2021 Formula One Russian Grand Prix

Russian Grand Prix.jpg
Formula One is back in action this weekend for the Russian Grand Prix, with the drivers and constructors championships still very much in contention.

The epic drivers championship battle between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton continues this weekend in Russia. One of the tightest F1 points battles in memory ended in a collision last time out, with the Red Bull and Mercedes drivers colliding at Monza and ending the race for both.

Fan opinions were predictably mixed on who was at fault in the incident, but the stewards sided with Hamilton and handed Verstappen a 3-place grid penalty for the upcoming Russian Grand Prix in Sochi. This is a site the Mercedes could hold a slight advantage in versus Red Bull, so the three grid places could prove significant.

The Italian Grand Prix two weeks ago proved to be an exciting race on a number of fronts, and no one was more happy with the outcome than McLaren team and their supporters. Daniel Ricciardo silenced many of his critics who had accused him of being past his prime and claimed victory at Monza. He was joined on the podium by his teammate Lando Norris, who solidified the 1-2 finish for McLaren. Ricciardo also claimed the fastest lap late in the race, showing that the team had more speed in their car on tap if needed. This was a big statement for the team.

Valtteri Bottas is in his final season at Mercedes, but he’s performing well. He claimed the final podium spot in Italy behind the McLarens, and importantly for his current team he was two positions ahead of Sergio Perez. This has opened up the hotly contested constructors championship to an 18-point Mercedes lead.

The excellent constructors battle between McLaren and Ferrari this season has cooled slightly after the dominant McLaren outing at Monza. But, a strong showing from Ferrari at Sochi could take a significant chunk out of the 13.5-point advantage McLaren currently holds.

Near the back of the field, Nikita Mazepin will be looking to perform well to his home crowd, and has some good news to carry into this race with the recent announcement of the renewal of his Haas contract through 2022. He and teammate Mick Schumacher are the only two drivers who have yet to score a point this season, so don’t hold your breath for Mazepin to emulate Hamilton and Verstappen’s home win results this season.

Who do you think will take victory at Sochi this weekend? Will the 3-place grid penalty have a significant impact on the end result of the race? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Photo credits: Haas F1 Team
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Mike Smith
Mike Smith
I have been obsessed with sim racing and racing games since the 1980's. My first taste of live auto racing was in 1988, and I couldn't get enough ever since. Lead writer for RaceDepartment, and owner of SimRacing604 and its YouTube channel. Favourite sims include Assetto Corsa Competizione, Assetto Corsa, rFactor 2, Automobilista 2, DiRT Rally 2 - On Twitter as @simracing604

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Comments

Richard Wilks
ZuneGuy said:
Yes, what Lewis did wasn't correct in the team at the time, and Dennis did promise Alonso some things within the team, but once it was apparent to Dennis that Lewis was just as good a Alonso at such a young age, he started to back Lewis instead, but that is Formula One.

Button was never the man at McLaren, not until Lewis left the team. When Lewis left it damaged his friendship with Ron Dennis for good, because Dennis felt betrayed by the move. He even said that he could have worked to keep Lewis on the team, but he didn't because it would not have been the right way to handle it,he did consider it though.

Hamilton didn't get lucky to get into the Mercedes seat, they called him, they wanted him. They didn't call Button, and they didn't try to keep Rosberg, they wanted Lewis, they even sent an F1 legend to sweeten the deal. Hamilton will be the one who decides to leave when he's ready. I mean when you paint your well known SILVER CARS BLACK to represent one driver, that driver is just that important to the team.

You silly guys want to make this Hamilton/Russell thing into a competition between the two, and that is because you need to do that for yourselves. I literally don't have to say anything because Lewis's career speaks for itself, but I just find it enjoyable reading the excuses.

Russel has already learned from Lewis, and he wants to learn more just as Bottas said he has done. Leclerc has suggested that is exactly the approach that Russel should havewhen entering the team. I'm skeptical though when a guy who is so keen on showing off that he crashes his car with the guy that he's trying to replace in the team, then proceeds to blame the whole crash on him when the world could see who was to blame makes me concerned for their team partnership.
Click to expand...
I love your delusional theories, so i will entertain them once more!

Dennis was NOT in charge of Mclaren when Hamilton left. Whitmarsh was. And he was never that convinced with Hamilton as Dennis was, so he didn't make that big of an effort to cover the salary demands from Lewis, after he came showing off the salary that mercedes was willing to offer him to replace Schumacher, who left because he wanted to, because Brawn always said the first priority was ALWAYS Michael. So Hamilton only got the offer that MS refused. Button was under contract at the time, so nor was he free, nor he wanted to move anywhere else, after making mclaren his team from under Hamilton.

As for Lauda going to sweeten the deal, Lauda had that role in other teams in the past, and hired other drivers for said teams in the past. That was nothing special, so don't try to play it as this amazing thing.

They can paint the cars whatever color they want to get any woke message accross, that has nothing to do with Hamilton skill or quality as a driver. All drivers are marketing exploited as much as possible, and just to compare, Schumacher was offered a position in mercedes 20 years after driving for them, and 4 years after his retirement. I'll argue that means a lot more than some car livery. They wanted MS badly.

You keep running away from Russell Hamilton comparisons because you are scared, and rightly so. Already last year he proved he could sit on that car and cruise to the win, first time out. You can try to spin it as much as you want, but he won«t be a rollover like Bottas, and Wolff bringing him means he wants him more than he cares about upsetting Hamilton.

Now stop rewriting history.
 
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muzikant
MPortnoy said:
Well, that's always been F1. You must be new to the sport :rolleyes:
What does that say about Verstappen tho? He's in the fastest car this season and he
Click to expand...
No not 7 years of domination rocketship F1 no any team in history has that domination of mercedes F1 for so long

and verstappen drive not in the fastest car if you see Perez strugle whole season in Qualy and races and Bottas always is on p2 or p3... most of the time. Maybe you are new?? This are facts


MPortnoy said:
's not leading atm......Oh wait, you're gonna blame the FIA :roflmao:
Click to expand...
No it is MaFia.. not FIA :rolleyes: :roflmao: ;)
 
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BP
Richard Wilks said:
I love your delusional theories, so i will entertain them once more!

Dennis was NOT in charge of Mclaren when Hamilton left. Whitmarsh was. And he was never that convinced with Hamilton as Dennis was, so he didn't make that big of an effort to cover the salary demands from Lewis, after he came showing off the salary that mercedes was willing to offer him to replace Schumacher, who left because he wanted to, because Brawn always said the first priority was ALWAYS Michael. So Hamilton only got the offer that MS refused. Button was under contract at the time, so nor was he free, nor he wanted to move anywhere else, after making mclaren his team from under Hamilton.

As for Lauda going to sweeten the deal, Lauda had that role in other teams in the past, and hired other drivers for said teams in the past. That was nothing special, so don't try to play it as this amazing thing.

They can paint the cars whatever color they want to get any woke message accross, that has nothing to do with Hamilton skill or quality as a driver. All drivers are marketing exploited as much as possible, and just to compare, Schumacher was offered a position in mercedes 20 years after driving for them, and 4 years after his retirement. I'll argue that means a lot more than some car livery. They wanted MS badly.

You keep running away from Russell Hamilton comparisons because you are scared, and rightly so. Already last year he proved he could sit on that car and cruise to the win, first time out. You can try to spin it as much as you want, but he won«t be a rollover like Bottas, and Wolff bringing him means he wants him more than he cares about upsetting Hamilton.

Now stop rewriting history.
Click to expand...

It seems very important to you that Hamilton "fails" in some way (like he hasn't had failures and setbacks already in his career)...that the shine is knocked off of him for whatever reason, because he's not "worthy".

Since you're always so keen on facts, just remember this: no matter what comebacks you have, or accuse people are rewriting history (even though some of the history you omit to serve your own narrative), He is the current holder of these records, and that is indisputable fact. He is the guy in the dominant car that beat the records of the other guys in the other dominant cars. He may not be the GOAT (Whatever the hell that is, when rules and car design changes so much over 70 years)...but nothing you say will change the records below :)

2021-09-26 18_01_59-List of career achievements by Lewis Hamilton - Wikipedia.png


Schumi, Senna, Prost, Hakinnen, Button, Alonso, Hamilton, Verstappen, Lauda, Clark, Fangio, Moss, Stewart, etc etc etc are/were all great drivers (hope I didn't miss your favourite). Can we stop with the "My driver is better than your driver" stuff and enjoy this great season?
 
Richard Wilks
BP said:
It seems very important to you that Hamilton "fails" in some way (like he hasn't had failures and setbacks already in his career)...that the shine is knocked off of him for whatever reason, because he's not "worthy".

Since you're always so keen on facts, just remember this: no matter what comebacks you have, or accuse people are rewriting history (even though some of the history you omit to serve your own narrative), He is the current holder of these records, and that is indisputable fact. He is the guy in the dominant car that beat the records of the other guys in the other dominant cars. He may not be the GOAT (Whatever the hell that is, when rules and car design changes so much over 70 years)...but nothing you say will change the records below :)

View attachment 505676

Schumi, Senna, Prost, Hakinnen, Button, Alonso, Hamilton, Verstappen, Lauda, Clark, Fangio, Moss, Stewart, etc etc etc are/were all great drivers (hope I didn't miss your favourite). Can we stop with the "My driver is better than your driver" stuff and enjoy this great season?
Click to expand...
No, nothing will stop those statistics existing, as well as many others whose records he doesnt hold.

So tell me again, to what Driver am i comparing Hamilton again? In what way did i say he didnt acomplished the things you just posted?

Seems you are the one worried that me merely stating facts about his career take the "shine" away from it. Whatever that means :) So maybe you should just enjoy, and not worry about what me or anyone else here writes about YOUR favorite driver ;)

Oh and by the way, just looking at your list, he doesnt hold the record of most wins in a debut season alone with 4, he is tied in that with J Villeneuve :)
 
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LeSunTzu
BP said:
It seems very important to you that Hamilton "fails" in some way (like he hasn't had failures and setbacks already in his career)...that the shine is knocked off of him for whatever reason, because he's not "worthy".

Since you're always so keen on facts, just remember this: no matter what comebacks you have, or accuse people are rewriting history (even though some of the history you omit to serve your own narrative), He is the current holder of these records, and that is indisputable fact. He is the guy in the dominant car that beat the records of the other guys in the other dominant cars. He may not be the GOAT (Whatever the hell that is, when rules and car design changes so much over 70 years)...but nothing you say will change the records below :)

View attachment 505676

Schumi, Senna, Prost, Hakinnen, Button, Alonso, Hamilton, Verstappen, Lauda, Clark, Fangio, Moss, Stewart, etc etc etc are/were all great drivers (hope I didn't miss your favourite). Can we stop with the "My driver is better than your driver" stuff and enjoy this great season?
Click to expand...
There is nothing you can do about it. It's like the CR7 vs Messi endless rubbish.
 
BP
Richard Wilks said:
No, nothing will stop those statistics existing, as well as many others whose records he doesnt hold.

So tell me again, to what Driver am i comparing Hamilton again? In what way did i say he didnt acomplished the things you just posted?

Seems you are the one worried that me merely stating facts about his career take the "shine" away from it. Whatever that means :) So maybe you should just enjoy, and not worry about what me or anyone else here writes about YOUR favorite driver ;)

Oh and by the way, just looking at your list, he doesnt hold the record of most wins in a debut season alone with 4, he is tied in that with J Villeneuve :)
Click to expand...

1. He's tied in many records, that doesn't mean he didn't earn the record, nor is that saying he's better than the other guy holding the record. The record is the record: an achievement in itself. At no point did I say he holds all those records alone. "Stop rewriting history" :p

2. Hamilton is a driver I cheer for, one of many (I also cheer for Norris, Ricciardo, Sainz and Russell, and my "team" has always been McLaren). I don't know why people paint Hamilton fans as one sided morons who don't support other drivers and teams...I said couple pages ago that Max drove brilliantly today (I've said this many times) and I've given several drivers their props when they do well. My personal favorite drivers have always been Lauda and Senna. In fact, I think I said something to that effect about Lauda a couple pages back...wasn't I replying to you in that one?

3. Stop trolling for an argument and enjoy the season.
 
Richard Wilks
BP said:
1. He's tied in many records, that doesn't mean he didn't earn the record, nor is that saying he's better than the other guy holding the record. The record is the record: an achievement in itself. At no point did I say he holds all those records alone. "Stop rewriting history" :p

2. Hamilton is a driver I cheer for, one of many (I also cheer for Norris, Ricciardo, Sainz and Russell, and my "team" has always been McLaren). I don't know why people paint Hamilton fans as one sided morons who don't support other drivers and teams...I said couple pages ago that Max drove brilliantly today (I've said this many times) and I've given several drivers their props when they do well. My personal favorite drivers have always been Lauda and Senna. In fact, I think I said something to that effect about Lauda a couple pages back...wasn't I replying to you in that one?

3. Stop trolling for an argument and enjoy the season.
Click to expand...
1. did i ever said he didnt "deserve" or "earn" anything? You are strawmaning a bit now :)

2. So if so, why are you so worried about what i say regarding this particular driver? Should i write about all those other drivers so that its "fair" for you? Some posts before i praised Hamilton's Fuji 2007 race. Should i praise him more so that you can sleep at night?

3. I am not trolling i was replying to someone else. You are the one all hot and bothered :)
 
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ZuneGuy
Richard Wilks said:
I love your delusional theories, so i will entertain them once more!

Dennis was NOT in charge of Mclaren when Hamilton left. Whitmarsh was. And he was never that convinced with Hamilton as Dennis was, so he didn't make that big of an effort to cover the salary demands from Lewis, after he came showing off the salary that mercedes was willing to offer him to replace Schumacher, who left because he wanted to, because Brawn always said the first priority was ALWAYS Michael. So Hamilton only got the offer that MS refused. Button was under contract at the time, so nor was he free, nor he wanted to move anywhere else, after making mclaren his team from under Hamilton.

As for Lauda going to sweeten the deal, Lauda had that role in other teams in the past, and hired other drivers for said teams in the past. That was nothing special, so don't try to play it as this amazing thing.

They can paint the cars whatever color they want to get any woke message accross, that has nothing to do with Hamilton skill or quality as a driver. All drivers are marketing exploited as much as possible, and just to compare, Schumacher was offered a position in mercedes 20 years after driving for them, and 4 years after his retirement. I'll argue that means a lot more than some car livery. They wanted MS badly.

You keep running away from Russell Hamilton comparisons because you are scared, and rightly so. Already last year he proved he could sit on that car and cruise to the win, first time out. You can try to spin it as much as you want, but he won«t be a rollover like Bottas, and Wolff bringing him means he wants him more than he cares about upsetting Hamilton.

Now stop rewriting history.
Click to expand...

Dennis admits McLaren could have kept Hamilton​

www.racefans.net

Dennis admits McLaren could have kept Hamilton · RaceFans

Ron Dennis says McLaren could have kept Lewis Hamilton in its team for 2013.
www.racefans.net

We want Lewis Hamilton to stay, says McLaren's Martin Whitmarsh​

www.theguardian.com

We want Lewis Hamilton to stay, says McLaren's Martin Whitmarsh

Martin Whitmarsh, the team principal, said McLaren want Lewis Hamilton to stay and they have no Plan B
www.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com

Hamilton: I hope Whitmarsh has ‘forgiven’ me​

www.planetf1.com

Lewis Hamilton: I hope Martin Whitmarsh has 'forgiven' me

Lewis Hamilton hopes his former McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh has “forgiven” him for leaving the team to join Mercedes at the end of 2012.
www.planetf1.com www.planetf1.com

McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh has said that talks with Lewis Hamilton are "heading for the right place"​


Lewis Hamilton exit a mistake - McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh​

www.bbc.com

Hamilton exit a mistake - McLaren

McLaren principal Martin Whitmarsh believes Mercedes-bound Lewis Hamilton has made a "mistake" by leaving his team.
www.bbc.com www.bbc.com

Whitmarsh said:

"I wouldn't advise anyone to leave McLaren if they want to win, but I've got to respect Lewis's decision and really wish him well."

Hamilton's decision to join Mercedes was announced on Friday and Whitmarsh believes the team, based in Woking, Surrey, COULD NOT have offered better financial or competitive incentives for the 27-year-old Briton to stay.

Whitmarsh said:

"I know we made a very big financial offer, bigger than I believe ANY FORMULA 1 DRIVER IS ENJOYING TODAY other than himself," said Whitmarsh, who acknowledges Mercedes as a "great" team.

You're a liar, people like you will say anything to make what the man has done look easy or infinitesimal. It's as though you wish that you were out there. Whitmarsh could not offer the same offer that was made by Mercedes. You have been saying things all day with no proof at all. Stop putting words in someone's mouth that you know are lies. They were in contract talks that failed, but they, and he clearly wanted Lewis to stay.

Now as far as the rest, they changed the liveries on the cars to show support to Lewis and Lewis alone. if you can show proof that is otherwise, than I will concede - beyond that it is all your opinion, just like everything that you have said.

I have nothing against Russell as a driver - nothing, but for you he's obviously your great _____ hope - fill in the blanks. You're not the first, and you still won't be the last to hope, so keep hope alive.
 
muzikant
I wouldn't call it bullshit Richard says plenty of things I agree with. Think most here are a bit tired of the Mercedes years. they are also bad losers. and I don't like Totto and the Sir at all. BUT...I enjoying this season and hope Max will become world champion would be well deserved
 
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Richard Wilks
ZuneGuy said:

Dennis admits McLaren could have kept Hamilton​

www.racefans.net

Dennis admits McLaren could have kept Hamilton · RaceFans

Ron Dennis says McLaren could have kept Lewis Hamilton in its team for 2013.
www.racefans.net

We want Lewis Hamilton to stay, says McLaren's Martin Whitmarsh​

www.theguardian.com

We want Lewis Hamilton to stay, says McLaren's Martin Whitmarsh

Martin Whitmarsh, the team principal, said McLaren want Lewis Hamilton to stay and they have no Plan B
www.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com

Hamilton: I hope Whitmarsh has ‘forgiven’ me​

www.planetf1.com

Lewis Hamilton: I hope Martin Whitmarsh has 'forgiven' me

Lewis Hamilton hopes his former McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh has “forgiven” him for leaving the team to join Mercedes at the end of 2012.
www.planetf1.com www.planetf1.com

McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh has said that talks with Lewis Hamilton are "heading for the right place"​


Lewis Hamilton exit a mistake - McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh​

www.bbc.com

Hamilton exit a mistake - McLaren

McLaren principal Martin Whitmarsh believes Mercedes-bound Lewis Hamilton has made a "mistake" by leaving his team.
www.bbc.com www.bbc.com

Whitmarsh said:

"I wouldn't advise anyone to leave McLaren if they want to win, but I've got to respect Lewis's decision and really wish him well."

Hamilton's decision to join Mercedes was announced on Friday and Whitmarsh believes the team, based in Woking, Surrey, COULD NOT have offered better financial or competitive incentives for the 27-year-old Briton to stay.

Whitmarsh said:

"I know we made a very big financial offer, bigger than I believe ANY FORMULA 1 DRIVER IS ENJOYING TODAY other than himself," said Whitmarsh, who acknowledges Mercedes as a "great" team.

You're a liar, people like you will say anything to make what the man has done look easy or infinitesimal. It's as though you wish that you were out there. Whitmarsh could not offer the same offer that was made by Mercedes. You have been saying things all day with no proof at all. Stop putting words in someone's mouth that you know are lies. They were in contract talks that failed, but they, and he clearly wanted Lewis to stay.

Now as far as the rest, they changed the liveries on the cars to show support to Lewis and Lewis alone. if you can show proof that is otherwise, than I will concede - beyond that it is all your opinion, just like everything that you have said.

I have nothing against Russell as a driver - nothing, but for you he's obviously your great _____ hope - fill in the blanks. You're not the first, and you still won't be the last to hope, so keep hope alive.
Click to expand...

What? You just proved exactly what i said! Whitmarsh WAS the boss at MClaren, WAS responsible for the negotiations, and didnt want to match the numbers Hamilton wanted! Sure he is diplomatic, but thats exactly what you just posted! No need to call me liar when you just proved i was right :)

Like i said before, dont get all hot and bothered, history is what it is, no need to rewrite it.
 
ZuneGuy
Richard Wilks said:
What? You just proved exactly what i said! Whitmarsh WAS the boss at MClaren, WAS responsible for the negotiations, and didnt want to match the numbers Hamilton wanted! Sure he is diplomatic, but thats exactly what you just posted! No need to call me liar when you just proved i was right :)

Like i said before, dont get all hot and bothered, history is what it is, no need to rewrite it.
Click to expand...
No, this is not about who was team principal at the time. The clear point is that both Dennis and Whitmarsh wanted Lewis to stay. You said that Whitmarsh didn't want Lewis. You said that Whitmarsh made no effort to keep Lewis on the team, and that he did not want to pay him what he was worth, but as I have clearly shown you are dead wrong AGAIN.

McLaren could not afford to pay Lewis what Mercedes was offering, but they tried really hard. They were even in negotiations with Hamilton to get it done but they fell through mainly because Lewis was no longer happy with McLaren's performance.

You see, you're no different than other people who are like you, people who want to make what the man has done into some easy thing, or something small. You're one of those people who just says whatever, it doesn't have to be true or false, as long as it fits into your mission - well mission failed.

The only thing that you have proven to me is that you have your own OPINIONS about Lewis and that is fine, but at least I have presented the proof to back what I say, and not my opinion.
 
Richard Wilks
ZuneGuy said:
No, this is not about who was team principal at the time. The clear point is that both Dennis and Whitmarsh wanted Lewis to stay. You said that Whitmarsh didn't want Lewis. You said that Whitmarsh made no effort to keep Lewis on the team, and that he did not want to pay him what he was worth, but as I have clearly shown you are dead wrong AGAIN.

McLaren could not afford to pay Lewis what Mercedes was offering, but they tried really hard. They were even in negotiations with Hamilton to get it done but they fell through mainly because Lewis was no longer happy with McLaren's performance.

You see, you're no different than other people who are like you, people who want to make what the man has done into some easy thing, or something small. You're one of those people who just says whatever, it doesn't have to be true or false, as long as it fits into your mission - well mission failed.

The only thing that you have proven to me is that you have your own OPINIONS about Lewis and that is fine, but at least I have presented the proof to back what I say, and not my opinion.
Click to expand...
You are the one making things up now :) please provide the quote from Hamilton or from Whitmarsh where they say they were willing to cover Hamilton salary, and Hamilton went away due to the Mclaren not being quick, when in 2012, the mclaren was a more competitive proposition than the mercedes. I will be waiting :)

Look what Dennis said:
“Did we have the ability to create a situation where we could have stayed together? Categorically, yes.”

“Would that have been the right thing to do? We didn’t think so.”
Click to expand...

He is basically saying he didnt want to create the conditions for him to stay, meaning, he didnt want to pay what he wanted. So he went on his merry way after the money at Mercedes. He says it was NOT THE RIGHT THING TO DO to meet his demands! In no uncertain terms!

So yes, again, dont' try to rewrite history.
 
Terry Rock
kits84 said:
Verstappen proving who is the real driver: last to p2
Click to expand...
Since some of you would say he has a 'rocket' in F1 and don't care for him there...let's go back to a lower category.
Last to second....
Already done by Lewis....in a GP2 car....at Turkey.
Oh!....and that was a very competitive series.
Maybe you folks should go seek out that video.
It's not about hero worship or any of that nonsense....it is about giving credit where it is due.
 
ZuneGuy
Richard Wilks said:
You are the one making things up now :) please provide the quote from Hamilton or from Whitmarsh where they say they were willing to cover Hamilton salary, and Hamilton went away due to the Mclaren not being quick, when in 2012, the mclaren was a more competitive proposition than the mercedes. I will be waiting :)

Look what Dennis said:


He is basically saying he didnt want to create the conditions for him to stay, meaning, he didnt want to pay what he wanted. So he went on his merry way after the money at Mercedes. He says it was NOT THE RIGHT THING TO DO to meet his demands! In no uncertain terms!

So yes, again, dont' try to rewrite history.
Click to expand...
It clearly says that the team "could not have offered better financial or competitive incentives for the 27-year-old Briton to stay." It did not say that they would not, as though they wanted to offer more but couldn't It says could not offer more. You make it seem as though that would not do it, but they couldn't offer more.

It has always been said that Lewis got quite bored at McLaren, and that was part of Lauda's plan to woo Lewis over to Mercedes.

Niki Lauda had met Lewis Hamilton a few hours after the arrival of the Singapore Grand Prix in 2012, and the world champion had not chosen his moment by chance. As a late psychologist, he knew how the Brit was upset. The latter had abandoned at the head of the event, betrayed by his McLaren for the third time this season. What had kept him from getting involved in the title fight. The Austrian knew the 23-year-old driver in doubt, also tired by the routine of his years at Woking. Since he was 13 years old.

“I made promises to him”​


Niki Lauda then provoked Lewis Hamilton’s competitive spirit a bit by speaking to him like this: “If you stay with McLaren forever, that’s great, but where is the challenge in your life? I went from a stable to another, and those who do that are never bored. ” And to add: “If you could be world champion in a Mercedes – a factory team -, do you imagine what that would bring to your image?”

The man was bored at McLaren and need a new challenge. That is why he left when everyone thought that he was crazy for leaving, even his teammate at the time Button advised him not to leave.

Don;t even try to make little of the relationship between Lauda and Hamilton either - they were really true friends.
 
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D
Richard Wilks said:
You keep running away from Russell Hamilton comparisons because you are scared, and rightly so. Already last year he proved he could sit on that car and cruise to the win, first time out. You can try to spin it as much as you want, but he won«t be a rollover like Bottas, and Wolff bringing him means he wants him more than he cares about upsetting Hamilton.
Click to expand...
Making assumptions about how Russel will fare vs Hamilton in equal cars is just that...an assumption. Until we see both drivers on track in the same car, we are merely guessing. Russel is entering his prime years, Lewis is sliding past his. But watching Hamilton get boxed out and still recover shows he has a-lot left in his tank.
So the person supporting R hopes he's better, the person supporting Lewis hopes he's still the man. We won't know. Probably for two years. Think of Russel as the future of Mercedes but don't expect his rise to number one to be easy.(again, NOW I"M making assumptions)
 
Richard Wilks
ZuneGuy said:
It clearly says that the team "could not have offered better financial or competitive incentives for the 27-year-old Briton to stay." It did not say that they would not, as though they wanted to offer more but couldn't It says could not offer more. You make it seem as though that would not do it, but they couldn't offer more.

It has always been said that Lewis got quite bored at McLaren, and that was part of Lauda's plan to woo Lewis over to Mercedes.

Niki Lauda had met Lewis Hamilton a few hours after the arrival of the Singapore Grand Prix in 2012, and the world champion had not chosen his moment by chance. As a late psychologist, he knew how the Brit was upset. The latter had abandoned at the head of the event, betrayed by his McLaren for the third time this season. What had kept him from getting involved in the title fight. The Austrian knew the 23-year-old driver in doubt, also tired by the routine of his years at Woking. Since he was 13 years old.

“I made promises to him”​


Niki Lauda then provoked Lewis Hamilton’s competitive spirit a bit by speaking to him like this: “If you stay with McLaren forever, that’s great, but where is the challenge in your life? I went from a stable to another, and those who do that are never bored. ” And to add: “If you could be world champion in a Mercedes – a factory team -, do you imagine what that would bring to your image?”

The man was bored at McLaren and need a new challenge. That is why he left when everyone thought that he was crazy for leaving, even his teammate at the time Button advised him not to leave.

Don;t even try to make little of the relationship between Lauda and Hamilton either - they were really true friends.
Click to expand...
I know it hurts but read what i posted again, straight from Dennis mouth. Mclaren CHOOSE not to meet his demands, they COULD, but they DIDN'T WANT.

As for Lauda and Hamilton, Lauda was an employee of mercedes, nothing more, nothing less. I am sure they had a relationship, but Lauda had many friends, and like i said before, he hired drivers for teams before, thats nothing new.
 
Richard Wilks
davehenrie said:
Making assumptions about how Russel will fare vs Hamilton in equal cars is just that...an assumption. Until we see both drivers on track in the same car, we are merely guessing. Russel is entering his prime years, Lewis is sliding past his. But watching Hamilton get boxed out and still recover shows he has a-lot left in his tank.
So the person supporting R hopes he's better, the person supporting Lewis hopes he's still the man. We won't know. Probably for two years. Think of Russel as the future of Mercedes but don't expect his rise to number one to be easy.(again, NOW I"M making assumptions)
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Yes i am making Assumptions. As are you and anybody who talks about "Primes", specially in motorsports, a sport so influenced by the machinery one has at his disposal. Anyways, my point was to show that Toto didnt went for the Hamilton pleasing option.

But you see, my whole "stick" in this thread is keeping the facts, something that Hamilton fans seem to like to bend, a lot more than Max fans, because of course Max hasn't a 12 year career in the sport, and is not a topic of conversation yet with regards to "legacies" and "goats". That said, i am no fan of either driver, so my position is at least unbiased in that.
 
A
I don't get why people go into minutiae on this Hamilton stuff.

Big picture, there's a couple of true statements you can make
-Hamilton is a great driver
-Hamilton has been beaten twice in his career by teammates (Button, Rosberg)
-Button and Rosberg were perceived to be good to great drivers (on their day), but were never really considered to be the best on the grid (and are definitely not GOAT material by any stretch)
-Hamilton has been part of the most dominant F1 team ever and driving the out-and-out fastest car since 2014
-Hamilton has - up until now - never had a consistent rival in a car that could challenge Mercedes (like Mclaren/Ferrari in the late 90s)

The above leads some people to conclude that Hamilton is not, in fact, the GOAT, but a great driver who was #blessed with landing the right car at the right the time. Or maybe he's the GOAT after all? Reality is that unless you go back in time and put all of them in spec cars, we'll never really know anyway.
 

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