Anyone else think it's maybe time for Hamilton to pack it in? Seems to me he has lost the hunger to win and with that, lost his edge.
I think Ricciardo and Vettel will pack it in before Hamilton does. But still, Hamilton doesn't seem to be at his best.
I think he's still shell-shocked from last season, but also maybe struggling to adapt to the new cars. Maybe in his mind he was ready to retire last season with 8titles, and now that hasn't happened he can't get his focus back into the game, especially knowing his car is flawed and out-gunned.
The bollockery over the jewellery ban also seems to single him out, so wonder if there's an element of 'am i being paranoid or is the fia out to get me?'
I think its a combination of factors, not just him but also the car. I think he has become used to a certain style car wise which he now doesn't have plus the car looks to be a pig in terms of bouncing and trying to set it up.
The very best drivers, even when the track is streaming wet and they are still on the wrong tyres after fresh rainfall, seem to have an otherworldly ability to go faster than anyone else on the track without falling off, whilst other drivers are all over the place. Hamilton, like Schumacher before him, has demonstrated that ability. This year he can't keep up with the new boy in the team. To me, it does seem like he has lost his edge, or the will to win.
It's looking more and more like Red Bull are going to canter to both titles this year. Hopefully Montreal will throw up a random result or the season's going to get very boring. Not yet, I think there is a big element of Hamilton being unwilling to get a concussion over 3rd place. If the possibility of a win rears it's head he'll suddenly wake up again, ditto if the cars stop moshing down the straights.
I also think he will be back if the car becomes competitive for a championship again. But will that happen before he gets too old? It’s a rare team that is uncompetitive for only a single year once knocked off their perch…
There was a nice piece of analysis by Di Resta RE: Hamilton and Russell. Basically Russell is approaching each weekend looking at the data and setting up the car to get it in the window it likes while Hamilton is adjusting set up to try and get the car to suit him. The result is as you see varied but Merc seem to be benefiting from the data the approaches produce.
I think it is backlash over last year, but I don't think it's especially purposefully aimed at Hamilton. I think it's a more of a case of "you've given us all this **** about not following the rules properly, and pressuring us into firing Masi, so we'll follow the rules alright. Every single rule will now be followed to the letter. No exceptions." Reaping your cake and eating what you sow kind of deal. Oh dear Ferrari. Oh dear oh dear. Have they forgotten their dominance in the 90's was built on probably the most reliable car on the grid? Gotta feel for Carlos. He's made mistakes but he's also had some awful luck. Russell just keeps walking into the podium as cars drop like flies around him, Hamilton after the race was a worrying site, you don't want to see a driver getting crippled from just driving the car fast. Was very odd when he commented the the seat had got cold. Could that be a nerve problem or is it something to do with their alleged trick intercooler?
I'm hoping they don't go down the route of prescribing parameters for setup to solve this but something measurable that means teams that have found a solution continue to benefit from the fact they found a solution that allows them to be fast without killing their driver.
Seems straightforwardly to not be the case, since the proposal for this season at least is a direct measurement of vertical oscillation - if you don't shake your driver like a can of paint, your setup will be fine.
I'm so tired of Crofty bigging everything up - Spoiler: spoilz it was plain to see DRS was never going to be enough for Sainz to make the overtake. He even called it wrong because Sainz fell outside the 1 sec window but it was after the detection line so he still had DRS for a lap when Crofty says he didn't.