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

El_Duderino 09 · 19-01-2021 08:15PM

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.

Yeah absolutely. But I don’t think Mercedes will pay what he’s asking for either. He’ll sign for a decent pay packet whatever way they work it out on the end.

Take Vettel as an example of how expectations can change. He was pissed off at Ferrari because he want willing to take a pay cut from his $30m and then he took an 80% pay cut to go to AM.

It’s not really relevant to Hamilton. Him and Mercedes will sign when they reach the best deal.

Bottas must be lighting candles and rubbing Buddha’s belly, hoping they fail to reach a deal.

Frank Bullitt · 19-01-2021 09:52PM

Anjobe wrote: »

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.

Doesn't Toto answer to the board though? He is in the most precarious situation in all of this. He has a strong relationship with both Merc and Hamilton, but he has to answer to one over the other.

And then of course, there is Russell (or ANY available driver really), that can take Hamiltons place, maybe not totally dominate like him, but still win races and easily fill those boots.

This after all is when F1 is the least driver centric version it has been. Gone are the days really where a great driver will really make a difference, it is all set up in the sim and CFD, race simulations, the driver drives to a time and that is it.

rock22 · 20-01-2021 08:26AM

El_Duderino 09 wrote: »

Take Vettel as an example of how expectations can change. He was pissed off at Ferrari because he want willing to take a pay cut from his $30m and then he took an 80% pay cut to go to AM.

.

You have made that statement twice that Vettel was not willing to take a pay cut. Have you anything to back it up ?
Because Ferrari stated there was no negotiation as they had decided they did not want Vettel. And Vettel eventually confirmed that .

quokula · 20-01-2021 09:02AM

Frank Bullitt wrote: »

Doesn't Toto answer to the board though? He is in the most precarious situation in all of this. He has a strong relationship with both Merc and Hamilton, but he has to answer to one over the other.

And then of course, there is Russell (or ANY available driver really), that can take Hamiltons place, maybe not totally dominate like him, but still win races and easily fill those boots.

This after all is when F1 is the least driver centric version it has been. Gone are the days really where a great driver will really make a difference, it is all set up in the sim and CFD, race simulations, the driver drives to a time and that is it.

Yeah, the reality is that the deal is a formality and Hamilton will eventually have to agree to what is being offered. There's a reason why none of the major F1 media outlets are talking about it or speculating, beyond Eddie Jordan's attention seeking.

If they agree, Hamilton is guaranteed a world championship and a legacy as the most successful driver ever. If they don't agree, Mercedes are guaranteed both world championships regardless of who they hire, while Hamilton is either out of F1 or finds himself a seat at another team where his stock will be severely damaged, and he can forget about asking for big salaries again in future.

El_Duderino 09 · 20-01-2021 09:19AM

rock22 wrote: »

You have made that statement twice that Vettel was not willing to take a pay cut. Have you anything to back it up ?
Because Ferrari stated there was no negotiation as they had decided they did not want Vettel. And Vettel eventually confirmed that .

I think they both said they had talks and the went as far as Ferrari saying there would need to be a substantial pay cut and Vettel saying he wouldn’t take a pay cut. So, Ferrari took him at his word and decided there was no way to reach a deal as they had very different expectations and replaced him with Sainz.

Vettel says there was no formal contract offered to him but Ferrari considered the discussion about money to be serious.

There was plenty of talk about it over the few months when it was happening - it didn’t gain much traction in this thread and the preferred narrative was to the effect of “Ferrari shafted Vettel”.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.gpfans.com/amp/article.php?id=51291

https://racer.com/2020/05/12/money-did-not-factor-into-ferrari-exit-vettel/

https://www.planetf1.com/news/sebastian-vettel-ferrari-contract-2/

eviltimeban · 20-01-2021 09:44AM

I wonder then is there any chance of Hamilton taking a sabbatical? And then coming back in 2022 with the new rules changes.

It's not beyond the realms of possibility, plus it would fit into his narrative about wanting to do other things. He could be involved in his activism while his profile is still high, reigning world champ and all that, and then come back in 2022 and fight for that 8th title.

El_Duderino 09 · 20-01-2021 10:38AM

eviltimeban wrote: »

I wonder then is there any chance of Hamilton taking a sabbatical? And then coming back in 2022 with the new rules changes.

It's not beyond the realms of possibility, plus it would fit into his narrative about wanting to do other things. He could be involved in his activism while his profile is still high, reigning world champ and all that, and then come back in 2022 and fight for that 8th title.

I wondered about how the race the missed with Covid and how fan reactions affected him. The fans were pretty happy he wasn’t there and there would be a different story for the weekend. I imagine that would have been devastating for his ego that the fans were happier when he missed a race. And I think overall, fans would be delighted if he took a sabbatical. It would probably mean there would be a decent fight for the championship either within Mercedes or maybe even with max involved in the fight.

I might be reading way too much into it. But I wonder how he reacted to seeing fans generally enthused by his absence. It’s just the fact of having the best driver in the best car means there’s no competition for the championship, but I imagine such a media conscious guy would have to have been affected by it.

ELM327 · 20-01-2021 10:42AM

eviltimeban wrote: »

I wonder then is there any chance of Hamilton taking a sabbatical? And then coming back in 2022 with the new rules changes.

It's not beyond the realms of possibility, plus it would fit into his narrative about wanting to do other things. He could be involved in his activism while his profile is still high, reigning world champ and all that, and then come back in 2022 and fight for that 8th title.

If he takes a sabbatical it will be the same as Mika's sabbatical.

duploelabs · 20-01-2021 10:48AM

ELM327 wrote: »

If he takes a sabbatical it will be the same as Mika's sabbatical.

Mika took time off because he lost his fearlessness, if Hamilton did take one it'd be the same as alonsos

AMKC · 20-01-2021 10:54AM

I see Alfa have released the launch date for there car on February 22nd. They are the first to announce there launch date but it might not be the earliest date.

Andrew76 · 20-01-2021 11:51AM

eviltimeban wrote: »

I wonder then is there any chance of Hamilton taking a sabbatical? And then coming back in 2022 with the new rules changes.

It's not beyond the realms of possibility, plus it would fit into his narrative about wanting to do other things. He could be involved in his activism while his profile is still high, reigning world champ and all that, and then come back in 2022 and fight for that 8th title.

Can't see that happening, I'd say he wants to extend his records as much as possible while Merc are on top.

quokula · 20-01-2021 12:45PM

El_Duderino 09 wrote: »

I wondered about how the race the missed with Covid and how fan reactions affected him. The fans were pretty happy he wasn’t there and there would be a different story for the weekend. I imagine that would have been devastating for his ego that the fans were happier when he missed a race. And I think overall, fans would be delighted if he took a sabbatical. It would probably mean there would be a decent fight for the championship either within Mercedes or maybe even with max involved in the fight.

I might be reading way too much into it. But I wonder how he reacted to seeing fans generally enthused by his absence. It’s just the fact of having the best driver in the best car means there’s no competition for the championship, but I imagine such a media conscious guy would have to have been affected by it.

The excitement came from finding out if a guy who'd never been anywhere other than the back of the grid, who had less than two years of F1 experience, and who had no time to acclimatise to the car or even have a proper seat fitting, could beat Bottas as easily as Hamilton could. And the answer was a definitive yes.

It's delusional to think Mercedes would suddenly find themselves in a championship battle without Hamilton in the car.

Now if they were to replace Bottas with an above average driver like Rosberg was, then that would make for a good teammate battle. But the team seem to have no interest in that.

eviltimeban · 20-01-2021 01:58PM

I wonder when Bottas will start trotting out the famous David Coulthard "it's my year" line?

Anjobe · 20-01-2021 02:21PM

eviltimeban wrote: »

I wonder when Bottas will start trotting out the famous David Coulthard "it's my year" line?

"Bottas 2.0" etc is his version, isn't it? I think last year we got "Bottas Vista".

Jordan 199 · 20-01-2021 02:54PM

skysports-sergio-perez-red-bull_5242983.png?20210119174729

El_Duderino 09 · 20-01-2021 03:00PM

Jordan 199 wrote: »

Good man Sergio. I don’t rate him very highly but I really hope I’m wrong about him. This is his year to test himself against a top driver in a top machine and prove people like me wrong.

Harika · 20-01-2021 07:20PM

While contract negotiation with Sky, they claimed that the HD package that included F1 would be removed from June on. Those might only affect long term subscription, anyone heard similar?

pjohnson · 20-01-2021 07:24PM

Williams keeping Nissany for another year.

Jordan 199 · 20-01-2021 07:46PM

pjohnson wrote: »

Williams keeping Nissany for another year.

Will they give him a practice outing at Hungary like his daddy did at Minardi in 2005?

eviltimeban · 20-01-2021 08:16PM

Harika wrote: »

While contract negotiation with Sky, they claimed that the HD package that included F1 would be removed from June on. Those might only affect long term subscription, anyone heard similar?

Haven't heard anything. The only reason I got Sky digital back in the day was because it came with the F1 channel. I don't have any other sports or movie channels.

I hope it doesn't become an extra you have to pay for.

pjohnson · 20-01-2021 09:40PM

Jordan 199 wrote: »

Will they give him a practice outing at Hungary like his daddy did at Minardi in 2005?

He had a few last year. Seems an upgrade on the father anyway. But then again so would Stevie Wonder.

Jordan 199 · 22-01-2021 04:01PM

Button to have an advisor role at Williams.

El_Duderino 09 · 22-01-2021 04:07PM

Jordan 199 wrote: »

Button to have an advisor role at Williams.

They can use all the help they can get. I wonder what expertise he could really bring?

mickdw · 22-01-2021 05:05PM

El_Duderino 09 wrote: »

They can use all the help they can get. I wonder what expertise he could really bring?

Bit of experience for the drivers to bounce off but id say mostly a big name for marketing purposes.

El_Duderino 09 · 22-01-2021 05:43PM

mickdw wrote: »

Bit of experience for the drivers to bounce off but id say mostly a big name for marketing purposes.

I can see button wanting to help out Williams as it’s a great, British racing brand. I just wonder how much use it will realistically be to them.

pjohnson · 22-01-2021 06:05PM

Matteo Nannini has been signed to HWA and will race both F2 AND F3 this year.

Glico Man · 22-01-2021 06:53PM

El_Duderino 09 wrote: »

I can see button wanting to help out Williams as it’s a great, British racing brand. I just wonder how much use it will realistically be to them.

I've noticed that Russell has a very smooth driving style behind the wheel, not too dissimilar to Button. Perhaps he will benefit most, particularly with advice on setups.

El_Duderino 09 · 23-01-2021 04:23PM

Jordan 199 wrote: »

Will they give him a practice outing at Hungary like his daddy did at Minardi in 2005?

He’s getting one of the three pre-season testing days. So Russell and Latifi and Nissani are each farting one day.

Strange approach.

This comes from to latest Autosport podcast.

pjohnson · 23-01-2021 07:27PM

El_Duderino 09 wrote: »

He’s getting one of the three pre-season testing days. So Russell and Latifi and Nissani are each farting one day.

Strange approach.

This comes from to latest Autosport podcast.

Christ is that what they'll be testing?

elperello · 23-01-2021 07:46PM

El_Duderino 09 wrote: »

They can use all the help they can get. I wonder what expertise he could really bring?

mickdw wrote: »

Bit of experience for the drivers to bounce off but id say mostly a big name for marketing purposes.

El_Duderino 09 wrote: »

I can see button wanting to help out Williams as it’s a great, British racing brand. I just wonder how much use it will realistically be to them.

Over 300 GPs of experience.

It's easy to dismiss the cheery chappy TV personality JB has today but behind that is a solid career in F1.

I'll be surprised if Williams can't profit from this collaboration.

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

Comments