Motorsports Thread

[rustybolts]

Charles has a natural talent and speed, but he still makes some stupid mistakes. Lewis brings an unquestionable level of experience to the team; he's won championships with two different teams across markedly different eras, in pre- and post-hybrid cars. He went to Mercedes when they were an also-ran and see what happened. I wouldn't write him off just yet.

Hamilton is now making mistakes in qualifying that he never did before , unfortunately you can't wind back the clock

 

[rustybolts]

Like he did with Carlos

Both Carlos and Charles would probably also drive rings around Lewis now , once your team mate outqualifies you on a regular basis , the sharp edge is going , Russell has done that , you can make all the excuses you like but in his heyday Hamilton would be quick in any car , not just the ones that suit his "driving style" as they call it now .

 

[icowden]

Both Carlos and Charles would probably also drive rings around Lewis now , once your team mate outqualifies you on a regular basis , the sharp edge is going , Russell has done that , you can make all the excuses you like but in his heyday Hamilton would be quick in any car , not just the ones that suit his "driving style" as they call it now .

Maybe. I have seen reference to the way that you need to "slide" the car in the current configuration and this not being something Hamilton has been easily able to get to grip with. When he has the balance and the car is behaving he's fast. IMHO Russell is more used to driving cranky cars thanks to his Williams experience.

 

[Jody]

Both Carlos and Charles would probably also drive rings around Lewis now , once your team mate outqualifies you on a regular basis , the sharp edge is going , Russell has done that , you can make all the excuses you like but in his heyday Hamilton would be quick in any car , not just the ones that suit his "driving style" as they call it now .

His cars/skill have always run hand in hand with his emotions so we'll have to see how or if Ferrari reinvigorates him.

 

[rustybolts]

His cars/skill have always run hand in hand with his emotions so we'll have to see how or if Ferrari reinvigorates him.

that's a good point , if he "feels the love" in Ferrari he could go well . Its a tribute to his resilience that he has physically put himself through the mill for so many years and kept peak fitness . Well whenever he hangs up his helmet he will always be remembered as a clean driver in his actions on and off the track

 

[figbat]

His cars/skill have always run hand in hand with his emotions so we'll have to see how or if Ferrari reinvigorates him.

I’m a bit worried about this one. Ferrari are notoriously about Ferrari and don’t suffer characters who outshine the prancing horse. Schumacher could get away with it as a charming polyglot but I wonder how Lewis will get on in Italian? I wonder how the fiercely Italian team will take to him? If he speaks other languages he hides it well, whereas others like to engage their teams and fans in local language.

 

[icowden]

I’m a bit worried about this one. Ferrari are notoriously about Ferrari and don’t suffer characters who outshine the prancing horse. Schumacher could get away with it as a charming polyglot but I wonder how Lewis will get on in Italian? I wonder how the fiercely Italian team will take to him? If he speaks other languages he hides it well, whereas others like to engage their teams and fans in local language.

Given the £££ that Ferrari will have spent on him, I suspect they will want to get maximum value from him.

 

[Drago]

If he speaks other languages he hides it well, whereas others like to engage their teams and fans in local language.

He can barely, speak English, and quite often with a silly US accent that clearly isn't genuinely acquired as it comes and goes at whim.

Id like to see Ramilton go out in a blaze of glory but a half century of F1mhistory tells us that the best a driver of that age can hope for is to fade away. Fezza is probably the harshest team after RB for not suffering non-performers and I have a feeling it won't end well. I'm not especially a fan, but I don't wish that for him.

 

[Tom B]

Yes - I think the sudden drop in form that we have seen in some champions - Vettel for example - is sometimes a mental thing

And I have certainly suspected this has been the case for Lewis this season when we saw George doing better than him in some races

One of the chinks in Lewis has always been his head.
When is chin goes down it all falls apart, we saw it at McLaren in the early days, we've seen it at Merc - be it a decision in the race or team that goes against him, be it miss fortune, be it family troubles, he had a wobble when he fell out with Shirtswinger and wasnt getting his oats and so on. I think that Toto and Bono have been alert to it and built him back up and supported him. Its a team sport n all.

I think Abu Dhabi 2021 had a massive affect on him. He's never been the same again. I sort of expected him to walk away and wonder how much behind the scenes activity there was to keep him.

The more I look back and reflect on Vettel, the more I think he sort of lost interest and had little to prove to himself in F1. I think he is a very intelligent interesting chap with a brain that goes all over the place and it went away from F1.

Charles has a natural talent and speed, but he still makes some stupid mistakes. Lewis brings an unquestionable level of experience to the team; he's won championships with two different teams across markedly different eras, in pre- and post-hybrid cars. He went to Mercedes when they were an also-ran and see what happened. I wouldn't write him off just yet.

I've said it before, I think LeClerc is over-rated, you see flashes of brilliance, but its all to infrequent and inconsistent - he reminds me somewhat of Jean Alesi. He is also prone to making some crackers errors and mistakes and cracks under pressure - not necessarily on track pressure but pressure no the less. How many good results has he thrown away over the years?

His cars/skill have always run hand in hand with his emotions so we'll have to see how or if Ferrari reinvigorates him.

As above, I think Lewis needs to feel loved, appreciated and needs the arm around the neck and a cuddle sort of relationship. Not necessarily something you'd expect on the face of it from Toto, but I think Toto being the excellent manager certainly in years gone by has built that capability in the team around Lewis. Ferrari could go one way or the other on it. Whereas some thrive on being a central figure in the "lads club" or "big bunch of mates" culture I think with Lewis his needs are more subtle.

Both Carlos and Charles would probably also drive rings around Lewis now , once your team mate outqualifies you on a regular basis , the sharp edge is going , Russell has done that , you can make all the excuses you like but in his heyday Hamilton would be quick in any car , not just the ones that suit his "driving style" as they call it now .

One of the problems with todays F1 cars (in my view) is their performance band or window is very very narrow. Its why we see some cars going really well and being clearly the fastest car at some circuits, then at others struggling to get into Q2. I am willing to accept that this goes for drivers and driving styles too, we know there is far more to driving in F1 than just driving fast. Some drivers are very sensitive to certain aspects of balance etc.

I like Lewis on track (not a fan of his off track distractions) I hope he does well, but it's a really problem for me. I dont like Ferrari. My father often jokes - "youre happy as longs as Ferrari doesnt win!" In all honesty, rather like my father with his kickball, I am happy as long as it is a good fair race and the best team wins on the day..... as long as it isnt the red team.

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

One of the chinks in Lewis has always been his head.
When is chin goes down it all falls apart, we saw it at McLaren in the early days, we've seen it at Merc - be it a decision in the race or team that goes against him, be it miss fortune, be it family troubles, he had a wobble when he fell out with Shirtswinger and wasnt getting his oats and so on. I think that Toto and Bono have been alert to it and built him back up and supported him. Its a team sport n all.

I think Abu Dhabi 2021 had a massive affect on him. He's never been the same again. I sort of expected him to walk away and wonder how much behind the scenes activity there was to keep him.

The more I look back and reflect on Vettel, the more I think he sort of lost interest and had little to prove to himself in F1. I think he is a very intelligent interesting chap with a brain that goes all over the place and it went away from F1.



I've said it before, I think LeClerc is over-rated, you see flashes of brilliance, but its all to infrequent and inconsistent - he reminds me somewhat of Jean Alesi. He is also prone to making some crackers errors and mistakes and cracks under pressure - not necessarily on track pressure but pressure no the less. How many good results has he thrown away over the years?




As above, I think Lewis needs to feel loved, appreciated and needs the arm around the neck and a cuddle sort of relationship. Not necessarily something you'd expect on the face of it from Toto, but I think Toto being the excellent manager certainly in years gone by has built that capability in the team around Lewis. Ferrari could go one way or the other on it. Whereas some thrive on being a central figure in the "lads club" or "big bunch of mates" culture I think with Lewis his needs are more subtle.




One of the problems with todays F1 cars (in my view) is their performance band or window is very very narrow. Its why we see some cars going really well and being clearly the fastest car at some circuits, then at others struggling to get into Q2. I am willing to accept that this goes for drivers and driving styles too, we know there is far more to driving in F1 than just driving fast. Some drivers are very sensitive to certain aspects of balance etc.

I like Lewis on track (not a fan of his off track distractions) I hope he does well, but it's a really problem for me. I dont like Ferrari. My father often jokes - "youre happy as longs as Ferrari doesnt win!" In all honesty, rather like my father with his kickball, I am happy as long as it is a good fair race and the best team wins on the day..... as long as it isnt the red team.

I know what you mean about Ferrari
Someone I used to work with referred to the FIA as "Ferrari International Assistance" - which should have stopped after Eccleston left but they still seem to have a remarkable about of influence
(what did happen about that "smokey" engine they had at one point anyway??)

So Lewis driving for then is a dilemma - do I still support Lewis above all
of switch to Lando or George

We have decided to wait and see how it goes

 

[Jody]

(what did happen about that "smokey" engine they had at one point anyway??)

I think the technical directive read "The other teams are on to you. Make it go away and we won't ask questions"

 

[Jody]

I like Lewis on track (not a fan of his off track distractions) I hope he does well, but it's a really problem for me. I dont like Ferrari. My father often jokes - "youre happy as longs as Ferrari doesnt win!" In all honesty, rather like my father with his kickball, I am happy as long as it is a good fair race and the best team wins on the day..... as long as it isnt the red team.

I'm also torn on this as I've not liked Ferrari since the Schuey days although I do like Vasseur and the two current drivers.

My weight will be behind the driver more than the team but it would be a fairytale ending to see Ferrari win again and HAM take his 8th before sailing off into the distance

I just hope the team don't bollox up their decisions or try to impose themselves too much as that's where Toto go the best out of HAM.

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

I think the technical directive read "The other teams are on to you. Make it go away and we won't ask questions"

Yes - that was what I thought

Lewis mentioned a few months ago ago some mention of a "thing" about the Red Bull rear wings - and after it became public it went away
and funnily enough the Red Bull cars suddenly became slower

 

[figbat]

Hardly the shock of the year. Perez out. Liam in…?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/articles/cq5ljdx2d43o

 

[FishFright]

Hardly the shock of the year. Perez out. Liam in…?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/articles/cq5ljdx2d43o

I like Checo but it's about time .