great number two, Verstappen cannot cope with a faster team-mate, yet Bottas will still have a lot of knowledge on how their main rival works, and he is still quick.

Redbull have a better option with Perez now than if they go with Bottas. I'm confident they will re-sign Perez. And besides, I don't think Bottas wants to be a number 2. His best bet would be to replace Vettel over at Aston Martin. He could fight there for the #1 seat, and the car is not bad (unlike if he goes to Williams). I don't know what Vet's contract is like, but if he does decently this year, he might call it quits on a high note. He's got 4 championships, he knows his best days are behind him, and he may not want to compete with the young guns anymore.

[adrianjordan]

Russell is certainly more likely, but hiring Verstappen would be a decisive move on the part of Mercedes. It puts Hamilton on notice, gives Mercedes a clear path away from over-dependency on Hamilton, and undermines their competition substantially.

I am pretty confident that Red Bull are meeting whatever performance clauses are in Max's contract and he will not be going anywhere. Why would he want to anyway? He has a team built around him that is on an upwards trajectory. He has one if, if not still the best designers leading the technical development of the 2022 car and the Honda PU has come good this season and should still be competitive for the frozen PU years.

Merc alongside Hamilton is a big unknown for him. Red Bull alongside Perez is not.

[PlatinumZealot]

LOL.

It's mind boggling how result oriented people in the world have become. Hamilton and Rosberg also won everything in their time together but, Rosberg had the capacity to compete against a RedBull or a Ferrari in an equal car. There's no doubt he wasn't so great at passing but he was streets ahead of Bottas and most importantly he had speed. Rosberg was untouchable on some weekends consistently even against a driver of Hamilton's calibre. Bottas is nowhere near him. The only reason "he's been doing his job" is because Mercedes was so far ahead and now in 2021 when Hamilton needs his support, he is nowhere.

The logical solution was to have Ocon in the Mercedes already and then contemplate between him and Russell. Instead, a Mercedes prodigy is now a Renault driver and if Hamilton decides to pull the hand break on his career, Mercedes are left with an unproven talent and a proven failure. They've put too many eggs in the Hamilton basket. I much preferred a Hamilton/Rosberg pairing where your second driver is not a doormat. He's about 1.5 and fully capable of being champion. It's very clear that Red Bull and Ferrari have both recognised this and put things in place for a good 4-5 years. People keep saying that once Hamilton leaves, Verstappen will go to Mercedes but that seat may not be so illusive come 2022. Mercedes have gone from having any driver they like in that seat to Hamilton/bust. It's a clear failure of management and investment but thanks to the masterclass of Hamilton's driving and Mercedes engineers, people will sing hymns of leadership in tribute to Toto Wolff.

I thought anyone could win in a Mercedes, so why the concern if Hamilton retires along an unproven driver

[Manoah2u]

I thought anyone could win in a Mercedes, so why the concern if Hamilton retires along an unproven driver

Yeah that's claimed a lot by a bunch of people including Hamilton's opponents,
but the fact remains that Bottas proves that isn't the case, and quite frankly,
that makes his Mercedes F1 future soon finite, case closed.

There is no way that the amount of talk recently around Russell to Mercedes,
Bottas absolute abysmal driving, and Hamilton's recent claims he's gonna go on for a bit,
are unfounded.

I also believe Bottas will wave F1 farewell immediately after 2021.
He's been in F1 for quite some time now, and let's face it, he's never ever going to be a WDC.
If he can't even do it in the mightiest car on the grid, he's just not cut out for the job.
He's done a-ok, he's got a bunch of wins under his belt, a bunch of pole positions and so on.

F1 and Mercedes has done him well, he's been paid very royally for his services.
He'll certainly go back to Finland and enjoy some other stuff outside of F1.
I would expect him to go do some Rally, and some WEC or perhaps LeMans.
But apart from that, i think that's it really - not that he isn't capable, just that i don't see him doing other stuff much.
I don't think he's the guy to end up in Formula E - but i could be wrong.

I also very much doubt he'll accept a humilificating and degrading role by going to Williams midseason.
Probably unlikely to see him get replaced but not impossible though. Nissany is likely to replace Russell midseason or for 2022.

The bottas ship has sailed though.

[Fulcrum]

Russell is certainly more likely, but hiring Verstappen would be a decisive move on the part of Mercedes. It puts Hamilton on notice, gives Mercedes a clear path away from over-dependency on Hamilton, and undermines their competition substantially.

I am pretty confident that Red Bull are meeting whatever performance clauses are in Max's contract and he will not be going anywhere. Why would he want to anyway? He has a team built around him that is on an upwards trajectory. He has one if, if not still the best designers leading the technical development of the 2022 car and the Honda PU has come good this season and should still be competitive for the frozen PU years.

Merc alongside Hamilton is a big unknown for him. Red Bull alongside Perez is not.

Would Red Bull pay him Hamilton-sized amounts of money?

It's not happening, so I'll stop.

[DChemTech]

I thought anyone could win in a Mercedes, so why the concern if Hamilton retires along an unproven driver

Well, anyone could. At least, in the past few years when Merc was the absolutely dominant car. And Bottas did win.
Now the gap is smaller, so it may be harder for any driver to win in the Mercedes.

[NathanOlder]

I thought anyone could win in a Mercedes, so why the concern if Hamilton retires along an unproven driver

Well, anyone could. At least, in the past few years when Merc was the absolutely dominant car. And Bottas did win.
Now the gap is smaller, so it may be harder for any driver to win in the Mercedes.

And Hamilton is proving his worth yet again.

I thought the whole "anyone can win in the Mercedes ' was just a pop at Lewis to discredit his wins and achievements. So of Bottas fails to win a race then that just adds to Hamiltons achievements.

p.s anyone can win in a redbull as proven this season

[adrianjordan]

Russell is certainly more likely, but hiring Verstappen would be a decisive move on the part of Mercedes. It puts Hamilton on notice, gives Mercedes a clear path away from over-dependency on Hamilton, and undermines their competition substantially.

I am pretty confident that Red Bull are meeting whatever performance clauses are in Max's contract and he will not be going anywhere. Why would he want to anyway? He has a team built around him that is on an upwards trajectory. He has one if, if not still the best designers leading the technical development of the 2022 car and the Honda PU has come good this season and should still be competitive for the frozen PU years.

Merc alongside Hamilton is a big unknown for him. Red Bull alongside Perez is not.

Would Red Bull pay him Hamilton-sized amounts of money?

It's not happening, so I'll stop.

Don't know. Maybe. But with all the talk of driver salaries being capped at some point, maybe the future lies in drivers having deals outside the driver contract anyway.

[gcdugas]

Methinks Lando to Merc 2022

[SmallSoldier]

Methinks Lando to Merc 2022

Pretty hard since he just signed a multi year deal with McLaren a month ago!


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[Zynerji]

Methinks Lando to Merc 2022

I could see Russell replacing Bottas in 2022, and Lando showing up as Hamilton's retirement replacement in 2023.