He'd be closer for sure. Can't say he'd beat him though. If only he took the opportunity when it was there
Poll: British Grand Prix 2020, Silverstone - Race 4/?
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He'd be closer for sure. Can't say he'd beat him though. If only he took the opportunity when it was there
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1 second gap to third!
Should be interesting turn one in the top half of the field
Should be interesting turn one in the top half of the field
Soldato
I've loved F1 for the last 25 years. Always looked forward to the weekends as a kid because it was exciting and unpredictable. There's always been seasons where a team is on top but this is just beyond ridiculous. Mercedes have the best car and the best driver as well as a decent number 2. You can't take anything away from them but as a spectator, it's just not interesting.
I've always loved sport for its unpredictability. In football you get the occasional upset but it does happen - Norwich beat Man City 3-2 last season. In tennis, it's a shock when Djokovic/Federer/Nadal/Murray don't win a slam, but it happens. In darts, it was a huge surprise when Phil Taylor (nowadays Van Gerwen) didn't/don't win, but it happens.
The dominance of Mercedes and the improvement of reliabilty has massively taken away the 'what ifs' of F1. It's sad that the sport I dearly loved just isn't appealing any more.
Its OK if you ignore the Mercedes and pay attention to the mid field
On a more positive note... The thought of Mclaren with the Mercedes engine next year
Zak Bown has done a cracking job at McLaren.
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Hamilton destroying everyone. Great result.
Caporegime
I think he could, not so sure about would.
Soldato
Well, Bottas generally comes very close, mostly within tenths of a second of Hamilton, and we know Bottas has been on poll sometimes and won the occasional race.
So if we're saying Verstappen might not beat Hamilton, doesn't that suggest that he's probably no better than Bottas? Or conversely, that Bottas would do as well as Verstappen in Verstappen's Redbull car?
If Bottas was driving for Redbull having never driven for Mercedes, he might be coming 2nd or 3rd regularly and we'd be talking about him like we talk about Verstappen.
I think a lot of people were talking about Bottas like that when he was putting his Williams Mercedes on the podium and consistently out-performing Massa?
It's seriously underselling him to paint Bottas as some kind of journeyman plodder, he's a good driver partnered with a great one.
Yeah there was talks of Bottas being an up rgrade over Rosberg when he retired. I even remember on an F1 centric forum there was discussion about whether Hamilton was scared of Bottas joining the team!
I think Max and Lewis would be close but I'd edge to Lewis as he has actually proven his potential whereas people judge Max as if he has already matched his potential, when he hasn't.
I think Max and Lewis would be close but I'd edge to Lewis as he has actually proven his potential whereas people judge Max as if he has already matched his potential, when he hasn't.
On a more positive note... The thought of Mclaren with the Mercedes engine next year
Imagine where they'd be now if they'd kept hold of it instead of changing!
Caporegime
Bottas is strongest in Quali but still consistently loses out over a season. I'd expect Max to narrowly beat Lewis in Quali over a season, however whilst I also think he'd be much closer on a Sunday. I'd expect close fought seasons with no clear expectation of one or other coming out ahead.
Max is fast, and his racecraft has improved a lot but I doubt think he's quite at Hamilton levels yet. Bottas is simply not at that level; and unlike Rosberg he's not good enough to make a real challenge of it and win a season when the chips fall in his favour.
Bottas isn't a complete turkey, but I put him as solidly mid tier overall even if he's top five in the Quali stakes.
Soldato
To have both Hamilton and Verstappen in the same car wouldn't work. Their driving styles are so different one would have to be given preference over the other in terms of car design, which would probably lead to a bigger performance disparity than Bottas has now.
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The big weakness bottas has is race pace.
Max is incredibly talented. You can see that Hamilton and Vettel in interviews treat him as an equal. Over a whole season, I’m not convinced he has the consistency or calm enough head to win out. Sadly we won’t see it, both him and Hamilton wouldn’t work in the same team.
Max is incredibly talented. You can see that Hamilton and Vettel in interviews treat him as an equal. Over a whole season, I’m not convinced he has the consistency or calm enough head to win out. Sadly we won’t see it, both him and Hamilton wouldn’t work in the same team.
Dammit
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Soldato
Hulkenberg: “Witness me!”
F1 Fans: “Mediocre..”
F1 Fans: “Mediocre..”
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