If you were Merc negotiating Hamilton's next contract

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Soldato
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I think he would have held his own. He won against Rosberg who you claim is a better driver, more than he lost. Except once.

I also disagree about totally dominated. It hasn’t always been the fastest or best car. The 2019 Ferrari was at least a match.

2019 was more in favour of Mercedes but do people just willingly forget 2017 and 2018? Both seasons Ferrari were leading by the summer and if it wasn't for Vettel making a few mistakes they'd have easily won the championship those years. It was only with Singapore in 17 and Germany 18 that changed the momentum from Ferrari to Mercedes.

14-16 was dominant but at least it had a battle between Nico and Lewis.

17-18 was a battle between Seb and Lewis at least until the half way point.

19-20 have been domination by Lewis and Mercedes.


For 2022 onwards I really hope it's Lewis and George in the Mercedes. The leading Brit passing the torch to the one I think is going to have the most success (I don't subscribe to the Lando hype just yet) would be a dream situation to watch as a British fan.
 
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Then max should've signed in 2017 when Mercedes tried to sign him. Instead he opted to stay at Red Bull where the team would be built around him (no bad idea)

how you can say Rosberg was the better driver when he consistently beaten by Hamilton in every conceivable metric is amusing. He literally had to put it all on the line to the point of retiring, had to have all his stars align and still require Hamilton to have more mechanical issues during the year and despite all of that he won the WDC despite winning less races and only having a lead of 5 points.
You've got to really dislike Hamilton and be equal to Simone biles in mental gymnastics so believe what you just said

I don’t hate Hamilton, how could I as I don’t personally know the guy but for sure I’m calling him out for being a hypocrite, tax dodger , gifted 6 world championships and a knighthood to boot . On topic I feel that Mercedes could do better than pander to his needs.

If you read back I’ve also said Hamilton would be wise to maybe race the season under contract for free - I would if I was nigh on guaranteed another title , which this car will give him. Again I’ll say it , G.R made Hamilton and Bottas look like a pair of clowns.

Max , so,your telling me on equal terms he turned down Mercedes . Yea right oh. I think Max wanted to be his own man and duly did so - good on him ! Look at Bottas , he’s the Patsy , stool pigeon for Hamilton. Look at how much less money he’s on , total pee take . He’s the teams bitch for sure.

Agree or disagree about Rosberg , he still beat Hamilton .
 
Soldato
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I don’t hate Hamilton, how could I as I don’t personally know the guy but for sure I’m calling him out for being a hypocrite, tax dodger , gifted 6 world championships and a knighthood to boot . On topic I feel that Mercedes could do better than pander to his needs.

So he was gifted them? He faced no competition for those championships? I mean if that is your stance then fair enough but I have to wonder... If Rosberg is so much better than Hamilton then how would it be a gift seeing as he won two of those against, in your mind, the superior driver in Rosberg.

So I suppose that 'gifted' is down to 4. But then if you think about 17 and 18, it was Lewis that won the WDC and WCC for Mercedes those years (Seeing as Vettel was a threat in that Ferrari considering he finished 2nd in 2017 and 2018 whilst Bottas finished P3 and P5 respectively in those years) So that's down to 2 'gifted' titles.

I agree that he made 2019 and 2020 look very easy though.

If you read back I’ve also said Hamilton would be wise to maybe race the season under contract for free - I would if I was nigh on guaranteed another title , which this car will give him. Again I’ll say it , G.R made Hamilton and Bottas look like a pair of clowns.

I also read back and saw you claim he was talentless so forgive me for not taking everything you say very seriously. He shown Bottas up for sure, Bottas' should've took that weekend to really take the reigns and say this is my team. He didn't and I believe the P45 will be on the way soon... But how exactly did he make Lewis look like a clown? He didn't even race against him. Uness you've just made up a scenario in your mind where Lewis wouldn't have been able to do what George did... But what exactly are you basing that on?

Max , so,your telling me on equal terms he turned down Mercedes . Yea right oh. I think Max wanted to be his own man and duly did so - good on him ! Look at Bottas , he’s the Patsy , stool pigeon for Hamilton. Look at how much less money he’s on , total pee take . He’s the teams bitch for sure.

Max didn't back himself. If he is the ultimate racer many say he is, why wouldn't he take the chance against Hamilton in the car that is going to give him the best chance at a WDC. We all agree that if you want a genuine chance at the WDC you realistically need to be in a Mercedes. Why, when they came asking, did he not back himself?

We've seen that at the start of each season Mercedes gives both drivers equal chance. It's only once one driver has been out of a chance that they've been made to ply a supporting role. If Max is as great as many believe, why didn't he go to the team and put it on Lewis right away and if he beats him as much as people proclaim, Mercedes would have no choice but to focus on the team leader.

Max Verstappen admits he doesn't have much interest in partnering either Lewis Hamilton or Sebastian Vettel if he can avoid it.

The Dutchman hasn't had it easy at Red Bull alongside Daniel Ricciardo since 2016 but has gradually risen his profile within the team to a point where now he is the defacto lead driver after the Australian's decision to join Renault.

In 2017, however, concerns over Red Bull's competitiveness led to Mercedes talking to Verstappen about the possibility of a seat before instead, he committed to the Milton Keynes-based squad until the end of 2020.

“When I think of my own career, it is not convenient to sit next to Hamilton or Vettel right now. Although I would absolutely do it if I had no other choice," he told Holland's Formule1.com

“I believe that with Red Bull I can also become champion, as long as we have the right package together.”

Source

Really it's a shame that Max and Vos don't have as much faith in themselves as their fans do. He would've only become a patsy for Lewis if you believe he wouldn't have been able to keep up, is that what you think? Personally I think Lewis vs Max would be a fantastic team battle, I'd edge to Lewis but that is only because he is proven, I'm waiting for the potential max has shown to be realised first.

What is interesting is that he was a race winner by that point and put in a few good performances but wouldn't partner Lewis or Seb at that stage. Yet the driver you think is talentless had no issue partnering up with the then reigning two-time world champion in his debut season

Crazy what can happen when you back yourself and put the pressure on.
Agree or disagree about Rosberg , he still beat Hamilton .

He did. It involved a lot of hard work and sacrifices that kept him away from his young family, he took dieting to new heights and had to stop cycling so he could lose muscles on his legs to weigh less, he had to give it 110% and have the stars align and still rely on Lewis to have more mechanical issues throughout the year to take the title by 5 points.

I'll never say Nico didn't deserve that title because at the end of the day Lewis had a shocking start to the season and his dodgy starts cost him just as much as the OU failure in Malaysia but despite of that we won more races and still won the, largely irrelevant, team principal driver of the year award.

Do you not think it's rather telling that after giving everything he had and then some Nico couldn't face doing another year and trying to defend his crown.
 
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Soldato
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G.R made Hamilton and Bottas look like a pair of clowns.
Utterly Utterly baseless. You have absolutely no comparison between G.R and Hamilton. You didnt see them in the same car, at the same time, on the same track at all.

Stop making up rubbish to try and justify your points.

There is no harm in making the suggestion that Hamilton should drive for free. Its almost pointless as NO driver has ever driven for free in a championship capable car, so not sure why specifically Hamilton should choose to do so now, but hey, it gives the Hamilton dislikers something to cry about "OmG HE wanTs PayINg tO DRive Z CaR OMEGALOLZ"
 
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Utterly Utterly baseless. You have absolutely no comparison between G.R and Hamilton. You didnt see them in the same car, at the same time, on the same track at all.

Stop making up rubbish to try and justify your points.

There is no harm in making the suggestion that Hamilton should drive for free. Its almost pointless as NO driver has ever driven for free in a championship capable car, so not sure why specifically Hamilton should choose to do so now, but hey, it gives the Hamilton dislikers something to cry about "OmG HE wanTs PayINg tO DRive Z CaR OMEGALOLZ"

I'm all for making statements as long as you can back them up with evidence and proof. But some of the posters in here talk such nonsense and then when asked to back it up they go quiet

There is absolutely nothing wrong with having a different opinion and if you truly believe something you'd be able to present your reasons why you've come to that conclusion.

All I see in here are wild statements with nothing substantial to back it up. Just lots of emotional reactions.
 
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G.R made Hamilton and Bottas look like a pair of clowns.
I said before the weekend started that you couldn't use the Sakhir race as a base to judge either Russell or Bottas. I compared it to Salo coming in for Schumacher and besting Irvine in his second race at Hockenheim and again at Monza - that was great... where was Salo at more conventional tracks? Usually in the second half of the field and getting lapped by Irvine.

Unique one-off tracks aren't a reliable barometer of consistent performance.

Russell undoubtedly equipped himself brilliantly and would probably do so again should the chance arrive, however it was one race on a track with effectively four corners separated by straights.

Had he ran at Abu Dhabi (and perhaps he should have done in hindsight given Hamilton's situation) it would have been a better gauge of how suited he would been in the short term.



Edit: That said, Williams, the utterly dominant team at the time, picked Damon Hill for 1993, who up until that point had only driven in two races at the back of the field. Granted he was a test driver, but he had less experience and many fewer miles that Russell has now. He didn't fair too badly considering... though you could argue he was lucky to retain his seat following a dismal 1995 season.

Don't get me wrong. I fully expect Russell to be in the Mercedes at some point and given the increasing rate of a certain pandemic there's every chance it will be as early as this season, and I rate him sufficiently that I, like most, presume he's nailed on for one of the seats on a permanent basis, but as much as I was cheering him on in Sakhir there's still a bit of the unknown about the performance given the nature of the track.
 
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Soldato
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A lot of F1 news out lets are saying Hamilton has been offered a 1 year contract.
While William's have said they can't keep hold of Russell.

I think Hamilton wants a 3 year deal and\or wants more cash.
Or Ola Kallenius doesn't want to pay what Hamilton wants.

In a few years the £30mil cap for drivers comes in.
 
Soldato
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A lot of F1 news out lets are saying Hamilton has been offered a 1 year contract.
While William's have said they can't keep hold of Russell.

I think Hamilton wants a 3 year deal and\or wants more cash.
Or Ola Kallenius doesn't want to pay what Hamilton wants.

In a few years the £30mil cap for drivers comes in.

Share the sources for your "a lot of F1 news outlets" please because i cant find a sniff of this anywhere, and the formula 1 reddit is pretty hot on all things f1.

As for Williams saying they cannot keep Russell, that's exactly the reason he is still there, because he was blocked from leaving by Claire Williams before the new owners came along, so they can stop him, its part of their contract.

The assumption that a cap on salary will do anything other then shift how sponsor money and endorsements work is trivial really. The best drivers will still get paid mega money in F1, and deservingly so.
 
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Share the sources for your "a lot of F1 news outlets" please because i cant find a sniff of this anywhere, and the formula 1 reddit is pretty hot on all things f1.

As for Williams saying they cannot keep Russell, that's exactly the reason he is still there, because he was blocked from leaving by Claire Williams before the new owners came along, so they can stop him, its part of their contract.

The assumption that a cap on salary will do anything other then shift how sponsor money and endorsements work is trivial really. The best drivers will still get paid mega money in F1, and deservingly so.


Reddit!

Go here for everything about F1 and..well anything https://www.newsnow.co.uk/h/Sport/F1
 
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If Hamilton has been offered a one year deal surely there will be an option for a further year on it? I’m trying to think who else Mercedes could be interested in. Bottas is on another year deal, Danny Ricc is on a two year deal AFAIK, Max until the end of 2023 season, Leclerc likely too wedded to Ferrari and has an even longer deal until the end of 2024. The only thing I can think of is they want to lower costs or think they have Hamilton over a barrel. He wants title 8, I guess it’s how badly he wants it. And this keeps Mercedes’s options open for the new regs in 2022.
 
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As for Williams saying they cannot keep Russell, that's exactly the reason he is still there, because he was blocked from leaving by Claire Williams before the new owners came along, so they can stop him, its part of their contract.
There's every possibility that his contract has numerous clauses in it with Mercedes able to call upon him if x or y happens. I doubt Williams were as keen as they let on to allow him to race for Mercedes when Hamilton contracted COVID-19 given Williams were still hoping to overhaul Haas in the Constructors Championship and all the millions that entails.

Of course, given Williams have just struck a new deal with Mercedes for extra parts there's nothing to say an early Russell full release (or any driver release) wasn't part of that. We were told that wasn't the case with their existing deal however there's nothing to say that hasn't been added in the new one. Surely Mercedes still have some sway in that regard otherwise they'd have tied up Hamilton's contract much sooner, as who could they get should the unthinkable happen? Vandoorne? de Vries? Russell is far better placed, which is why they went for him for Sakhir in the first place.
 
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My understanding was that George isn’t directly contracted with Mercedes as such, but is managed by Toto? Hence why Williams needed a sweetener for Bahrain and Mercedes couldn’t just ‘recall’ him. George has said in the past that the plan was always three years at Williams.
 
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3 years sounds about right. And after his last performance and the maturity he shown both during the race and how he dealt with the setback, if Mercedes don't take him I think the other teams will squabble over him

2022 is going to be huge for George. If Mercedes are still at the top after the rule change I wouldn't want to be against George ruining a few peoples plans
 
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All you people in here stating that Lewis wants this or that. You know nothing unless you have physically been in the room with Lewis or Toto while they are negotiating.

Lewis is worth what ever Merc want to pay him, and at the end of the day, you'll never know what that amount is as it is private.
 
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All you people in here stating that Lewis wants this or that. You know nothing unless you have physically been in the room with Lewis or Toto while they are negotiating.

Lewis is worth what ever Merc want to pay him, and at the end of the day, you'll never know what that amount is as it is private.
But then if Lewis thinks he’s worth more, both parties have a problem.
 
Soldato
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I'm all for making statements as long as you can back them up with evidence and proof. But some of the posters in here talk such nonsense and then when asked to back it up they go quiet

There is absolutely nothing wrong with having a different opinion and if you truly believe something you'd be able to present your reasons why you've come to that conclusion.

All I see in here are wild statements with nothing substantial to back it up. Just lots of emotional reactions.

Some of us do go to work .

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/live/formula1/53912769 Facts are right there G.R owned both practices and the race . So yes I stand by what I’ve said he made then both look like average F1 drivers at best and I still don’t get how Mercedes made the tyre mistake - make of that what you will .

For a guy that’s never driven that car before the Friday you still think Hamilton’s and Bottas are that good ? Either Russell is super human or your giving way to much credit to these Clowns in dominant cars.

last word from me - Hamilton is hypocrite, tax dodging idiot that in my mind has brought F1 into a political platform that he didn’t need to and `Mercedes should drop him. There are other drivers that can win for them in a heartbeat.
 
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