F1 2019: ALL CHAT HERE

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svensktoppen

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Job done, six down :cool:

Think what you like of the man or his dress sense or hair style or whatever, but that's a tremendous achievement.

The way he and the team have performed and worked this year is just off the scales. Makes you wonder how much further they can still go.

I was surprised how far back Ferrari were today. The conspiracy goes Ferrari have been made to quietly drop whatever they've been doing to gain 10mph on everyone else down the straights, lol :innocent: Who knows, maybe they just had a bad day.

Pretty good racing through the field and another great result for Lando. Ricciardo didn't do too badly either.
 

da.murf

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Job done, six down :cool:

Think what you like of the man or his dress sense or hair style or whatever, but that's a tremendous achievement.

The way he and the team have performed and worked this year is just off the scales. Makes you wonder how much further they can still go.

I was surprised how far back Ferrari were today. The conspiracy goes Ferrari have been made to quietly drop whatever they've been doing to gain 10mph on everyone else down the straights, lol :innocent: Who knows, maybe they just had a bad day.

Pretty good racing through the field and another great result for Lando. Ricciardo didn't do too badly either.

yeah ted's note book mentioned something to do with a fuel meter fix that let them push more fuel during the race when it couldn't be monitored lol....


on side note 6 championships is amazing, but I'm slightly concerned for Hamilton. He is screaming as someone with either depression or mental health issues, he is constantly hinting at it within his social media and also press chats etc.

there is def something going on there, and I hope he gets it sorted. Part of me really thinks he may be one of these trouble geniuses you sometimes see ( O'Sullivan etc) but I am worried for him.
 

svensktoppen

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Not sure what you're talking about there to be honest... What "screaming", etc.?
 

da.murf

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Not sure what you're talking about there to be honest... What "screaming", etc.?

if you look at the press conferences yesterday and then over the weekend, he is on the verge of winning his 6th title, yet he moves the subject to 'a difficult year off the track,' mentions being surrounded by good people, even his dad mentioned it after the race.

He then on Friday or Saturday I think mentioned the mental struggles he has been having and stopped himself mid sentence when it looked like he was going down a path of giving more in depth detail.

his twitter post recently about not being able to go on etc then quickly stepping back from that.

I know Hamilton has always wore heart on sleeve and either you like that or you don't, but recently the things he says are not run of the mill emotion stuff. just my opinion though
 

svensktoppen

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Didn't see that, I'll have a look.

Working at the level he has the last few years, and especially this year, is all about managing the mental side. The constant search for improvement. Not perfection - the goal is to always improve so nothing is ever perfect, which makes it even harder. The pressure to always improve. And then the mental side of racing and competing in themselves.

It will and does take a toll. To do all that you need people around you who understand and support you. And you need more mental preparation and support to deal with the people who don't understand and support you. To get to and stay at the level he is and has been the last few years you literally sacrifice everything.

To keep it up as long as he has. Look at others around him. Vettel probably came closest, he has kind of given up now and can't stay at the level he was when he got his four. Rosberg managed one championship and then bailed out. He had some really interesting articles after on just how much it took, over several years, just to get that single championship. He knew he couldn't keep that up so he bailed out. You can see how much Bottas has changed, and has had to change, since going up against Lewis. The new boys Max and Charles have yet to get there.

I'm not sure if calling it "depression" or "illness" is the right way to describe it. But there is a mental side of competing at that level, for a sustained period like Lewis has, which has to be managed professionally. It looks to me like Lewis is well aware of that and has the support around him to deal with it.

But you are right that ultimately it is that and not actual driving ability that will ultimately define how much more he has left to give. It is a very fine line to walk.

And not just himself either. It is the same throughout the entire team. The single most impressive thing about Mercedes isn't Lewis or the car. It's Toto Wolf, and the way he manages and looks after that team. The way he works that process of always improving, always looking for that little extra edge wherever it is to be found, the relentless pursuit of improvement. And how he manages the people in the team to create the best possible environment for that to happen.

It's night and day compared with Ferrari and RB. And It's hugely impressive.
 

Dave..

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It is the same throughout the entire team. The single most impressive thing about Mercedes isn't Lewis or the car. It's Toto Wolf, and the way he manages and looks after that team. The way he works that process of always improving, always looking for that little extra edge wherever it is to be found, the relentless pursuit of improvement. And how he manages the people in the team to create the best possible environment for that to happen.

It's night and day compared with Ferrari and RB. And It's hugely impressive.

You nailed it.
 

svensktoppen

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Might not please everyone, lol, but I thought this was a pretty good write-up of what makes Lewis so good at the moment. And it's not actually the driving as such.

 

Zach57

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I was talking to a guy today and the circuit is closed after the race to get sorted. Talking about re tarring the complete circuit.
3E23818A-7499-450D-8BC4-957B876A25C7.png



this is from a guy on Instagram that drove his Mclaren P1 there earlier in the year. If it feels like that in a road car I can’t imagine what it feels like in an F1 car.

I’ve never been a fan of Hamilton but nobody can deny that he’s a phenomenal driver. I can see why he would be depressed or run down, he’s trying to improve his best every race since he started racing at the age of 8 or before.
 

stevyg

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Another great race at COTA sold out again so I hope they keep it on the calendar as well as Miami. Toto Wolff can fairly steer, he was holding some spectacular drifts during the hot laps.

Vettel definitely looked the smoothest and fastest out there all weekend until race day, his car was very soft and loose looking once the race started and he was all over the place, I think the suspension problem was there before the start of the race. Norris is an absolute perfectionist, he nails every apex and braking point, it’s amazing to watch. His innocence and honesty make him a likable guy. Hamilton couldn’t get the set up right, he had the worst car of the top 6 going into the race and had to eek out a 1-stop to put him in contention which he almost pulled off. I think if he had’ve done 2 more laps on the mediums he would’ve won but was also fortunate with the double yellows in the last 2 laps to keep Max at bay. Bottas had an incredible weekend and passing Hamilton twice on track was good to see from him, no team orders at Mercedes!

The track looked like a cobblestone street in places. They said about 1/3 of the track has dropped 4 inches since it was built due to the shifting ground underneath but it’s about to be repaved in December which is good news. Albon had such a good drive, really impressive. Is he confirmed for RB next year yet? Interesting that Toto said Mercedes have a plan if Hamilton chooses to go to Ferrari in 2021, I think he should go to prove he can win in a Ferrari too and get another record. Speaking of Ferrari lots of talk about the FIA TD and the mysterious drop of pace, we’ll see how that plays out over the next 2 races but they were a lot slower looking at the speed traces. There have been some rumors with fuel flow measurement, oil in the intercooler leaking through and burning, pneumatic tricks on the ERS but the TD cleared it up. It’s a really genius idea of getting around the 100kg/hr fuel monitor points by pumping more fuel in between the sampling points tricking the monitor into thinking they are within the limit.

Congrats to Lewis on his 6th world championship just unbelievable what he has achieved, the only driver to win a race in every season of their career. The strength of Ferrari coming back and winning races and getting so many pole positions, Bottas winning this year more than ever this year and Lewis still well and truly wrapped up the championship with 2 races to spare. He has more attention on him and more engagements than the rest of the grid put together yet still manages to perform at the highest level. When he retires F1 will be talking about how great he was for a very long time
 

DC.

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Max has won in every season apart from his first full year with Toro Rosso.
 

svensktoppen

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Charles did his dog years with Sauber as well. Lewis got straight in there at McLaren.

Both Max and Charles have the ability to win multiple championships. Will be really interesting to see if either of them can get to that sustained level.
 

DC.

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Max’s next move will dictate how many championships he could potentially win.

At the moment I don’t see him winning any with Red Bull so does he want to replace Hamilton when he moves on or does he want to replace Vettel when he moves on?
 

pablo

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so Hamo to Ferrari to replace Vettel?
Max to Merc, Bottas could be a good mentor for him?
Vettel to....somewhere worse than ferrari?
 

DC.

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I’d be surprised if Hamilton went to Ferrari plus I don’t think they could meet his high standards with regards to giving him the car he wants race after race. Then all the strategy errors would really annoy him.

I think Vettel will retire when he leaves Ferrari, whether or not he stays until the new regs come in for ’21 is anyones guess.

Mercedes would unwise to let Bottas go anywhere as he’s the perfect driver for the role they need him to play. Quick enough to win races/get pole position but just missing that extra bit to really challenge their no.1 driver for the drivers championship.
 

svensktoppen

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Vettel to endurance racing or some such :innocent:

Likely Max' only option is Ferrari when Vettel leaves. But RB are looking really strong, they and Honda just keep getting better. Ferrari you just get the feeling they're too bogged down in internal politics and playing silly-bugger with the rules rather than actual improvement.

It's all fun dreaming up scenarios but I can't see Lewis going anywhere anytime soon. He's been with Mercedes since his carting days. They've made him as much as he has made them, and he knows it.

He's not really a Ferrari kind of person is he? Can't see him being happy there.

Could well see Lewis with RB though :cool: They would be a perfect fit. And as above I think RB and Honda have been doing a much better job than Ferrari. But it will never happen as long as Max is there, RB would never do it.

That said, who knows. 2021 changes everything, everyone starting from zero.
 
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DC.

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Nobody ever seems happy at Ferrari anymore. Alonso didn’t exactly love the place, Vettel always seems to be at odds with something there and they’re not treating Leclerc too well either.

Always an agenda at Ferrari.
 

stevyg

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I don't think Ferrari would take Max with his current attitude and I don't think Max will ever win a world championship driving the way he does. He just done his 100th race, 7 wins & 1 pole position. If he done that in a single season it still wouldn't be close to winning the WDC. If he can play the long game and sacrifice a position or two to finish races that will be a game changer for him. He's exciting to watch I'd like to see him win a championship he's a great racer but for me he will never win a world championship in his current state of mind, he needs some better mentorship in his life.
Hamilton might stay at Mercedes in 2021 to see how they perform, I'm positive he will have a contract clause to be able to jump ship if they give him a dog to drive.
 

svensktoppen

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Personally I think Max has made a big step forward this year, his approach on race day has been night and day from before. And it shows in the results - comfortably ahead of any team mate, and putting a slower car in contention throughout the season.

He just needs a wee bit more top line speed out the RB and he would be right up there.

He still has that spoilt brat outlook, lol, and that makes him less likeable. But he has come a long way.
 

stevyg

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He has matured but then his eye for an eye attitude pokes its ugly head every now and again. He can't afford to do that in a car that is only the best at a few select tracks. It's tough at the top and I think he'll get there eventually but if he doesn't he'll miss out, there's several other drivers who will be there to pick up the pieces.
 
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