[MKSixer]

Originally Posted by ///M Power-Belgium

Of course my friend . A lap from 54 sec. is like a "Close Combat" !

Yes. The first 15...YES 15 cars are covered by 0.800 seconds. INSANITY!!

[MKSixer]

Originally Posted by FormulaMMM

Right. And MB know his stardom and reach won't conclude when he stops driving. Lewis is a superstar, indefinite marketing gold. He's not going to go quietly like a Seb, who probably tinkers somewhere in his garage.

His brand ambassadorship and impact could potentially grow once he's not so focused on F1. MB would be nuts to sever the connection, almost no matter the price.

Exactly. There is no one even close. As popular as Max is he is a local phenomenon just like the rest of the drivers. HAM is a global superstar. Formula One's first one since SEN.

[FormulaMMM]

Originally Posted by MKSixer

Exactly. There is no one even close. As popular as Max is he is a local phenomenon just like the rest of the drivers. HAM is a global superstar. Formula One's first one since SEN.

We could go on and on, but not to mention, it's likely large segments of his followers don't care very much about his driving and aren't interested in cars. They just know he's successful, achingly cool, representative of and in sync with their causes. MB knows this, too.

Future marketing campaign with pictures/video of Lewis in an autonomous electric MB immediately makes that car coveted by an audience that has no interest in driving

"This car might be able to beat me..."
- X time F1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

[minn19]

Nice job by George!

[M5Rick]

Originally Posted by FormulaMMM

We could go on and on, but not to mention, it's likely large segments of his followers don't care very much about his driving and aren't interested in cars. They just know he's successful, achingly cool, representative of and in sync with their causes. MB knows this, too.

Future marketing campaign with pictures/video of Lewis in an autonomous electric MB immediately makes that car coveted by an audience that has no interest in driving

"This car might be able to beat me..."
- X time F1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Go with that,HAM has a large proportion of F1 followers who have little or no interest in F1,driving skills or the cars but are just there for the razzmatazz.
They have no connection with genuine fans who follow teams/drivers and study form with the tech details.

[FormulaMMM]

Incredible from George. +0.026.

[FormulaMMM]

Originally Posted by M5theonlyone

Go with that,HAM has a large proportion of F1 followers who have little or no interest in F1,driving skills or the cars but are just there for the razzmatazz.
They have no connection with genuine fans who follow teams/drivers and study form with the tech details.

Sure, but that doesn't take away from the legitimacy of his motorsport fans. It just means he has marketability well beyond our limited group. If you're MB, that's a good thing.

[M5Rick]

Originally Posted by FormulaMMM

Sure, but that doesn't take away from the legitimacy of his motorsport fans. It just means he has marketability well beyond our limited group. If you're MB, that's a good thing.

Is that a good thing for F1 as a whole and the other teams after an extended time with Merc cleaning up constantly.
From the original idea, way back, F1 was to promote competition with every team having a chance of doing well, having different champions regularly.

[yco]

wowie!!!

Russell completed his duty much more than expected.. a longer track could change things a bit but one way or another its awesome..

and another wowie for Leclerc!!

[Chappers 71]

Good job by Russell, Merc lock out.
With Hamilton still not having signed his contact putting Russell in Hamiltons car & Merc still getting a one two kinds proves how good the current Benz is, I suspect if they could have put any of the other drivers in that car it'd still have been a Merc one two.

[MKSixer]

Originally Posted by Chappers 71

Good job by Russell, Merc lock out.
With Hamilton still not having signed his contact putting Russell in Hamiltons car & Merc still getting a one two kinds proves how good the current Benz is, I suspect if they could have put any of the other drivers in that car it'd still have been a Merc one two.

That didn't take long. Congratulations!!!!

[racerbruce]

YAY RUS!!!!
This proves his racing acumen and at age 22, he has such a bright future.

[Chappers 71]

Originally Posted by MKSixer

That didn't take long. Congratulations!!!!

Why the sarcasm MK?

There's no denying Hamiltons talent, I've previously stated as much in other threads and there's no points for qually. But if Mercedes still get a one two then Merc could save themselves a few ££££££ on driver fees.

[///M Power-Belgium]

Originally Posted by Chappers 71

Good job by Russell, Merc lock out.
With Hamilton still not having signed his contact putting Russell in Hamiltons car & Merc still getting a one two kinds proves how good the current Benz is, I suspect if they could have put any of the other drivers in that car it'd still have been a Merc one two.

I couldn't agree more my friend !

[SenorFunkyPants]

Are there bragging rights for those who called Russells P2 correct?

And I would suggest that the driver who deserves the " got most from his car" award is Leclerc.
Thats was a mighty lap.

[whitstap]

George did a great job as expected but Valteri deserves some credit for getting P1... I think it shows how quick and talented GR is tho just as much as we know the Benz is the best car on the grid... I’m not so sure any other driver on the grid could hop in and do better but that is pure speculation... still interested to see how the race goes for him and Valteri who has been getting terrible starts and struggling on the long runs.

[///M Power-Belgium]

Originally Posted by whitstap

George did a great job as expected but Valteri deserves some credit for getting P1... I think it shows how quick and talented GR is tho just as much as we know the Benz is the best car on the grid... I’m not so sure any other driver on the grid could hop in and do better but that is pure speculation... still interested to see how the race goes for him and Valteri who has been getting terrible starts and struggling on the long runs.

Bottas has zero racecraft . He won't get it tomorrow...

[MKSixer]

Originally Posted by Chappers 71

Why the sarcasm MK?

There's no denying Hamiltons talent, I've previously stated as much in other threads and there's no points for qually. But if Mercedes still get a one two then Merc could save themselves a few ££££££ on driver fees.

This thinking is indicative of on the spot, short term thinking. You literally have the most successful driver of this era who has delivered in multiple platforms and as Alonso says, "Lewis wins the races he is supposed to win, but he also wins the races he isn't supposed to win." Given that neither RUS nor (especially) BOT has done this and I daresay that BOT is incapable of guaranteeing this.

So you are the Team Principal of Mercedes and you have a nearly half a billion dollars invested in your Global Brand Flagship, F1 racing, are you going to attempt to save 7 percent of that budget and go with the BOT-RUS lineup? Before you answer, think about 2017 and 2018. The difference in payout is staggering.

What say you?

[Chappers 71]

Originally Posted by whitstap

I’m not so sure any other driver on the grid could hop in and do better but that is pure speculation....

On the other hand..with Hamilton out of the running, had Russell been driving any car other than the Merc would he still have qualified 2nd? But that is pure speculation

[Chappers 71]

Originally Posted by MKSixer

This thinking is indicative of on the spot, short term thinking. You literally have the most successful driver of this era who has delivered in multiple platforms and as Alonso says, "Lewis wins the races he is supposed to win, but he also wins the races he isn't supposed to win." Given that neither RUS nor (especially) BOT has done this and I daresay that BOT is incapable of guaranteeing this.

So you are the Team Principal of Mercedes and you have a nearly half a billion dollars invested in your Global Brand Flagship, F1 racing, are you going to attempt to save 7 percent of that budget and go with the BOT-RUS lineup? Before you answer, think about 2017 and 2018. The difference in payout is staggering.

What say you?

I say giving Russell the drive & Merc still getting one two in qually may be an incentive for Hamilton to sign his contract but let's see how the race goes tomorrow.
If Merc still get a one two & with Hamilton out for the next race & if Merc get the same result..well who knows.

But yes Hamilton is great talent & he may well have plans of his own

[MKSixer]

Originally Posted by Chappers 71

I say giving Russell the drive & Merc still getting one two in equally may be an incentive for Hamilton to sign his contract but let's see how the race goes tomorrow.
If Merc still get a one two & with Hamilton out for the next race & if Merc get the same result..well who knows.I

But yes Hamilton is great talent & he may well have plans of his own

That is pretty high stakes poker.

Given I have the 7x WDC who performs week in, week out, I would de-risk the situation entirely and stay the course with HAM-BOT for 2021 and move the HAM-RUS in 2022.

And a serious point for everyone to remember: This track is a serious anomaly on which car differences show the least. The top 14 cars qualified within 1 second of each other. The difference in HAM and the others is race pace, race management, and tire management.

No one does the aforementioned 3 as good as HAM. Turkey should have taught everyone the difference in the drivers. As Sainz said, "90% may be able to win in the Mercedes but 90% wouldn't be able to beat Lewis Hamilton. That says it all.

[FormulaMMM]

Originally Posted by M5theonlyone

Is that a good thing for F1 as a whole and the other teams after an extended time with Merc cleaning up constantly.
From the original idea, way back, F1 was to promote competition with every team having a chance of doing well, having different champions regularly.

Was it? I honestly don't know. Regulations have long tried to promote some fairness and parity, but for as long as I've tuned in certain teams have been dominant. If regs are being followed, I'd say that's life in the big city for everyone else on the grid. Be better.

My issue is far more with the #1 and #2 driver paradigm. That's where F1 has it wrong.

If every team committed to maximizing internal competition, then it would be a better show.

On that note, big head shake from Horner on the pit wall today re Albon. And in Q2 did Alex say "that's all I've got," or something to that effect?