Valtteri Bottas at Mercedes
Discussion
I can understand the thinking behind suggesting Vettel for the seat, but if the car behaves I can see him doing a couple seasons with Aston Martin then calling it a day.
Bottas I could probably see at another team. The fact he's paired up with a driver as good as Hamilton for so long has got to be getting wearing and the issues like Sunday with likely just aggravate the situation. A seat at another team as a well experienced number one would probably do his head good.
With the blame game going about, I'd say it would have been reasonable to call it his fault for being out of position if it was just a slow stop, but really the wheel nut is nothing to do with him IMO.
Bottas I could probably see at another team. The fact he's paired up with a driver as good as Hamilton for so long has got to be getting wearing and the issues like Sunday with likely just aggravate the situation. A seat at another team as a well experienced number one would probably do his head good.
With the blame game going about, I'd say it would have been reasonable to call it his fault for being out of position if it was just a slow stop, but really the wheel nut is nothing to do with him IMO.
MadCaptainJack said:
'm not disagreeing with you in principle but, in this particular situation, according to Autosport.com, they were unsuccessful in removing the nut in Monaco, and ended up carting the wheel with the nut still attached, back to the Merc factory.
Bottas wheelnut still stuck on Mercedes car after pitstop issue
It really surprised me they didn't have a Dremel with them, obviously not for during the race but if that had happened in a session.Bottas wheelnut still stuck on Mercedes car after pitstop issue
nickfrog said:
It really surprised me they didn't have a Dremel with them, obviously not for during the race but if that had happened in a session.
Never mind a Dremel, use an angle grinder! Anyway I'm gutted for Bottas - nothing seems to be going right for him lately despite his best efforts.
Although I'd love to see George Russell in a Mercedes - if only they were allowed to run 3 cars.
aston80 said:
What about Bottas to Red Bull? They'd probably pay him handsomely for the Mercedes insider knowledge
Bottas' faults at Mercedes would only be amplified at Redbull. If he's not getting enough points as backup to get Mercedes a constructors title, then he certainly won't in the Red Bull, which, let's be honest, over a season, is still not a better car than the Mercedes.Jake899 said:
aston80 said:
What about Bottas to Red Bull? They'd probably pay him handsomely for the Mercedes insider knowledge
Bottas' faults at Mercedes would only be amplified at Redbull. If he's not getting enough points as backup to get Mercedes a constructors title, then he certainly won't in the Red Bull, which, let's be honest, over a season, is still not a better car than the Mercedes.While the knowledge Bottas would bring is valuable, it would be secondary to the job they think he could do in the car, so it only boils down to whether they think he'd be better than Perez or not. Perez has had some hard times but he's shown potential too. Let's see how he settles over the season.
Personally I think Bottas is a better driver than Perez but what matters is what the teams think.
Mr Tidy said:
nickfrog said:
It really surprised me they didn't have a Dremel with them, obviously not for during the race but if that had happened in a session.
Never mind a Dremel, use an angle grinder! 
Not convinced an angle grinder would be quite surgical enough in its precision... nickfrog said:
Mr Tidy said:
nickfrog said:
It really surprised me they didn't have a Dremel with them, obviously not for during the race but if that had happened in a session.
Never mind a Dremel, use an angle grinder! Not convinced an angle grinder would be quite surgical enough in its precision... generationx said:
On Ted's Notebook he explained that many teams have a special tool for just such occasions which is used with a big hammer to split the nut to remove it from the hub. Apparently, in this case, Mercedes chose not to include it in their packing list.
It's a moot point as by the time they'd gone at it with a nutsplitter - hoping they didn't break or bend anything else and the axle was usable - they'd have been a lap or whatever down anyway, bottas tyres would be cooled etc etc.James on their debrief said the reason for shipping it home was for labority forensic deconstruction and examination of it, so much as the capabilities or otherwise of smashing it apart in Monaco. I'm sure if it happened on an FP sess/ Saturday they'd have had it apart...
Oh they'll definitely do a thorough investigation on how that happened, nobody wants that to happen twice. The design of an F1 wheel nut is insanely complicated, a multistart, large pitch thread with guides that are designed to stop it going on at an angle and cross threading. I have no idea what the material is, but I am sure that at least one of the nut/wheel/hub will be carbon and probably none of them steel.
Roman Grosjean was in the news today, the article saying the access given him during his Mercedes test was surprisingly open.
There's not a chance that he would get Bottas' seat do you think? I never rated him particularly myself.
Roman Grosjean was in the news today, the article saying the access given him during his Mercedes test was surprisingly open.
There's not a chance that he would get Bottas' seat do you think? I never rated him particularly myself.
Teddy Lop said:
It's a moot point as by the time they'd gone at it with a nutsplitter - hoping they didn't break or bend anything else and the axle was usable - they'd have been a lap or whatever down anyway, bottas tyres would be cooled etc etc.
James on their debrief said the reason for shipping it home was for labority forensic deconstruction and examination of it, so much as the capabilities or otherwise of smashing it apart in Monaco. I'm sure if it happened on an FP sess/ Saturday they'd have had it apart...
Yes, the debrief video was very informative as always, they’re very open about things when they have a bad weeekend, something that’s to their credit as a team. James on their debrief said the reason for shipping it home was for labority forensic deconstruction and examination of it, so much as the capabilities or otherwise of smashing it apart in Monaco. I'm sure if it happened on an FP sess/ Saturday they'd have had it apart...
The F1 way to remove the nut would be to 3D scan the whole assembly, then 3D print or CNC a custom attachment to go between the nut and a 6’ breaker bar, to get it free.
Jake899 said:
Roman Grosjean was in the news today, the article saying the access given him during his Mercedes test was surprisingly open.
There's not a chance that he would get Bottas' seat do you think? I never rated him particularly myself.
Zero chance IMO. Mercedes are happy to tell all because he has left the series and has very little chance of ever coming back in. There's not a chance that he would get Bottas' seat do you think? I never rated him particularly myself.
HustleRussell said:
Jake899 said:
Roman Grosjean was in the news today, the article saying the access given him during his Mercedes test was surprisingly open.
There's not a chance that he would get Bottas' seat do you think? I never rated him particularly myself.
Zero chance IMO. Mercedes are happy to tell all because he has left the series and has very little chance of ever coming back in. There's not a chance that he would get Bottas' seat do you think? I never rated him particularly myself.
kiseca said:
HustleRussell said:
Jake899 said:
Roman Grosjean was in the news today, the article saying the access given him during his Mercedes test was surprisingly open.
There's not a chance that he would get Bottas' seat do you think? I never rated him particularly myself.
Zero chance IMO. Mercedes are happy to tell all because he has left the series and has very little chance of ever coming back in. There's not a chance that he would get Bottas' seat do you think? I never rated him particularly myself.
TheDeuce said:
kiseca said:
HustleRussell said:
Jake899 said:
Roman Grosjean was in the news today, the article saying the access given him during his Mercedes test was surprisingly open.
There's not a chance that he would get Bottas' seat do you think? I never rated him particularly myself.
Zero chance IMO. Mercedes are happy to tell all because he has left the series and has very little chance of ever coming back in. There's not a chance that he would get Bottas' seat do you think? I never rated him particularly myself.
My view may have already been mentioned - but my worry for VB is that until now LH has needed a team mate he can convincingly beat, the Mercedes has been so dominant over the last few years that’s all that was needed. This year maybe different - Lewis is almost certainly going to need a proper wingman as the Red Bulls are so close, and Ferrari/McLaren aren’t that far behind. Valtteri isn’t upto that role - and Lewis may regret not having a stronger guy in the 2nd seat this year.
Even so, I can't see Mercedes changing horses mid-season.
The interesting point I think will come at the end of this year if Verstappen is champion and Red Bull have the constructors, would Hamilton stay to try and win the crown back, or accept that he's had a good run?
If Hamilton had signed for another year, I could see Bottas getting the boot.
But if Hamilton decided to retire gracefully then I would think Mercedes would want to maintain at least one driver for the next season?
I wonder if we'll see nothing happening with contracts until October or November this time around?
The interesting point I think will come at the end of this year if Verstappen is champion and Red Bull have the constructors, would Hamilton stay to try and win the crown back, or accept that he's had a good run?
If Hamilton had signed for another year, I could see Bottas getting the boot.
But if Hamilton decided to retire gracefully then I would think Mercedes would want to maintain at least one driver for the next season?
I wonder if we'll see nothing happening with contracts until October or November this time around?
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