2021 AMG Mercedes F1 Team

[e30ernest]

I think Russell will be up there with Lewis as well. I actually think that Russell stands a good chance of beating the Lewis Hamilton that we currently have. Lewis doesn't seem to be as fast or as hungry as he was in his early Merc years.

[Jolle]

I think Russell will be up there with Lewis as well. I actually think that Russell stands a good chance of beating the Lewis Hamilton that we currently have. Lewis doesn't seem to be as fast or as hungry as he was in his early Merc years.

Hamilton’s “hunger” maybe doesn’t show this year yet, but just a year ago he was very sharp and hungry to say the least. This year it looks more that he/they first have to deal with the wacky races we had and the instability of the car. Like a record that, that for several reasons, is skipping the needle. Once it’s in the groove again, he’ll be able to put his teeth in the steering wheel again.

[zibby43]

I think Russell will be up there with Lewis as well. I actually think that Russell stands a good chance of beating the Lewis Hamilton that we currently have. Lewis doesn't seem to be as fast or as hungry as he was in his early Merc years.

Hamilton’s “hunger” maybe doesn’t show this year yet, but just a year ago he was very sharp and hungry to say the least. This year it looks more that he/they first have to deal with the wacky races we had and the instability of the car. Like a record that, that for several reasons, is skipping the needle. Once it’s in the groove again, he’ll be able to put his teeth in the steering wheel again.

Great analogy to describe Merc’s season thus far.

[b2bL44]

I think Russell will be up there with Lewis as well. I actually think that Russell stands a good chance of beating the Lewis Hamilton that we currently have. Lewis doesn't seem to be as fast or as hungry as he was in his early Merc years.

Hamilton’s “hunger” maybe doesn’t show this year yet, but just a year ago he was very sharp and hungry to say the least. This year it looks more that he/they first have to deal with the wacky races we had and the instability of the car. Like a record that, that for several reasons, is skipping the needle. Once it’s in the groove again, he’ll be able to put his teeth in the steering wheel again.

Great analogy to describe Merc’s season thus far.

Seconded, love the analogy. I'd add that since the Silverstone upgrades have been introduced we've not had a chance to see Lewis at his best. Yes at Silverstone he was in beast mode, but after yeeting Max to the moon his inherent race pace wasn't not discussed enough as everyone was of course distracted. Same again in Hungary, Lewis had great pace but this time it was Valtteri skittering the field. Spa was just shenanigans all over.

I hope that Zandvoort is a clean weekend for everyone.

[e30ernest]

Possibly, or long covid has affected his ability to keep peak concentration during the races/qualifying. He's always seemed off to me ever since he got Covid. Like he wasn't performing at his best.

[SiLo]

Hamilton’s “hunger” maybe doesn’t show this year yet, but just a year ago he was very sharp and hungry to say the least. This year it looks more that he/they first have to deal with the wacky races we had and the instability of the car. Like a record that, that for several reasons, is skipping the needle. Once it’s in the groove again, he’ll be able to put his teeth in the steering wheel again.

Great analogy to describe Merc’s season thus far.

Seconded, love the analogy. I'd add that since the Silverstone upgrades have been introduced we've not had a chance to see Lewis at his best. Yes at Silverstone he was in beast mode, but after yeeting Max to the moon his inherent race pace wasn't not discussed enough as everyone was of course distracted. Same again in Hungary, Lewis had great pace but this time it was Valtteri skittering the field. Spa was just shenanigans all over.

I hope that Zandvoort is a clean weekend for everyone.

His race pace in Silverstone AND Hungary was absolutely mental. Honestly wish he managed to get Alonso a few laps earlier because I'm certain he would have won that race.

[Mr.S]

Hamilton just shared a pic with his dog & tagged Russel. Next season will be interesting. He will be 37 @ the start of 22 season & 38 @ the start of 23 season. Can you see him in 2023 driving @ 39 when he will be almost 40 when 2023 ends? I don't know. So Mercedes have got Lewis for 2 years (unlikely more) & Russel who is 23 (who could stay for 15 years). What happens if they have a huge clash !

Also Verstappen's contract is up in 2023 when Lewis' contract winds down. And possibly Norris as well. So Mercedes could have Verstappen or Norris in 2024. Same with Gasly if they are looking for a strong No. 2 behind Russel. Leclerc is tied till 2024 with Ferrari & is unlikely to move.

Next season @ Mercedes will be fun. One can understand why Hamilton so desperately wants Bottas as his team-mate !

[kenshi_blind]

Hamilton just shared a pic with his dog & tagged Russel. Next season will be interesting. He will be 37 @ the start of 22 season & 38 @ the start of 23 season. Can you see him in 2023 driving @ 39 when he will be almost 40 when 2023 ends? I don't know. So Mercedes have got Lewis for 2 years (unlikely more) & Russel who is 23 (who could stay for 15 years). What happens if they have a huge clash !

Also Verstappen's contract is up in 2023 when Lewis' contract winds down. And possibly Norris as well. So Mercedes could have Verstappen or Norris in 2024. Same with Gasly if they are looking for a strong No. 2 behind Russel. Leclerc is tied till 2024 with Ferrari & is unlikely to move.

Next season @ Mercedes will be fun. One can understand why Hamilton so desperately wants Bottas as his team-mate !

do you have anything based on facts to back this up ?

[NathanOlder]

Hamilton just shared a pic with his dog & tagged Russel. Next season will be interesting. He will be 37 @ the start of 22 season & 38 @ the start of 23 season. Can you see him in 2023 driving @ 39 when he will be almost 40 when 2023 ends? I don't know. So Mercedes have got Lewis for 2 years (unlikely more) & Russel who is 23 (who could stay for 15 years). What happens if they have a huge clash !

Also Verstappen's contract is up in 2023 when Lewis' contract winds down. And possibly Norris as well. So Mercedes could have Verstappen or Norris in 2024. Same with Gasly if they are looking for a strong No. 2 behind Russel. Leclerc is tied till 2024 with Ferrari & is unlikely to move.

Next season @ Mercedes will be fun. One can understand why Hamilton so desperately wants Bottas as his team-mate !

do you have anything based on facts to back this up ?

None at all. Just some fans who want to belive Lewis is afraid of Russell and needs Bottas next him.

Lewis has said he likes Bottas as a team mate, just like he will about Russell when Russell joins him. Its just Lewis saying the right things about his current team mate. Even if he hated Bottas and wanted him to leave, he would never say anything other than Bottas is a top driver and he's vital to the team.

[kenshi_blind]

Hamilton just shared a pic with his dog & tagged Russel. Next season will be interesting. He will be 37 @ the start of 22 season & 38 @ the start of 23 season. Can you see him in 2023 driving @ 39 when he will be almost 40 when 2023 ends? I don't know. So Mercedes have got Lewis for 2 years (unlikely more) & Russel who is 23 (who could stay for 15 years). What happens if they have a huge clash !

Also Verstappen's contract is up in 2023 when Lewis' contract winds down. And possibly Norris as well. So Mercedes could have Verstappen or Norris in 2024. Same with Gasly if they are looking for a strong No. 2 behind Russel. Leclerc is tied till 2024 with Ferrari & is unlikely to move.

Next season @ Mercedes will be fun. One can understand why Hamilton so desperately wants Bottas as his team-mate !

do you have anything based on facts to back this up ?

None at all. Just some fans who want to belive Lewis is afraid of Russell and needs Bottas next him.

Lewis has said he likes Bottas as a team mate, just like he will about Russell when Russell joins him. Its just Lewis saying the right things about his current team mate. Even if he hated Bottas and wanted him to leave, he would never say anything other than Bottas is a top driver and he's vital to the team.

thanks for this level headed reply , i wouldn't have said it better and yeah as you said i don't see Lewis saying anything bad about Bottas , it would have been another driver and he wouldn't have said anything bad about them either cos that's just not who he is i guess

[NathanOlder]

do you have anything based on facts to back this up ?

None at all. Just some fans who want to belive Lewis is afraid of Russell and needs Bottas next him.

Lewis has said he likes Bottas as a team mate, just like he will about Russell when Russell joins him. Its just Lewis saying the right things about his current team mate. Even if he hated Bottas and wanted him to leave, he would never say anything other than Bottas is a top driver and he's vital to the team.

thanks for this level headed reply , i wouldn't have said it better and yeah as you said i don't see Lewis saying anything bad about Bottas , it would have been another driver and he wouldn't have said anything bad about them either cos that's just not who he is i guess

Yeah, unfortunately some fns see comments like Lewis made about Bottas as a cry for help and scared of having a different team mate.

[kenshi_blind]

None at all. Just some fans who want to belive Lewis is afraid of Russell and needs Bottas next him.

Lewis has said he likes Bottas as a team mate, just like he will about Russell when Russell joins him. Its just Lewis saying the right things about his current team mate. Even if he hated Bottas and wanted him to leave, he would never say anything other than Bottas is a top driver and he's vital to the team.

thanks for this level headed reply , i wouldn't have said it better and yeah as you said i don't see Lewis saying anything bad about Bottas , it would have been another driver and he wouldn't have said anything bad about them either cos that's just not who he is i guess

Yeah, unfortunately some fns see comments like Lewis made about Bottas as a cry for help and scared of having a different team mate.

which is a pity but what can you do
Back to the topic . i hope the weather is more welcoming so that we can see if Merc has tweaked their upgrade package from Silverstone and hopefully they managed to extract a bit more performance out of it

[NathanOlder]

thanks for this level headed reply , i wouldn't have said it better and yeah as you said i don't see Lewis saying anything bad about Bottas , it would have been another driver and he wouldn't have said anything bad about them either cos that's just not who he is i guess

Yeah, unfortunately some fns see comments like Lewis made about Bottas as a cry for help and scared of having a different team mate.

which is a pity but what can you do
Back to the topic . i hope the weather is more welcoming so that we can see if Merc has tweaked their upgrade package from Silverstone and hopefully they managed to extract a bit more performance out of it

Yeah, also I think Zibby (I think it was) mentioned there could be a potential upgrade package for Zandvoort, that would be good to know if its come to fruition. It would be really good for Mercedes to be the first team of the year to score a 1-2 result at the home of Max

[selvam_e2002]

Looking for solid Ham as 1 and Bottas as 2 in Max home race and want to see the excuses and crap from Marco & co.

[Ryar]

Hamilton just shared a pic with his dog & tagged Russel. Next season will be interesting. He will be 37 @ the start of 22 season & 38 @ the start of 23 season. Can you see him in 2023 driving @ 39 when he will be almost 40 when 2023 ends? I don't know. So Mercedes have got Lewis for 2 years (unlikely more) & Russel who is 23 (who could stay for 15 years). What happens if they have a huge clash !

Also Verstappen's contract is up in 2023 when Lewis' contract winds down. And possibly Norris as well. So Mercedes could have Verstappen or Norris in 2024. Same with Gasly if they are looking for a strong No. 2 behind Russel. Leclerc is tied till 2024 with Ferrari & is unlikely to move.

Next season @ Mercedes will be fun. One can understand why Hamilton so desperately wants Bottas as his team-mate !

do you have anything based on facts to back this up ?

None at all. Just some fans who want to belive Lewis is afraid of Russell and needs Bottas next him.

Lewis has said he likes Bottas as a team mate, just like he will about Russell when Russell joins him. Its just Lewis saying the right things about his current team mate. Even if he hated Bottas and wanted him to leave, he would never say anything other than Bottas is a top driver and he's vital to the team.

I wish we all have that crystal ball. Words or behavior, one way or the other, a driver's dislike comes out. The way he denied his friendship with Rosberg, because of what happened in 2016 and doesn't speak to him till date and has jeered a few times when Rosberg made some remarks at Lewis' driving in some instances. No driver likes getting beaten by another. So it's naive to think Lewis would be happy getting beaten by Russell and will be kind to him.