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Formula 1 2021 - General Discussion Thread (Read 1st post rules)

Cork Trucker

This is the official Formula 1 2021 - General Discussion Thread

Any posts that should be in the race weekend threads that are posted in here will get deleted without warning

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El_Duderino 09

AMKC wrote: »

I am sure Alonso will be delighted to be back in an almost all black car lol not. The last one with McLaren was a disaster and yes it's not the colour it was the engine but still it's got to stick in the mind a bit. I think more blue on it would be better and I would say Alonso would agree. I wonder did they consult him about the colour of the car he will be driving.

Would it be usual for drivers to have a day in the car colours? (Presumably Hamilton influenced the black Mercedes livery) I hope they don’t start pandering to Alonso so early. His record of influencing teams is huge, his positive impact is much smaller.

Frank Bullitt

El_Duderino 09 wrote: »

Would it be usual for drivers to have a day in the car colours? (Presumably Hamilton influenced the black Mercedes livery) I hope they don’t start pandering to Alonso so early. His record of influencing teams is huge, his positive impact is much smaller.

2 world championships isn't exactly small...

Jordan 199

Charles Leclerc has tested positive for Covid-19. Get well soon Charles.

El_Duderino 09

Frank Bullitt wrote: »

2 world championships isn't exactly small...

Can’t argue with that. I was referring to Positive impact from the disruption he causes.

He’s 40 this year. I hope they don’t turn the team upside down to suit him when he will only be there for a year or 2. Renault has been steadily improving so I hope they just get Alonso to drive and not indulge him in political backstabbing

quokula

Jordan 199 wrote: »

Charles Leclerc has tested positive for Covid-19. Get well soon Charles.

Hope he's all fine, but it has to be said he seemed quite happy to ignore the rules earlier in the year. He can count himself lucky that it happened in the off season and he won't miss any races.

Frank Bullitt

El_Duderino 09 wrote: »

Can’t argue with that. I was referring to Positive impact from the disruption he causes.

He’s 40 this year. I hope they don’t turn the team upside down to suit him when he will only be there for a year or 2. Renault has been steadily improving so I hope they just get Alonso to drive and not indulge him in political backstabbing

I honestly can see him fitting in better. His second stint at McLaren was a shambles with the Honda, I think he is in line for some good fortune.

[Deleted User]

Really surprising to see Schumacher not able to go flat-out round Tamburello. Barely a kink in today's cars.

Cork Trucker

With Alonso I recall that Renault sought assurances that he would not be disruptive to the team in the same way he was at McLaren and Ferrari, he agreed to it. The reason Mercedes wouldn’t take him is because of Hamilton and that in Mercedes own words, he cost them $40M after spy gate.

Harika

Aserbaidschan, Monaco and Montreal are back on the danger list. 23 races becoming more and more unlikely.

Inquitus

Mildly amusing, but it could potentially come to pass:

quokula

Cork Trucker wrote: »

With Alonso I recall that Renault sought assurances that he would not be disruptive to the team in the same way he was at McLaren and Ferrari, he agreed to it. The reason Mercedes wouldn’t take him is because of Hamilton and that in Mercedes own words, he cost them $40M after spy gate.

It was McLaren's culture of cheating that cost them that money, not Alonso being honest when authorities spoke to him. There was already enough more than enough evidence against them without Alonso.

In what way was Alonso disruptive at Ferrari? Their management has been an utter ****show ever since Todt and Brawn left, if anything the years Alonso was there were the closest they had to stability since then. With the exception of Schumacher, every single top driver who's joined Ferrari in the last 30+ years has ended up being burnt by the team, it's a poisoned chalice and it's hard to blame any of the drivers for that.

I don't see how Alonso was particularly disruptive in his second stint at McLaren either to be honest, certainly not in any way that could somehow be put in writing in a Renault contract. Clearly he was unhappy with the Honda engine and let out his frustration on team radio, but the engine being a piece of crap was on them, him pointing it out didn't exactly change anything. He still dragged the car up into positions his teammates could only dream of.

El_Duderino 09

https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/76642/eddie-jordan-clear-on-hamilton-s-position-i-would-show-him-the-door.html

It’s just a windy article to fill the space when here’s no real news to discuss. But it’s interesting to see Eddie hasn’t changed. Always good for a headline.
He claims he’d tell Hamilton to sling his hook and nobody is irreplaceable

elperello

The comments on that thread are a revelation.

Makes this place look positively genteel

Harika

elperello wrote: »

The comments on that thread are a revelation.

Makes this place look positively genteel

https://youtu.be/ONFVIfrPQxc

[Deleted User]

Bit of a general musing kind of question here, kind of hoping someone knows something. :P

When we talk about engines and so on I can't help but feel that the focus on the number of cylinders is a massive red herring. I mean what is there to learn about an inline-4 that isn't known already? Or a V6? Surely that advancements all come from how each cylinder does its thing. Or how the rods work (see IndyCar in the early 90s leading up to the split). And of course nowadays the packaging, and the electrical harvesting and associated gubbins and deployment.

PopePalpatine

IIRC it's that a V-engine can be used as a stressed member of the chassis but an inline engine can't.

mickdw

Whats the score with hamilton anyway - Whats he looking for other than money? Is he pushing the BLM agenda and wanting mercedes to
fit in with him. If thats the case, and he is trying to dictate mercedes policy in areas beyond the the performance of the F1 car, he should be told take it or leave it.

ELM327

mickdw wrote: »

Whats the score with hamilton anyway - Whats he looking for other than money? Is he pushing the BLM agenda and wanting mercedes to
fit in with him. If thats the case, and he is trying to dictate mercedes policy in areas beyond the the performance of the F1 car, he should be told take it or leave it.

AMKC

mickdw wrote: »

Whats the score with hamilton anyway - Whats he looking for other than money? Is he pushing the BLM agenda and wanting mercedes to
fit in with him. If thats the case, and he is trying to dictate mercedes policy in areas beyond the the performance of the F1 car, he should be told take it or leave it.

There is a whole other thread about Hamilton and they are talking about how he wants 50million and some deal with Mercedes on his terms. Anyway it's there to check out. No point talking about in here too.

Frank Bullitt

PopePalpatine wrote: »

IIRC it's that a V-engine can be used as a stressed member of the chassis but an inline engine can't.

Ferrari also didn't want the rules for 2014 to have inline engines as they do not produce any road cars with them. So they pushed for a V6.

[Deleted User]

PopePalpatine wrote: »

IIRC it's that a V-engine can be used as a stressed member of the chassis but an inline engine can't.

Fair enough, so let's just say V6 and V8. :pac:

Frank Bullitt wrote: »

Ferrari also didn't want the rules for 2014 to have inline engines as they do not produce any road cars with them. So they pushed for a V6.

So I think that's mostly just a marketing argument?

Frank Bullitt

Deleted User wrote: »

Fair enough, so let's just say V6 and V8. :pac:

So I think that's mostly just a marketing argument?

Marketing but also an engineering one.

Frank Bullitt

https://www.racefans.net/2021/01/18/why-hasnt-hamilton-signed-a-new-mercedes-deal-yet-theres-a-few-million-reasons/

Interesting article about the reasons for the hold up with Hamilton and Merc.

Back in October a source with knowledge of the situation told RaceFans that the two were 300% apart – adding that Mercedes boss Ola Källenius refused to budge above $20 million (£14.7m) for driver services simply as the oft-stated objective is for the team to be a profit- and not a cost-centre; Hamilton was then said to be pushing for $60m plus perks. A spokesperson denied this to be the case, but the ‘gap’ is sufficient to seriously hit profits.

ELM327

I'd be so delighted if he priced himself out, and was out of the sport, watching Russel win the WDC in his car!

El_Duderino 09

ELM327 wrote: »

I'd be so delighted if he priced himself out, and was out of the sport, watching Russel win the WDC in his car!

That would be amazing. Imagine Hamilton had to drive a crap car like a Williams. The whinging!

Anjobe

Frank Bullitt wrote: »

https://www.racefans.net/2021/01/18/why-hasnt-hamilton-signed-a-new-mercedes-deal-yet-theres-a-few-million-reasons/

Interesting article about the reasons for the hold up with Hamilton and Merc.

October was before Ineos bought a 1/3 ownership of the team though. Mercedes are no longer the majority owner so may not be able to prevent a deal with Hamilton if Ineos and Toto agree to it.

muckwarrior

ELM327 wrote: »

I'd be so delighted if he priced himself out, and was out of the sport, watching Russel win the WDC in his car!

He'd be stupid to let it happen. He risks undermining his whole legacy if a young driver can step into the car in his place and win the championship.

Top Dog

El_Duderino 09 wrote: »

That would be amazing. Imagine Hamilton had to drive a crap car like a Williams. The whinging!

I don't think any other team would pay anywhere near what he's looking for, so if he can't get a deal done with Mercedes I can see him with no drive at all.

ELM327

muckwarrior wrote: »

He'd be stupid to let it happen. He risks undermining his whole legacy if a young driver can step into the car in his place and win the championship.

Any competent driver would win the title in that car. Even bottas would win it if he had the likes of Latifi as a teammate.

He'd be stupid but he probably thinks he's got more leverage than he has. The mercedes will win the wdc in 2021, the only thing up for debate is which car will win. They won the constructors by so much last year, they would have won it with Lewis's points alone.

Top Dog wrote: »

I don't think any other team would pay anywhere near what he's looking for, so if he can't get a deal done with Mercedes I can see him with no drive at all.

Yes, I'd say it's mercedes or nothing.

Dont be at yourself

It is an interesting case of brinkmanship.

For 2021, it's Hamilton's only prospect for a drive, where he's guaranteed to eclipse Schumi's titles.

Merc/Toto/Ineos know that he's not needed to win the championship, given Bottas outpointed Verstappen, and given Russell's strong showing in Bahrain.

Red Bull and Ferrari equally seem quite committed to Max and Leclerc respectively (and that seems to be reciprocated by the drivers), so ultimately I think Hamilton is banking on Mercedes being nervous about the 2022 rule changes, or that McLaren perhaps re-emerge as contenders. Neither of which seem particularly likely.