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

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

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.

The comments on that thread are a revelation.

Makes this place look positively genteel

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.

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.

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 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!

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.

No way Hamilton drives for a low tier team this year, or probably ever. He can push all he wants but he knows, as do the rest of the world, that he's not needed to win the WDC for Mercedes. He might talk the talk but when it comes down to it, he's pretty much at their mercy contract wise in my opinion.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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 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.

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 wrote: »

Williams keeping Nissany for another year.

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

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 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 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.