Lewis Hamilton
Discussion
kiseca said:
That is impressive. Obviously records like this become easier to break in modern years because you cover more races before the end of season churn than was true in the past, and indeed that for most of the 20th century races only the top 6 finishers scored points, but it's still an exceptional achievement for him and the team. It also reflects back on his first season, when, if I recall, he set a record for most consecutive points finishes for a rookie? I know his consistency was a standout feature in year 1.
I think modern conditions make this record easier to break IF you have the right car, but even with that, as a driver managing a season and a half without tripping over anyone enough to knock you out of the race, while being quick enough to always be in a points position, is exceptional. Not only that, he's managed it twice.
This is why he's so hard to beat. I was impressed when Max managed a good points finish when Vettel torpedoed him at Silverstone, and when Schumacher finished 2nd while stuck in 5th gear, but Lewis is eclipsing them both and with very little drama. Stays in the fight but stays out of trouble.
Also a bit easier when there are only essentially 5 rivals and 10 places for points. As has been shown pretty much any of the Merc, Fezza or Red Bull cars can start at the back, have a moment, off track, front wing etc and still comfortably come back into the points.I think modern conditions make this record easier to break IF you have the right car, but even with that, as a driver managing a season and a half without tripping over anyone enough to knock you out of the race, while being quick enough to always be in a points position, is exceptional. Not only that, he's managed it twice.
This is why he's so hard to beat. I was impressed when Max managed a good points finish when Vettel torpedoed him at Silverstone, and when Schumacher finished 2nd while stuck in 5th gear, but Lewis is eclipsing them both and with very little drama. Stays in the fight but stays out of trouble.
Most of the races this year to be in the points you don't even have to have finished on the lead lap.
If you look at his podium finishes he is currently on a zero streak but leading up to that was on four in a row.
What I think is really impressive is a car going for 30+ races with no race ending problems!
RB Will said:
What I think is really impressive is a car going for 30+ races with no race ending problems!
Indeed! Lewis, the entire Mercedes team effort and the car itself can all be summed up as; consistent, composed and focused.I'm sure for example, Ferrari find a reasonable excuse for every bit of bad luck or incident they're affected by. But, at the season end when they look at the stats, DNF's, pit problems, bad strategy calls etc and then look at Mercedes stats it must be galling. It must also be very daunting for any new constructors looking to join F1 with the target of winning - there may be many very finely run outfits that could on paper transfer a lot of that to a successful F1 team, but when the bar is set so high by Mercedes it must be difficult to truly be confident that they could do a better job overall. For the sake of the £1bn++ investment required to even try and emulate Mercedes success, it'd frankly be safer to wait around until they leave the sport before trying to do so.
I would say it's magic dust or witchcraft, but of course it isn't. It's just an insanely and almost unbelievably well done job.
Autosport
Toto Wolff is quite confident Lewis Hamilton will stay at Mercedes beyond 2020 but is wary of the "25%" chance Ferrari may tempt the Formula 1 world champion away.
Hamilton is out of contract after the end of next season, as several top F1 drivers, but is widely expected to re-sign with Mercedes, the team he was won five of his six titles with.
During the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix weekend, Hamilton was linked with a potential Ferrari move, amid compliments from the Italian team's boss Mattia Binotto and a report Hamilton had met Ferrari chairman John Elkann twice this year.
Mercedes F1 boss Wolff said in response to that speculation that he would be "totally OK" if Hamilton spoke to Ferrari, having previously discussed the attraction of the move with his driver.
Asked after the race how he rated Hamilton's chance of saying, Wolff said: "I would rate it personally - and I'm leaning myself out of the window here - at 75%.
"I think from the rational [side], everything speaks for the continuation of the relationship, from both sides.
"But equally, there is a 25% chance that we are not in control of.
"So we'll see how the next months pan out."
Asked by Autosport if that choice was between staying with Mercedes, moving to Ferrari, or walking away from F1, Wolff said a quick car and top team would be the "priority" for Hamilton.
He added: "There will be components such as financial incentives that will play a role and all that at the end becomes a total package that the driver will evaluate.
"That is completely normal, like all of us will do."
Hamilton contested every one of his 250 grand Prix with Mercedes, having spent 2007-12 driving for McLaren when it used Mercedes engines.
Since joining Mercedes' works team, Hamilton has won five drivers' titles and Mercedes has swept to double championships every year since 2014, while Ferrari has a title drought stretching back to its '08 constructors' crown.
"A driver of that level will always know that he can make an impact in a team," said Wolff.
"What I'm considering is when he left McLaren for Mercedes, it was said that it wasn't the right move. And it proved to be right.
"I don't want to make the mistake of underestimating Ferrari's potential.
"I don't see a sense of entitlement for us to win the seventh or eighth title.
"On the contrary, I think we need to stay humble about success.
"If you look at it from a rational standpoint, everything speaks for the fact of us continuing the journey together.
"But then there might be other factors to the new challenge, an exciting deal, that you need to always factor in.
"I give this a 25% chance."
Toto Wolff is quite confident Lewis Hamilton will stay at Mercedes beyond 2020 but is wary of the "25%" chance Ferrari may tempt the Formula 1 world champion away.
Hamilton is out of contract after the end of next season, as several top F1 drivers, but is widely expected to re-sign with Mercedes, the team he was won five of his six titles with.
During the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix weekend, Hamilton was linked with a potential Ferrari move, amid compliments from the Italian team's boss Mattia Binotto and a report Hamilton had met Ferrari chairman John Elkann twice this year.
Mercedes F1 boss Wolff said in response to that speculation that he would be "totally OK" if Hamilton spoke to Ferrari, having previously discussed the attraction of the move with his driver.
Asked after the race how he rated Hamilton's chance of saying, Wolff said: "I would rate it personally - and I'm leaning myself out of the window here - at 75%.
"I think from the rational [side], everything speaks for the continuation of the relationship, from both sides.
"But equally, there is a 25% chance that we are not in control of.
"So we'll see how the next months pan out."
Asked by Autosport if that choice was between staying with Mercedes, moving to Ferrari, or walking away from F1, Wolff said a quick car and top team would be the "priority" for Hamilton.
He added: "There will be components such as financial incentives that will play a role and all that at the end becomes a total package that the driver will evaluate.
"That is completely normal, like all of us will do."
Hamilton contested every one of his 250 grand Prix with Mercedes, having spent 2007-12 driving for McLaren when it used Mercedes engines.
Since joining Mercedes' works team, Hamilton has won five drivers' titles and Mercedes has swept to double championships every year since 2014, while Ferrari has a title drought stretching back to its '08 constructors' crown.
"A driver of that level will always know that he can make an impact in a team," said Wolff.
"What I'm considering is when he left McLaren for Mercedes, it was said that it wasn't the right move. And it proved to be right.
"I don't want to make the mistake of underestimating Ferrari's potential.
"I don't see a sense of entitlement for us to win the seventh or eighth title.
"On the contrary, I think we need to stay humble about success.
"If you look at it from a rational standpoint, everything speaks for the fact of us continuing the journey together.
"But then there might be other factors to the new challenge, an exciting deal, that you need to always factor in.
"I give this a 25% chance."
kiseca said:
This is why he's so hard to beat. I was impressed when Max managed a good points finish when Vettel torpedoed him at Silverstone, and when Schumacher finished 2nd while stuck in 5th gear, but Lewis is eclipsing them both and with very little drama. Stays in the fight but stays out of trouble.
Relatively easy for a Mercedes pole and dash to T1 to stay out of trouble.But does make for a dull victory race.
sparta6 said:
37chevy said:
sparta6 said:
If Hamilton joins Ferrari, his career will end on a low.
people said that when he left McLaren to join mercedesBut their were some who were privy to the Mercedes PU advantage development lockout
37chevy said:
sparta6 said:
37chevy said:
sparta6 said:
If Hamilton joins Ferrari, his career will end on a low.
people said that when he left McLaren to join mercedesBut their were some who were privy to the Mercedes PU advantage development lockout
They've been experimenting with an exotic deployment and Red Bull phoned the FIA.
True engine evolution has been squashed since 2014.
It seems at least anecdotally that Ferrari have had the more powerful engine for over a year now.
Their aero package has improved in that time to take better advantage of that.
However where they are struggling now is to manage the tyres to take best advantage of the above.
At least these are true if you listen to various alleged experts in the field, and I have to say, what I have seen on track seems to back these up.
Their aero package has improved in that time to take better advantage of that.
However where they are struggling now is to manage the tyres to take best advantage of the above.
At least these are true if you listen to various alleged experts in the field, and I have to say, what I have seen on track seems to back these up.
37chevy said:
sparta6 said:
They don't.
Then you know more than pretty much every F1 pundit and expert out there who state the Ferrari engine is now the best Think il take their word over yours
kiseca said:
37chevy said:
sparta6 said:
They don't.
Then you know more than pretty much every F1 pundit and expert out there who state the Ferrari engine is now the best Think il take their word over yours
Exige77 said:
kiseca said:
37chevy said:
sparta6 said:
They don't.
Then you know more than pretty much every F1 pundit and expert out there who state the Ferrari engine is now the best Think il take their word over yours
Ferrari have good bits, but Mercedes have the better package, and you can safely say that any power deficit that the Merc has this season, then Brixworth will sort it out without any dramas.
Lewis himself acknowledged next season they have to hit the ground running and not rely on the other teams starting slowly.
If he wants to equal Schumacher then he will do it in a Mercedes
Lewis himself acknowledged next season they have to hit the ground running and not rely on the other teams starting slowly.
If he wants to equal Schumacher then he will do it in a Mercedes
I suppose the ultimate would be for Lewis to win the title next year, and along the way take the victory record as well, and then do a swan-song at Ferrari, and win an 8th title there!
Of course, even if he did that, there will be a couple of armchair geniuses here saying it counts for nothing because Lewis never won in a Benneton and always had the best radio controlled car when he was 5.
Of course, even if he did that, there will be a couple of armchair geniuses here saying it counts for nothing because Lewis never won in a Benneton and always had the best radio controlled car when he was 5.
HighwayStar said:
Exige77 said:
kiseca said:
37chevy said:
sparta6 said:
They don't.
Then you know more than pretty much every F1 pundit and expert out there who state the Ferrari engine is now the best Think il take their word over yours
Equal poles with Hamilton and second in the WDC
paulguitar said:
I suppose the ultimate would be for Lewis to win the title next year, and along the way take the victory record as well, and then do a swan-song at Ferrari, and win an 8th title there!
Of course, even if he did that, there will be a couple of armchair geniuses here saying it counts for nothing because Lewis never won in a Benneton and always had the best radio controlled car when he was 5.
Don’t forget all the help he has had from him upstairs !!Of course, even if he did that, there will be a couple of armchair geniuses here saying it counts for nothing because Lewis never won in a Benneton and always had the best radio controlled car when he was 5.
As you say, what ever he does will never be enough but the people in the know rate him very highly.
Fast, few mistakes, good wheel to wheel and kind to his tyres and drive train. Oh, and all those records.
The red team would have him in a flash if he was available.
All the Gangster types would flog their AMGs and start buying Fezzas.
The Italian fashion houses would have a party.
I can’t wait until the new season starts.
He’s come such a long way from Rye House.
sparta6 said:
HighwayStar said:
Exige77 said:
kiseca said:
37chevy said:
sparta6 said:
They don't.
Then you know more than pretty much every F1 pundit and expert out there who state the Ferrari engine is now the best Think il take their word over yours
Equal poles with Hamilton and second in the WDC
Exige77 said:
sparta6 said:
HighwayStar said:
Exige77 said:
kiseca said:
37chevy said:
sparta6 said:
They don't.
Then you know more than pretty much every F1 pundit and expert out there who state the Ferrari engine is now the best Think il take their word over yours
Equal poles with Hamilton and second in the WDC
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