Well they were strong on that track in testing, so it should follow.
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2019 Formula 1 Season Thread
- Thread starter MOFS
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The undercurrents are growing stronger this weekend.......
I still say Hamilton with be in a Ferrari in 2021.
I still say Hamilton with be in a Ferrari in 2021.
I’d find it extremely difficult to cheer for him on the highlights if he’s in a Ferrari but understand it’s a position on every drivers list even if they are unlikely to win. It’ll be weird not seeing him in a British team lol.The undercurrents are growing stronger this weekend.......
I still say Hamilton with be in a Ferrari in 2021.
The undercurrents are growing stronger this weekend.......
I still say Hamilton with be in a Ferrari in 2021.
Well it's clear after practice and qualifying that Mercedes has locked-up the season (I felt they had done so at Azerbaijan, IMO, but now there is no doubt in my mind the WDC and WCC are theirs') so if Lewis can keep Valteri at bay and win his 5th WDC, he might be content to run out his career with a three-year run at Ferrari even if it means he won't see another WDC.
Agreed. I have no desire to see him in Red.
It will be interesting to see this pan out. Toto seems ready to take on new challenges. I don’t see Hamilton at Mercedes without Toto. If Bottas continues on track this year it will influence Hamilton’s plans. I could see a one year deal with Ferrari then retiring and starting something with Toto.
Mick Schumacher likely needs at least 2yrs longer in F2 IMO.
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Agreed.
What has happened to Bottas this year? He’s done a Nico.
At least it gives some interest in the WDC. Looks like the constructors is done!
At least it gives some interest in the WDC. Looks like the constructors is done!
Esteban Ocon has happened. He's a Mercedes factory driver without a drive in 2019 so he is probably guaranteed a drive with Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport in 2020. So that means either Lewis or Bottas will have to make way and it is clear if Lewis wants to stay, he will get to stay.
So Bottas needs to make a name for himself to ensure he can secure a top-team drive in 2020 should Lewis decide to stay and he is therefore released in favor of Ocon.
I wish we were sitting here saying how great Mercedes is and what an incredible run this is. After watching qualy today and seeing how far back Ferrari is, it's so disappointing on so many levels.
There is only one team with the budget who can challenge Mercedes and they've failed six years in a row now. Red Bull has a great car but the two top engines manufacturers won't let them have it. So they've spent 5 years making the best of Renault before trying to make the best with Honda. All the other teams start the season without even dreaming of a win let alone a title. I'm starting to question why I even like this "sport" anymore.
Silver lining, I guess Bottas came to play this year which seems like the only entertainment we're going to get.
No chance Ocon has that seat already. He might get it one day, but he for sure doesn't have it sewen up yet. That'd be the first time in the history of Mercedes involvement in F1 that they've actually taken a junior driver to a factory drive. Paffet, Wehrlein, di Resta, Rosenqvist, Green, Spengler, Engel were all in similar positions of being Mercedes factory drivers who were passed over for more experienced, but not Mercedes backed works drivers.
Mercedes (and McLaren are guilty of this too, especially when they were partnered with Mercedes), have a habit of hiring junior drivers and then putting them into the DTM holding pattern and not letting them anywhere near a factory F1 seat. Mercedes don't really want these drivers - they just recognise that they're too good to let other teams get hold of them. They'd rather hire drivers with experience (Montoya, Alonso, de la Rosa, Kovalainen, Perez, Rosberg, Bottas, Hamilton) than their own. The one exception to this was Lewis joining McLaren Mercedes due to his close relationship with Ron Dennis.
Ocon could well get that seat, but he'd have to break Mercedes history of dropping their own factory drivers. What might work in his favour is the Mercedes DTM holding ground no longer exists, and there aren't as many seats in Formula E to drop them into (and currently Paffet and Vandoorne are taking those seats). There are a lot more GT3 seats available now, but that's not as easy as DTM.
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Yesterday qualifying was interesting. It puts to rest any idea of the Ferrari being as good as the Mercedes. Leclerc needs to watch the mistakes don't continue. He's young and has time to fix that, but Ferrari already have a fast but mistake-prone driver. Leclerc needs to make sure he doesn't become another Vettel.
I suppose the best we can hope for this year is a good inter team battle at Mercedes and that it runs down to the wire. As much as I like seeing a British WDC, I hate seeing it come at the expense of the competition not getting close.
Fair enough, but Ocon was allowed to "escape" DTM to drive Formula One for Mercedes customer teams (Manor and Force India) and Mercedes did try to keep him in an F1 seat this year via Racing Point and Williams, but I am guessing the other drivers brought in more sponsorship money than Ocon's "engine discount" offered.
I will spot you that Mercedes could possibly have pulled Ocon into the team to replace Nico when he left, but instead went with Bottas. However I do not know how Ocon's and Bottas' respective driver contracts might have played a role (as in Bottas could jump, but Ocon would have required a contract buy-out).
All the above being said, I do believe Valteri is fighting to get Mercedes to take up the 2020 option on his current contract and that could be a sign that Lewis is thinking of extending beyond 2020 himself rather than go to Ferrari and fade away.
Vettel really screwed the team at the start. I do in general agree with Team Sky that this was his only chance to get into the lead, but he cost the team a 3-4 finish because LeClerc was past Verstappen until Vettel forced him wide, letting Verstappen pass both.
Of course, that error was then magnified by Ferrari with their usual p**s-poor strategy by letting LeClerc flounder behind Vettel and lose time to Verstappen, which allowed him to hold on to his third place.
You're spot on that they did allow Ocon out of DTM, which is rare. But they also did that with Paul di Resta - he was placed in a Mercedes factory backed team, and then eventually made his way back to DTM lol.
I'd love for you to be right and we'll see Ocon in a Mercedes, but I fear that after a year out he'll find himself elsewhere. When the HWA Formula E effort transforms into the full Mercedes team I suspect that's where he will end up. Paffet will be sent off to one of the many factory GT3 teams - a process that's already begun as he's now regularly the third driver for AMG works teams in the IGTC and VLN/N24 events.
So today’s race is just a rinse repeat race.. I can pretty much say who will win each race from now this year if they keep this snore fest up!!
Hamilton was lapping people on lap 19, of a 66 lap race!!! Not good. Even with the safety car I found this race boring..
Hamilton was lapping people on lap 19, of a 66 lap race!!! Not good. Even with the safety car I found this race boring..
The SC made the race slightly interesting. If it had happened a lap later, Lewis might have pitted already and could have spiced things up.
Ferrari are on self destruct mode again. Should be picking up podiums at least in case Mercedes flounder later in the year (yeah right!).
At least Bottas has some fight in him. If not this would be over. But the drivers championship could go either way (although my money is on Lewis over the course of the season).
But the constructors is done.
Ferrari are on self destruct mode again. Should be picking up podiums at least in case Mercedes flounder later in the year (yeah right!).
At least Bottas has some fight in him. If not this would be over. But the drivers championship could go either way (although my money is on Lewis over the course of the season).
But the constructors is done.
Yes, hopefully both in the gravel simultaneously at least once.
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Allowing the back markers to come around was the key to the brief moments of mid pack racing after the SC.
Michael Schmidt talks about what factors played a role in the Mercedes superiority, why the concept of Ferrari and Red Bull might be wrong and what we can expect for the future..
Found it to be a pretty interesting read. Might explain why Ferrari wired up the front wing at testing.
Found it to be a pretty interesting read. Might explain why Ferrari wired up the front wing at testing.
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I think it's far from conclusive that Mercedes has the season locked up. Lots of things can - and will happen - before the end of the season.
Mercedes, so far, have had good luck, and near-flawless drives from Hamilton and Bottas. Mercedes also have had near-perfect strategy. But there is no guarantee that streak is going to continue.
I also am certain that we'll see a continual series of engine, chassis, and aerodynamic upgrades throughout the year. Any one of which could give Ferrari and/or Red Bull the chances to put Mercedes on the back foot.
Mercedes, so far, have had good luck, and near-flawless drives from Hamilton and Bottas. Mercedes also have had near-perfect strategy. But there is no guarantee that streak is going to continue.
I also am certain that we'll see a continual series of engine, chassis, and aerodynamic upgrades throughout the year. Any one of which could give Ferrari and/or Red Bull the chances to put Mercedes on the back foot.
They’ll need to do it quickly. Next weeks Monaco GP would be ideal, but the Mercs qualify very well.
Very optimistic but Mercedes has a half a second gap if not more. How does Ferrari make up that difference, and then surpass it? If they were that good, they wouldn't be so far behind. I hope they can do it, but in F1 the amount Ferrari is behind is at least a years work away provided that they are on the right track. Looking at the recent test, it looks like they weren't on the right track and are going the direction of the Haas aero.
A good point.
To which I'd say: After pre-season testing, people were ascribing at least that amount of an advantage to Ferrari. Which managed to somehow disappear, or at least failed to convert, once racing began.
All sorts of things happen in a F1 race. Tires, and the strategy for using them, are a huge variable. Power unit reliability, race strategy, crashes and safety cars, etc. etc.
Don't get me wrong: Mercedes are in a very strong position right now. They have the best car, team, and strategists, as well as arguably the best drivers.
But even if all that stays the same, the Gods of F1 fortune suggest it's pretty unlikely we're going to see Mercedes march of "effortless" 1-2 finishes continue indefinitely, or even necessarily much longer.