Motorsport Off Topic Thread

imtoooldforthis said:
I agree there is a chance that a part of it is lack of motivation. Hamilton has always been patchy in terms of form when there isn't a chance to win a race, even back in 2010-2011 he was very up and down depending on where the car was at. That said, it's very hard for me to imagine that he's still on the same level he used to be, getting slower at his age is unavoidable, to the point where it even happens in sim racing.



I think Russell has had a couple more DNF's (that were mechanical, not talent related) hasn't he ? also had the Spa victory taken away from him resulting 0 points.
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They've both had two DNFs each. One mechanical (HAM in AUS and RUS in GBR) and one due to crashing out (RUS in AUS) and spinning off (HAM in COTA). in the scheme of things and considering one is leaving the team, they've been very evenly matched really.

I think if the Ferarri is decent Lewis will be right up there still. The car looks a nightmare to drive since the COTA upgrade which George is ironically not using the last few races as he damaged the updated parts with crashes. Merc are now using the two to compare and it looks like the new parts are peaky and have introduced handling problems (as happened in the upgrades they brought to the Dutch GP too).
 
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I don't think you can draw any valid conclusions between Hamilton and Russell this season given that Mercedes knew from the start that Hamilton was leaving. Their main focus and attention will be on Russell now, that much was clear with how they overruled him in Singapore and gave him the obviously bad soft tyre strategy. He was also reportedly overruled in Brazil and they made him use the new spec car that he didn't want because they needed more data, it looked like Russell and Hamilton were driving two different cars. You know it's bad if Hamilton was considering taking a holiday for the final 3 races.
 
steve45 said:
Whilst cognitive ability will definitely be a factor in older drivers. I think what we are seeing is a motivational deficianecy. I genuinely think if Merc were to have provided a car that was capable of winning a championship he'd be performing better. I've felt that he's just switched off/not interested/not motivated over the last couple of years.
When the car is rarely in a sweet spot you see a completely different driver. You see the fire reignite. I think with Lewis its more motivation that factors, thats not to say he's just are sharp as he was a decade ago. We know that decline is a unavoidable factor in life.
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Case in point, Silverstone 2024.
 
GravyMonster said:
He already has a contract for next year, so not sure why that's news.
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Also slightly confused, they announced a contract extension for 2025 and 2026 in June, surely it's not news until someone has some sort of confirmation that he's NOT racing for them? :p

I guess people have become so convinced that he absolutely will be dropped that him starting to agree new sponsors and production of merchandise is surprising.
 
GravyMonster said:
He already has a contract for next year, so not sure why that's news.
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Because he's been as useful as a chocolate fireguard.

...or a condom machine in the Vatican, shaving foam to a wookie, Anne Frank's drum kit, a fart in a jacuzzi... take your pick. ;)

And Red Bull have been known for dumping drivers almost at whim after only a handful of bad performances. Perez seems to have significant leverage over Horner and Marko
 
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Perez being retained for next year is crazy. Does he have something on Red Bull or Horner..?!

He's completely washed, and he isn't even that old.
 
Finners said:
Unprofessional from toto if not outright disrespectful. Hamilton is only a couple of points behind Russell over the season and lets be honest that merc has looked like a dog on more than one occasion this year.

Shouldn't be insulting his employee imo when the organisation he is running hasn't done a good enough job as a whole
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Yeh.

I mean, he out classed Russell last year and dragged the car to 3rd in the title.

I'm not going to judge him this year, as the car has been the 4th fastest car most of the time, with a bit of a peak mid season where it rivalled the others. He's also going to Ferrari, so there was little motivation for anything this year.

I will concede that he has probably lost some qualy speed due to his age. Although, that's tricky to assess as Russell is probably just extremely good at it.

Him against Leclerc will be interesting. Leclerc is obviously one of the best on the grid, but he has bad form periods and weak tracks where Sainz beats him. I'll be surprised if Hamilton beats him over the season, but I expect him to be pretty close.
 
Finners said:
Unprofessional from toto if not outright disrespectful. Hamilton is only a couple of points behind Russell over the season and lets be honest that merc has looked like a dog on more than one occasion this year.
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If you listen to Toto talk about Lewis on, say, his recent appearance on the High Performance podcast then he's extremely positive about Lewis and all he's achieved. But, like every other driver, a time will come when Lewis retires and he's already older than many drivers are when they retire; it's not unprofessional to acknowledge that, especially after Lewis has already chosen to leave.
 
Not seeing it reported from any reputable sources and it's clear Red Bull won't be making a decision until after the season ends, otherwise they would have been as ruthless as they normally are. Talk about a none news story during a multi week break. :p

I agree with @Mr Jack, I believe he'll be gone.
 
chrismscotland said:
As expected; Alpine confirm a customer engine deal with Mercedes Benz from 2026 to at least 2030.....
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So, that's Merc, McLaren, Williams, and Alpine on Merc engines. Red Bull and Toro Rosso on Ford/"Red Bull powertrains". Haas and Ferrari on Ferrari engines. And then Audi alone on Audi engines. That's a significant benefit for Merc in terms of testing mileage on their engines; whilst Audi going it alone is looking "brave".
 
Ryan-3 said:
Disappointing that it was won by a driver who led none of the minor or major categories for this seasons stats. But that's the playoff format. Turn up when it matters rather than have a strong season.
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Am I understand this correctly, in NASCAR rather than just competing over a season they reset the points of the leading drivers to increasingly high points but everyone else carries on taking parts in the races? But only a handful of them can actually win already? Is it just me this isn't making sense to?
 
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