2021 AMG Mercedes F1 Team

[kenshi_blind]

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.

I am not sure what you're getting at, no one said that Lewis would be happy getting beaten by Russel....I mean you wrote a wall of text for what ? State your assumptions made ouf of biases?
The fact that the only example that came to your mind to support your opinion is about Rosberg speaks volume.
Rosberg played all the dirtiest tricks in the book and kudos to him but despite that I haven't heard Lewis go on blast about him which would be warranted if you ask me but then again Hamilton just does not do that .

[ringo]

Rosberg got beaten soundly for 3 years before AMG tried their best to let him have 1 championship. Let's not get into that story again. But Lewis knew who was better and so did Rosberg and it wasnt an issue. At most Lewis was annoyed about his reliability and the driver coachin that Nico recieved.
George will just be a new teammate and Lewid will get on at doing his work.
In fact George will be easier to beat for the first 2 years because of his youth and lack of experience. He will want to learn more from Lewis than start a war.
Also i dont think any driver on the grid has Hamilton's race pace or clean overtaking abilities. George would be trying to beat Lewis while also learning from him. Lewis will return to hiding his tricks; which he has tried to do with Nico and Bottas.

[adrianjordan]

Rosberg got beaten soundly for 3 years before AMG tried their best to let him have 1 championship. Let's not get into that story again. But Lewis knew who was better and so did Rosberg and it wasnt an issue. At most Lewis was annoyed about his reliability and the driver coachin that Nico recieved.
George will just be a new teammate and Lewid will get on at doing his work.
In fact George will be easier to beat for the first 2 years because of his youth and lack of experience. He will want to learn more from Lewis than start a war.
Also i dont think any driver on the grid has Hamilton's race pace or clean overtaking abilities. George would be trying to beat Lewis while also learning from him. Lewis will return to hiding his tricks; which he has tried to do with Nico and Bottas.

From the interviews I've seen with Toto where he has said that Lewis is keen to support the future of the team, I genuinely feel like Lewis will actually support George and almost coach him (similar to Schumacher and Massa in their years together at Ferrari).

I think Russell is switched on enough to realise the opportunity he has and that he can be patient, playing the team game - whilst pushing to the limit but never over it - for 2 years to ensure that he is in the best seat for the lead spot in the team when Lewis retires.

[Raleigh]

Well, step 1 of the driver swap has happened.



Kimi has been given the chance to announce his retirement on his own terms. All action at Mercedes after this.

[zibby43]

Debrief answering setup questions:

[Marty_Y]

Debrief answering setup questions:

https://youtu.be/aNUuDObLNi4

Nice one, thanks for posting.

It's good to see everyone back at the factory wearing their masks when they are walking around or not at their workstations. Even though it's no longer mandatory to wear masks here in England I think it's good practice to continue to do so for the safety of anyone who may still be vulnerable to the virus.

[zibby43]

Debrief answering setup questions:

https://youtu.be/aNUuDObLNi4

Nice one, thanks for posting.

It's good to see everyone back at the factory wearing their masks when they are walking around or not at their workstations. Even though it's no longer mandatory to wear masks here in England I think it's good practice to continue to do so for the safety of anyone who may still be vulnerable to the virus.

Welcome! Agree. My fiancée is an ER RN (about to graduate NP school) so I’m for all measures that help keep her and her co-workers safe. Virtually all of the hospitalizations here are unvaccinated patients, sadly.

Back to the debrief - despite the fact that there was no race, they really shed some light on how intermediate setups work. I saw so many people overestimate the notion of a “wet” setup in contemporary F1 this past weekend.

Virtually no mechanical changes because of how limited the ride height window is. That was surprising. It’s all downforce choices.

[ringo]

Yes it is all downforce and tyre temperatures.
Explains why as said before Williams gambled on high downforce, but also as mentiones with Hulk in 2010, they know the right prep for a fast wet lap with the right tyre temps.
I think Lewis and Bottas did the best they could with the setup and the team's procedure for a wet outlap and also build up laps.
Maybe Merc can investigate Williams' method.

[adrianjordan]

Yes it is all downforce and tyre temperatures.
Explains why as said before Williams gambled on high downforce, but also as mentiones with Hulk in 2010, they know the right prep for a fast wet lap with the right tyre temps.
I think Lewis and Bottas did the best they could with the setup and the team's procedure for a wet outlap and also build up laps.
Maybe Merc can investigate Williams' method.

Nah, George will show them when he arrives lol

[Marty_Y]

Yes it is all downforce and tyre temperatures.
Explains why as said before Williams gambled on high downforce, but also as mentiones with Hulk in 2010, they know the right prep for a fast wet lap with the right tyre temps.
I think Lewis and Bottas did the best they could with the setup and the team's procedure for a wet outlap and also build up laps.
Maybe Merc can investigate Williams' method.

I think Williams method is ok if you've got nothing to loose or low expectations, they could afford to do one prep lap and one hot lap right at the end,

For Mercedes it made sense to get a good lap on the board in case of a red flag or conditions worsening then do a cool down lap then try for another fast lap, the only problem is that they did multiple laps (4 I think) so by the end their tyres weren't in as good condition or at the ideal temperature as Williams 2 laps old tyres they set their best time on.

[zibby43]

Per AMuS, Merc will introduce their final upgrades of the season at Zandvoort.

[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 !

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

Hamilton made it clear wanted Bottas. Let us not make stuff up guys.

He said he preferred fighting against another team rival than say a Rosberg fight & that Bottas was good for the team spirit. He time & again went out of his way to say he preferred Bottas as his partner. Bottas said Lewis Hamilton directly told him that Lewis wants Bottas to stay.

LH said Bottas is the best team-mate & a lie he had (which is a joke considering he has Alonso, Rosberg & Button & all 3 are way better speed wise than Bottas). He defended Bottas more than once this season when Bottas got criticism (in a manner no team-mate would). Even after Russel's heroics in qualifying, he said his preference for Bottas hasn't changed & that he hoped Bottas would remain in his team. Hamilton had no business saying he prefers Bottas to Russel. He should said it was great to work with Bottas & it a Mercedes decision & he has no business in it !

Wolff about tension of Hamilton vs Russel “The big ones feel when a good guy is coming. And George is the next generation.”

[Mr.S]

I just reviewed Russel's lap again & Verstappen's & Hamilton's as well. It is true that Russel ran more more downforce but that doesn't explain the lap. Hamilton was outclassed as was Bottas & you could argue Verstappen too given the Williams lost in the straight quite a lot & had in general much lower downforce in the dry vs RB or a Mercedes.

Russel's lap was one of the best qualifying laps in the last couple of decades. The lines that he took over the curb, how we managed the wheelspin coming out of the curbs were risky but incredibly wave & you can get it wrong, like Norris did in Q3. Otherwise maybe Norris got it right in Q1 & Q2 & could have been on pole. The final corner was the only one where Verstappen gained 2-3 tenths (not just that corner but exit out of that in the straight) otherwise pole would have been touch & go.

Throughout the lap, Russel took a much much narrow line over the curbs & you could see how he was managing the throttle & the wheelspin. In comparison Verstappen & Hamilton both had a much safer lap where they ran wide comparatively, avoided the curbs etc. It is not like Hamilton & Verstappen didn't have a Q3 Lap (they did) & would have been Top 5 anyways at the least. The difference between genius & foolish is success & Russel was successful & in a different level. He easily out-classed Hamilton & Verstappen to a large extent. Give him credit where it is due !

[dans79]

Throughout the lap, Russel took a much much narrow line over the curbs & you could see how he was managing the throttle & the wheelspin. In comparison Verstappen & Hamilton both had a much safer lap where they ran wide comparatively, avoided the curbs etc. It is not like Hamilton & Verstappen didn't have a Q3 Lap (they did) & would have been Top 5 anyways at the least. The difference between genius & foolish is success & Russel was successful & in a different level. He easily out-classed Hamilton & Verstappen to a large extent. Give him credit where it is due !

He and Williams had nothing to loose, while Lewis and Max are fighting for the tittle and have a lot to loose.

Williams gambled with a maximum downforces set-up, because even if they were wrong they would start well back out of the points like they normally do.

It was the same for George, he had everything to gain and almost nothing to loose. Even if he had a spin or minor crash he'd still start no worse than where he normally does.

If you put him in a good car, and in a title fight, I'd bet my next paycheck he doesn't attack the lap nearly as aggressively as he did.

[Mr.S]

Rosberg got beaten soundly for 3 years before AMG tried their best to let him have 1 championship. Let's not get into that story again. But Lewis knew who was better and so did Rosberg and it wasnt an issue. At most Lewis was annoyed about his reliability and the driver coachin that Nico recieved.
George will just be a new teammate and Lewid will get on at doing his work.
In fact George will be easier to beat for the first 2 years because of his youth and lack of experience. He will want to learn more from Lewis than start a war.
Also i dont think any driver on the grid has Hamilton's race pace or clean overtaking abilities. George would be trying to beat Lewis while also learning from him. Lewis will return to hiding his tricks; which he has tried to do with Nico and Bottas.

By this logic, Hamilton should'd have won in 2014 & 2015 as Rosberg had more reliability issues than him. And even the 2016 Championship win should have been a much bigger loss considering Hamilton took out Rosberg when he was leading. Russel is 3 years in the sport,much more experienced than Hamilton who bottled the 2007 championship & almost the 2008 (till Glock spun). And we have seen the top class, best of the best like Alonso, fumble when a new star rises. It has happened time & again.

Anyways Hamilton had lost to Button on points over 3 years, barely squeezed past in 2012, got destroyed in 2011, tied with Alonso in 2007 & got beaten by Rosberg in 2016. I don't remember a Senna, Alonso or Schumacher level guy in their prime (not comeback in 40s) being beaten or drawing so many times with their team-mate.

With radical news rules in 2022, the cars will be more different that it has been in decades. The Pirelli tyres will also be different. Hamilton has absolutely no advantage except familiarity with Mercedes team. People are under-estimating the extent of 2022 rule changes - The way the car produces downforce & the way the tyres mesh with it will not be the same as 2021. Russel if he falls behind Hamilton will play a deligent No. 2 for 2022 (we have seen that he is a team-player). But will Hamilton play Russel's No.2 if he falls behind ?