Motorsport Off Topic Thread

Mr Jack said:
I read it so you don't have to. Written in diary style, spattered with foks and jeezuses, it's large type and wide line spacing make it look longer than it is. There's some interesting bits and pieces, but it becomes repetitive well before the end, and it's a pretty lightweight affair overall.

One for particularly enthusiastic F1 fans to read on the train and everyone else to give a miss I think.
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Not watched Drive to Survive, never appealed, neither this book so I am being a bit presumptuous with my view!

Jackie Stewart's Biography Winning is not Enough - was always a massive disappointment. Past the racing section which I always thought it needed more - turned into a sponsor playbook.

Whereas Mon Ami Mate (Biography of Collins and Hawthorn) Lauda's to Hell and Back, Donald Geraldson Villeneuve, or Graham Gauld, Jim Clark are great reads.
 
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Ninco! said:
Not watched Drive to Survive, never appealed, neither this book so I am being a bit presumptuous with my view!
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Actually, I suspect it's better for non- Drive to Survive watchers since if you've watched DtS you'll have already got a good idea of the content.

And, while we're recommending F1 autobiographies: Murray Walker's and Adrian Newey's are both excellent. Actually, a more general Steiner autobiography would probably also have been better.
 
It's been another awesome N24 race. The coverage on the YouTube channel has been great. That Ferrari just looks amazing.

Bit worried about that 186 Porsche driver though. The fact he was in the car for so long, and they never showed a replay or mentioned it in the hourly updates. Hope he's ok.
 
I take it no-one is paying any heed to the Hamilton > Ferrari rumours? I'd imagine it's him just pulling a few strings to make sure Mercedes give him a high-enough offer.

Also, how comes they're calling the £40m offer "massive" when he's already on >£50m? :confused: I don't understand. Mercedes can't be saying he's worth less just because of the last couple of years in a dog**** car :confused:
 
Scam said:
I take it no-one is paying any heed to the Hamilton > Ferrari rumours? I'd imagine it's him just pulling a few strings to make sure Mercedes give him a high-enough offer.
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Likely the usual noise, but... I think Lewis would like to drive for Ferrari. It's obvious he's always had a softspot for the brand and it'd be quite the capstone for his career. And I do think Leclerc is becoming disillusioned with Ferrari. So I'm filing it under "unlikely" rather than "implausible".
 
Scam said:
I take it no-one is paying any heed to the Hamilton > Ferrari rumours? I'd imagine it's him just pulling a few strings to make sure Mercedes give him a high-enough offer.

Also, how comes they're calling the £40m offer "massive" when he's already on >£50m? :confused: I don't understand. Mercedes can't be saying he's worth less just because of the last couple of years in a dog**** car :confused:
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Its not impossible and the stories must be coming from somewhere, although I suspect maybe a negotiating tactic to try and force Merc to offer a decent salary as there have been plenty of rumours that Mercedes don't want to keep paying the £50m a year for him.

That said I thought the Hamilton to Merc rumours back in 2012 were crap and look what happened then, I just feel he's probably not got that many years left and Ferrari is likely to be a 4-5 year project
 
I struggle to see it personally, yes he's mentioned Ferrari before but also how much he likes working with/for Mercedes and it goes beyond just the F1 driver relationship. He doesn't need the money, although I'm sure he wouldn't turn it down either, and it's not like Ferrari are gonna give him a car to win the title.

The Merc rumours back in 2012 had a bit more logic to them, McLaren had by that point failed to provide a competitive car for 4 years and were losing their status as the de-facto Mercedes works team. Still seemed a bit odd at the time but imo makes more sense than Ferrari now. They've not produced a championship winning car since 2007, and even that was mostly McLaren failing than Ferrari winning.

So yeah, at best I'd imagine it's a negotiating tactic, "Hey Toto, Ferrari are offering me $40m..."
 
Yeah. I'd understand wanting to cap a career off in Ferrari, but just look at how terrible they've been for Leclerc. You can be the best driver out there and they'll still stuff you up. They have history of it.

Mind you, it'd be brilliant if Hamilton won a championship in a third team. Has anyone ever done that? :confused:
 
Lewis in a ferrari would be initially great for both, but potentially a nightmare. I think he would do it if they convince him they have the right people amd structure.
Personally I think if the merc mods don't look good and he has the chance he will go.
 
Realistically Redbull will dominate until the next major reg change which is when...? 2025? 2026? Will Lewis realistically stay in F1 until then? I'd say the dream is over for the 8th and it doesn't rally matter where he goes. The only chance would be replacing Checo but I doubt he would a) want Max as a team mate or b) want to be any part of Redbull and c) Christian and co like the setup with a heavily weighted number 1 driver. Ferrari makes much more sense but still...
 
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jaybee said:
Realistically Redbull will dominate until the next major reg change which is when...? 2025? 2026? Will Lewis realistically stay in F1 until then? I'd say the dream is over for the 8th and it doesn't rally matter where he goes.
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Alonso will be 42 in a couple of months, he's still tussling now he has the right car! So yeah Hamilton will be a touch younger in 2025. You could argue moving to Ferrari now would be the right time; he can just forget about the next few years and take a couple of years to build a new car with them. I'm just not sure why Hamilton would look at the Ferrari team now and think "yeah they look like a good team to be a part of".
 
Have the 2026 regs been finalised yet? From what little I've heard/read/remembered about them it seemed to be just an engine change with the same aero regs?

If that's the case then the last engine regs update kinda points towards Merc being the place to be if you're writing off everything until then...

Although new suppliers (like RB would claim to be :p) get concessions I think for more development so who knows how it'll play out.

Either way nothing there, or recent history, would make me thing Ferrari would be the place to go. Really the only thing they've got going for them would be that dream of winning a title with Ferrari, dreams and a decent pile of cash :p
 
SKILL said:
Either way nothing there, or recent history, would make me thing Ferrari would be the place to go. Really the only thing they've got going for them would be that dream of winning a title with Ferrari, dreams and a decent pile of cash :p
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Ferrari are one of only three teams to challenge for victory in the last 13 years. They've consistently been 2nd or 3rd best in the years they've lost.

They may not have won; but they're the team that has seemed close enough to have won with just a little more more than any other. Hell, swap Lewis and Vettel and they probably would have done.
 
Mr Jack said:
Ferrari are one of only three teams to challenge for victory in the last 13 years. They've consistently been 2nd or 3rd best in the years they've lost.

They may not have won; but they're the team that has seemed close enough to have won with just a little more more than any other. Hell, swap Lewis and Vettel and they probably would have done.
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Perhaps, but for the majority of those 13 years Mercedes have been the better team...

Why leave a team that you're very well integrated into and supported by to a frankly inferior team, except as mentioned dreams and cash?
 
Lewis to Ferrari could be interesting. The problem I see is that Ferrari are rubbish at calling strategy, and Lewis himself isn't good at it, so unless they have a decent car in which Lewis' talent will allow him to make up the difference, there could be some sulking on both ends.

Has Eddie Jorden said anything about the rumours? For someone that's an annoying idiot he's usually spot on these things as he remains very well connected. He was first to call Lewis to Mercedes, which when posted here was rubbished many.
 
If Merc can’t sort their aero for next season, I can see Hamilton fancying a season or two in a Ferrari. Who knows, they might even build a decent car by then.

His other options for WDC #8 are RB or AM with RB highly unlikely after the shenanigans of 2021/22.
 
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