George Russell's teammate for 2025?
Discussion
Merc are not risk takers, theyve learnt from Rosberg/Hamilton and wont be repalcing Hamilton with a tempremental Alonso / Ocon figure
Russell was left at Williams, they have a whole year to secure driver as nobody in with half a chance will sign a deal elsewhere unless you look at Ricciardo back to RBR as a possiblity.
I'd be very surprised if it wasn't Albon and that they dont leave it unti least least the mid season break to sort out a deal which includes repalcing him at Williams
Russell was left at Williams, they have a whole year to secure driver as nobody in with half a chance will sign a deal elsewhere unless you look at Ricciardo back to RBR as a possiblity.
I'd be very surprised if it wasn't Albon and that they dont leave it unti least least the mid season break to sort out a deal which includes repalcing him at Williams
andburg said:
Merc are not risk takers, theyve learnt from Rosberg/Hamilton and wont be repalcing Hamilton with a tempremental Alonso / Ocon figure
Russell was left at Williams, they have a whole year to secure driver as nobody in with half a chance will sign a deal elsewhere unless you look at Ricciardo back to RBR as a possiblity.
I'd be very surprised if it wasn't Albon and that they dont leave it unti least least the mid season break to sort out a deal which includes repalcing him at Williams
Albon might be a good fit and as part of the deal put that 17year old in f2 they have on the books into the Williams if he shines in a single year of f2.Russell was left at Williams, they have a whole year to secure driver as nobody in with half a chance will sign a deal elsewhere unless you look at Ricciardo back to RBR as a possiblity.
I'd be very surprised if it wasn't Albon and that they dont leave it unti least least the mid season break to sort out a deal which includes repalcing him at Williams
vaud said:
As ever with Alonso, I would never have the nerve to rule him out on a 2 year deal.
They've never not had a world champion in their team, and there aren't many of those left to go around, so Alonso makes sense on many levels. I just can't see them going for any one of the many mediocre options, even as a stopgap. They see themselves as winners and will want a winner to lead them on the track. I'm still not convinced that Russell is the next number 1 for them, so they will need another top driver in the other car to minimise the effect of losing Hamilton.And it's worse for them than just losing Hamilton, as he will now be a direct rival to them. It would be less of a problem if they were losing him to retirement, but losing him to a rival team means they will need someone who they think can beat him on track.
Edited by thegreenhell on Friday 2nd February 14:21
thegreenhell said:
vaud said:
As ever with Alonso, I would never have the nerve to rule him out on a 2 year deal.
They've never not had a world champion in their team, and there aren't many of those left to go around, so Alonso makes sense on many levels. I just can't see them going for any one of the many mediocre options, even as a stopgap. They see themselves as winners and will want a winner to lead them on the track. I'm still not convinced that Russell is the next number 1 for them, so they will need another top driver in the other car to minimise the effect of losing Hamilton.And it's worse for them than just losing Hamilton, as he will now be a direct rival to them. It would be less of a problem if they were losing him to retirement, but losing him to a rival team means they will need someone who they think can beat him on track.
Edited by thegreenhell on Friday 2nd February 14:21
Totally agree with your thoughts on Russell, I've been saying it for a while, I just didn't think he was the man to take them forward and lead the team when Lewis, well, retired.
RedAndy said:
Didn't that Rossi superbike chap do quite well in an F1 test. Or Seb Loeb? That'd mayne not win championships, but press would be off the scale. Russel can do the real job.
The suggestions just get more and more 'out there'What about Nigel Mansell? He's still alive. Jackie Stewart? He can still walk.
They may not win championships but, after all, Russell is doing the 'real job'
thegreenhell said:
vaud said:
As ever with Alonso, I would never have the nerve to rule him out on a 2 year deal.
They've never not had a world champion in their team, and there aren't many of those left to go around, so Alonso makes sense on many levels. I just can't see them going for any one of the many mediocre options, even as a stopgap. They see themselves as winners and will want a winner to lead them on the track. I'm still not convinced that Russell is the next number 1 for them, so they will need another top driver in the other car to minimise the effect of losing Hamilton.He's a huge talent and is clearly still fast but I think it's a sad state of affairs for F1 if top teams are turning to drivers in their mid-forties who last won titles 20 years previous......
They'll surely turn to Albon or Sainz, unless they can extract a McLaren driver.
MB140 said:
As we all know, any contract in F1 can be thrown in the bin if the price is right. If Merc want Norris they have the pockets to afford him.
Maybe offer Mclaren a sweet deal on engines in exchange for releasing him from contract to reduce the cost……
Got to assume any driver or lawyer worth their salt drawing up these contracts would request a clause it could be broken should a team that finished higher in the constructors come calling. Maybe offer Mclaren a sweet deal on engines in exchange for releasing him from contract to reduce the cost……
I’m struggling to see why people don’t think George is ‘it’
> Excelled at Williams, taking a dog of a car places it had no right to be
> Capable of the extraordinary - 2021 qualifying in Belgium for example
> One of the best junior records you can find
> Outscored Hamilton in his first year at Mercedes and took their only win
Sure, he didn’t get the rub of the green in 2023 but he still did very well.
I think some people don’t like his personality and confuse that with ability.
> Excelled at Williams, taking a dog of a car places it had no right to be
> Capable of the extraordinary - 2021 qualifying in Belgium for example
> One of the best junior records you can find
> Outscored Hamilton in his first year at Mercedes and took their only win
Sure, he didn’t get the rub of the green in 2023 but he still did very well.
I think some people don’t like his personality and confuse that with ability.
Muzzer79 said:
I’m struggling to see why people don’t think George is ‘it’
> Excelled at Williams, taking a dog of a car places it had no right to be
> Capable of the extraordinary - 2021 qualifying in Belgium for example
> One of the best junior records you can find
> Outscored Hamilton in his first year at Mercedes and took their only win
Sure, he didn’t get the rub of the green in 2023 but he still did very well.
I think some people don’t like his personality and confuse that with ability.
This.> Excelled at Williams, taking a dog of a car places it had no right to be
> Capable of the extraordinary - 2021 qualifying in Belgium for example
> One of the best junior records you can find
> Outscored Hamilton in his first year at Mercedes and took their only win
Sure, he didn’t get the rub of the green in 2023 but he still did very well.
I think some people don’t like his personality and confuse that with ability.
It's George and either Albon or Sainz for me.
Muzzer79 said:
Quick reminder that Alonso will be 44 years old in 2025......
He's a huge talent and is clearly still fast but I think it's a sad state of affairs for F1 if top teams are turning to drivers in their mid-forties who last won titles 20 years previous......
They'll surely turn to Albon or Sainz, unless they can extract a McLaren driver.
You wouldn't say it's a sad state of affairs for F1 if Ferrari who are supposed to be a top team were turning to a driver in his early forties would you? He's a huge talent and is clearly still fast but I think it's a sad state of affairs for F1 if top teams are turning to drivers in their mid-forties who last won titles 20 years previous......
They'll surely turn to Albon or Sainz, unless they can extract a McLaren driver.
2023 was a bit of a setback for Russell, which can probably be laid at the door of a crap car. He has plenty of credit at the bank though and will hopefully deliver this year.
IMO Wolff would be mad not to go with Sainz. He’s more experienced than Albon, proven to be strong technically and strategically, confident and a race winner. Albon might possibly be slightly faster than him, but Mercedes needs catchup development at the moment, especially if they are losing the experience of Hamilton.
The only driver more experienced would be Alonso. But is Wolff brave enough to make that play?
IMO Wolff would be mad not to go with Sainz. He’s more experienced than Albon, proven to be strong technically and strategically, confident and a race winner. Albon might possibly be slightly faster than him, but Mercedes needs catchup development at the moment, especially if they are losing the experience of Hamilton.
The only driver more experienced would be Alonso. But is Wolff brave enough to make that play?
Sandpit Steve said:
sortedcossie said:
Merc to buy Piastri out of contract.
Yep. Piastri
Albon
Norris
Would be my order if I were Toto. He’s got pretty much unlimited money to buy anyone out, and Zak Brown is enough of a businessman to know when to take the money.
Agreed.
I think it will be one of the McLaren drivers, most likely Piastri, as isn’t Zack desperate to get one of his Indycar drivers into F1?
MiniMan64 said:
I wonder how Mick feels as their reserve driver but not seemingly being in the conversation at all…
He’ll feel frustrated no doubt, but he’s a reserve, not a front line driver. He was never going to be in the frame. Merc need experience and will have a queue of top drivers on the phone to Wolff. Hustle_ said:
I don't think we saw enough from Mick to write him off as 'not F1 calibre'. Tough to say that I think he deserves another chance because he has already had more chances than most would get, but I suspect he's better than he looked at HAAS.
Not much faster than than Mazepin in season 1, then crashed quite a lot and was much slower than Magnussen - who'd just had a year on the sidelines - in season 2. Magnussen is decent but not world class, yet he thrashed Mick 16-6 in quali and only lost out in the races through bad luck. Whilst K Mag was sticking it on pole in Brazil, Mick was plumb last and 1.5 seconds away from getting out of Q1.RedAndy said:
Didn't that Rossi superbike chap do quite well in an F1 test. Or Seb Loeb? That'd mayne not win championships, but press would be off the scale. Russel can do the real job.
Seb Loeb nearly had a seat at Toro Rosso a few years ago but the powers-that-be decided that 9 WRC titles and some F1 tests weren't enough to justify a super license. The FIA were bloody idiots not to allow it.Muzzer79 said:
I’m struggling to see why people don’t think George is ‘it’
> Excelled at Williams, taking a dog of a car places it had no right to be
> Capable of the extraordinary - 2021 qualifying in Belgium for example
I don't disagree that Russell is a good driver. But I'm not sure of the narrative around how bad the Williams is. Since Russell joined the team, their 2nd driver has always been hired for commercial value rather than performance. Kubica was a shadow of his former self and had already been rejected by his former team, Latifi was Latifi, and Sargeant was mediocre in GP2. It's the same reason that I don't think we can say with certainty that Albon has been excellent - we really don't know the potential of the Williams cars over that period because only one driver has been capable of exploiting the car. Were he and Russell simply putting the car were it belonged and their team-mates making the car look bad?> Excelled at Williams, taking a dog of a car places it had no right to be
> Capable of the extraordinary - 2021 qualifying in Belgium for example
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