Sakae 0 Report post Posted December 3, 2016 Hamilton was quoted that he will not get involved in the selection process, however one doesn't know whether he could be trusted. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Emmcee 0 Report post Posted December 3, 2016 10 minutes ago, Sakae said: Hamilton was quoted that he will not get involved in the selection process, however one doesn't know whether he could be trusted. Oh bs, he might not have a say but I bet he will have a negative excuse on his opinion amongst the team over whoever they select or mention. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Quiet One 15 Report post Posted December 3, 2016 If they go for a more natural, less stressful #1 & #2 driver's doctrine, then any of the younguns could fit the bill, except Gutiérrez (worthless as they come), Magnussen (wrong head shape) and whoever drives a Sauber. If they are going for big names: Vettel. Button, perhaps. Vettel is great in a great car (not so much when the car isn't great, surprisingly). If he can adapt, he can run circles around Hamilton. Hamilton has the advantage of being great no matter what kind of car he gets, when his mood allows him to. Alonso? Nah. He works great while being a clear #1 or with a more harmonious teammate like Jenson. And I want to see him winning his 3rd championship the hard way, not with a car that wins by default. That would be too boring. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Emmcee 0 Report post Posted December 3, 2016 You seriously put Ericsson ahead of Magnussen? No way, IMO Ericsson is just as useless as Gutierrez. Nasr on the other hand is a pretty decent driver. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Quiet One 15 Report post Posted December 3, 2016 No I didn't. I don't think Ericsson is worth anything either. Nasr? Perhaps, never bothered too much. VES would be ideal. Fireworks all year round. Sainz, Perez and Hulk for some serious competition. Wehrlein and Ocon would be obvious choices. Bottas is the new Kovalainen. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Unknown? 0 Report post Posted December 3, 2016 24 minutes ago, Quiet One said: Sainz, Perez and Hulk for some serious competition. Wehrlein and Ocon would be obvious choices. Bottas is the new Kovalainen. Firstly wtf, Rosberg has retired?? Secondly, fair play to him, win the championship and bounce, mission accomplished. Thirdly, if I were Merc I'd be thinking Wehrlein, Sainz Jr, Bottas and Pérez. Hulk has ruled himself out unfortunately by just signing for Renault. Above all though I can't believe he has retired?? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Insider 0 Report post Posted December 3, 2016 We must not forget Sainz Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rumblestrip 0 Report post Posted December 3, 2016 2 hours ago, Quiet One said: Vettel is great in a great car (not so much when the car isn't great, surprisingly). If he can adapt, he can run circles around Hamilton. Hamilton has the advantage of being great no matter what kind of car he gets, when his mood allows him to. Oh man. Can you imagine the first lap, first turn skirmishes between those two? Imagine Seb's race radio then! I'm actually starting to wish for this to happen. It's probably the best way to keep Hamilton from running away with the 2017 title, and boy would it be fun to watch. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Emmcee 0 Report post Posted December 3, 2016 1 hour ago, Quiet One said: No I didn't. I don't think Ericsson is worth anything either. Nasr? Perhaps, never bothered too much. VES would be ideal. Fireworks all year round. Sainz, Perez and Hulk for some serious competition. Wehrlein and Ocon would be obvious choices. Bottas is the new Kovalainen. No way, Bottas is faster than kovalainen ever was but that's my opinion. Can't we count Ocon out as he already signed with FI. Or do you think they will pull him out of there if they want to? As for Hulk, the poor guy just can't catch a break can he? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Publius Cornelius Scipio 0 Report post Posted December 3, 2016 I fear that Bottas might get that drive, it would be a waste of a great chance, as someone else mentioned before Bottas is the new Kovalainen. Other than him I'd say that they might go for Wehrlein, I don't think they would pick a top driver like Vettel or Alonso. Otherwise they might try with Perez but my understanding is that Perez, and Perez's sponsors, are waiting for Kimi to retire at the end of next year to fill his vacancy at Ferrari. Having said that well done to Rosberg, of all the current top drivers I think that he's one of the very few who could do something else apart from racing, maybe he'll start producing his own wine (like some of his friends from Milan) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sakae 0 Report post Posted December 3, 2016 WCC, and therefore a lot of money, is in stake. No time for risky experiments. Lauda: Quote “Taking a young driver is a risk, we don’t know if he will be strong. Practically half of the grid have offered themselves.” Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ruslan 0 Report post Posted December 3, 2016 1 hour ago, Publius Cornelius Scipio said: Having said that well done to Rosberg, of all the current top drivers I think that he's one of the very few who could do something else apart from racing, maybe he'll start producing his own wine (like some of his friends from Milan) That is the one thing I always liked about Rosberg, he seemed smart, capable at many things, and interested in things other than driving. Many drivers now seem to be very one dimensional characters who exist only to drive. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ruslan 0 Report post Posted December 3, 2016 General comment on Hamilton's teammate: I don't think it matters to Hamilton. His rookie year in F1 he went toe-to-toe with two-time World Champion Fernando Alonso....then he competed in the same team against World Champion Jenson Button....then he joined a team that had an incumbent driver who out-performed seven times World Champion Michael Schumacher. Beat him too. Even when he lost, he won more races and took more poles than his teammate. Hamilton has been in a pressure cooker most of his F1 life, with teammates who were real drivers. Is there anyone out there who can rattle him now? I doubt it. Anyhow, I think they will go with Bottas (aka Kovalainen) or Werhlien, and effectively have a #1 and #2 driver. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sakae 0 Report post Posted December 3, 2016 Nice abuse of statistics. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ruslan 0 Report post Posted December 3, 2016 How so? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sakae 0 Report post Posted December 3, 2016 Never-mind, carry on. There is so much wrong with such "analysis," that I wouldn't know where to begin. Its simpler to step aside, and let you do whatever you do, since you seems do not see any problems with the methodology used. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Emmcee 0 Report post Posted December 3, 2016 Ruslan you know button scored more points than Lewis the entire time they were teammates? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
maure 1 Report post Posted December 3, 2016 This business makes F1 a tad more interesting, that's the fact. I wait until preseason to decide whether to watch or not and, for the last few years, I said 'nope' every time. The Mercedes situation could help a lot if someone interesting is hired for the job. To me, that driver is Verstappen. He's out there racing-wise, doing crazy sht and going where no one seems to able to. Throwing that at Hamilton would be fun to watch. To me, that driver is not Alonso. There is no racing to be had there. We've had a DECADE-LONG lynching of Alonso in order to hide and justify Hamilton's actions and shortcomings. And Hamilton has only gotten worse and worse. If Alonso is hired, the Spaniard will be made responsible from climate change to the creation of Hell itself. I find that tedious and boring. They will not be allowed to race. It will become a maniacal witch hunt from day minus one. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Emmcee 0 Report post Posted December 3, 2016 Yep well said but do you think half of verstappens bravery comes from the fact he is still young and hasn't had that first big accident yet? A lot of drivers seem quick until they have that big accident that makes them realise that they can get hurt. It's maintaining that speed afterwards that separates the good from the greats. Iam an alonso fan and if he left mclaren to drive for Mercedes, i would loose a lot of respect for the guy. Anyone can win in the best car but making yours the best is a different story. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
maure 1 Report post Posted December 4, 2016 To me Verstappen is what Hamilton and Vettel (for example) were once, that is, drivers with huge, huge potential and promise. Now, it is a fact those two specific cases came up spectacularly short (particularly Vettel) and, you are right, it is impossible to tell what will happen to Verstappen BUT, at this point, Verstappen is still the promise that, say, Hamilton was once. So, yeah, my money is on him. Other than Ricciardo, I see little else in the paddock to be motivated by... yet. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sakae 0 Report post Posted December 4, 2016 Vesrtappen was quoted on Dutch TV that he is not leaving RBR. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Emmcee 0 Report post Posted December 4, 2016 So count him out then, I also think Ricciardo will stay so who else do you think is in the picture? Realistically? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sakae 0 Report post Posted December 4, 2016 I don't have anything on DR, but my personal believe is, that he would be probably interested to move. My impression was, that he has considered to leave RBR already, had Ferrari actually offered him a job in lieu of giving it to Raikonnen. With rise of performance, that might have actually changed in past a few months. He might however, as Publius suggested, be circumspect of his management, and leave just to escape from inter team politics. Reasons for wanting leaving team probably changed from performance to personal. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Emmcee 0 Report post Posted December 4, 2016 Iam not so sure as everyone in paddock is hinting that redbull will be the ones to beat next year as they have been known for some time to have a superior aero package over everyone else. Would he risk the move not knowing if he can beat Lewis? He knows where Max is in contrast to him but moving to a new team and new car with a driver like Lewis may be a tad intimidating. Who knows, only time will tell. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Grabthaw the Hammerslayer 4 Report post Posted December 4, 2016 Some of the contributors to this forum should take note.... https://joesaward.wordpress.com/2016/11/30/f1-drivers-and-the-fans/ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites