Will Lewis ever win #8?
Discussion
Last season Lewis watched his 8th championship hopes disappear in the final few laps. It was the end of the current era with new regulations due for the forthcoming season. His teammate who had been a reliable #2 driver - able to pick up wins from time-to-time but rarely able to beat Lewis in a straight fight - was moving on and being replaced with a young, hungry George Russell who has loftier title ambitions.
Lewis just turned 37 in January, one of the older drivers on the grid. His future in the sport has been widely speculated about and some expected not to see him again at the conclusion of last season. Nevertheless, I believe he is signed up for the next two seasons.
It's early days in the new season, but based on what we've seen so far, it would appear that Mercedes do not appear to have the advantage they have enjoyed since 2014 - 2020 seasons. They were certainly the 3rd fastest team on the track in Bahrain, but through some Red Bull failures Lewis managed to get a podium out of the weekend.
Ferrari seem to have put together a more competitive car this season. We are yet to see how it competes on tracks with high speed turns but there's no reason as yet to suspect they will not be competing for the front row slots.
Mercedes have taken a different design approach to others and currently experiencing a porpoising issue. Mercedes are known for making big developments / performance improvements mid-season and if they can hang on to Ferrari / Red Bull over the next races, could be in contention for a title towards the end of the season. It will just depend how radical the updates are needed by Mercedes and whether they will alter their design to go with something similar to the rest of the teams on the grid.
Either way, it looks like there could be three teams with the potential to win the title this season. George Russell may not be too welcoming to becoming a #2 pulling over for Lewis. It may be premature, but I think there's a fairly strong possibility Lewis will retire as a 7 time world champion unless he hops over to another team.
Lewis just turned 37 in January, one of the older drivers on the grid. His future in the sport has been widely speculated about and some expected not to see him again at the conclusion of last season. Nevertheless, I believe he is signed up for the next two seasons.
It's early days in the new season, but based on what we've seen so far, it would appear that Mercedes do not appear to have the advantage they have enjoyed since 2014 - 2020 seasons. They were certainly the 3rd fastest team on the track in Bahrain, but through some Red Bull failures Lewis managed to get a podium out of the weekend.
Ferrari seem to have put together a more competitive car this season. We are yet to see how it competes on tracks with high speed turns but there's no reason as yet to suspect they will not be competing for the front row slots.
Mercedes have taken a different design approach to others and currently experiencing a porpoising issue. Mercedes are known for making big developments / performance improvements mid-season and if they can hang on to Ferrari / Red Bull over the next races, could be in contention for a title towards the end of the season. It will just depend how radical the updates are needed by Mercedes and whether they will alter their design to go with something similar to the rest of the teams on the grid.
Either way, it looks like there could be three teams with the potential to win the title this season. George Russell may not be too welcoming to becoming a #2 pulling over for Lewis. It may be premature, but I think there's a fairly strong possibility Lewis will retire as a 7 time world champion unless he hops over to another team.
Anything is possible, however, personally I feel it far too early to speculate on much of anything, especially big stuff like this. Mercedes have gotten it wrong somewhere down the line but still appear to have the third fastest Car (at least on the Bahrain circuit). They are a mightily impressive team and I think Lewis wants #8 very, VERY!! much indeed, the sense of last seasons injustice will merely drive him, hence the team upwards. It's going to be interesting to see them fight back from a position with which they're unfamiliar
I think the next race will look quite different and the races following that will be different again. I'm not saying that Mercedes will win this weekend but I don't believe that they will be 0.5s/lap or more off the pace for very long.
Hamilton was never going to retire permanently at the end of 2021 in my opinion. His current contract runs to the end of 2023.
No one team has ended up with a pace margin to all others so I think it's game on for this season and a good sign for the sport in years to come.
Mercedes aren't going to move Hamilton on so he has several more opportunities to win his 8th. That includes this year, if Mercedes can pull off something incredible and quickly turn this car into a race winner.
Hamilton was never going to retire permanently at the end of 2021 in my opinion. His current contract runs to the end of 2023.
No one team has ended up with a pace margin to all others so I think it's game on for this season and a good sign for the sport in years to come.
Mercedes aren't going to move Hamilton on so he has several more opportunities to win his 8th. That includes this year, if Mercedes can pull off something incredible and quickly turn this car into a race winner.
It depends on how much the porpoising is costing them. According to lewis it is doing it everywhere, not just at the end of long straights. To me that means in corners as well. If they fix it, the car will be dramatically faster, everywhere. Other teams managed to fix it/get ontop of it in a week since testing, so who knows? It's a long season and wins and big leads count for less than they did in older 16 race championships.
Many consistent WDC's have managed to grind out results through luck and opportunity and put themselves in with a chance. Prost in 1986 rings a bell.
Many consistent WDC's have managed to grind out results through luck and opportunity and put themselves in with a chance. Prost in 1986 rings a bell.
Edited by mattikake on Monday 21st March 21:32
As far as I am concerned, he should already be a 9 times champion, if it weren't for McLaren screwing up their tyre strategy in China in his rookie season, and Massi deciding on a novel interpretation of the rules in Abu Dhabi last year.
Will he actually win an 8th title? He certainly deserves to, but I can't help but feel that it's going to be an extremely tough prospect and that it may not actually happen.
Will he actually win an 8th title? He certainly deserves to, but I can't help but feel that it's going to be an extremely tough prospect and that it may not actually happen.
My guess is "No", he won't.
The hunger for it is clearly there, but I'm thinking that the tide is turning. Max is only going to get faster (young, talented driver in "gets faster shocker", as Lewis can attest), new regulations WRT the cars will mean dominating teams will fade i.e. Ferrari lost out to Renault, who lost out (Brawn aside), to Red Bull. who lost out to Mercedes, and he's a target for other very talented drivers such as LeClerc / Sainz / Russell / Norris.
I'd love to have seen Hamilton get 8 and Rossi 10, but age / machinery / young talent have conspired against them.
The hunger for it is clearly there, but I'm thinking that the tide is turning. Max is only going to get faster (young, talented driver in "gets faster shocker", as Lewis can attest), new regulations WRT the cars will mean dominating teams will fade i.e. Ferrari lost out to Renault, who lost out (Brawn aside), to Red Bull. who lost out to Mercedes, and he's a target for other very talented drivers such as LeClerc / Sainz / Russell / Norris.
I'd love to have seen Hamilton get 8 and Rossi 10, but age / machinery / young talent have conspired against them.
We have seen many teams in rhe past be utterly dominant for a number of years, but sooner or later it ends. Think Mclaren in the 80s, Williams in the early/mid 90s, Ferrari late 90s/early 2000s, Red Bull with four titles in a row and obviously Mercedes in the hybrid era.
The point I am making is all of these teams were at one point unbeatable and somehow they either lost their touch or the competition just got better.
I am loathed to write off a team like Mercedes this early, but I wonder if we have just entered a time where the competition have got better or Mercedes have made a mistake with their car?
The point I am making is all of these teams were at one point unbeatable and somehow they either lost their touch or the competition just got better.
I am loathed to write off a team like Mercedes this early, but I wonder if we have just entered a time where the competition have got better or Mercedes have made a mistake with their car?
I’d suggest it’s this that caused emotions to run so deep at the end of last year. Under any circumstances LH supporters were understandably going to be miffed (I was one of them) but perhaps more so because of that sense that he may not get a better chance to get #8
Yesterday showed how motivated he remains. If MB suddenly discover a fundamental and fixable cause for the porpoising in the next month or so, then I think he’ll do it. Otherwise, may be next year but, if not then, then probably never.
Yesterday showed how motivated he remains. If MB suddenly discover a fundamental and fixable cause for the porpoising in the next month or so, then I think he’ll do it. Otherwise, may be next year but, if not then, then probably never.
I’ll be honest from the start.
Whilst there is little doubt that Lewis Hamilton is definitely one of ‘the greats’, just like Schumacher, I’m no fan.
However, I still think he’ll win WDC#8. If not this year, then next.
Although it’s really too early for any of us to say. Mercedes certainly look to have started on the back foot. Third fastest team on the grid at this stage?
It’s new regs, it’s the start of the season, anything could and indeed probably will happen.
What I’d really like to see is for Sainz and Norris to both break their ducks this season.
Whilst there is little doubt that Lewis Hamilton is definitely one of ‘the greats’, just like Schumacher, I’m no fan.
However, I still think he’ll win WDC#8. If not this year, then next.
Although it’s really too early for any of us to say. Mercedes certainly look to have started on the back foot. Third fastest team on the grid at this stage?
It’s new regs, it’s the start of the season, anything could and indeed probably will happen.
What I’d really like to see is for Sainz and Norris to both break their ducks this season.
given merc suggest they were losing half a second on the straights and that it was due to drag they have a clear area to focus on.
I'm not sure Ferrari / Red Bull will have such a clear vision on where they need to fix issues.
This season will be a development race, merc have stayed ahead all these years by developing well albeit with much more resource. Its not inconceivable that Mercedes will back at the pointy end or at least much closer by Barcelona.
I'm not sure Ferrari / Red Bull will have such a clear vision on where they need to fix issues.
This season will be a development race, merc have stayed ahead all these years by developing well albeit with much more resource. Its not inconceivable that Mercedes will back at the pointy end or at least much closer by Barcelona.
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