2024 Mercedes-AMG | Petronas F1 Team

[cplchanb]

okok guys lets hold our horses. first of all its not official so the reasons and actual decision is still not confirmed.
second of all they havent even signed a deal yet. its still under "advanced negotiations" so if anything this could be a bargaining chip move by ham or
a preemptive performance clause exit move. in anycase hopefully they can deliver a wdc capable car so at the worst case he can leave as an 8wdc.

[AR3-GP]

The amount of interest in the Merc F1 team is going to fall off a cliff. I just don't see a compelling marketing case with Russell and a TBA 2nd driver unless that driver is someone like Sebastian Vettel or Fernando Alonso.

[214270]

There’s nothing remotely special about Albon, Gasly or Ocon. They’ve all been tried and tested, and only excel at mid tier teams, when the pressure is off.

IMO, they need to be bold and go for Antonelli. He’s massively hyped, as Max was, and he was fast tracked. If you’re good enough, you are old enough. No point playing safe now Mercedes aren’t at the front of F1

Mick’s another.

He might be a stop gap.

Yeh....if they want various half bits of Mercedes scattered across multiple circuits

Haha,I hear you. I’m just not so onboard with fast-tracking Antonelli, that smells like something that could go spectacularly wrong. Set of familiar hands to steady the ship might be more prudent

[bauc]

So Lewis knows that Mercedes can't/wont fight for championship anytime soon and he wants to try for the first time in his long carrier to drive for Ferrari? For me it makes sense if this is his main reason for leaving. If he wins one with Ferrari he will cement himself as the ''greatest'' ever so why not to try at least a?

[Hammerfist]

okok guys lets hold our horses. first of all its not official so the reasons and actual decision is still not confirmed.
second of all they havent even signed a deal yet. its still under "advanced negotiations" so if anything this could be a bargaining chip move by ham or
a preemptive performance clause exit move. in anycase hopefully they can deliver a wdc capable car so at the worst case he can leave as an 8wdc.

No one in their right mind will support an outgoing driver in a wdc capable car. You can bet money Russell will be ahead of Lewis this year. Forget about an 8th title at Merc. It isn’t happening. They will keep some things away from Lewis so that he doesn’t take any inside knowledge with him to Ferrari. That will affect his performance for sure. The more I think about this the more obvious it will be disastrous for Lewis’s career.

[JPower]

Russell is at most 1 tenth behind Lewis on race/quali pace and will only improve as he gains experience and backing from the team. Don't see why not go all in behind George and bring in a Bottas-like second driver?

George will have been at the team for 3 years by the time Lewis leaves. He'll be ready to lead the team IMO

Ocon, Gasly, Albon all possible IMO

I'm sure the two Alpine drivers are scrambling as we speak but why pick them when you could have Sainz?

Albon seems like the logical fit just given his relationship Russell and Mercedes ties via Williams but I really don't know how he'll respond to fightning up at the front again. I'm also skeptical of his outright pace despite his performances at Williams last year...

Antonelli could be OK if he aces F2 but you don't want to be left in the lurch if he bombs.

Decisions, decisions.

[AR3-GP]

Russell is at most 1 tenth behind Lewis on race/quali pace and will only improve as he gains experience and backing from the team. Don't see why not go all in behind George and bring in a Bottas-like second driver?

George will have been at the team for 3 years by the time Lewis leaves. He'll be ready to lead the team IMO

Ocon, Gasly, Albon all possible IMO

I'm sure the two Alpine drivers are scrambling as we speak but why pick them when you could have Sainz?

Albon seems like the logical fit just given his relationship Russell and Mercedes ties via Williams but I really don't know how he'll respond to fightning up at the front again. I'm also skeptical of his outright pace despite his performances at Williams last year...

Antonelli could be OK if he aces F2 but you don't want to be left in the lurch if he bombs.

Decisions, decisions.

Albon and Russell? That would be unfortunate.

[OnEcRiTiCaL]

Hamilton in Ferrari from 2025,confirmed!?
https://motorsport.uol.com.br/f1/news/h ... /10571319/

[Hammerfist]

Mick’s another.

He might be a stop gap.

Yeh....if they want various half bits of Mercedes scattered across multiple circuits

Haha,I hear you. I’m just not so onboard with fast-tracking Antonelli, that smells like something that could go spectacularly wrong. Set of familiar hands to steady the ship might be more prudent

Knowing Merc they will go for a known quantity. You can’t afford to put a bust in the second car. That has the potential to weaken them way too much. My guess is guys like Albon or sainz have a good chance of landing there. What is almost certain is there will be a downgrade from losing Hamilton.

[Sevach]

So Lewis knows that Mercedes can't/wont fight for championship anytime soon and he wants to try for the first time in his long carrier to drive for Ferrari? For me it makes sense if this is his main reason for leaving. If he wins one with Ferrari he will cement himself as the ''greatest'' ever so why not to try at least a?

I think he's already the most famous driver ever, winning for Ferrari would raise his "brand" to levels beyond comprehension.

And maybe he's just frustrated and bored at Merc, needs a new home, it's been more than 10 years.

Haha,I hear you. I’m just not so onboard with fast-tracking Antonelli, that smells like something that could go spectacularly wrong. Set of familiar hands to steady the ship might be more prudent

Fast tracking doesn't sound very Mercedes like, i'm sure they'll want to place him in a Williams for a couple of years, it's their MO.

I think Mercedes goes for the obvious and signs Carlos, he has Button type potential and maybe with a less exuberant team mate, and specially one that isn't his complete opposite in setup requirement, he will shine.

[DGP123]

Agree. Russell and Albon at Mercedes is so mid tier, it’s quite a fall from grace

[Bill_Kar]

So Lewis knows that Mercedes can't/wont fight for championship anytime soon and he wants to try for the first time in his long carrier to drive for Ferrari? For me it makes sense if this is his main reason for leaving. If he wins one with Ferrari he will cement himself as the ''greatest'' ever so why not to try at least a?

I think he's already the most famous driver ever, winning for Ferrari would raise his "brand" to levels beyond comprehension.

And maybe he's just frustrated and bored at Merc, needs a new home, it's been more than 10 years.

Yeah, I definitely see it a low-risk medium reward situation for LH.

If it goes bust, so what? He'll be 40, there is no extreme pressure due to age and RB being demonically good, and LH will be seen more fondly by Ferrari fans that constitute the bulk of F1 fans in the future. Winning a championship ofc would be legendary in an incomprehensible scale (winning the record-breaking 8th WITH Ferrari, ending the Ferrari drought as well), no doubt, but even a win in Monza would be great to see and certainly one for the history books.

The only thing that could go horribly wrong is Mercedes winning in 2025, but let's be realistic, that does not have many chances to materialise.

[organic]

Motorsport BR claims that Toto only found out the move from Lewis yesterday. So likely hasn't been signed for a long time

[JPower]

Albon and Russell? That would be unfortunate.

I agree. I'd probably have Sainz until Antonelli is showing form but we'll see soon enough...

[billamend]

Sooooo...if you're Toto, who's your next driver?

Albon