Is Leclerc doing enough?
#31

@Jody - if I were Mercedes, at this point I would not consider changing the driver lineup at all. VB is doing a great job so far this season. His qualy shows he has raw speed and (generally) he has been much, much better in races this year than last. I seriously see him as a WDC contender rather than a fill in driver. I think he's way, way faster than Rosberg ever was. His Sundays are improving every race as well.

I'm a big fan. Like the guy on and off the track. Give him a decent chance Mercedes.
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#32

I wouldn't say Bottas is proving to be quicker than Rosberg just yet, but he's certainly there or thereabouts. My gut instinct is they'll both take 2 year extensions to their current contracts and Mercedes will take a look again, and at which point I expect Hamilton will do one to Ferrari... where he'll partner Leclerc after Vettel quits F1 and becomes a hermit bemoaning how he could have been a contender to Schumi's crown if it wasn't for all the other drivers who were better than him.
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#33

(13-05-2018, 09:40 PM)Jody Barton Wrote:  I wouldn't say Bottas is proving to be quicker than Rosberg just yet, but he's certainly there or thereabouts. My gut instinct is they'll both take 2 year extensions to their current contracts and Mercedes will take a look again, and at which point I expect Hamilton will do one to Ferrari... where he'll partner Leclerc after Vettel quits F1 and becomes a hermit bemoaning how he could have been a contender to Schumi's crown if it wasn't for all the other drivers who were better than him.

Lol  Wink

Post of the night. Made me giggle anyway.
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#34

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/lecle...e-1037437/

Learning of a master.

"Sauber rookie Charles Leclerc believes he learned twice as much in the Spanish Grand Prix because he was fighting two-time Formula 1 world champion Fernando Alonso.
Leclerc got ahead of Alonso on the opening lap when the McLaren driver was delayed by Carlos Sainz at Turn 2 and then Romain Grosjean's spinning Haas at Turn 3.
He kept the 2005 and 2006 F1 title winner behind for most of the opening stint until cold tyres at a virtual safety car restart left him vulnerable to an Alonso attack.
"It was great to fight with Fernando," said Leclerc. "In Baku we fought quickly on different strategies, here we were on the same strategy.
"It's always an honour for me to fight with such a big name in F1. I learn twice more fighting with him than other drivers, so it was great.
"To be honest, in the helmet you don't think you're fighting with Fernando Alonso.
"When I put on the helmet every driver is the same for me, trying to keep them behind like any other."
Leclerc acknowledged that he was helped by Barcelona being a tough circuit to overtake on but revealed a front-left tyre problem made his task more difficult.
A repeat in the second stint meant he dropped behind Sergio Perez's Force India, but still held on to 10th to earn his second points finish in a row.
"At the end it was very difficult to keep him [Alonso] behind," said Leclerc.
"The front left was completely done, [and I had the] same with Sergio. My front left was destroyed, I had graining, blistering, everything. It was very bad."
Leclerc called his Spanish GP performance "the biggest surprise of the year" after making it into Q2 for the second race in a row and bagging another point.
He said the team feared it would be "very far" away on a track that exposes any downforce weakness, which Leclerc thinks will also be the case in Monaco in two weeks' time.
Asked if the result changed his expectations, he said: "I'm confused now! Today we took the opportunities, we had some crashes, but I think we were not so far off points anyway.
"I expected us to struggle a lot. So hopefully we are also wrong for the expectations of Monaco!"
Sauber team boss Frederic Vasseur agreed that the top-10 finish came as a surprise.
"It was impressive for us to be in Q2 because it was not our favourite track at all on paper and we thought we would struggle," he told Motorsport.com.
"Qualifying went well, the race pace was OK – perhaps we need to be more consistent during the race. We were a bit too up and down.
"But it's very encouraging for the team to score points in Barcelona, it was not expected at all."

"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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#35

http://www.skysports.com/f1/news/12433/1...-home-race

Monaco GP: Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton heap praise on Charles Leclerc ahead of home race
Vettel insists Leclerc hype is "absolutely justified" and can see him at Ferrari while Hamilton says he's a "real talent"

Sebastian Vettel insists Charles Leclerc has proved he has the potential to become his Ferrari team-mate in the future, while Lewis Hamilton has also hailed the highly-rated youngster as a "shining talent".
After a record-breaking Formula 2 championship win last season, Leclerc has slotted seamlessly into F1 with Sauber - scoring nine points with the lesser-fancied team and sealing a sensational sixth place in Azerbaijan.
And Leclerc, part of the Ferrari young driver programme, certainly has his admirers in two four-time world champions ahead of his home grand prix in Monaco, where he will become the first Monegasque driver to race since 1994.

"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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#36

Shame they pile so much pressure and PR onto rookies at the home races. I don't get nervous for drivers, but I hope he has a clean weekend in Monaco.

My previous sig was obsolete, McLaren ain't disappointing Heshy no more.
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#37

(23-05-2018, 06:07 PM)Monster Hesh Wrote:  Shame they pile so much pressure and PR onto rookies at the home races. I don't get nervous for drivers, but I hope he has a clean weekend in Monaco.

Hate to say it Hesh but he's screwed for the weekend any way, I put Charles Leclerc is in my dream team for this race, so its bound to go wrong for the lad. Tongue

"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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#38

(23-05-2018, 07:10 PM)PapaofGags Wrote:  Hate to say it Hesh but he's screwed for the weekend any way, I put Charles Leclerc is in my dream team for this race, so its bound to go wrong for the lad. Tongue

Who was it who posted earlier in the week that Sainz will be first in the wall this weekend? Think it might of been Hesh. If it was you Hesh then you can stick that opinion where the sun don't shine. For better of worse young Carlos has been part of team MM since day 1. Don't jinx him! <I can do that well enough on my own>
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#39

(23-05-2018, 04:50 PM)PapaofGags Wrote:  Monaco GP: Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton heap praise on Charles Leclerc ahead of home race

Something has to change with regard to pay drivers. Surely the FIA can impose some sort of scheme to ensure the genuinely talented guys get a fair chance? Hamilton's words are telling in that Sky article. You can bet most of the drivers in the sport (on merit) feel the same way.

"Hamilton also claimed Leclerc has "earned his way" to the sport, hinting that he has more talent than many other drivers on the grid."

Amen. Sort it out FIA.
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#40

(23-05-2018, 08:22 PM)morini Wrote:  
(23-05-2018, 04:50 PM)PapaofGags Wrote:  Monaco GP: Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton heap praise on Charles Leclerc ahead of home race

Something has to change with regard to pay drivers. Surely the FIA can impose some sort of scheme to ensure the genuinely talented guys get a fair chance? Hamilton's words are telling in that Sky article. You can bet most of the drivers in the sport (on merit) feel the same way.

"Hamilton also claimed Leclerc has "earned his way" to the sport, hinting that he has more talent than many other drivers on the grid."

Amen. Sort it out FIA.

Morini, The FIA and Liberty have actually done a lot to remedy the situation. Basically, the way superlicence points work now, a junior driver needs to do well in Formula 2 before getting into Formula 1. They made changes to it at the end of last year. I believe as it is now, Stroll wouldn't get into Formula 1, because he wouldn't get enough superlicence points from F3.

If you have noticed a lot of pay drivers, like Sean Gelael, have not been able to enter F1 because they couldn't be competitive in Formula 2.

Also, what happened is there were too many series a few years ago, like Renault 3.5, and there were too many superlicence points for competing in Formula 3 / GP3, so the best drivers were spread across several different junior categories. With the loss of 3.5 and the unification of Formula 3 + GP3, as well as the changes to superlicence points, we will see a better quality of driver in Formula 2.

A few years ago, a lot of the best new young talents were in Renault 3.5 and Formula 3, and drivers like Jolyon Palmer were able to do well in Formula 2 (then GP2) and win championships and gain superlicence points. If he had to compete against the likes of Ocon, Verstappen, Giovinazzi, Leclerc, Sainz, Gasly, Oliver Rowland, Roberto Mehri and Felix Rosenqvist, all who were in either Renault 3.5 or European Formula 3 in 2014, Palmer would in now way have won GP2 in 2014, and probably wouldn't have earned his superlicence points.
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