George Russell Qualifying

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In light of his recent qualifying performances in that shopping trolley...

Does ANYONE think he does not deserve a Merc seat and if so, please share your thinking?

Darn Maxine spoiling a Williams pole....
 
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They don’t nickname him Mr. Saturday for nothing! If Mercedes haven’t decided yet, and I think they have FWIW, his performance today has certainly given them pause for thought.
 
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It seems Merc say they had already made their decision but wont/cant announce.. reckon they are making sure VB77 has a seat sorted before they do and they can't announce an Alfa seat if Kimi hasnt announced retirement yet
 

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Do we really want to see Russell at Merc, given that until Hamilton finally retires from driving to be a rapper/fashion impresario/bulldog breeder/some weird combination thereof he'll be contractually obliged to act as rear gunner?

Unless he does an Alonso, and ignores any-and-all orders to back Hamilton...but I can't see that scenario ending well.
 
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Do we really want to see Russell at Merc, given that until Hamilton finally retires from driving to be a rapper/fashion impresario/bulldog breeder/some weird combination thereof he'll be contractually obliged to act as rear gunner?

Unless he does an Alonso, and ignores any-and-all orders to back Hamilton...but I can't see that scenario ending well.
By do an Alonso do you mean bribe the team to try and get their support or do you mean get beat by a rookie whilst being the defending double WDC?
 

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By do an Alonso do you mean bribe the team to try and get their support or do you mean get beat by a rookie whilst being the defending double WDC?

By do an Alonso I mean pitch a fit, play silly buggers with things like qualifying order at Hungary and generally be out solely for himself and damn the consequences...
 
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By do an Alonso I mean pitch a fit, play silly buggers with things like qualifying order at Hungary and generally be out solely for himself and damn the consequences...
Surely it would be better for George to do a Lewis and force the team to treat them as equals.

It's not like Alonso came out of that situation looking good. I don't want that for George.
 

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Surely it would be better for George to do a Lewis and force the team to treat them as equals.

It's not like Alonso came out of that situation looking good. I don't want that for George.

Of course it would, but is it likely to happen? IMO, no. F1 at the pointy end rarely works with two guys on a completely equal footing.

There are only two ways it goes - sit and be a good little boy backing Hamilton up, or go out and do to him what Hamilton did to Alonso in 2007. And he'd have to be bloody sure of himself to take the latter route, because Hamilton isn't exactly showing any signs that he's past his best just yet.
 
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I'd rather he go there and disrupt the status quo with his driving and not silly antics like Alonso pulled.

Would be a great 'passing of the torch' between the two Brits.
 
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Do we really want to see Russell at Merc, given that until Hamilton finally retires from driving to be a rapper/fashion impresario/bulldog breeder/some weird combination thereof he'll be contractually obliged to act as rear gunner?

Unless he does an Alonso, and ignores any-and-all orders to back Hamilton...but I can't see that scenario ending well.

Think you've got that the wrong way around. Lewis caused all the fuss at McLaren, in Monaco and then in Hungary.
 
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George should sign a contract saying he'll take team orders but nothing like "#2 to Lewis".. then if he beats Lewis in a race team less likely to order him out of way
 

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Think you've got that the wrong way around. Lewis caused all the fuss at McLaren, in Monaco and then in Hungary.

Well... possibly column A and column B. The McLaren of 2007 was not a happy team, with the abject failure of Ron Dennis in keeping control of things.

But you're right that Hamilton was possibly the final catalyst at Hungary for it all going completely backside-over-apex:

Wiki said:
Controversy hit the qualifying sessions when Hamilton failed to honor an agreement to let Alonso past on track; this denied Alonso a competitive advantage when setting his lap time.

Then Alonso lost his cool:

Wiki said:
Alonso then retaliated by holding Hamilton up in the pit lane, to in turn deny Hamilton a chance to record a final lap time. Stewards later dropped Alonso five places down the starting grid of the race, putting him in sixth while Hamilton started in pole position. McLaren were also told they would not score any Constructor's Championship points in the race and wouldn't be presented with a winning constructor's trophy on the podium if one of their drivers were to win the race. The team stated Hamilton's hold-up was not Alonso's fault (although Alonso gave the stewards a different explanation, that he was inquiring about his tyres), and that Hamilton had disobeyed team orders to let Alonso pass him, which put the two drivers out of sequence for their pit stops.

Following that, Alonso threatened to blow the lid on Spygate and Ron had no choice but to get out ahead of anything he might say.
 
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Awesome performance from George , seems our climate trains English drivers well in the rain .

If he really wants the big seat it’s up to him now . It all depends what he does going into the first bend at La Source from the start :D.
 

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Toto has said they've already decided. They're just making sure the "loser" gets a decent opportunity before they announce anything.
 
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I really hope that means they want Bottas to have a decent seat before they announce Russell. The rumour is that Bottas will replace Kimi as Alfa. Which would be a shame as I like Kimi though he is getting on a bit for an F1 driver.
 
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Lewis probably doesn't have too many years left in him operating at such a high level.

If Russell is the real deal, I imagine Mercedes want to lock him in as a future replacement for Lewis. That may well mean playing 2nd fiddle to Lewis for a few years.
 
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Lewis probably doesn't have too many years left in him operating at such a high level.

If Russell is the real deal, I imagine Mercedes want to lock him in as a future replacement for Lewis. That may well mean playing 2nd fiddle to Lewis for a few years.

Exactly this... I suspect George might be happy to do that too, knowing he'll get wins while he waits
 
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