George Russell

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Discussion

Durzel

12,276 posts

169 months

Friday 16th September 2022
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StevieBee said:
GingerMunky said:
C70R said:
Instead, he thought he'd go enjoy life with his family.
Love this about Nico, left at the top, nothing more to prove, went to enjoy life with his family. And enjoyed the whole year as World Champ without having to spend it in a car. Legend.
Through the eyes of a fan, maybe.

But retiring having won a championship is seen dimly by those within the sport - both a mark of weakness in choosing not to defend your title (I recall reading someone who likened it to having a game of football, scoring a goal and then going home with the ball), and commercially in the team not being able to fully capitalise upon that championship.
It is an interesting philosophical discussion at least.

As remarked after your post there is a good chance that Nico realised he wouldn't be able to repeat the feat again, and would likely lose the championship the following season. He even said that it took a huge toll on him, competing with Lewis.

Where does the belief in the requirement that a defending champion should have to compete again sit within the context of that revelation? Does the desire to see a champion defend their title come from wanting to see them suffer, to have the "rightful champion" exact some kind of retribution upon them in reclaiming the crown? Or - more innocently - is it frustration at being denied a spectacle in seeing Nico and Lewis butt heads again. Either thought process seems supremely selfish.

I tend to view those that hold the belief that champions should be required to defend their titles as if it is the honourable thing to do etc with some suspicion, largely because it ignores any emotional or physical toil the champion may have suffered. In the case of Nico, he was very open about it, which adds an interesting dimemsion to this outside influence.

I think in purely objective terms what you've said isn't wrong, i.e. scoring a goal and then taking the ball home denies the audience the "just" outcome, but I do think there are layers to the question and the sentiment that people express about it. It's not as cut and dried as you are presenting it.

Personally whatever decision he made is correct because he made it. He has every right not to race again if he doesn't want to, he is not obliged or contracted to perform by the audience.

entropy

5,448 posts

204 months

Friday 16th September 2022
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paulguitar said:
MadCaptainJack said:
I reckon the first corner at Austin in 2015 was the point at which Nico realised that his and Lewis's ideas of sportsmanship and what's acceptable in terms of gamesmanship were fundamentally different.
Nope, I should think it was Rosberg parking his car in Monaco in 2014 that started that off. And the reverse of what you're thinking.
It started at the 2014 Bahrain GP. Nico has said this himself. In their epic duel Nico didn't like being out-raced by Lewis and thought he was too aggressive and unsportsman. You can see how visibly miffed Nico was post-race and thinking 'what do I have to do to beat this guy?' More than a taste of Lewis's own medicine.

I think Lewis has this affect on some opponents. With have seen this also with Max. Lewis more often than not is great wheel-to-wheel especially with the cut-back/undercut/crossover/late turn in so Max counters this by forcing Lewis off the road by improperly negotiating a corner. Now we've seen Max race CLC much more cleanly these days. Or perhaps Max is like the Predator and is awaiting for a worthy opponent to push him to his limits again.

C70R

17,596 posts

105 months

Friday 16th September 2022
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entropy said:
paulguitar said:
MadCaptainJack said:
I reckon the first corner at Austin in 2015 was the point at which Nico realised that his and Lewis's ideas of sportsmanship and what's acceptable in terms of gamesmanship were fundamentally different.
Nope, I should think it was Rosberg parking his car in Monaco in 2014 that started that off. And the reverse of what you're thinking.
It started at the 2014 Bahrain GP. Nico has said this himself. In their epic duel Nico didn't like being out-raced by Lewis and thought he was too aggressive and unsportsman. You can see how visibly miffed Nico was post-race and thinking 'what do I have to do to beat this guy?' More than a taste of Lewis's own medicine.

I think Lewis has this affect on some opponents. With have seen this also with Max. Lewis more often than not is great wheel-to-wheel especially with the cut-back/undercut/crossover/late turn in so Max counters this by forcing Lewis off the road by improperly negotiating a corner. Now we've seen Max race CLC much more cleanly these days. Or perhaps Max is like the Predator and is awaiting for a worthy opponent to push him to his limits again.
That Bahrain race really showed the difference between them. After getting ahead at the start, there was an inevitability about Hamilton. Every time Nico chucked it down the inside, Hamilton swept back across him and took the lead within a couple of corners. Real measured racing.

paulguitar

23,506 posts

114 months

Friday 16th September 2022
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C70R said:
That Bahrain race really showed the difference between them. After getting ahead at the start, there was an inevitability about Hamilton. Every time Nico chucked it down the inside, Hamilton swept back across him and took the lead within a couple of corners. Real measured racing.
Lewis had older and/or inferior tyes too, IIRC.

PhilAsia

3,821 posts

76 months

Friday 16th September 2022
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paulguitar said:
C70R said:
That Bahrain race really showed the difference between them. After getting ahead at the start, there was an inevitability about Hamilton. Every time Nico chucked it down the inside, Hamilton swept back across him and took the lead within a couple of corners. Real measured racing.
Lewis had older and/or inferior tyes too, IIRC.
He did...


Very interesting comment at the end of this ***watch on youube***:




Edited by PhilAsia on Friday 16th September 15:59

mat205125

17,790 posts

214 months

Friday 16th September 2022
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No danger of George Russell content on the George Russell post today then?

paulguitar

23,506 posts

114 months

Friday 16th September 2022
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PhilAsia said:
paulguitar said:
C70R said:
That Bahrain race really showed the difference between them. After getting ahead at the start, there was an inevitability about Hamilton. Every time Nico chucked it down the inside, Hamilton swept back across him and took the lead within a couple of corners. Real measured racing.
Lewis had older and/or inferior tyes too, IIRC.
He did...


Very interesting comment at the end of this ***watch on youube***:
Edited by PhilAsia on Friday 16th September 15:59
Hadn't seen that before, excellent stuff. I remember really loving that race at the time, a real classic.





CoolHands

18,677 posts

196 months

Friday 16th September 2022
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Says video unavailable for me.

PhilAsia

3,821 posts

76 months

Friday 16th September 2022
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CoolHands said:
Says video unavailable for me.
click on watch on youutube...

carinaman

21,325 posts

173 months

Tuesday 27th December 2022
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YouTube autoplayed that for me after I'd watched the Alex Brundle Missed Apex interview:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkLfAdo3vx4

I found it quite interesting though thinking about the 2021 drive when he deputised for Hamilton I'd forgotten how cynical I've become due to the need to create content for the sake of the show.

I thought Russell came across well.