The Official F1 2020 silly season *contains speculation*
Discussion
janesmith1950 said:
Unless Bottas convinces Mercedes he can up his game, he'll be out. You can't afford to have one driver who can't perform on Sundays. Look at Red Bull- they've seen an opportunity to grab second in both championships and have changed drivers to try and achieve it.
Bottas comes across as a decent guy and has good Saturdays, but he's not consistent enough on race day, in my opinion.
But anyone better than Bottas would then make things more difficult at Mercedes. Bottas comes across as a decent guy and has good Saturdays, but he's not consistent enough on race day, in my opinion.
Do they want another Hamilton vs Rosberg? I very much doubt it.
Bottas was very unlucky in Germany. This has clearly rattled him which was saw in Hungary.
I just can't see Ocon being better than Bottas.
kiseca said:
I disagree, because he was emphatic about Alonso but non-committal about Verstappen. Could be a lot of reasons why, including being more cagey about plans with current driver compared to retired one, but his comment about things happening at McLaren is clearly aimed at Hamilton and Alonso together, not about having Hamilton challenged by a fast team mate. No mention of Hamilton and Rosberg duking it out, which would have been his first reference if he was thinking about the latter.
The alpha male comment was added by the writer and historically it's true, there are plenty of examples of similarly paced team mates blowing up, but team mates that get along don't tend to generate exciting stories of rivalries.
Toto knows Alonso will never be in a Mercedes.The alpha male comment was added by the writer and historically it's true, there are plenty of examples of similarly paced team mates blowing up, but team mates that get along don't tend to generate exciting stories of rivalries.
But Verstappen could be the only man in the current Championship who is a replacement for Hamilton when he retires hence why he was non-committal about Verstappen.
But Verstappen will never be in the Mercedes while Hamilton is still in the team.
ELUSIVEJIM said:
I am sure he said this month which means the Spa weekend perhaps.
Is Toto waiting to see what Bottas does at Spa before making a final decision?
Don't think so as I believe the decision has already been made. It's just a case of the timing of the announcement to suit all parties involved. I expect Bottas to be in the car next year.Is Toto waiting to see what Bottas does at Spa before making a final decision?
ELUSIVEJIM said:
But Verstappen could be the only man in the current Championship who is a replacement for Hamilton when he retires hence why he was non-committal about Verstappen.
But Verstappen will never be in the Mercedes while Hamilton is still in the team.
Indeed. But Verstappen will never be in the Mercedes while Hamilton is still in the team.
Given the opportunity, all TP's would be considering Max. He's one of the top 3 drivers on the grid and is young and hungry. That's the trifecta right there. As owner of the fastest car, Toto is one of the few people who could possibly draw Max in, if he wanted him. But as said, won't happen while Lewis is still there, despite what Lewis may say to the media.
Andy S15 said:
ELUSIVEJIM said:
But Verstappen could be the only man in the current Championship who is a replacement for Hamilton when he retires hence why he was non-committal about Verstappen.
But Verstappen will never be in the Mercedes while Hamilton is still in the team.
Indeed. But Verstappen will never be in the Mercedes while Hamilton is still in the team.
Given the opportunity, all TP's would be considering Max. He's one of the top 3 drivers on the grid and is young and hungry. That's the trifecta right there. As owner of the fastest car, Toto is one of the few people who could possibly draw Max in, if he wanted him. But as said, won't happen while Lewis is still there, despite what Lewis may say to the media.
Dunc.
Andy S15 said:
ELUSIVEJIM said:
But Verstappen could be the only man in the current Championship who is a replacement for Hamilton when he retires hence why he was non-committal about Verstappen.
But Verstappen will never be in the Mercedes while Hamilton is still in the team.
Indeed. But Verstappen will never be in the Mercedes while Hamilton is still in the team.
Given the opportunity, all TP's would be considering Max. He's one of the top 3 drivers on the grid and is young and hungry. That's the trifecta right there. As owner of the fastest car, Toto is one of the few people who could possibly draw Max in, if he wanted him. But as said, won't happen while Lewis is still there, despite what Lewis may say to the media.
Red Bull is a bit scrappy, in a similar vein to Hesketh, which compliments Verstappen's style rather well.
HTP99 said:
Yep; chuck em in and see what happens.
I hope Alex Albon comes through, so far he seems a good bet!
But the Red Bull approach ensures turnover of drivers, which is also a useful outcome.I hope Alex Albon comes through, so far he seems a good bet!
3-car teams bad IMHO because it cements dominance at the top. WCC unassailable by half year etc.
No reason behind pettiness that there can’t be more teams.
swisstoni said:
Ocon certainly didn’t play nice with Perez.
I think Toto would rather keep him away from the Merc setup at the moment.
I agree.I think Toto would rather keep him away from the Merc setup at the moment.
His attempt at unlapping himself in Brazil against Verstappen was a massive talking point when they collided.
Bottas and Hamilton seem to be extremely fair in a battle when giving room. This is massive when thinking about your second driver in the team.
Would Ocon do the same? I think if he was in that same situation it would land in tears.
ELUSIVEJIM said:
But anyone better than Bottas would then make things more difficult at Mercedes.
Do they want another Hamilton vs Rosberg? I very much doubt it.
Bottas was very unlucky in Germany. This has clearly rattled him which was saw in Hungary.
I just can't see Ocon being better than Bottas.
Why is everyone utterly obsessed with the concept of two good drivers being impossible to manage. Do they want another Hamilton vs Rosberg? I very much doubt it.
Bottas was very unlucky in Germany. This has clearly rattled him which was saw in Hungary.
I just can't see Ocon being better than Bottas.
Jesus, any partnership of the current drivers would be like babysitting a corpse compared to Senna and Prost.
Bottas is too slow on race day and I think that will do for him.
janesmith1950 said:
Why is everyone utterly obsessed with the concept of two good drivers being impossible to manage.
Because Mercedes have repeatedly stated that they don't want it. It was too destructive to the team. I met with one of the Mercedes race team directors 1:1 and he was very very clear that they did not want to return to anything like Nico<>Lewis again. The management bandwidth it took was extremely destructive and divided the team.Vaud said:
janesmith1950 said:
Why is everyone utterly obsessed with the concept of two good drivers being impossible to manage.
Because Mercedes have repeatedly stated that they don't want it. It was too destructive to the team. I met with one of the Mercedes race team directors 1:1 and he was very very clear that they did not want to return to anything like Nico<>Lewis again. The management bandwidth it took was extremely destructive and divided the team.janesmith1950 said:
Why is everyone utterly obsessed with the concept of two good drivers being impossible to manage.
Jesus, any partnership of the current drivers would be like babysitting a corpse compared to Senna and Prost.
Bottas is too slow on race day and I think that will do for him.
It's not us that is obsessed it's just fact.Jesus, any partnership of the current drivers would be like babysitting a corpse compared to Senna and Prost.
Bottas is too slow on race day and I think that will do for him.
Toto couldn't handle Hamilton and Rosberg and I never rated Rosberg as a driver who will be remembered as a great.
Hamilton has been a better driver since Rosberg left.
If you stuck Verstappen, Alonso or even Ricciardo in the second Mercedes they would take points off of each other and perhaps open the door to another team who were doing what Mercedes are doing now.
Every fan wants to see the best drivers in the best car but it will never happen.
Vaud said:
sparta6 said:
Compared with Ron Dennis - Mercedes management are therefore lightweights
Niki was no lightweight?Lewis will be eternally grateful that Niki was persuasive.
Alonso could already be on 8 x WDC's if Lewis had stayed loyal to McLaren.
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