The F1 thread

Telejester

Personally i thought a budget speech by william hague or an interview about the state of the economy with jacob rees-mogg was exhilarating compared to the monaco gp.

stickyfiddle

New driver number regs this weekend - all cars must have a big number on the nose and on the side. Mercedes have done it half-heartedly with red/blue numbers for Ham and Bottas but you can't really see them better.

Ferrari have gone old-school with a big white rectangles with a big black numbers in them. Much better. 

fretmeister

As the drivers sit lower and lower in the car and the helmet colours are increasingly covered with sponsors to the point you can't really see who it is - I'm all in favour of MASSIVE numbers or names on the cars.


In other news...

Alonso made it to turn 3 on his out lap before his engine failed this morning.

Poor bastard.

Garthy

stickyfiddle said:

New driver number regs this weekend - all cars must have a big number on the nose and on the side. Mercedes have done it half-heartedly with red/blue numbers for Ham and Bottas but you can't really see them better.

Ferrari have gone old-school with a big white rectangles with a big black numbers in them. Much better. 

It's about time, I can't believe F1 went so long with hard to see identifiers.

stickyfiddle

Completely agree - Crofty seems to be advocating for names rather than numbers but that will look shit in most cases. 

My main concern is that half the fonts/colours/placements chosen are either not visible or illegible when the cars move - RB in particular. Williams, McLaren and Ferrari, being proper old-boys of F1, all seem to understand that the whole point of this stuff is visibility. 

Though what's really worrying is Mercedes have a massive update this weekend. I don't want to tempt fate but I really hope it isn't the beginning of a turning point towards a dull season. 

And some clown has reported that Vettel has signed an MOI with Mercedes for next year.... I'm sure he won't have signed anything binding at this point but he must be hoping to wait and see how the season develops with a view to sign with whichever team is looking quicker after the summer.

stickyfiddle

From Reddit: 

Well played Ferrari...

Fretwired

Interesting paddock gossip ... friends say Lauda has said Vettel will be joining Mercedes for 2018 .. Vettel refused to deny it when asked by the press this morning .. there's a view that he will replace Hamilton who some feel is past his best.

Garthy

Fretwired said:

Interesting paddock gossip ... friends say Lauda has said Vettel will be joining Mercedes for 2018 .. Vettel refused to deny it when asked by the press this morning .. there's a view that he will replace Hamilton who some feel is past his best.

Hamilton has a contract for next year.

Fretwired

Garthy said:

Fretwired said:

Interesting paddock gossip ... friends say Lauda has said Vettel will be joining Mercedes for 2018 .. Vettel refused to deny it when asked by the press this morning .. there's a view that he will replace Hamilton who some feel is past his best.

Hamilton has a contract for next year.

I know ... Mercedes could swap him for Vettel. I can't see Vettel and Hamilton in one team. It's only gossip which has been made interesting by Vettel's refuse to deny it or sign a new Ferrari contract. He could be holding out for a better deal from Ferrari of course.

Garthy

I will say it slowly: Hamilton - has - a - contract - with - Mercedes - for - next - year.

stickyfiddle

Hamilton has a contract but Bottas doesn't. I can see Hamilton being quite happy fighting Vettel in the same car. If he wins he becomes undisputed best of his era. If not, there's no shame losing to a 4-time champ. 

If he has any sense Vettel will have signed a pre-agreement with both Merc AND Ferrari promising to negotiate properly after the summer.

Fretwired

Garthy said:

I will say it slowly: Hamilton - has - a - contract - with - Mercedes - for - next - year.

See above .. I know. Contracts can be broken. He may have a release clause, or Mercedes could swap him with Vettel. The Chairman of Ferrari has criticised Vettel in the past - Vettel doesn't like criticism. Hamilton has said he would like to drive for Ferrari one day. Hamilton may not want to be in the same team as Vettel ...

At this stage it is gossip ..

Fretwired

stickyfiddle said:

Hamilton has a contract but Bottas doesn't. I can see Hamilton being quite happy fighting Vettel in the same car. If he wins he becomes undisputed best of his era. If not, there's no shame losing to a 4-time champ. 

If he has any sense Vettel will have signed a pre-agreement with both Merc AND Ferrari promising to negotiate properly after the summer.

What happens if Bottas beats Hamilton and is F1 champ? It would mean Hamilton has been beaten by his team mate twice. What happens if Vettel wins and gets his fifth title? Would Ferrari want to lose him? Vettel's in the driving seat so can bide his time - Hamilton has to improve. Lauda is probably piling on some pressure and keeping Mercedes' options open for 2018. They are wealthy enough so if Hamilton doesn't perform they could pay him off and bin him. He was poor in the last race. If Hamilton does OK and Vettel wins they could bring Vettel into the team and Hamilton would have to get on with it or leave. The two of the them together would be fireworks.

stickyfiddle

Fretwired said:

stickyfiddle said:

Hamilton has a contract but Bottas doesn't. I can see Hamilton being quite happy fighting Vettel in the same car. If he wins he becomes undisputed best of his era. If not, there's no shame losing to a 4-time champ. 

If he has any sense Vettel will have signed a pre-agreement with both Merc AND Ferrari promising to negotiate properly after the summer.

What happens if Bottas beats Hamilton and is F1 champ? It would mean Hamilton has been beaten by his team mate twice. What happens if Vettel wins and gets his fifth title? Would Ferrari want to lose him? Vettel's in the driving seat so can bide his time - Hamilton has to improve. Lauda is probably piling on some pressure and keeping Mercedes' options open for 2018. They are wealthy enough so if Hamilton doesn't perform they could pay him off and bin him. He was poor in the last race. If Hamilton does OK and Vettel wins they could bring Vettel into the team and Hamilton would have to get on with it or leave. The two of the them together would be fireworks.

If Bottas thumps Hamilton for the rest of the season then Lewis will probably be up for a swap with Vettel, after being beaten 2 years in a row by Merc teammates. It's clear those with power (i.e. Merc and Vettel) are in the driving seat, so to speak, but that balance of power may well move as the season develops. 

It's also worth noting that Alonso will probably leave Mclaren (maybe for Renault, or WEC and Le Mans if he wins the Indy..), at which point McLaren will probably suddenly get competitive and ask Hamilton to come back...

Hoof

Fretwired said:

Interesting paddock gossip ... friends say Lauda has said Vettel will be joining Mercedes for 2018 .. Vettel refused to deny it when asked by the press this morning .. there's a view that he will replace Hamilton who some feel is past his best.

Two world championships on the bounce and then narrowly misses out on last year despite some shocking luck with reliability and  a close second in the standings so far this year and he's past his best. 

Really? Some people talk shite.

Some could have said that Vettel was past his best last year with his tantrums and mediocre results. Look at him this season.

They might be getting Vettel in at Merc with LH, and people seem to think they wouldn't drive for the same team but I don't think either of them are scared of fighting each other in equal machinery. Neither of them has really demanded no.1 driver status at any team they've been at.

stickyfiddle

Hoof said:

Fretwired said:

Interesting paddock gossip ... friends say Lauda has said Vettel will be joining Mercedes for 2018 .. Vettel refused to deny it when asked by the press this morning .. there's a view that he will replace Hamilton who some feel is past his best.

Two world championships on the bounce and then narrowly misses out on last year despite some shocking luck with reliability and  a close second in the standings so far this year and he's past his best. 

Really? Some people talk shite.

Some could have said that Vettel was past his best last year with his tantrums and mediocre results. Look at him this season.

They might be getting Vettel in at Merc with LH, and people seem to think they wouldn't drive for the same team but I don't think either of them are scared of fighting each other in equal machinery. Neither of them has really demanded no.1 driver status at any team they've been at.

I agree. While both probably have potential teammate-veto rights in their contracts it's clear this year that they've actually been relishing the opportunity to have some proper battles, which is great after so many years where one or other had a crap car.

Fretwired

Hoof said:

Fretwired said:

Interesting paddock gossip ... friends say Lauda has said Vettel will be joining Mercedes for 2018 .. Vettel refused to deny it when asked by the press this morning .. there's a view that he will replace Hamilton who some feel is past his best.

Two world championships on the bounce and then narrowly misses out on last year despite some shocking luck with reliability and  a close second in the standings so far this year and he's past his best. 

Playing devil's advocate he also had some shocking drives and poor starts. And again this season Bottas won and Hamilton was far off the pace and Vettel is two up. We'll see ... I'm only reporting what I've read. And don't forget Alonso could get into this mix.

And when Vettel was moaning he had some justification - he was in a crap car. Hamilton is in what most believe is the best car but has been struggling.

If Hamilton wins the WC and Mercedes are top dogs I don't think anything will change.

Hoof

Fretwired said:

Hoof said:

Fretwired said:

Interesting paddock gossip ... friends say Lauda has said Vettel will be joining Mercedes for 2018 .. Vettel refused to deny it when asked by the press this morning .. there's a view that he will replace Hamilton who some feel is past his best.

Two world championships on the bounce and then narrowly misses out on last year despite some shocking luck with reliability and  a close second in the standings so far this year and he's past his best. 

Playing devil's advocate he also had some shocking drives and poor starts. And again this season Bottas won and Hamilton was far off the pace and Vettel is two up. We'll see ... I'm only reporting what I've read. And don't forget Alonso could get into this mix.

And when Vettel was moaning he had some justification - he was in a crap car. Hamilton is in what most believe is the best car but has been struggling.

If Hamilton wins the WC and Mercedes are top dogs I don't think anything will change.

It's not clear cut like recent seasons though is it? The Ferrari is right up there and I think we'll see it come and go all year. I wouldn't be surprised to see Red Bull take a step forward during the season too.

I can't see Alonso doing anything other than walking away this year. Honda, in this decade, is a failed project in F1. Would Ferrari have him back? 

Fretwired

Hoof said:

It's not clear cut like recent seasons though is it? The Ferrari is right up there and I think we'll see it come and go all year. I wouldn't be surprised to see Red Bull take a step forward during the season too.

I can't see Alonso doing anything other than walking away this year. Honda, in this decade, is a failed project in F1. Would Ferrari have him back? 

You're right, and that's the point. Mercedes were dominant in previous seasons so that if one of their drivers had a bad day at the office the other was there to cover his back. You now have a resurgent Ferrari and Hamilton struggling to get his tyres in the window where they work properly - in Russia Bottas won but there were two Ferrari drivers on the podium with Hamilton a distant fourth.

Hamilton cannot afford to make mistakes as this season it's likely to be Vettel  who picks up the pieces - this year looks like it will be tight. F1 is expensive - Mercedes will want the best driver line-up. What you did as a driver in previous seasons doesn't count as the cars have changed. Mercedes might like a Vettel/Hamilton line-up. If Vettel wins the WC this year then I'm 100% convinced he'll want to defend his title in a Ferrari. There's something special about being an F1 champion who won driving a Ferrari.

Hoof

Fretwired said:

Hoof said:

It's not clear cut like recent seasons though is it? The Ferrari is right up there and I think we'll see it come and go all year. I wouldn't be surprised to see Red Bull take a step forward during the season too.

I can't see Alonso doing anything other than walking away this year. Honda, in this decade, is a failed project in F1. Would Ferrari have him back? 

You're right, and that's the point. Mercedes were dominant in previous seasons so that if one of their drivers had a bad day at the office the other was there to cover his back. You now have a resurgent Ferrari and Hamilton struggling to get his tyres in the window where they work properly - in Russia Bottas won but there were two Ferrari drivers on the podium with Hamilton a distant fourth.

Hamilton cannot afford to make mistakes as this season it's likely to be Vettel  who picks up the pieces - this year looks like it will be tight. F1 is expensive - Mercedes will want the best driver line-up. What you did as a driver in previous seasons doesn't count as the cars have changed. Mercedes might like a Vettel/Hamilton line-up. If Vettel wins the WC this year then I'm 100% convinced he'll want to defend his title in a Ferrari. There's something special about being an F1 champion who won driving a Ferrari.

I think it's a Merc issue rather than a LH issue though. Bottas has had a couple of quite anonnymous races too. It seems that the Merc is either perfect or nowhere. It's on such a knife edge whereas the Ferrari seems to be a little more forgiving with setup/tyres. 

LH fastest in both FP sessions. Renault looking on for a good result, even for Palmer.