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Vettel vs Leclerc carries on, thought Vettel would be #2 driver next season.
I think Vettel got lucky personally, the undercut worked out perfect but the multiple safety cars helped save his tyres for the end of the race, if there was no safety car moments then i think Charles would of been right on his gearbox in the last 10 or so laps, maybe getting past or Vettel under pressure would make a mistake
Will be interesting to see if Vettel is truly back on form or just got lucky in how the race panned out
Will be interesting to see if Vettel is truly back on form or just got lucky in how the race panned out
Bit of both maybe, but there's no getting away from the fact that Leclerc out qualified Vettel at one of Vettel's favourite circuits
Biniotto seems to have pulled together a superteam of late. The SF90 has suddenly become an unlikely all-rounder. Seeing Vettel so pleased with his result was a nice touch, Leclerc has been awesome since the otherwise horrible weekend at Spa.
Handling Vettel and Leclerc isn't always going to be easy, I expect fireworks there before the season is out. Both drivers have much to prove, one may be more motivated than the other.
shermer75
Member
Will be interesting to see if Vettel is truly back on form or just got lucky in how the race panned out
Bit of both maybe, but there’s no getting away from the fact that Leclerc out qualified Vettel at one of Vettel’s favourite circuits
I was listening to Missed Apex last night, I didn't realise that Ferrari didn't tell Charl Eclair that Vettel was stopping, so he carried on plodding round 2 seconds off the pace.
I mean I get why Ferrari did it (1-3 into a 1-2 plus a huge confidence boost for Seb) but it was pretty unfair. Not sure how much longer Charles will carry on playing the team game if they keep it up. Surely he could go to any top team now if a seat becomes available.
I mean I get why Ferrari did it (1-3 into a 1-2 plus a huge confidence boost for Seb) but it was pretty unfair. Not sure how much longer Charles will carry on playing the team game if they keep it up. Surely he could go to any top team now if a seat becomes available.
1. Ferrari say they just miscalculated and didn't realize how big the undercut would be. They expected Vettel would come out behind Lecluck. Instead, he came out 0.4 seconds ahead. That sounds plausible to me.
2. Red Bull generally promote from within. Even if they were interested in Leclerk, why would he want to go to a team that currently has a slower car than the one he has now, plus a very young, very fast driver who will be harder to beat than Vettel. Mercedes do not have any seats available, plus they have a lead driver who has a credible claim to The Greatest of All Time, and their engine seems to be a bit behind Ferrari. Ferrari seem to have figured out their aero problem, so it's a 50-50 bet on who will be fastest next year between them and Merc. Renault and McLaren are still years away from producing a title challenging car, if ever. There is no better seat available for Leclerk, and he knows it.
That sounds plausible to me.
I mean it's possible but I'm still not sure I buy that. The radio transcripts are up on racefans, they didn't once say he was going to be racing against or even vaguely close to Vettel, or even that Vettel was pitting until after Leclerc had pitted.
why would he want to go to a team that currently has a slower car than the one he has now
I meant 2021. Bottas is signed only until 2020, and the new regs will almost certainly reshuffle the team pecking order.
Verstappen will try everything to be in a Ferrari or Merc before long - there are reports he's already shit-stiring about Newey not spending enough time on the F1 side of his workload.
Podiums and the odd win here and there are not what he wants.
Oh man that was frustrating.
Ferrari totally screwed over CLC
Ferrari say they just miscalculated and didn’t realize how big the undercut would be.
Yeah... I do not buy this. They have the lap times and gaps on their screens... they can see in real time the gap closing.
Verstappen to Merc in 2021 seems plausible. Leclerk leaving Ferrari, less so.
Sooner or later we'll see Russell promoted, his way to Racing Point is blocked by Sergio Perez's three year contract and of course Lance Stroll isn't going anywhere. My best guess is that he'll leapfrog into the second Merc for 2021, either alongside Hamilton if he renews, or alongside Verstappen.
My best guess is that he’ll leapfrog into the second Merc for 2021, either alongside Hamilton if he renews, or alongside Verstappen.
Merc are also very interested in Esteban Ocon, so I guess it may be between those two
Merc are also very interested in Esteban Ocon, so I guess it may be between those two
Ocon is contracted to Renault until the end of 2021
Ocon is contracted to Renault until the end of 2021
Interesting!
Bloody hell, why do I find Jolyon Palmer such a dick?
Surely the BBC could have found a less irritating failed F1 driver to waste money on?
+1. He was a proper nob in the post italy podcast.
Merc are also very interested in Esteban Ocon
Merc have now released Ocon from his contract in order for him to qualify for the Renault seat. However, I believe that Ocon is managed by Merc/Toto Wolff?
What puzzles me about Ocon, is if he is that good then why not put him in the Merc for next season?
It hasnt done Leclerc or Verstappen any harm
What puzzles me about Ocon, is if he is that good then why not put him in the Merc for next season?
Because they currently have Hamilton and Bottas. Ocon is unlikely to be better all-round than Hamilton, especially in his first year, but may destabilize things. Bottas is a solid support driver and gets on well with Hamilton. Keeping Bottas was a safe choice. Hamilton will retire sometime, so they will be thinking about a replacement. Verstappen has shown he is very fast and has calmed down a lot, plus the Red Bull/Honda is still a step behind, so signing him in 2021 is starting to look like a possibility. Hamilton may not be happy about that, but Verstappen is good enough that Merc can tell Hamilton to take it or leave it. Ocon might turn out to be one of the greats, but he hasn't proven that yet and Merc won't want to risk upsetting Hamilton over an unproven young driver.
Surely the BBC could have found a less irritating failed F1 driver to waste money on?
What baffles me is that he seems to have landed a column on the official F1 site as well.
And +1 on Ocon: why upset the Hamilton applecart? He's brought home the bacon for four of the last five years and they can already smell the next plate of rashers. Ferrari, on the other hand, only had a Vettel applecart which basically kept dropping apples. And on the basis of his unprecedented and meteoric rise into F1, Red Bull simply felt that a Verstappen applecart was going to be a full-on toffee apple disco bus with bells and neon lights (or at least fireworks and smoke from the Renault PU).
Agree with hols2 analysis. Ocon is good but I think he also has a fighting spirit as shown when he was in Force India and has real ambitions to be top driver. This could destabilise Hamilton and I think at the moment Merc are fully behind Hamilton. Bottas fully understands his position as the rear gunner / support role for Hamilton and has done a good (if not amazing) job of it in the last few years so I can see why Merc have kept the situation as it is.
I believe Merc will do what it takes to keep Hamilton happy till his current contract but won't pay crazy money for the next one as Hamilton may well decide to retire soon. By then Verstappen will have matured well and will still be young and have the potential for long term success at a top team so it important to snap him up when his current contract is over otherwise who knows when the opportunity to snap up Verstappen will arrive again?
Merc are certainly going to be interested in Verstappen but Verstappen may not be that interested in them! There is every chance that Merc's time as reigning supreme is coming to an end. They've already lasted longer than any other team, ever!
Ferrari won the WDC and WCC with Schumacher for 5 consecutive years so Hamilton and Merc still have a bit further to go in lasting longer than any team ever!.
Ferrari won the WDC and WCC with Schumacher for 5 consecutive years so Hamilton and Merc still have a bit further to go in lasting longer than any team ever!.
Mercedes have already matched that and are very (very!) likely to surpass it by winning the WDC and WCC this season to make it 6
Ferrari won the WDC and WCC with Schumacher for 5 consecutive years so Hamilton and Merc still have a bit further to go in lasting longer than any team ever!.
Ferrari won the constructors champs 6 years in a row (which Merc will equal this year) and the drivers title 5 years in a row (which Merc have already done and this year will make it 6)
There is every chance that Merc’s time as reigning supreme is coming to an end. They’ve already lasted longer than any other team, ever!
Which is evidence that they have a very solid technical department that will continue to produce good cars in the future. Red Bull are currently capable of winning the occasional race when Merc or Ferrari have a bad day, but they are still a long way from being title contenders. The Merc seat is still the most desirable on the grid, Verstappen would dump Red Bull in a second if he could get into a Merc.
Ocon and Verstappen at the same team would be interesting. Don’t they have a history of dislike for one another?
Im wondering if Lewis will look to go to Ferrari for 2021
I reckon he will be in talks with Ferrari next season about their 2021 car and weighing it up against the 2021 Merc, could be a gamble as no one really knows what the new cars will be like
But if he wins this year's championship, which we know is more than likely then if he moved to Ferrari for 2021 and won that season he would be able to match Schumacher's record at the same team he set it at or even beat it if he wins the 2020 season at Merc
Every driver wants to be a Ferrari driver at some point in their career and the chance to match or beat Schumacher's record with the same team he set it with must be very tempting for Lewis
Just a little. If Verstappen went to Merc I'd say Russell would be first in line for the second seat. But are Merc looking for two title contenders, or one and a wingman? It seems fair to say they've had a more harmonious team post 2016, and if they no longer have a car that's a step ahead of all the rest then they may not want two drivers robbing points from each other, because that's how a guy in red overalls won in 2007.
It'll be interesting to see who they sign for 2020 (Bottas, Ocon, Russell or a wildcard), and for how long, before the reshuffle of the whole grid in 2021.
Ocon and Verstappen at the same team would be interesting. Don’t they have a history of dislike for one another?
Only the collision/Handbags at interlagos I think?
Im wondering if Lewis will look to go to Ferrari for 2021
Why would he? He's comfortable where he is, he's top dog in the top team. Teenage boys get all excited about the romance of Ferrari, but drivers care much more about who has the best car, plus whether the team will give them priority if team orders are needed. Hamilton is happy where he is, he's said so publicly. Supposed rumours of him wanting to drive for Ferrari are just wishful thinking.
What drivers say publicly isnt always what they are thinking!
I agree why move when you are top dog in a top team but everything will change in 2021 and chances are Merc may no longer be top dog
Never discount the allure of Ferrari, Lewis made the right move to leave multiple world champions Mclaren a year before the Hybrid era started and Joined Mercedes, who is to say that leaving multiple world champions Mercedes just as the regs change again isn't the right thing to do?
Its a gamble but if it paid off it would put him even more firmly in the F1 history books!
everything will change in 2021 and chances are Merc may no longer be top dog
They're the best bet to be top dog. It's not guaranteed, but if I had to bet on who will be top in two years, the team that has dominated for the last 5 1/2 years would be the safe bet. Ferrari have an excellent engine and have produced good cars for the last 3 years, but the team as a whole has not got the best out of their resources. The Merc hasn't always been the best car, but the team overall have been incredibly impressive at getting the best out of it.
Very true, Hamilton has helped build the team around him and they have great leadership in Toto along with all the staff back in the UK working on development
Maybe its just wishful thinking on my part but you never know what may happen in the next couple of years
Ferrari won the WDC and WCC with Schumacher for 5 consecutive years so Hamilton and Merc still have a bit further to go in lasting longer than any team ever!.
I forgot Rosberg won in the Merc!
I don't think that we will see Hamilton in a Ferrari for 2021. Why? Well, Leclerc for starters, he clearly doesn't want to be Vettel's understudy and has a legitimate claim to be number one driver. I cannot see a 24 year old Leclerc, who'll have three seasons in F1 behind him being particularly enamoured at having a thirty-six year old Lewis Hamilton rock up.
Hamilton has helped build the team around him
No, Hamilton has no part in team management. He just drives the car and works with the engineers to develop it. The team was established by Ross Brawn and Hamilton joined after all the hard work had been done setting it up. That's not to say that Hamilton hasn't contributed a lot, but he had little to do with building the team.
That's broadly true but "he just drives the car and works to develop it" is a little unfair. Drivers obviously play a part in motivating the team, from the race engineers they interact with tightly to the factory team who they see less of. It seems to me, in as much as it's possible to judge from afar, that Hamilton does a decent job of that. If you look at the trail of chaos that Alonso left in his wake, and how the relevant teams recovered quickly afterwards, it shines a light on how much better some drivers are at providing a more effective form of inspiration. Not so much building a team in terms of finding and employing its components, but building it in terms of binding them together effectively. But you're right that Brawn, Lauda et al laid the foundations and built on them, and that Hamilton will have little involvement in the team's hiring decisions.
Only the collision/Handbags at interlagos I think?
When that happened I’m sure I heard a reference to their relationship in the feeder series.
if they no longer have a car that’s a step ahead of all the rest then they may not want two drivers robbing points from each other, because that’s how a guy in red overalls won in 2007.
Without wanting to sound paranoid, I’m sure Ferrari won in ‘07 because a McLaren driver wasn’t allowed to win as part of the punishment for them having Ferrari info, but no one wanted to disqualify or take points from the drivers as it would have ruined the spectacle. Why else would they leaveHamilton out on tyres that were through to the canvas?
I agree that Merc were incredibly dominant between 2014 and 2016, and managed to carry on winning by being a better complete team for the last two seasons after Ferrari had caught up with their engine design, but in 2021 all the chips get thrown up in the air again and I reckon it could also equally be Red Bull or Ferrari as well as Merc who get it right that time around.
Is there any indication on how the power units will change with the new regs?
Without wanting to sound paranoid…
You might not want to, but… 😉
LAT
Subscriber
Is there any indication on how the power units will change with the new regs?
They were talking about removing the MGU-H and making them rev a fair bit higher to improve the sound. Haven't heard anything about it for a while though.
Is there any indication on how the power units will change with the new regs?
Last I heard was that they are staying the same.
Is there any indication on how the power units will change with the new regs?
The announcement is expected in October but it currently looks like the power unit regs will remain stable, with the main changes being centred around aero (to improve over taking), a reduction in driver aids and telemetry so that the driver is more responsible for more stuff like tyre wear, fuel management etc and an attempt to reduce the costs (again!)