tough to even contemplate an answer. As a layman, I have never understood tyre behavior - because all notions that I form, get broken in the very next race that I watch.
Will the 'hump' appear on the RB20 in Hungary ? Is that what Marko meant ?Space-heat wrote: ↑09 Jul 2024, 16:09Merc fixed their bouncing from preseason with a front suspension modification - https://it.motorsport.com/f1/news/f1-me ... /10633022/
https://f1-insider.com/formel-1-mercede ... ier-63972/A new aerodynamic package that is supposed to make Verstappen's car 1.5 tenths of a second faster will be fitted to the car at the next race in Hungary. Red Bull chief advisor Helmut Marko told F1-Insider.com: "It has to work. Otherwise it won't look good."
Their best option in that scenario would be trying to convince Russell to jump ship, with Max joining Merc. With all the pandering Toto has done to Verstappen in the past several months, Russell must surely realise he has no hope at Merc if Max did actually join.SirBastianVettel wrote: ↑10 Jul 2024, 12:25Honestly, 1.5 tenths isn't even that much. And that's only if it works as planned. They are incredibly lucky that McLaren/Norris keep messing up otherwise both the WDC and WCC would have been in jeopardy after this triple header.
If they lose Max for next season they are properly f*cked imo. I don't see who they could get to replace him, none of the top talents are available I think. Alonso (too old anyway), Hamilton, Leclerc and Norris (if you consider him a top talent) are all taken. I wonder if Max is seriously considering switching to Mercedes or if he is renegotiating with Red Bull for some serious dough.
I actually have no idea what Russell's contract situation is at the moment. He's definitely doing a good job compared to Hamilton at the moment, although I'm not yet convinced how he would do in a tight championship battle against a top-tier driver.
I'm not fully convinced yet that Mercedes is really closing the gap all that much to McLaren and Red Bull. It seems to me that (for now) it was mostly due to low temperatures at the Canadian and British Grands Prix. If they are still competitive in Hungary and Belgium at high temperatures then I would seriously consider jumping ship if I was Max.Sergej wrote: ↑10 Jul 2024, 12:45If Mercedes keeps being competitive and RB doesn't recover momentum, jumping in for 2025 could be a good choice for Max, he could have a shot at the title (this RB in 2025 will disappear without Max, real contender will be McLaren) and be in the right place for 2026 PU overhaul; I'm sure Max will keep an eye on how Mercedes performs in the next few events.
Russell and Hamilton both signed contracts till the end of 2025, but it turned out Hamilton's was an option for a second year, which allowed him to sign with Ferrari. Not sure if that's the same with Russell's though.SirBastianVettel wrote: ↑10 Jul 2024, 12:52I actually have no idea what Russell's contract situation is at the moment. He's definitely doing a good job compared to Hamilton at the moment, although I'm not yet convinced how he would do in a tight championship battle against a top-tier driver.
Russell's current contract runs until the end of 2025.SirBastianVettel wrote:I actually have no idea what Russell's contract situation is at the moment. He's definitely doing a good job compared to Hamilton at the moment, although I'm not yet convinced how he would do in a tight championship battle against a top-tier driver.
I think George does not have such status as Lewis, who can insert non-performance escape clauses into his contracts.ali623 wrote:Russell and Hamilton both signed contracts till the end of 2025, but it turned out Hamilton's was an option for a second year, which allowed him to sign with Ferrari. Not sure if that's the same with Russell's though.SirBastianVettel wrote: ↑10 Jul 2024, 12:52I actually have no idea what Russell's contract situation is at the moment. He's definitely doing a good job compared to Hamilton at the moment, although I'm not yet convinced how he would do in a tight championship battle against a top-tier driver.
If Merc were the dominant team, it would be hard to leave the team. On the other hand, with all this Toto's Verstappen and Antonelli hype, it could be a wise thing to jump to Red Bull if the chance arose.ali623 wrote:Their best option in that scenario would be trying to convince Russell to jump ship, with Max joining Merc. With all the pandering Toto has done to Verstappen in the past several months, Russell must surely realise he has no hope at Merc if Max did actually join.SirBastianVettel wrote: ↑10 Jul 2024, 12:25Honestly, 1.5 tenths isn't even that much. And that's only if it works as planned. They are incredibly lucky that McLaren/Norris keep messing up otherwise both the WDC and WCC would have been in jeopardy after this triple header.
If they lose Max for next season they are properly f*cked imo. I don't see who they could get to replace him, none of the top talents are available I think. Alonso (too old anyway), Hamilton, Leclerc and Norris (if you consider him a top talent) are all taken. I wonder if Max is seriously considering switching to Mercedes or if he is renegotiating with Red Bull for some serious dough.
A bit premature. We haven't seen their upgrade yet. The 1.5 tenths is all speculation as it is not a direct quote. The upgrade needs to be good enough to allow Max to win 2024 WDC. In 2025 they can fix the flaws of the RB20, also by copying some of the solutions from Merc and McL. We know they know where they are lacking, but can only fix partially in 2024.SirBastianVettel wrote: ↑10 Jul 2024, 12:56I'm not fully convinced yet that Mercedes is really closing the gap all that much to McLaren and Red Bull. It seems to me that (for now) it was mostly due to low temperatures at the Canadian and British Grands Prix. If they are still competitive in Hungary and Belgium at high temperatures then I would seriously consider jumping ship if I was Max.Sergej wrote: ↑10 Jul 2024, 12:45If Mercedes keeps being competitive and RB doesn't recover momentum, jumping in for 2025 could be a good choice for Max, he could have a shot at the title (this RB in 2025 will disappear without Max, real contender will be McLaren) and be in the right place for 2026 PU overhaul; I'm sure Max will keep an eye on how Mercedes performs in the next few events.