2022 Mercedes-AMG | Petronas F1 Team

[harty71]

Can’t be dealing with this WUM

This reminds me of the situation with Button at McLaren except Russell is just as fast as Hamilton over one lap.

The team were won over by Button's confidence and assertiveness, he stamped his authority in the team right from the get go.

It's a great driver pairing and amicable for the time being, it won't last if they are battling for a championship.

[Big Tea]

Guys, just because you are Pro-Russell you do not have to automatically be Anti Hamilton, and Vice Versa. You can still have a favourite without an Antichrist.

[mendis]

They started from a clean slate after the safety car, here was Hamilton's chance to get the team and his first win, Russell did something special there and made a big statement.

TBH I thought it was game over for George at that SC. Lewis was fast through that phase. It was scintillating to see George keep Lewis away from DRS. It just needed a small mistake and Lewis would be all over with DRS. Eyeing his first win and under intense pressure from his team mate whose car had a straight line advantage, George had to get second right every single time and he did. It was a worthy first win and not some fluke that was collected because faster guys ahead fluffed.

[harty71]

They started from a clean slate after the safety car, here was Hamilton's chance to get the team and his first win, Russell did something special there and made a big statement.

TBH I thought it was game over for George at that SC. Lewis was fast through that phase. It was scintillating to see George keep Lewis away from DRS. It just needed a small mistake and Lewis would be all over with DRS. Eyeing his first win and under intense pressure from his team mate whose car had a straight line advantage, George had to get second right every single time and he did. It was a worthy first win and not some fluke that was collected because faster guys ahead fluffed.

Exactly, how confident would you be of a Bottas or even a Rosberg doing the same in that situation, Russell is a special talent.

[mendis]

They started from a clean slate after the safety car, here was Hamilton's chance to get the team and his first win, Russell did something special there and made a big statement.

TBH I thought it was game over for George at that SC. Lewis was fast through that phase. It was scintillating to see George keep Lewis away from DRS. It just needed a small mistake and Lewis would be all over with DRS. Eyeing his first win and under intense pressure from his team mate whose car had a straight line advantage, George had to get second right every single time and he did. It was a worthy first win and not some fluke that was collected because faster guys ahead fluffed.

Exactly, how confident would you be of a Bottas or even a Rosberg doing the same in that situation, Russell is a special talent.

Rosberg did that in 2014, although he was beaten on other tracks with a similar dog chase by Lewis. What is remarkable for George is, the previous generation cars used to struggle while following which made was the case even in 2014, which arguably used to help the driver leading. Half a second ahead is all that was required to stay ahead. But this year, the cars comes out of corner with very little loss in downforce and to be able to still keep it ahead just enough, was incredible.

Bottas was just not the ideal fit for that seat.

A pole position, a win and finishing ahead of his illustrious team mate, is way more than what George could have hoped for after the first GP, in this difficult year for Mercedes. While obviously, he had championship aspiration before the season began, but nevertheless a good way to round off the year and carry all the confidence to next year.

[uchihaigor1701]

Dude honestly I think I watched another sport. All Lewis sacrifice to improve the car. And in the second half Russell was swallowed up. Well if you think that's not me who's going to open your mind we'll see next year.

[mendis]

Dude honestly I think I watched another sport. All Lewis sacrifice to improve the car. And in the second half Russell was swallowed up. Well if you think that's not me who's going to open your mind we'll see next year.

I think you did. I have posted multiple times about how both drivers shared the responsibility of experimenting through the first half. First hand report from drivers and team personnel.

[harty71]

Dude honestly I think I watched another sport. All Lewis sacrifice to improve the car. And in the second half Russell was swallowed up. Well if you think that's not me who's going to open your mind we'll see next year.

You are just going along with the convenient narrative that is realistically hogwash.

Do you seriously believe that the team and Hamilton would agree to send him down all these failed rabbit holes setup wise regularly?

You think their engineers are that inept that they would stick with failed setup changes for qualifying and the race despite them discovering in the practice sessions that they were way off?

The most realistic explanation is that they have different driving styles so naturally they take a different setup, Russell and his team had a better handle on things. Both drivers try things and if they fail they revert back to something more conventional. There's nothing unique to the situation, it happens with every team and every driver.

[SparkyAMG]

Lewis is almost 38, and is no doubt going to be heading away from his physical peak soon, if he isn't already on that journey. There's no shame in that and the man shouldn't be judged on what's to come, but rather on what he's achieved to date.

I've been a fan of his since he joined the sport and over the last two seasons I would say that I've started to see some of that decline, though it's still relatively marginal at this stage. In addition to Brazil, a win in Singapore this year was definitely up for grabs, and a younger Lewis would no doubt have made it happen.

I think George has done well this year and will continue to measure up favourably against Lewis at this respective point in both of their careers, but I'd say the main difference between the pair was during the first phase of the season when the team were reportedly experimenting with setup and George was getting more out of those weekends.

I don't really buy that Lewis was the only one with a compromised car, but having watched him for 15 years it's easy to see when he's not fully focused on performance and is letting other factors get in the way of results. With that said, it'll be interesting to see if his instincts kick back in if there's a sniff of a championship next year. That's when we'll really be able to tell what George is made of too.

[harty71]

Lewis is almost 38, and is no doubt going to be heading away from his physical peak soon, if he isn't already on that journey. There's no shame in that and the man shouldn't be judged on what's to come, but rather on what he's achieved to date.

I've been a fan of his since he joined the sport and over the last two seasons I would say that I've started to see some of that decline, though it's still relatively marginal at this stage. In addition to Brazil, a win in Singapore this year was definitely up for grabs, and a younger Lewis would no doubt have made it happen.

I think George has done well this year and will continue to measure up favourably against Lewis at this respective point in both of their careers, but I'd say the main difference between the pair was during the first phase of the season when the team were reportedly experimenting with setup and George was getting more out of those weekends.

I don't really buy that Lewis was the only one with a compromised car, but having watched him for 15 years it's easy to see when he's not fully focused on performance and is letting other factors get in the way of results. With that said, it'll be interesting to see if his instincts kick back in if there's a sniff of a championship next year. That's when we'll really be able to tell what George is made of too.

That's why I said all along he should have retired rather than face Russell because by the time he does call it a day Russell will have tarnished his legacy.

I mean it's impossible to say whether he's past it or not, all that will count in the record books is that he lost out to his teammate, that matters as far as legacy goes. How can you be labelled the best ever if you're not even the best driver in your own team?

Of course you can't take away his past achievements but there will always be doubt there and points to it being more about car than driver.

I hope this defeat fires Hamilton up even more and we see an improved version next season, of course if there is one.

[taperoo2k]

Guys, just because you are Pro-Russell you do not have to automatically be Anti Hamilton, and Vice Versa. You can still have a favourite without an Antichrist.

Mercedes have got a very good driver pairing in Lewis and George. I think what a lot of people here seem to have forgotten is that Lewis spent a lot of time on development and experimental work in an attempt to help the team to understand the car earlier in the season. That work looks to have paid off, and likely bodes well for next season.

The thing that George has been great at this season is his consistency and tyre management skills. It's that consistency alongside Lewis development work, that's put Mercedes within sniffing distance of 2nd place in the constructors championship. If you are a Mercedes fan then you should be happy that the team has such a good driver line up. It might end in tears, but that's F1.

As for Lewis's age? He may stop when he doesn't feel like he's got the speed to compete or he feels like he's got nothing left to prove in F1. As for the race? George showed he has the composure to win under pressure and Lewis did one of his classic recovery drives. If Max and Lewis hadn't banged wheels? We might have seen a different outcome to the race.

As for those saying Lewis should retire before George ruins his legacy? Whatever happens in the tail end of his career, it won't tarnish his reputation or record. Besides Lewis will probably relish the challenge of taking George on in a title fight. A driver will come along who eclipses Lewis's records, but that's the nature of sport. You set a benchmark and somebody else comes along to equal it or go beyond it.

[DGP123]

Only stat worth looking at is seven world titles. All the greats lose h2h’s v a teammate at some point, and a variety of factors come into play, in pinpointing why that outcome occurred. Legacy has certainly not been tarnished, as he’s showcased he faster than GR on Saturday, and pretty much bent him over on Sunday’s, WHEN, his race is not compromised.

Next season, if Lewis sniffs a title, his game will go to another level, similar to LEC, after he was beaten by Sainz the year before.

[Big Tea]

Guys, just because you are Pro-Russell you do not have to automatically be Anti Hamilton, and Vice Versa. You can still have a favourite without an Antichrist.

Mercedes have got a very good driver pairing in Lewis and George. I think what a lot of people here seem to have forgotten is that Lewis spent a lot of time on development and experimental work in an attempt to help the team to understand the car earlier in the season. That work looks to have paid off, and likely bodes well for next season.

The thing that George has been great at this season is his consistency and tyre management skills. It's that consistency alongside Lewis development work, that's put Mercedes within sniffing distance of 2nd place in the constructors championship. If you are a Mercedes fan then you should be happy that the team has such a good driver line up. It might end in tears, but that's F1.

As for Lewis's age? He may stop when he doesn't feel like he's got the speed to compete or he feels like he's got nothing left to prove in F1. As for the race? George showed he has the composure to win under pressure and Lewis did one of his classic recovery drives. If Max and Lewis hadn't banged wheels? We might have seen a different outcome to the race.

As for those saying Lewis should retire before George ruins his legacy? Whatever happens in the tail end of his career, it won't tarnish his reputation or record. Besides Lewis will probably relish the challenge of taking George on in a title fight. A driver will come along who eclipses Lewis's records, but that's the nature of sport. You set a benchmark and somebody else comes along to equal it or go beyond it.

I really believe that if Lewis had won the 'extra' championship he would retire this year.
Now he has a challenge again and may do 2 or 3 more years. Look at his general attitude (inside F1) this year to how it was last year. He seemed to just be going through the motions for much of the year and was more concerned with things off track.

[SparkyAMG]

Lewis is almost 38, and is no doubt going to be heading away from his physical peak soon, if he isn't already on that journey. There's no shame in that and the man shouldn't be judged on what's to come, but rather on what he's achieved to date.

I've been a fan of his since he joined the sport and over the last two seasons I would say that I've started to see some of that decline, though it's still relatively marginal at this stage. In addition to Brazil, a win in Singapore this year was definitely up for grabs, and a younger Lewis would no doubt have made it happen.

I think George has done well this year and will continue to measure up favourably against Lewis at this respective point in both of their careers, but I'd say the main difference between the pair was during the first phase of the season when the team were reportedly experimenting with setup and George was getting more out of those weekends.

I don't really buy that Lewis was the only one with a compromised car, but having watched him for 15 years it's easy to see when he's not fully focused on performance and is letting other factors get in the way of results. With that said, it'll be interesting to see if his instincts kick back in if there's a sniff of a championship next year. That's when we'll really be able to tell what George is made of too.

That's why I said all along he should have retired rather than face Russell because by the time he does call it a day Russell will have tarnished his legacy.

I mean it's impossible to say whether he's past it or not, all that will count in the record books is that he lost out to his teammate, that matters as far as legacy goes. How can you be labelled the best ever if you're not even the best driver in your own team?

Of course you can't take away his past achievements but there will always be doubt there and points to it being more about car than driver.

I hope this defeat fires Hamilton up even more and we see an improved version next season, of course if there is one.

It seems some people care a lot more about his legacy and whether or not he can go down as the best in history than the man himself does.

Nobody cares about Michael Schumachers 3 season's alongside Rosberg, and in time nobody will judge Lewis by his last couple of seasons either. It'll be his 100+ race wins and 7(+) titles.

[harty71]

Lewis is almost 38, and is no doubt going to be heading away from his physical peak soon, if he isn't already on that journey. There's no shame in that and the man shouldn't be judged on what's to come, but rather on what he's achieved to date.

I've been a fan of his since he joined the sport and over the last two seasons I would say that I've started to see some of that decline, though it's still relatively marginal at this stage. In addition to Brazil, a win in Singapore this year was definitely up for grabs, and a younger Lewis would no doubt have made it happen.

I think George has done well this year and will continue to measure up favourably against Lewis at this respective point in both of their careers, but I'd say the main difference between the pair was during the first phase of the season when the team were reportedly experimenting with setup and George was getting more out of those weekends.

I don't really buy that Lewis was the only one with a compromised car, but having watched him for 15 years it's easy to see when he's not fully focused on performance and is letting other factors get in the way of results. With that said, it'll be interesting to see if his instincts kick back in if there's a sniff of a championship next year. That's when we'll really be able to tell what George is made of too.

That's why I said all along he should have retired rather than face Russell because by the time he does call it a day Russell will have tarnished his legacy.

I mean it's impossible to say whether he's past it or not, all that will count in the record books is that he lost out to his teammate, that matters as far as legacy goes. How can you be labelled the best ever if you're not even the best driver in your own team?

Of course you can't take away his past achievements but there will always be doubt there and points to it being more about car than driver.

I hope this defeat fires Hamilton up even more and we see an improved version next season, of course if there is one.

It seems some people care a lot more about his legacy and whether or not he can go down as the best in history than the man himself does.

Nobody cares about Michael Schumachers 3 season's alongside Rosberg, and in time nobody will judge Lewis by his last couple of seasons either. It'll be his 100+ race wins and 7(+) titles.

Maybe so but they were different circumstances altogether, the major one being Schumacher had been out of the sport for 3 seasons and was even older than Hamilton is now.

I'd be concerned about a driver's motivation if losing out to a teammate doesn't hurt like mad.