The Official 2017 F1 Pre-Season Thread
Discussion
HustleRussell said:
How will the Rosberg / Hamilton situation play out at Mercedes? They are both contracted until 2018 but their relationship has been smouldering and occasionally boiling over for several years already.
I think it will depend on how close the other teams get. For years they've either had nothing at stake, or noone else to race. So long as it stays that way I think they'll knuckle down. But if a few mech failures puts one of them behind a Red Bull in the WDC, I think there'll be pressure to favour one driver over the other and that will cause problems. Hopefully by then we'll be witnessing a Ricciardo/Verstappen bust up too. 
HustleRussell said:
During the race yesterday I was beginning to wonder if Hamilton might not be there next season
Yes me too, I actually turned to my mate when Hamilton refused the first instruction and said "I wonder if he'll be announcing his retirement shortly".I know he has a two year contract, but it's pretty clear that there is tension in the team now, even if we don't go into outright conspiracy-theory land of them favouring Nico. Hamilton ignored orders from his engineer and then from Paddy. Short of having Toto on the radio (may even have done, have not read every tiny piece of post-race information) Hamilton has increasingly put himself in a position of being opposed to the team (including his "someone doesn't want me to win" comments after Malaysia, his "idiot, we move on" response after Japan regarding Mercedes making the appeal and his "read about it in my book in ten years" statement at Thursday's press conference).
I know plenty of people like to say "British team, British mechanics, there's no tension because Hamilton's British", but having worked for a British-owned, British-Headquartered company where the CEO decided to cut costs by outsourcing ... nationality counts for nothing if management direction is elsewhere. And resistance (i.e. ignoring orders) isn't merrily ignored just because you have the same passport as people around you. Worth noting in particular that Hamilton's stock plummeted the moment Rosberg crossed the line - Mercedes now have a WDC on the team even without Hamilton around. Why keep the guy whose starting to become a problem?
I do wonder if in 2017 we may see Hamilton "on sabbatical" as a "brand ambassador" (seems to be the in thing) and then in 2018 driving for Red Bull. Although I can't see why Red Bull would want him when they have Ricciardo and Verstappen with Sainz as a spare. Also useful to note that there is a spare Mercedes-sponsored F1 driver floating around at the moment isn't there?
I can't see Hamilton driving for anyone other than Mercedes in 2017, so I agree with you- it would probably have to be a sabbatical. I'm not sure Vettel would tolerate Hamilton's arrival at Ferrari and to put it bluntly I'm not sure Red Bull need a Hamilton, they have plenty of talent already... but a rejuvenated and heavily invested Renault works team for 2018..?
I can't see Hamilton leaving Mercedes for 2017, but I do think he'll be looking around at the options for 2018 once the team order for the 2017 regulations settle down. Other than the other top teams, Red Bull and Ferrari, if the 2017 engines are a step up from 2016, McLaren an Renault are possibilities.
Yeah if anyone gets a good car, I can see Hamilton being interested.
At the same time though, he'd be in the same predicament that Alonso was in at the end of 2014- great driver, but a limited number of teams with the cash to pay his salary. And those that do have the cash aren't massively short of talent.
I could see McLaren taking him back if Alonso leaves, but can Honda really get it right? Ferrari perhaps if Vettel was being spanked by Raikonnen, but F1 is drowning with talent right now and whilst suffering a real lack of competitive cars.
Would really love it if Renault did a Brawn in testing and Hamilton jumped ship.
ETA: Or Button.
At the same time though, he'd be in the same predicament that Alonso was in at the end of 2014- great driver, but a limited number of teams with the cash to pay his salary. And those that do have the cash aren't massively short of talent.
I could see McLaren taking him back if Alonso leaves, but can Honda really get it right? Ferrari perhaps if Vettel was being spanked by Raikonnen, but F1 is drowning with talent right now and whilst suffering a real lack of competitive cars.
Would really love it if Renault did a Brawn in testing and Hamilton jumped ship.
ETA: Or Button.
Edited by glazbagun on Wednesday 30th November 15:39
Ham will be in a Merc for 2017 but I think he'll be looking around mid season.
If there are competitive cars out there he'd be in a pretty strong position to make a jump. Realistically it's only likely to be Kimis seat at Ferrari that would even be worth considering as I don't see Redbull changing anything any time soon.
If there are competitive cars out there he'd be in a pretty strong position to make a jump. Realistically it's only likely to be Kimis seat at Ferrari that would even be worth considering as I don't see Redbull changing anything any time soon.
At what point will Hamilton have made enough money to be more interested in Championships than earnings? He presumably makes as much off the track (sponsorships, endorsements etc.) as on it. And I can't imagine that even with his lifestyle he is spending everything and not investing in businesses etc.
Controversial headline, typically realistic Wolff on the relative fortunes of his drivers.
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/127346...
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/127346...
ukaskew said:
Calendar now updated, date move for Baku and Silverstone, Germany dropped, Brazil TBC and Singapore and Malaysia have switched dates.
Silverstone now clashes with the Wimbledon mens final again, busy day!
It does mean there's now no Le Mans clash as Baku has moved to a week earlier. Wonder if any driver will try it as Hulk did?Silverstone now clashes with the Wimbledon mens final again, busy day!
Edited by ukaskew on Thursday 1st December 08:28
HustleRussell said:
Controversial headline, typically realistic Wolff on the relative fortunes of his drivers.
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/127346...
Interesting - no mention of Singapore or Baku, which arguably were also damaging (although not as damaging as the Malaysia non-finish).http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/127346...
Renault have announced they will bring an all-new PU next season. Honda will be hoping for a big step up, and of course Ferrari and Mercedes won't be standing still. The teams will be determined to simultaneously improve their power and efficiency while relentlessly paring down the physical size, weight and cooling requirements of their PU. We have seen reliability wobbles immediately after PU upgrades from all teams before. Will the rest of the field catch up with Ferrari and Mercedes on PU performance, and if so will they be reliable enough to mount a sustained challenge?
I wonder if we'll see better parity on PU performance next year, but the heavily reworked / entirely new PUs proving unreliable early in the season?
This is all the more significant because the drivers will be limited to 4 PUs each per season, and the practice of 'stockpiling' spare parts while only taking a single penalty is no more.
I wonder if we'll see better parity on PU performance next year, but the heavily reworked / entirely new PUs proving unreliable early in the season?
This is all the more significant because the drivers will be limited to 4 PUs each per season, and the practice of 'stockpiling' spare parts while only taking a single penalty is no more.
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