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2022 AMG Mercedes-Petronas F1 Team Thread


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#1 MKSixer

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Posted 17 December 2021 - 00:28

We've closed the chapter on the Lewis and Valtteri Show with VB testing for Alfa Romeo in advance of him moving to that team for 2022 and the highly anticipated (and even requested) addition of George Russell to the 8X WCC F1 Championship Team.

 

This move most resembles Corporate Succession Planning more than any driver pairing on the grid.  The talented understudy was placed in a smaller division to gain experience and develop his skill in preparation for his ascension to the lime light.  

 

Now is that time. 

 

He is paired with the statistical GOAT who has recently been denied this 8th WDC in the shocking Abu Dhabi finale.  If Mercedes continues it's trend of bringing competitive cars to the grid, we can see a real cracker this year with the GOAT and his understudy, Young George!!

 

This should be an exciting year.  Please leave 2021 in the appropriate threads and lets speak of the 2022 season!!

 

Welcome to the AMG Mercedes-Petronas F1 2022 Team Thread.  Enjoy!!


Edited by MKSixer, 17 December 2021 - 00:33.


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#2 Cliff

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Posted 17 December 2021 - 00:43

We've closed the chapter on the Lewis and Valtteri Show with VB testing for Alfa Romeo in advance of him moving to that team for 2022 and the highly anticipated (and even requested) addition of George Russell to the 8X WCC F1 Championship Team.

 

This move most resembles Corporate Succession Planning more than any driver pairing on the grid.  The talented understudy was placed in a smaller division to gain experience and develop his skill in preparation for his ascension to the lime light.  

 

Now is that time. 

 

He is paired with the statistical GOAT who has recently been denied this 8th WDC in the shocking Abu Dhabi finale.  If Mercedes continues it's trend of bringing competitive cars to the grid, we can see a real cracker this year with the GOAT and his understudy, Young George!!

 

This should be an exciting year.  Please leave 2021 in the appropriate threads and lets speak of the 2022 season!!

 

Welcome to the AMG Mercedes-Petronas F1 2022 Team Thread.  Enjoy!!

 

Wow, that winter went by like a breeze! We're already back in Bahrein. Can't wait to see the cars on track later today for FP1  :p  



#3 MKSixer

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Posted 17 December 2021 - 00:47

Wow, that winter went by like a breeze! We're already back in Bahrein. Can't wait to see the cars on track later today for FP1  :p  

All in the interest of turning the page!!



#4 ClubmanGT

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Posted 17 December 2021 - 01:09

I don't think George is going to AMG with anything other than an apprenticeship in mind. I really can't see them racing each other with any serious intensity ala Rosberg.

 

Plus I don't think he'd risk his seat in a top-tier team when he knows he just has to learn from SLH until the clear number one seat becomes his by default. So I wouldn't expect much. 



#5 PlayboyRacer

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Posted 17 December 2021 - 01:21

I would say George has to really prove that he's good enough to carry Mercedes post Hamilton though. Jury still well and truly out on that.

If Red Bull maintain this level of excellence they've found, Verstappen is going to be extremely hard to compete with, let alone actually beat. George will have to prove he's the future star up to that task.

#6 ARTGP

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Posted 17 December 2021 - 01:21

Image-22.jpg

 

 

:stoned:  VB's completely oblivious satire cracks me up.


Edited by ARTGP, 17 December 2021 - 01:23.


#7 Dolph

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Posted 17 December 2021 - 01:23

I don't think George is going to AMG with anything other than an apprenticeship in mind. I really can't see them racing each other with any serious intensity ala Rosberg.

Plus I don't think he'd risk his seat in a top-tier team when he knows he just has to learn from SLH until the clear number one seat becomes his by default. So I wouldn't expect much.

We dont know how it will turn out. Its a big ask to be better than Hamilton, but Leclerc upset Vettel, Hamilton himself upset Alonso, Senna upset Prost, Schumacher upset Piquet. It remains to be seen what caliber Russel is. The first few races will tell, but Sakhir 2020 was promising.

Edited by Dolph, 17 December 2021 - 01:24.


#8 MKSixer

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Posted 17 December 2021 - 03:28

We dont know how it will turn out. Its a big ask to be better than Hamilton, but Leclerc upset Vettel, Hamilton himself upset Alonso, Senna upset Prost, Schumacher upset Piquet. It remains to be seen what caliber Russel is. The first few races will tell, but Sakhir 2020 was promising.

I definitely agree with quite a bit of this and while Sakhir was promising for George, it's the long-term exposure to HAM which is concerning.  We saw the effect it had on Valtteri as we went through BOT 2.0 through 9.7 v14 release 42 Alpha.  As Anthony Hamilton said, "My son ruins drivers careers."

 

We need George to be strong, learn and be ready to be the next decade of Mercedes driver leadership.



#9 alg7_munif

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Posted 17 December 2021 - 15:52

Jean Todt said that "we will miss him". So doubt that it will be a Lewis and George show anymore.
https://youtu.be/zTpLutdw5ow

#10 alframsey

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Posted 17 December 2021 - 16:00

I don't think George is going to AMG with anything other than an apprenticeship in mind. I really can't see them racing each other with any serious intensity ala Rosberg.

 

Plus I don't think he'd risk his seat in a top-tier team when he knows he just has to learn from SLH until the clear number one seat becomes his by default. So I wouldn't expect much. 

I don't know, I don't think anybody who is destined for the number 1 seat in a team like Merc, or any top team in fact, will be anything other than competitive from the get go, if you have the champion mindset you go in and do go out to win from day 1.

 

That said I really doubt Russell will get much of a look in over a season.



#11 alframsey

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Posted 17 December 2021 - 16:08

Jean Todt said that "we will miss him". So doubt that it will be a Lewis and George show anymore.
https://youtu.be/zTpLutdw5ow

I wouldn't read too much into that. Hes probably saying "we will miss him should he retire". Lewis is coming back next season to win back his title, of that I am absolutely sure.



#12 FullOppositeLock

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Posted 17 December 2021 - 16:19

I don't think George is going to AMG with anything other than an apprenticeship in mind. I really can't see them racing each other with any serious intensity ala Rosberg.

 

Plus I don't think he'd risk his seat in a top-tier team when he knows he just has to learn from SLH until the clear number one seat becomes his by default. So I wouldn't expect much. 

 

I strongly hope (and quietly expect) that George Russell does not consider joining Mercedes as an apprenticeship. He had three years of that at Williams. in terms of one lap pace I think he has the talent to fight Lewis and maybe even beat him. Sunday is much less clear based on his career with Williams so far, but if his junior series career is anything to go by he should trust himself to hold his own. I would be very disappointed if he didn't go there thinking he could surprise a few people and win the team for him through beating the established number one, similar to what Ricciardo did to Vettel, Verstappen to Ricciardo and Leclerc to Vettel.

 

Having said that, I expect Lewis to get the better of him most Sunday's and be Mercedes' main championship contender if the car is where it needs to be. It's going to be very interesting to follow and hopefully for Mercedes it will be somewhere in between a fiery fight between evenly balanced team mates from different generations (Alonso vs Lewis 2007 style) and the drubbing that Lewis was handing Bottas for most of the past year.



#13 Calum

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Posted 17 December 2021 - 16:31

2022 written out looks so futuristic. It still feels like 2019!

Good luck to them though. Hope it’s as fun/enjoyable as Button-Hamilton Mclaren but with even better results.

#14 MKSixer

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Posted 17 December 2021 - 17:09

Jean Todt said that "we will miss him". So doubt that it will be a Lewis and George show anymore.
https://youtu.be/zTpLutdw5ow

Exactly what the video did not say.



#15 mtknot

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Posted 17 December 2021 - 18:35

Jean Todt said that "we will miss him". So doubt that it will be a Lewis and George show anymore.
https://youtu.be/zTpLutdw5ow

He meant about the Gala, not retirement. 



#16 cpbell

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Posted 17 December 2021 - 18:38

I would say George has to really prove that he's good enough to carry Mercedes post Hamilton though. Jury still well and truly out on that.

If Red Bull maintain this level of excellence they've found, Verstappen is going to be extremely hard to compete with, let alone actually beat. George will have to prove he's the future star up to that task.

Yes, I think he needs to push Lewis hard in order to rightly maintain his place.



#17 keeppari

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Posted 18 December 2021 - 02:39

When has this "apprenticeship" actually worked for the apprentice in F1? Sounds like a career move a driver should go for if he is striving to be remembered for a underwhelming career as a number 2 driver.

#18 PlayboyRacer

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Posted 18 December 2021 - 02:40

Felipe Massa didn't do too badly out of it.

#19 Tenmantaylor

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Posted 18 December 2021 - 06:35

I think George will be closer to Lewis than many think.

But I also agree he should bide his time a bit.

I'm think Cevert / Stewart relationship.

That said, had Lewis thought that way vs Alonso...

Edited by Tenmantaylor, 18 December 2021 - 06:36.


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#20 Hotwheels

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Posted 18 December 2021 - 06:41

Lewis and George on paper are much stronger than Max and Perez.

IF - and that's a big IF as of the moment  , the Merc are in the front of the grid , hopefully we have  a car with  Number 1 at best driving for P3.



#21 Rocket73

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Posted 18 December 2021 - 08:03

Judging by George's only race for Mercedes so far and his general attitude I think he's going to try to do Lewis what Lewis did to Alonso.

Hard to say whether he can do it but I think theres a good chance.

#22 lewislorenzo

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Posted 18 December 2021 - 09:04

In qualifying will be close but in the races don’t think George will be close at all. Lewis is incredible on Sundays

#23 smitten

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Posted 18 December 2021 - 09:10

If many a year of following F1 has taught me one thing, it is not to have clear expectations of a partnering at the beginning of the year if you don't like being proved wrong :wave:

 

Anything could happen, even if the statistics are clearly with Lewis.  George could flop, or he could trounce Lewis, or anything in-between.

 

What ever happens, here's hoping it's all fair and fun.



#24 Cliff

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Posted 18 December 2021 - 09:24

The only thing that’s in George’s favor is that the cars are completely new for everyone. Other than that I think he’s in for a rude awakening. He’s been underwhelming on most Sunday’s, and I’ve found his junior career to be extremely boring. Sure he won those championships, but I can’t remember any race ever where I was WOW, this guy is good.

Like Lewis @ Turkey in GP2
Like Max @ Spa and Norisring in F3
Like Charles @ Bahrein in F2

Schooling the field with an out of this world performance basically. Sure he was on to win in Sahkir. But was that really that impressive in the most dominant car ever on a circuit with 4 corners, against Bottas who is normally driving around 30 seconds or more behind Lewis?

#25 FullOppositeLock

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Posted 18 December 2021 - 10:15

I have no doubt that Russell will be a massive improvement on Bottas, especially the version that was completely demotivated this year. There is a risk however that he may take points of Lewis, or will fight for position hard, which might hurt their WDC chances. It’s going to be fascinating, that’s for sure.

#26 Mark1865

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Posted 18 December 2021 - 10:32

George has passed every test asked of him in recent years. GP3 champion, F2 champion, and he has comfortably beaten his (admittedly average) team mates at Williams. In his only F1 race in a competitive car he was on for a win until it was taken away by no fault of his own.

Looking forward to the myth that he is poor on Sundays to be shattered next season, it’s funny how he looked perfectly fine on a Sunday in a Mercedes.

Personally i’m really looking forward to next season, I can’t remember a time before when my two favourite drivers were in the same team. With the new regs I was thinking how good it would be if Lewis, George, Max, Lando and Charles are in similarly competitive cars in 2022, but after the farce of Abu Dhabi my bitterness has got the better of me and I would equally enjoy seeing Mercedes 2 seconds a lap clear of the rest.

#27 statman

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Posted 18 December 2021 - 10:40

Mercedes warned Lewis Hamilton vs George Russell is 'high risk' after Valtteri Bottas axe



#28 HighwayStar

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Posted 18 December 2021 - 11:00

Of the various examples of a promising young driver joining an established multiple WDC at a top team, Russell moving to Mercedes most reminds me of Ricciardo joining Vettel at Red Bull for 2014 - he's not a rookie but in his career so far (with the exception of Sakhir 2020) he has not yet had the car to compete for podiums or wins. Another similarity is that it is somewhat difficult to evaluate his performances so far, as his first season was in the worst car in the field (for the 2019 Williams read the 2011 HRT) while in his second and third years he was paired with an inexperienced team mate (Latifi/Vergne). Russell is more highly rated than I remember Ricciardo being back in 2014, although the challenge seems similarly daunting.

 

I predict Hamilton will come out on top in 2022, although then again I thought Ricciardo had little chance of beating Vettel in 2014. The difference is that I think Hamilton is a more complete performer than Vettel and although he is perhaps not quite as fast over a single lap as at his peak, he has no obvious weaknesses and only Verstappen from the newer crop has displayed the speed and consistency needed to fight him over a full season. This might be unpopular but I think Bottas did a good job in his first season with Mercedes, he finished third in the championship with a big gap of 100 points to Raikkonen and took three wins, including invaluable victories in Russia and Austria where he prevented Hamilton's title rival from winning. If Russell performs at a similar level in his first year at Mercedes I think that would be a decent start, considering that Bottas had enjoyed a fairly competitive Williams in the previous three years and had more experiencing of competing near the front. However, I do expect him to perform better and take more points off Hamilton's rivals than Bottas has in his more recent seasons, if he does not Merc will look elsewhere for their future team leader.



#29 milestone 11

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Posted 18 December 2021 - 11:30

I wouldn't read too much into that. Hes probably saying "we will miss him should he retire". Lewis is coming back next season to win back his title, of that I am absolutely sure.

I think he's referring to Lewis in his ambassadorial role within F1

Edited by milestone 11, 18 December 2021 - 11:30.


#30 alframsey

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Posted 18 December 2021 - 11:37

I think Russell will be extremely close to Lewis on Saturdays, maybe even beating him over the season, but I expect Lewis to have the measure of him on almost every Sunday. Sure Russell will beat him on a few occasions, similar to Bottas, and might even be closer to Lewis than Bottas was and this will be great for Lewis as he will take more points off his rivals than Bottas was able to. I really think that while a lot of people are underestimating Russell, an equal number are underestimating the task he face against Lewis. For Lewis to lose or be run very close by Russell will mean Russell has the abilities of a true great of the sport, I'm not saying that isn't possible but the task is immense.

 

On how he will approach it, imo he has to go for it from the get go. If he harbours any hope of being seen as the teams future then he must absolutely go for the win from round 1 of the season. Anything else and if he shows he s happy being number 2, then he will not be seen as a successor to Lewis.

 

I can't wait to see how this all pans out.



#31 milestone 11

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Posted 18 December 2021 - 11:45

Credit to Todt. He said that he was 70% happy to leave and that Rencken's question was an example of why he was happy to do so.

#32 Clatter

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Posted 18 December 2021 - 11:49

I don't think George is going to AMG with anything other than an apprenticeship in mind. I really can't see them racing each other with any serious intensity ala Rosberg.

 

Plus I don't think he'd risk his seat in a top-tier team when he knows he just has to learn from SLH until the clear number one seat becomes his by default. So I wouldn't expect much. 

 


If he can compete, then why wouldn't he? Afterall Hamilton didn't just sit back to learn from Alonso.

#33 sabjit

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Posted 18 December 2021 - 11:52

I think George may well be beating Lewis next year.



#34 alframsey

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Posted 18 December 2021 - 11:52

If he can compete, then why wouldn't he? Afterall Hamilton didn't just sit back to learn from Alonso.

Yeah I don't get that view either. If a driver is fast enough to take the challenge to their teammate, regardless of who they are, then it isn't in their nature to slow down to not upset said teammate.



#35 alframsey

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Posted 18 December 2021 - 11:54

I think George may well be beating Lewis next year.

How come you think that, just a feeling or something else? Genuinely interested as I think if he does that, it will be the single greatest performance anybody has put in against their new temmate. Above Lewis vs Alonso without doubt.

 

It would be an absolutely immense achievement to beat current Lewis in the same team over a season, not impossible but bloody hard.



#36 Anderis

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Posted 18 December 2021 - 11:59

I don't think George is going to AMG with anything other than an apprenticeship in mind.

When has this "apprenticeship" actually worked for the apprentice in F1?

Yeah, I think the "apprenticeship" is a popular idea as it sounds nice in principle but it works like that extremely rarely in F1.

 

Russell will be 24 next year and with 3 seasons of experience in F1. He should be close to his peak already. He has more experience than Hamilton in 2007 or Leclerc in 2019. If he can't give Hamilton trouble in 2022, he most likely doesn't have what it takes to be his successor. Neither Hamilton in 2007, nor Ricciardo in 2014 nor Verstappen in 2016 nor Leclerc in 2019 needed more than half a year to become a serious trouble for their highly rated and more experienced team mates. If George can't do that, he risks becoming the next Vandoorne.
 



#37 Clatter

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Posted 18 December 2021 - 12:03

The only thing that’s in George’s favor is that the cars are completely new for everyone. Other than that I think he’s in for a rude awakening. He’s been underwhelming on most Sunday’s, and I’ve found his junior career to be extremely boring. Sure he won those championships, but I can’t remember any race ever where I was WOW, this guy is good.

Like Lewis @ Turkey in GP2
Like Max @ Spa and Norisring in F3
Like Charles @ Bahrein in F2

Schooling the field with an out of this world performance basically. Sure he was on to win in Sahkir. But was that really that impressive in the most dominant car ever on a circuit with 4 corners, against Bottas who is normally driving around 30 seconds or more behind Lewis?

 


Yes it was impressive. He jumped into the car at short notice, it couldn't even be setup properly for him, so that he barely fit in it. Downplay it all you like, but the events that weekend showed his class.

#38 FullOppositeLock

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Posted 18 December 2021 - 12:05

George has passed every test asked of him in recent years. GP3 champion, F2 champion, and he has comfortably beaten his (admittedly average) team mates at Williams. In his only F1 race in a competitive car he was on for a win until it was taken away by no fault of his own.

Looking forward to the myth that he is poor on Sundays to be shattered next season, it’s funny how he looked perfectly fine on a Sunday in a Mercedes.

Personally i’m really looking forward to next season, I can’t remember a time before when my two favourite drivers were in the same team. With the new regs I was thinking how good it would be if Lewis, George, Max, Lando and Charles are in similarly competitive cars in 2022, but after the farce of Abu Dhabi my bitterness has got the better of me and I would equally enjoy seeing Mercedes 2 seconds a lap clear of the rest.


Russell was indeed impressive in Sakhir, but let’s not forget that Lewis was missing in that race, and that Leclerc took himself, Verstappen and Perez (at that moment anyway) out in lap one. The race might have looked a lot different with those battling it out at the front too, except for “just” having to beat Bottas.

#39 sabjit

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Posted 18 December 2021 - 12:09

How come you think that, just a feeling or something else? Genuinely interested as I think if he does that, it will be the single greatest performance anybody has put in against their new temmate. Above Lewis vs Alonso without doubt.

 

It would be an absolutely immense achievement to beat current Lewis in the same team over a season, not impossible but bloody hard.

 

I think George is REALLY good. He will defo be outqualifying Lewis IMO and Lewis will probably maintain a race pace advantage but how often he gets past depends on how good the car is. If it's dominant you'll get a 2014 repeat. If it's in the pack you begin to lose out on strategy if you aren't the first car.



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#40 alframsey

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Posted 18 December 2021 - 12:16

I think George is REALLY good. He will defo be outqualifying Lewis IMO and Lewis will probably maintain a race pace advantage but how often he gets past depends on how good the car is. If it's dominant you'll get a 2014 repeat. If it's in the pack you begin to lose out on strategy if you aren't the first car.

Fair enough, I guess nobody really knows until we see them together next season, including myself. I'll be happy to eat humble pie should Russell best Hamilton.



#41 Anderis

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Posted 18 December 2021 - 12:40

Russell was indeed impressive in Sakhir, but let’s not forget that Lewis was missing in that race, and that Leclerc took himself, Verstappen and Perez (at that moment anyway) out in lap one. The race might have looked a lot different with those battling it out at the front too, except for “just” having to beat Bottas.

You can only beat those who are there. There are many examples in F1 of drivers who jumped into an unknown car mid-season and flopped completely. The sheer fact Russell was 1. immediately on pace 2. handled the pressure well, bodes well for him as adaptability is very important for those who want to become a top F1 driver. I find it a much more important lesson from Sakhir than trying to determine if Russell's race was excellent or just decent in absolute terms. Absolute terms don't really apply to a driver who switches cars mid season and only has one weekend to show what's he's made of against drivers who were in their teams from the beginning of the year.



#42 Cliff

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Posted 18 December 2021 - 13:39

You can only beat those who are there. There are many examples in F1 of drivers who jumped into an unknown car mid-season and flopped completely. The sheer fact Russell was 1. immediately on pace 2. handled the pressure well, bodes well for him as adaptability is very important for those who want to become a top F1 driver. I find it a much more important lesson from Sakhir than trying to determine if Russell's race was excellent or just decent in absolute terms. Absolute terms don't really apply to a driver who switches cars mid season and only has one weekend to show what's he's made of against drivers who were in their teams from the beginning of the year.

 

Being on the pace in the most dominant car of all time, after driving the worst car of the grid is not that hard. He even said, that a car with that much grip made it easy for him to adapt. He called it something along the lines of "a dream to drive". 

 

Sorry if I don't rate it to godly proportions if the only measuring stick you have is Bottas as the only other cars in the same category were out of contention (RB). Pair this with his mostly underwhelming Sunday performances in the Williams and I just don't see it. But who knows what'll happen next year.. 



#43 jjcale

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Posted 18 December 2021 - 13:53

Impossible to say how this pairing will go next year - a) we dont know how strong the car is yet...b) we dont know how motivated LH will be ... and c) we have some idea but its not yet clear how good GR is yet. 

 

As Smitten said - could be anything from Michael and Massa 2006 to LH v Alonso 2007 .... but fortunately LH is not like FA so he will not embarrass himself if the youngster turns out to be the real deal .... but I do have a question over GR's temperament. He is very ambitious and i  doubt he will want to be an apprentice - but he may not have a choice. He is also very smart - so he would probably accept the inevitable it he has to .... but it will not be smooth. He is too ambitious a guy to be a Massa.... at some point his huge ego will show itself.... and it may cause a problem.  - and that's whether he is winning or whether he is losing - in which scenario will his ego be more a problem, winning or losing, is hard to guess at this point.  



#44 RA2

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Posted 18 December 2021 - 13:54

Being on the pace in the most dominant car of all time, after driving the worst car of the grid is not that hard. He even said, that a car with that much grip made it easy for him to adapt. He called it something along the lines of "a dream to drive".

Sorry if I don't rate it to godly proportions if the only measuring stick you have is Bottas as the only other cars in the same category were out of contention (RB). Pair this with his mostly underwhelming Sunday performances in the Williams and I just don't see it. But who knows what'll happen next year..


Like some of the other cars Merc had in the past which had tyre warming issues or balance issues, last year's car was quiet driver friendly. And that being last but one race it had all its kinks ironed out.

But what I did not understand was, why Lewis hurried back the next weekend.

#45 AnR

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Posted 18 December 2021 - 14:06

expect fireworks at Merc next year, depends how protective Toto will be of Lewis, but a #1 will not be as easy as with Bottas, hopefully fun to watch!



#46 ForzaGTR

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Posted 18 December 2021 - 14:09

expect fireworks at Merc next year, depends how protective Toto will be of Lewis, but a #1 will not be as easy as with Bottas, hopefully fun to watch!


A competitive team mate will just produce a stronger version of Lewis, as we've seen in the past.

#47 DW46

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Posted 18 December 2021 - 15:28

Like some of the other cars Merc had in the past which had tyre warming issues or balance issues, last year's car was quiet driver friendly. And that being last but one race it had all its kinks ironed out.

But what I did not understand was, why Lewis hurried back the next weekend.


Lewis was not under contract for 2021 at that time? I think he might have been trying to ensure that Mercedes didn’t decide to call his bluff and put George alongside Bottas (which never really felt likely) for 21. Maybe one for a what would have happened thread!

#48 AnR

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Posted 18 December 2021 - 15:29

A competitive team mate will just produce a stronger version of Lewis, as we've seen in the past.

 

might be so, but he can also loose some points to a stroger teammate, and that hasn't happened since 2016?



#49 ToniF1

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Posted 18 December 2021 - 15:34

George should learn from Ham and dont try to do some crazy team politics and ****...time works for him, if Lewis is out, and probably will after 2023. George will be 26 for season 2024.

 

Next year, i expect George to be there in quali but not on Ham level in race.


Edited by ToniF1, 18 December 2021 - 15:36.


#50 AnR

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Posted 18 December 2021 - 15:37

George should learn from Ham and dont try to do some crazy team politics and ****...time works for him, if Lewis is out, and probably will after 2023. George will be 26 for season 2024.

 

Next year, i expect George to be there in quali but not on Ham level in race.

 

that's not really how Ham started was it? I remember sometging totally different...