Hamilton and Vettel to switch in 2019?
#81

Hamilton on those Ferrari rumours: 'Well, you have to bring up Ferrari in negotiations, don't you? I've been with Merc since I was 13, and I'm continuously growing with this team. I plan on working with them to make them the most successful team of all time."

"You live more for 5 minutes going fast on a bike than other people do in all of their life"....Marco Simoncelli
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#82

(12-05-2019, 06:05 PM)NeilP Wrote:  I dont think he will accept anything but a clear number 1 status

No, that's wrong Neil. It is one of the things I like most about Lewis (I am talking about his sportsman attributes here, not his abysmal fashion sense). He has no sense of entitlement on the team pecking order, his attitide has always been "give me the same equipment and I will beat you". He believes in his own ability. Simple as that.

He deserves some credit and recognition for that.
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#83

After this season and next Forza I think Lewis me that be able to say mission accomplished on that one. This season the double is in the bag it really is. Would you bet against them next year? It's clear Ferrari have a great engine, they've just gone horridly wrong on design philosophy this year. I think Lewis like many greats would be tempted by the prospect of winning in red.
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#84

(12-05-2019, 09:22 PM)Jody Barton Wrote:  It's clear Ferrari have a great engine, they've just gone horridly wrong on design philosophy this year. I think Lewis like many greats would be tempted by the prospect of winning in red.

Logic tells me that we are at the stage in this era of regulations that the engine power is almost a non-issue and is not even worth talking about. Gaining a big advantage in power at this point in the regs isn’t going to happen. For the top two teams anyway. Ferrari and Mercedes converged at least a season (possibly two seasons) ago on the PU front. The straight line speed differential in favour of Ferrari we are seeing this year is nothing to do with Ferrari having a "better" or more powerful PU package, it is about the fact they have chosen to run a lower drag configuration based on Mercedes previous successful campaigns where they were very fast in a straight line. Mercedes have full confidence in their power unit so have focussed their own development into improving their recent weaknesses (ergo, improving speed in the high downforce, slow speed corners). It is all about balancing this compromise in a way that works at as many circuits as possible. In my view Mercedes have (at least) an equal PU to Ferrari but they have knowingly given away some straight-line speed to buy a better lap time at most circuits (most, not all). Put it this way, Mercedes have always owned Catalunya in the hybrid era, but they have never owned sector 3 up until this year. At least not in the way they owned it this weekend. Said it before and I will say it again, this is down to the influence of James Allison.

Regarding the second point, of course Lewis would love to drive for Ferrari. What F1 driver wouldn't? They are *the* iconic team in F1 with the most history and a fantastic heritage. Every driver dreams of winning for Ferrari. I make no secret that I don't like the way they operate, but I'd still love to see a British driver win in red.
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#85

(12-05-2019, 04:46 PM)Jody Barton Wrote:  Yeah, hearing Ferrari have actually made contact with Lewis' management yet again. They want him. No question, if only to deny their competitors of their star asset. However, if Hamilton goes to Ferrari Max goes to Merc and they have a potentially bigger problem. I think they should go for Max.

Hi Jody.

I saw this yesterday, as much as I'd like to see a Brit in a Ferrari, (& I would really like it) I also can see what you mean, Lewis would have a couple of yrs I'm guessing before he would retire, then Max in a Mercedes would be super strong & hard to beat obviously, Max & Charles...… Hmm just wow!

I still would like to see Lewis in red but it has to be asked would he want to leave a dominant car? most wouldn't would they? though the lure of Ferrari is strong for any driver, ok I'm going around in circles my point is I can see yours lol.  Smile

Bottom line we would love to see Lewis in a Ferrari a long time since "our Nige"  Cool

"When a man holds you round the throat, I don't think he has come to apologise" 
Ayrton Senna on Nigel Mansell, SPA 1987.   Angel
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#86

Wasn't sure where to put this and it was the only Hamilton thread I could find.

Anyone remember a stronger start to a season than this for Lewis Hamilton? I know Jody thinks he usually starts slow and then builds the pressure second half of season. I think that opinion has some merit, but so far in 2019 after 6 events he has dropped only 19 points and scored an average of 22.83 points per race. I guess Rosberg in 2016 had a similar kind of banzai start what with 4 wins on the bounce (but from that point forward it was 10 -5 in race wins, so he went downhill as the season went on).

Ironically I don't even think Hamilton is driving his best from what we have seen so far. He has looked by far the least comfortable Merc driver in practice and quali sessions, but in the races (Melbourne aside) he has looked pretty mighty. Even in Melbourne I am of the opinion he drove that whole race in equipment preserving mode. All credit to Bottas for being within a race win at this point, but even though he is driving superbly I don't see him doing it and think he knows he has his work cut out to take the WDC off Lewis this year. His face and body language post Monaco told a story.

I notice the media have (at last) stopped banging on about winter testing and how much faster Ferrari were. When are they going to learn the lesson on that one? Never, is my guess.
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#87

I agree with you, this is probably Hamilton's best start to a season in quite some time, but even then I don't think he's driving at peak "Hamilton". He will get better. He's not comfortable in the W10 over one lap, and it's clear he's struggling to get the tyres into operating windows. However, in race trim he has actually been the better of the two Merc drivers pretty much everywhere, and I think had the VC not interrupted the Baku race at the worst possibly moment for him I think Bottas might have been in trouble. In the race Lewis was clearly the quicker of the two cars, and Bottas supposedly had to turn hus engine up towards the end of the Baku GP to halt Hamilton's almost 1.5 seconds a lap quicker charge, even so that mistake by Hamilton running wide is what saved Bottas in the end. In Australia it was a bad start and damage to the rear of his floor and difuser that did for Lewis, and yeah I think from that point on he turned everything down.

Going forward we've actually got four tracks that really suit Hamilton's driving style coming up, and 3 of the four should favour Mercedes unless Ferrari find a silver bullet, and even Austria I expect they'll not be exactly disadvantaged. So I expect that Hamilton "build up" to begin soon, and for that reason I think Bottas will have to dig really, really deep over the next few races and find even more, because if Lewis gets on a roll he'll rapidly become unstoppable. I said I feel already that Montreal is a must win for Bottas, or at least he must finish ahead of Lewis, which at this rate probably means winning. If Bottas is still in touch by the summer break he'll deserve some praise, my fear is that he'll actually be cut adrift somewhat after Hungary and then the post summer Lewis blitz will utterly pummel the poor sod. He cut a very dejected figure post Monaco, and he needs to sort his head out quickly because after Montreal there are some quick-fire races coming up.
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#88

Vettel ‘considering retiring’ at the end of this year

[b]Sebastian Vettel could be in his final season in Formula 1 with whispers in the Monaco paddock that the Ferrari driver is considering retiring.[/b]
Vettel, who made his F1 debut back in 2007, is currently competing in his 13th season in the sport.
But while his years at Red Bull brought him much success, and four World titles, his time at Ferrari has not yielded the results he had wanted.
He has claimed just 13 race wins in five seasons and twice finished runner-up in the championship.

This year, arguably his most difficult to date with Ferrari, has yet to result in a single win while he trails Lewis Hamilton by 55 points after just six races.
This has led Vettel to consider hanging up his helmet.

Journalist Joe Saward revealed the rumour in his latest newsletter, ‘Joe Saward business of motorsport’.
He wrote: “The most shocking rumor that started to spread in the paddock in Monaco is that Sebastian Vettel is considering retiring from F1 at the end of the season at the age of 31.
“After winning four world championships with Red Bull between 2010 and 2013 he tried to bring Ferrari back to success, but he made several mistakes and is now under pressure after the arrival of Charles Leclerc, younger and apparently with more growth margin than German.
“A choice that in some ways would follow that of Nico Rosberg, who left F1 after winning the title in 2016 aware of the fact that he would hardly succeed in the enterprise again. The big question, of course, is who would be Vettel’s successor.
“The names that have been circulating for now are those of Sergio Perez, Kevin Magnussen, Romain Grosjean  Laughing and Valtteri Bottas.”

Vettel is contracted to Ferrari until the end of 2020.
Rumours of his pending retirement come just days after a report in Italy claimed that Charles Leclerc’s relationship with Ferrari is at “breaking point” following one mistake too many.

"When a man holds you round the throat, I don't think he has come to apologise" 
Ayrton Senna on Nigel Mansell, SPA 1987.   Angel
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#89

(29-05-2019, 01:04 PM)PapaofGags Wrote:  “The names that have been circulating for now are those of Sergio Perez, Kevin Magnussen, Romain Grosjean and Valtteri Bottas.”

eh, let me think about those options.....f*ck off, f*ck away off, f*ck right off & surely there is someone better  Tongue

"You live more for 5 minutes going fast on a bike than other people do in all of their life"....Marco Simoncelli
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#90

(29-05-2019, 01:08 PM)forzaferrari Wrote:  
(29-05-2019, 01:04 PM)PapaofGags Wrote:  “The names that have been circulating for now are those of Sergio Perez, Kevin Magnussen, Romain Grosjean and Valtteri Bottas.”

eh, let me think about those options.....f*ck off, f*ck away off, f*ck right off & surely there is someone better  Tongue

I just knew how impressed you would be with these drivers Haha  Tongue Laughing

"When a man holds you round the throat, I don't think he has come to apologise" 
Ayrton Senna on Nigel Mansell, SPA 1987.   Angel
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