Who will replace Nico
Poll: Who will replace Nico
Total Members Polled: 510
Discussion
StevieBee said:
A fair few posts have hooked onto the 'German' thing.
Formula One teams choose their drivers on one of two criteria;
1) Are they quick and will they win races and championships (are they the best driver available to them)
or
2) Do they have money to bring to to the team?
Nationality has nothing (or very little) to do with the decision and point 2 is of no concern to Mercedes. There have been instances in the past, noticeably Japanese drivers being shoehorned into drives to appease Japanese engine suppliers and or sponsors but this is rare and never has it worked on a competitive level.
Mercedes sell cars all around the world, do not need a driver to bring budget and so we can be reasonably certain that they are going with 1.
Reading through a few other F1 websites, Wehrlein it seems, is a rather unliked individual at a personal level. There's been plenty of other unlikeable drivers in F1 over the years but this may play into their thinking.
My money is on Bottas. He's the most credible option with a team that would be appreciative of the money that they would get. Thing is, who would the get the Williams drive? Alex Lynne is a possibility but a big risk to put two rookies in the same team.
I think that's an over-simplification. It doesn't explain Eddie Irvine for a start.Formula One teams choose their drivers on one of two criteria;
1) Are they quick and will they win races and championships (are they the best driver available to them)
or
2) Do they have money to bring to to the team?
Nationality has nothing (or very little) to do with the decision and point 2 is of no concern to Mercedes. There have been instances in the past, noticeably Japanese drivers being shoehorned into drives to appease Japanese engine suppliers and or sponsors but this is rare and never has it worked on a competitive level.
Mercedes sell cars all around the world, do not need a driver to bring budget and so we can be reasonably certain that they are going with 1.
Reading through a few other F1 websites, Wehrlein it seems, is a rather unliked individual at a personal level. There's been plenty of other unlikeable drivers in F1 over the years but this may play into their thinking.
My money is on Bottas. He's the most credible option with a team that would be appreciative of the money that they would get. Thing is, who would the get the Williams drive? Alex Lynne is a possibility but a big risk to put two rookies in the same team.
As for nationality, the German car manufacturer has union officials on their board as a right. I believe that they were a bit concerned with regards nationality. Merc will want to keep unions cooperative. Having one German was enough to placate them in the past.
In the case of next season, if the Merc isn't the class leader it was in the recent past then the team will be in for a hard time and they will want a driver who will back up their #1 and not compete with him. So compliance is important.
And that's just the obvious stuff. There is bound to be a lot more to it than that.
I would be surprised if Merc hasn't already got a firm contract on a driver for next season.
KevinCamaroSS said:
There is no way Vettel will sign for Mercedes if Hamilton is still there. Vettel knows he would get well beaten, as he was in the past.
To be fair Vettel when the car is spot on is fast. If the Mercedes in 2017 is again the car to beat he would challenge Lewis.If Rosberg can give Lewis problems Vettel most certainly could.
ELUSIVEJIM said:
KevinCamaroSS said:
There is no way Vettel will sign for Mercedes if Hamilton is still there. Vettel knows he would get well beaten, as he was in the past.
To be fair Vettel when the car is spot on is fast. If the Mercedes in 2017 is again the car to beat he would challenge Lewis.If Rosberg can give Lewis problems Vettel most certainly could.
I'd much rather see Hamitlon and Max / not going to happen though. But it'd be an amazing pairing with, I think, a similar dynamic to Alonso / Hamilton in 2007; except Hamilton would be the proven WDC this time; and Max, the young upstart. I'd see Max being as racy as Lewis - and it'd make for a spectacle.
KevinCamaroSS said:
revrange said:
Nico really has dropped the team in it here, although still think behind the scenes Vet/Alonso will be trying to get a move sorted.
There is no way Vettel will sign for Mercedes if Hamilton is still there. Vettel knows he would get well beaten, as he was in the past.Sure he was.....
Vettel was in a dominant car as is Lewis over last 3 years. Not quite sure its fair to say Lewis would easily beat Vettel as Nico could beat Lewis in qual and races and WDC....so is Nico better than Vettel?
You claim to have followed Lewis since he was a child, so your bias is just to the point of demented.
I highly doubt Lewis could thrash any top driver (in the same car) as he couldn't thrash Nico.
tommunster10 said:
KevinCamaroSS said:
revrange said:
Nico really has dropped the team in it here, although still think behind the scenes Vet/Alonso will be trying to get a move sorted.
There is no way Vettel will sign for Mercedes if Hamilton is still there. Vettel knows he would get well beaten, as he was in the past.Sure he was.....
Vettel was in a dominant car as is Lewis over last 3 years. Not quite sure its fair to say Lewis would easily beat Vettel as Nico could beat Lewis in qual and races and WDC....so is Nico better than Vettel?
You claim to have followed Lewis since he was a child, so your bias is just to the point of demented.
I highly doubt Lewis could thrash any top driver as he couldn't thrash Nico.
37chevy said:
coetzeeh said:
Alex
How has he ever beaten Hamilton? (Genuine question not a snide remark!?)
(God knows is this Rossi bloke has or not though)
Lewis was getting good at losing before he got into that dominant Merc...
tommunster10 said:
Maldonado has beaten Lewis before, so have quite a few people actually... your quite mad.
(God knows is this Rossi bloke has or not though)
Lewis was getting good at losing before he got into that dominant Merc...
1) Maldonado has beaten everyone before...he won a race in f1....(God knows is this Rossi bloke has or not though)
Lewis was getting good at losing before he got into that dominant Merc...
2) Hamilton won quite a bit with mclaren IIRC!!
3) what are Vettel and alonso winning of late?
And why am I quite mad?
37chevy said:
tommunster10 said:
Maldonado has beaten Lewis before, so have quite a few people actually... your quite mad.
(God knows is this Rossi bloke has or not though)
Lewis was getting good at losing before he got into that dominant Merc...
1) Maldonado has beaten everyone before...he won a race in f1....(God knows is this Rossi bloke has or not though)
Lewis was getting good at losing before he got into that dominant Merc...
2) Hamilton won quite a bit with mclaren IIRC!!
3) what are Vettel and alonso winning of late?
And why am I quite mad?
My current feeling is that we will see a safe, but possibly less than obvious, choice for just a single season as a clear number 2 to Hamilton. With such a major rule change I don't think they'll want to go with a youngster like Wehrlein, as it could hurt Mercedes and end his career early if he can't cope with being thrust into the spotlight and play the team game. Somebody like Massa would fit the bill here, allowing the team to concentrate on maximising the new car without having to over-manage the drivers.
The other thing is that all the other big name drivers are currently tied up pretty tightly. But if they can find a one year solution to tide them over then things open up a lot for 2018. Then we see all the big names becoming free agents: Hamilton, Vettel, Alonso, Ricciardo, Bottas and Perez are all out of contract at the end of 2017. 2018 could be the year of the big shake up, especially if there's a shake up in the competitive order of the teams.
On the other hand, if they want to get a future star in the team straight away I think Sainz will be high on their list.
The other thing is that all the other big name drivers are currently tied up pretty tightly. But if they can find a one year solution to tide them over then things open up a lot for 2018. Then we see all the big names becoming free agents: Hamilton, Vettel, Alonso, Ricciardo, Bottas and Perez are all out of contract at the end of 2017. 2018 could be the year of the big shake up, especially if there's a shake up in the competitive order of the teams.
On the other hand, if they want to get a future star in the team straight away I think Sainz will be high on their list.
thegreenhell said:
My current feeling is that we will see a safe, but possibly less than obvious, choice for just a single season as a clear number 2 to Hamilton. With such a major rule change I don't think they'll want to go with a youngster like Wehrlein, as it could hurt Mercedes and end his career early if he can't cope with being thrust into the spotlight and play the team game. Somebody like Massa would fit the bill here, allowing the team to concentrate on maximising the new car without having to over-manage the drivers.
The other thing is that all the other big name drivers are currently tied up pretty tightly. But if they can find a one year solution to tide them over then things open up a lot for 2018. Then we see all the big names becoming free agents: Hamilton, Vettel, Alonso, Ricciardo, Bottas and Perez are all out of contract at the end of 2017. 2018 could be the year of the big shake up, especially if there's a shake up in the competitive order of the teams.
On the other hand, if they want to get a future star in the team straight away I think Sainz will be high on their list.
Yes, the one season deal is what I reckon will happen also... a year on and the driver market will be a more open place. The other thing is that all the other big name drivers are currently tied up pretty tightly. But if they can find a one year solution to tide them over then things open up a lot for 2018. Then we see all the big names becoming free agents: Hamilton, Vettel, Alonso, Ricciardo, Bottas and Perez are all out of contract at the end of 2017. 2018 could be the year of the big shake up, especially if there's a shake up in the competitive order of the teams.
On the other hand, if they want to get a future star in the team straight away I think Sainz will be high on their list.
tommunster10 said:
Maldonado has beaten Lewis before, so have quite a few people actually... your quite mad.
(God knows is this Rossi bloke has or not though)
Lewis was getting good at losing before he got into that dominant Merc...
Do you watch F1 or read about it in the brief paragraph in the redtops(God knows is this Rossi bloke has or not though)
Lewis was getting good at losing before he got into that dominant Merc...
Gassing Station | Formula 1 | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff