Formula 1 talk.

[sk47]

Hello; Since we are speculating and cannot yet know, allow me to throw in. As it is currently with RB, they have the better car. When LH was winning championships he happened to be in the better car of the times. Same for Schumacher when at Ferrari.
I can figure the RB will be dominant again in 2024, but only the actual races will tell the tale. Might be some other team gets a better aero package or some such and leaves them in the dust. More likely I suppose just some stiff competition and fewer firsts.
My point, for the most part, is the better car makes more of a difference than the driver. Even with a decent and fast car Ferrari managed to throw away some possible good finishes last year. But strange things do happen. RB might take a wrong turn with chassis development and lose a few tenths. Ferrari might make clever decisions more often that odd ones.

I grew to dislike Schumacher before he retired and skied his way into a coma. There were lots of things I cannot exactly recall but two stand out. One was during qualifying at the end of a session he stopped his car on the track preventing a rival from a last fast lap.
The other was a race at the Indy 500 track when Ferrari prevented competing teams from having replacement tires flown in due to some obscure rule. This was when more than one tire company was making tires. Had some blow outs and the rival's tires were deemed unsafe. It was a sad spectacle to watch on TV. I was glad i did not make the trip that year and waste time and money.

I cannot rule out success for Lewis next year at Ferrari. I would not put any money down on it tho. My guess is he will continue to decline in terms of skill level. I also doubt Ferrari being able to tailor a car to his needs. We will see.
The outcome I favor is for MB to come up with the hot car in 2024 and that LH gets to watch them pull away from him in race after race.

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[Inthehighdesert]

The hamilton switch is amusing. He’s looking for cover on his lack of performance. Russell’s been faster. The real question is you were Merc and Wolff, why would you want him in the car for 24. I’d cut him lose and get started on moving forward with a new driver. There’s really not a down side, I think RB still has a pace gap to the rest of the field.

 

[Bikeman315]

Nothing amusing about it. Regardless of how you feel about Ferrari it’s no secret that every F1 driver dreams of driving for them. Hamilton is no different. He will continue to be my #1. That said I hope he wins #8 with Mercedes. Then he can move on to win #9 with Ferrari.

 

[Bikeman315]

By the way………

https://www.planetf1.com/news/lewis-hamilton-ferrari-mercedes-exit-reaction

 

[Yorkshire_OH]

I actually give Hamilton kudos for announcing this so early. It gives MB all year to give the best chances to GR and it also gives them more time to sort out options for 2025. But the best bit is it looks like a thought out decision rather than drive the car in preseason and the first few races and then make the decision. If the car is bad in preseason and the first few races, and then he announced, EVERYONE would say he's throwing all the toys. This way is cleaner.

 

[Bikeman315]

I actually give Hamilton kudos for announcing this so early. It gives MB all year to give the best chances to GR and it also gives them more time to sort out options for 2025. But the best bit is it looks like a thought out decision rather than drive the car in preseason and the first few races and then make the decision. If the car is bad in preseason and the first few races, and then he announced, EVERYONE would say he's throwing all the toys. This way is cleaner.

Lewis is a class act. Obviously this has been in the works for some time. The media is just doing their thing sensationalizing the whole story.

 

[Inthehighdesert]

I disagree, it is amusing. You can cheer for him and support him all you want. We all have our faults. You probably have better odds at the lottery paying off then him ever seeing number eight. If the court case goes through it might get reduced by one. I could sure do without all the drama bs in F1.

The faults reference was meant in jest.

Nothing amusing about it. Regardless of how you feel about Ferrari it’s no secret that every F1 driver dreams of driving for them. Hamilton is no different. He will continue to be my #1. That said I hope he wins #8 with Mercedes. Then he can move on to win #9 with Ferrari.

 

[Inthehighdesert]

Make no mistake. He was going in August, they(he and ferarri) just hadn’t agreed on the terms and he needed a deal in the interim. This has been going on for quite some time. There’s also a reason why his Merc deal drug out for so long. See above with that as well. I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if there’s some stipulation in there about the salary level and he has to be the highest out of the pair. LeClerc may have something similar in his as well. There isn’t/wasn’t anything noble about his decision, he’s pr and business all the time.

I actually give Hamilton kudos for announcing this so early. It gives MB all year to give the best chances to GR and it also gives them more time to sort out options for 2025. But the best bit is it looks like a thought out decision rather than drive the car in preseason and the first few races and then make the decision. If the car is bad in preseason and the first few races, and then he announced, EVERYONE would say he's throwing all the toys. This way is cleaner.

 

[Yorkshire_OH]

I disagree, it is amusing. You can cheer for him and support him all you want. We all have our faults. You probably have better odds at the lottery paying off then him ever seeing number eight. If the court case goes through it might get reduced by one. I could sure do without all the drama bs in F1.

The faults reference was meant in jest.

If the court case goes through and he loses one he has a strong case to lodge a case to gain that one back that they robbed him of. PS I’m NOT a LH fan to be honest. He’s been super arrogant through most of his career. But he has talent there is no doubt.

 

[sk47]

strong case to lodge a case to gain that one back that they robbed him of.

Hello; Not sure what he was robbed of but figure it was the very close season which was the first of Max's championships. Wouldn't it be lovely for us to debate that again. I even understand the lame argument made to favor his claim. That F1 altered the procedures after a late race incident. A thing is he or the team decided to not come in for fresh tires while other teams did so. He, LH, was counting on the race ending under a caution (How is that for a classy move?) rather than actually having to race for it. Turned out he did have to race for it and all his skills did not help as he was passed.
A very close season to be sure. An irony, but not the only irony, being he, LH, was fine during the season when F1 administrator decisions went his way in a controversial move. I am thinking of his forcing his closest rival off a track. I tend to think of it as a Greg type rule. That being it is good when the rules work in my favor but flawed when rules go against me.

He was clearly passed and beaten on the track. Seen by millions around the world.

 

[Yorkshire_OH]

Hello; Not sure what he was robbed of but figure it was the very close season which was the first of Max's championships. Wouldn't it be lovely for us to debate that again. I even understand the lame argument made to favor his claim. That F1 altered the procedures after a late race incident. A thing is he or the team decided to not come in for fresh tires while other teams did so. He, LH, was counting on the race ending under a caution (How is that for a classy move?) rather than actually having to race for it. Turned out he did have to race for it and all his skills did not help as he was passed.
A very close season to be sure. An irony, but not the only irony, being he, LH, was fine during the season when F1 administrator decisions went his way in a controversial move. I am thinking of his forcing his closest rival off a track. I tend to think of it as a Greg type rule. That being it is good when the rules work in my favor but flawed when rules go against me.

He was clearly passed and beaten on the track. Seen by millions around the world.

No, he was expecting the race to end with a level playing field rather than a major rival basically handed a winning car. If all the lapped cars had been allowed to repass there would not have been time for a racing final lap so i appreciate the rush to end under green, but it would have been fairer to leave all the lapped cars where they were and made Max overtake them all and see if he caught Lewis by the end of the lap, if he'd have managed that I would have no issue with the result at all.

 

[Bikeman315]

Guess I’ll have to buy some Ferrari merch now.

Glad I bought that five car die cast set at Costco last year!

 

[Bikeman315]

If the court case goes through and he loses one he has a strong case to lodge a case to gain that one back that they robbed him of. PS I’m NOT a LH fan to be honest. He’s been super arrogant through most of his career. But he has talent there is no doubt.

I hated Seb when he was racing for Red Bull. What an arrogant SOB. Today, I love the man. Things change, it is inevitable. So goes with drivers and other personal changing teams. But the cream always raises to the top.

 

[sk47]

No, he was expecting the race to end with a level playing field rather than a major rival basically handed a winning car. If all the lapped cars had been allowed to repass there would not have been time for a racing final lap so i appreciate the rush to end under green, but it would have been fairer to leave all the lapped cars where they were and made Max overtake them all and see if he caught Lewis by the end of the lap, if he'd have managed that I would have no issue with the result at all.

Hello; You nailed the rationalization well. Heard and read such many times since. I see the same sort of thing after NFL football games. Bad calls or non-calls altering the outcome.
I also get many Lewis fans will hold that grudge forever. So be it.

Even NASCAR understands we fans do not want races decided on technicalities. We want the winner to do so on the track. One of the problems with F1 has been a lack of consistency with rules and procedures. Not clear they have yet learned the lessons. IE the track boundaries issues of last season.

One last thought. LH became a big draw for F1 after a time. F1, in my opinion, catered too much to the celebrity aspect. Same for the talking head broadcasters. Even when it was clear he (LH) was a mid-pack runner the announcers tried to keep his name highlighted for a season or two.
Lewis was a decent driver, but having a superior car most races allowed his championships.
He may win again if he gets a superior car again.

Currently i think Alonzo may be the best active driver as of last season. I get Max may be better but the car he, Max, has had was so much better that a straight comparison is difficult. Alonzo drove an inferior car past its general capacities as was witnessed by his results over his teammate.

Perhaps F1 and football can set up a Monday morning quarterback sort of rule allowing disappointed fans to overturn results they do not like. That way Lewis could be declared winner every time as there appear to be enough of you about.

 

[XeninWorX]

For Abu Dhabi 2021, I’m surprised I didn’t hear more teams complain that they couldn’t unlap themselves when only the 3 between Hamilton and Verstappen were allowed to. I mean they were still racing for points. No chance of gaining more when the cars ahead could end up being behind you and now you’re a lap down.

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