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But yes Mr Vowles' team rescued a dull race with a perfectly timed call - despite Bottas' efforts to scupper it lol
But Perez's move on him was VERY good
LeClerc is an excellent driver .. he put Bottas in the shade on lap one and kept him at bay. I think McLaren will beat Ferrari. Norris had an off day and Ricciardo is finally getting to grips with his new car.
Speaking of Bottas I think his P45 has been signed after ignoring the pit wall instruction to let Lewis past - Wolff is just waiting for the end of the season or maybe next week. Bottas is out of the championship race and needs to support Hamilton. When Perez gets comfortable in the Red Bull during qualifying Bottas will be under pressure.
Remember, it's easier to criticise than create!
It was a decent race today, probably the most wheel-to-wheel racing I can remember seeing at Barca. Some decent, ballsy moves throughout. I think Stroll around the outside was the pick of the bunch.
But Hamilton might do one more year (2022). If I were Wolff I'd get George Russell in the car next year - he can learn a lot from Hamilton and bed into the Mercedes team before Hamilton retires. Bottas looks like a beaten man to me - he's going backwards. Hamilton and Verstappen are in a different league and when Perez gets up to speed in his new car he'll also give Bottas a bad time. And with the engine freeze, Ferrari and McLaren could close the gap to Mercedes and Red Bull. Ricciardo and LeClerc are fast drivers and Norris is no slouch.
I wouldn't be surprised if Bottas quit at the end of the year.
Remember, it's easier to criticise than create!
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/57039920
I’m so bored I might as well be listening to Pink Floyd
I mean it literally is just about stats if that is the case. And it shows how meaningless stats really are!
His strategy? His endurance? Consistency throughout a race? Overtaking?
It seems he's playing second fiddle to Lewis and suffers as a result. The Merc didn't seem to like being behind other cars yesterday and that could trigger strategy issues. I think it's probably easier to get strategy under control when you're in the lead.
That said. I don't love him. I don't love Lewis either, by the way.
Counter to that, I'm wondering if Lewis and Mercedes are just strategic geniuses. When he caught up with Max early on it seemed like he would fly past then, but didn't. Perhaps they were testing whether Max could push harder at the risk of killing his tyres. When they sussed that out, they realised another early stop would give them good tyres to the end and pace would be easily better. What could Max have done? If he'd pitted first, Lewis could have taken his tyres all the way and held the lead. It certainly made it interesting.
I thought that Bottas giving Hamilton a hard time passing in Spain showed either his frustrations or simply the fact that he doesn't care anymore. Maybe he has been told he will not be driving for Mercedes for 2022? But I don't think they'd want to upset Hamilton with gettinga new young and hot driver next to him in 2022 with all the new regulations coming into play.
I wouldn't be much surprised if Mercedes retains Bottas for 2022 and waits for Verstappen to replace Hamilton eventually, perhaps in 2023. Getting Verstappen will not only give them the most talented youngster on the grid, but also weaken their main rival Red Bull massively.
Bottas is the *perfect* #2 because he's quick enough that he might still win a title if Lewis broke a leg, but otherwise he basically ensures Merc win the WCC without causing the sort of fisticuffs they had between Lewis and Rosberg. You can afford that shit when you're super dominant but have a season like 2016 in a tighter field and you end up 2nd - just like McLaren did in 2007.
I’m so bored I might as well be listening to Pink Floyd
It suits Mercedes management fine though; the team is much more harmonious through having a de facto number one and number two. 2014-16 was much more interesting with Rosberg making things very difficult for Hamilton, but it meant the team had two massive battling egos to juggle and placate.
He’ll be gone next year in favour of Russell unless Hamilton decides to retire. Mercedes will be looking for the next megastar and Bottas, alas, is not it.
Remember, it's easier to criticise than create!
https://www.planetf1.com/news/lewis-hamilton-two-year-mercedes-contract-extension/
I’m so bored I might as well be listening to Pink Floyd
Didn't see that coming. I thought he might do another year. Maybe he wants to win 10 WCs.
Remember, it's easier to criticise than create!