Motors The Bit-Tech F1 2016 Thread - Season Complete

Hamilton would of bolted so fast if Vettel had got past Rosberg. Good to see it go down to the end.

 

WRX YouTube channel! All the races are put up a few days after broadcast. It's the best damn thing ever and how all sport should be done.

 

I think Lewis will tell them where to go in truth at the end of next season, Ferrari or Redbull or even McLaren will all be in position to sign him.

The question Merc have to work out before punishing him, If Lewis leaves is Nico good enough to be number 1 driver. If the answer is not a 100% yes and I don't know anyone who thinks he is. They could really struggle.

Cars should be a lot closer next year, Where the 3/10ths aver gap to Lewis in quali would put him 4-5th starting grid slot. Look at Webber when it closed up, his 3/10ths gap ended with him 3rd or 4th regularly.

Hopefully it will be a much better season.

 

Weeeeeell....

According to Sky, and... other... sources... After the coming together in Spain Hamilton essentially told Merc 'screw this, i'm out of here, i quit...' but Merc talked him out of it [after hastily drafting in Wehrlein as 'test driver' which everyone thought was weird at the time]. It could have been Hamilton throwing his toys out of the pram in the heat of the moment, but if they do throw the book at Hamilton i can see him leaving, and i wouldn't be too shocked if at some point in 2017 we hear he's leaving.

 

Sebastian Vettel will be hoping and praying.

If it's true Lewis will have cemented his reputation as the biggest whiner in F1 since Rene Arnoux, even if he is fast.

 

If Hamilton left Merc and even if he went to Ferrari [though realistically where else would he go?] he'll not be winning a 4th title any time soon imo. Ferrari are a mess right now and i don't think the 2017 rules are going to shake things up all that much

Though seeing Vettel and Hamilton try and out-princess each other would be fun to see...

 

Hamilton can't out princess Vettel, those Louis Vuitton dress shoes are no match for stout German boots in the stamping stakes, he might chip his toenails.

 

Hamilton would likely go go Redbull in place of Ricardo is the general rumour doing the rounds. Redbull are in F1 for PR, Hamilton is F1s biggest PR story would work pretty well for both. They are also likely to be Mercs closest challengers.

Ferrari he has stated in the past he would like to go to.

 

I just posted in response to RedFlames predictions in the 2017 thread but I saw a rumour that Merc is looking to terminate his contract. The headline on the article tho was the new McLaren boss has opened the door to a Hamilton return.
Honestly I can see him retiring and going into fashion or music but I do think he enjoys racing still.
Problem is who could Merc realistically replace him with? Werhlin is good but is he good enough? Its a big risk IMO. Would Riccardo go since I think he has the measure of Verstappen. Vettel would be another candidate would Sainz or Alonso. Merc could overlook Vettel and Riccardo to ensure Hamilton doesn't have a top team drive.
Don't under estimate Rosberg, while he isn't the greatest driver he is still fast and fairly consistent overall. He's also developed a lot from Hamilton. I reckon like Raikkonen that if things are going bad and the team aren't behind him things go downhill but get most things right and he is very good as seen at the start of the season.

 

I don't see Merc wanting to get rid of Lewis.

in spite of his PR incidents and wobbles, the guy is the most decorated driver on track right now, next to Vettel.

If Lewis decides to leave, it would be likely to be because of RBR-esque politics inside the team (if you haven't yet, you should read Aussie Grit for some behind the scenes at RBR).
I reckon he'd join Ferrari then.

Right now, I think RBR are happy with the drivers they have. They seem to pair up well, and both cause their share of camera time (which is what it's all about).
Mercedes have Wehrlein all lined up for an exit of either one of their drivers.
Ferrari have Seb and Kimi, but I think that lineup is more negotiable than some of the others.

Of course, one could possibly make a case for McLaren, but I am not seeing that just yet.

Edit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZI9a0sivBU
That kinda reinforced my feeling that RBR have a good dynamic right now.

 

I'd be surprised if Merc dropped Hamilton - from a publicity standpoint he's incredibly valuable. Rosberg will do the contracted bits associated with being champion and not an ounce more, but I bet Hamilton still pulls most of the press over the next 12 months, simply because of his celeb lifestyle.

Besides, if the rules shake up sees Merc on a par with one or two other teams, they aren't going to rely on Nico to bring home the bacon - Lewis is still the better driver of the two.

Merc aren't that stupid.

 

I can't see any change to the main driver line up for either RBR, Mercedes or Ferrari - I would imagine the press are making a story out of a complete non-incident with Lewis' driving at Abu Dhabi.

 

Wants to avoid politics... goes to Ferrari.

Does not compute!


Meanwhile, this:

 

2017 - things will stay as is. But 2018, that is a different story. Kimi will be 38 years old, so there might be an opening at Ferrari. Which could be filled by Hamilton or Ricciardo (doubt anyone from Haas will get upgraded to Ferrari seat).

 

Merc ditching Hamilton is also not the same thing as Hamilton having a tantrum and leaving. For all the rumours about the former, I'm expecting the latter.

 

If he has had a process stampy feet moment and walked then Manor not having confirmed a driver is likely to save Merc some hassle as Wherlin can slip straight in. I doubt he has walked he would be a fool to do so given the dominant position in the last few years of the car.

 

Why walk, if the car is bad he will have his ready made excuse. If they fire him Mercedes face a PR nightmare. I would imagine he will talk to Redbull and Ferrari for 2018.