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Post by Deleted on Dec 2, 2016 21:13:12 GMT
A good read, thanks Martin. My money's on Verstappen, Vettel or Ricciardo (in that order) I don't think Merc will play safe with a clear no2 like Ocon, Wehrlein or Bottas. Looking forward to all the rumours and speculation though  |
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Post by robbiegong on Dec 2, 2016 21:42:19 GMT
My moneys on him too and that will be a seriously exciting pairing.
They want the established star and the big rising star.
They want the best and to stay the best.
They'll do whatever they can to bag Verstappen and have the Hamilton Verstappen pairing.
Red Bull will fight hard but money always seems to talk at the end of the day.
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Post by stanleyb on Dec 4, 2016 20:30:28 GMT
Great way to repay advantage that the team gave him this year.Dump them with a headache at a time when all the best drivers are contracted. Wolff is a poor manager. Alienates his best driver then gets left high and dry by the Favoured One.
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Post by MartinT on Dec 4, 2016 21:59:35 GMT
I think Lauda is worse than Wolff. Sometimes I really wonder about his state of mind.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 4, 2016 22:08:00 GMT
I agree with Stan. Toto is far too weak to manage an F1 team. Total Wimp would be a better name for him
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Post by stanleyb on Dec 5, 2016 6:37:26 GMT
Toto and Paddy were too busy sabotaging Hamilton's chances, they didn't pay attention to a critical fact. I picked it up early on in the season, but didn't expect the outcome to be even more dramatic. And that is that Nico had not signed another contract! His existing contract would run out at the end of 2016 and no mention was made of any negotiations going on. Lewis had his contract wrapped up months before the old one ended, which is the norm for all the top drivers. But the contract for Nico was strangely not being mentioned. So he must have had retirement in mind for some time now.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 5, 2016 7:11:54 GMT
He had actually signed a new contract for 2 more years. I'm not sure if it's binding when a driver chooses to retire, I guess practicality would cone into play anyway: No point having an unwilling driver in the car. www.mirror.co.uk/sport/formula-1/nico-rosberg-pens-bumper-new-8469752I just hope and pray the latest steer from Mercedes that they will seek a no2 driver is a smokescreen. The Schumacher years were downright depressing AFAIC with a dominant car and only one driver allowed to win. It's bad enough when you have three years in a row where the champion will inevitably be one of two people. Halving that choice will make it pointless, |
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Post by MartinT on Dec 5, 2016 9:29:11 GMT
I think Red Bull will be on the ball with the new car regs next year, Ferrari possibly too. Williams and McLaren will be bubbling under. There are therefore likely to be at least 6 competitive drivers next year, hopefully more. Better start a "Formula 1 2017" thread soon |
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Post by kettlechips on Dec 5, 2016 10:42:48 GMT
I think Red Bull will be on the ball with the new car regs next year, Ferrari possibly too. Williams and McLaren will be bubbling under. There are therefore likely to be at least 6 competitive drivers next year, hopefully more. Better start a "Formula 1 2017" thread soon I think it will take Mercedes to 'drop the ball' next season for the others to really get a chance, but the retiral of Nico could have some impact, at least on the constructors championship. Renault, Ferrari and Honda all have to develop their power systems to get nearer to the Mercedes performance and the teams need to come up with a chassis at least as good as the Merc in order to make the championship closer. |
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Post by MartinT on Dec 5, 2016 13:18:45 GMT
It's arguable that the Red Bull chassis will be better than the Merc (Newey is simply brilliant in this area), so the engine differences will balance out quite well.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 5, 2016 14:22:38 GMT
Yep - Adrian Newey is rather good and if there are areas in the aerodynamic department he can exploit he will and likely a lot better than anyone else on the grid... so could makes for quite an exciting start to the new season.
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Post by davidf on Dec 7, 2016 21:01:02 GMT
I think Red Bull will be on the ball with the new car regs next year, Ferrari possibly too. Williams and McLaren will be bubbling under. There are therefore likely to be at least 6 competitive drivers next year, hopefully more. Better start a "Formula 1 2017" thread soon Agreed, and I think Force India will take a few podiums too. With the new car changes, it could be a bit of a free for all... |
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Post by MartinT on Dec 10, 2016 9:47:30 GMT
Wolff: "In the heat of the moment, sometimes when you make decisions, you get them wrong," team boss Toto Wolff said. "In our mind, the way we think, this race was giving us the same number of points as other races and we try to win that one - not considering that there was much more at stake for the drivers. How the race panned out, we should have communicated differently and in hindsight let them race in the way they deemed to be appropriate."
So, as we all knew, Mercedes were wrong to give orders to Hamilton. I think the fact that he is the only known quantity, and a born winner, in their driver line-up has also focussed their thinking.
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Post by stanleyb on Dec 10, 2016 13:59:36 GMT
Lauda had already said that they wouldn't be taking action against Hamilton, and no doubt he would have been a major factor in whatever meeting the Merc bosses had. It was Lauda who poached Hamilton from McLaren and he is smart enough to read the body language of a restless Hamilton. Lewis would walk away from Merc if he feels he is not racing.
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