2024 Mercedes-AMG | Petronas F1 Team

[organic]

What is so ridiculous about it? ...

This sentence was quite ridiculous.

I remember the shock many of us had during the pandemic when the no-name Williams driver was wiping the walls with everyone in the simulator races.

It is so ridiculous; I agree with organic that this might as well be satire. Even the most ardent Russel-hater wouldn't say that Russel was a "no name driver" that only got attention because of pandemic video game sessions.

I really dont think that was the same angle that user 'organic' was coming from, though.

But if so, ok, my bad. And I would agree. Though I would say that Russell has been pretty overlooked in terms of all the 'top driver' discussions that typically go on. There has undoubtedly also been efforts by a certain fan group to constantly downplay Russell, and it helps a lot(for those trying to downplay him) that Russell only came onboard after Mercedes stopped being dominant, removing the spotlight.

He won GP3 and F2 championships as a rookie consecutively and was signed to the mercedes driver academy before racing in F2. He wasn't a no-name even well before he came to F1.

And online F1 2021 lobby is not a sim-racing platform lol

Russell is across the 3 seasons together matching a declining and unmotivated Hamilton. For me he just hasn't shown as much as Leclerc/Norris/Verstappen since joining F1. His race pace never living up to his rapid qualifying pace is probably part of that perception for a lot of people

[maygun]

This sentence was quite ridiculous.



It is so ridiculous; I agree with organic that this might as well be satire. Even the most ardent Russel-hater wouldn't say that Russel was a "no name driver" that only got attention because of pandemic video game sessions.

I really dont think that was the same angle that user 'organic' was coming from, though.

But if so, ok, my bad. And I would agree. Though I would say that Russell has been pretty overlooked in terms of all the 'top driver' discussions that typically go on. There has undoubtedly also been efforts by a certain fan group to constantly downplay Russell, and it helps a lot(for those trying to downplay him) that Russell only came onboard after Mercedes stopped being dominant, removing the spotlight.

He won GP3 and F2 championships as a rookie consecutively and was signed to the mercedes driver academy before racing in F2. He wasn't a no-name even well before he came to F1.

And online F1 2021 lobby is not a sim-racing platform lol

Russell is across the 3 seasons together matching a declining and unmotivated Hamilton. For me he just hasn't shown as much as Leclerc/Norris/Verstappen since joining F1. His race pace never living up to his rapid qualifying pace is probably part of that perception for a lot of people

He literally had a car that could win a race 2-3 times and won one of them. I would be happy to hear your arguments on how you are comparing him with Leclerc/Norris especially.

[djones]

The pace of George in a race is 75% of the time average at best.

This is his fundamental problem and this is why he will never be WDC.

[Seanspeed]

This sentence was quite ridiculous.



It is so ridiculous; I agree with organic that this might as well be satire. Even the most ardent Russel-hater wouldn't say that Russel was a "no name driver" that only got attention because of pandemic video game sessions.

I really dont think that was the same angle that user 'organic' was coming from, though.

But if so, ok, my bad. And I would agree. Though I would say that Russell has been pretty overlooked in terms of all the 'top driver' discussions that typically go on. There has undoubtedly also been efforts by a certain fan group to constantly downplay Russell, and it helps a lot(for those trying to downplay him) that Russell only came onboard after Mercedes stopped being dominant, removing the spotlight.

He won GP3 and F2 championships as a rookie consecutively and was signed to the mercedes driver academy before racing in F2. He wasn't a no-name even well before he came to F1.

And online F1 2021 lobby is not a sim-racing platform lol

Russell is across the 3 seasons together matching a declining and unmotivated Hamilton. For me he just hasn't shown as much as Leclerc/Norris/Verstappen since joining F1. His race pace never living up to his rapid qualifying pace is probably part of that perception for a lot of people

Well I was not the one arguing he was a 'no name', I didn't know with your reply that that one little bit was the part you were talking about.

I've been following him in junior categories so also knew he was a potential star, and I am not defending that he's a 'no name', though again, I'd say he often gets overlooked in talks about who the best drivers are in F1 right now.

Also, what's the basis that Lewis is declining in the past three seasons, when the only basis for comparison is Russell? I'm not even necessarily disagreeing with you, but it further points to how Russell gets disregarded and written off, even when performing extremely well against Lewis Hamilton.

[organic]

I really dont think that was the same angle that user 'organic' was coming from, though.

But if so, ok, my bad. And I would agree. Though I would say that Russell has been pretty overlooked in terms of all the 'top driver' discussions that typically go on. There has undoubtedly also been efforts by a certain fan group to constantly downplay Russell, and it helps a lot(for those trying to downplay him) that Russell only came onboard after Mercedes stopped being dominant, removing the spotlight.

He won GP3 and F2 championships as a rookie consecutively and was signed to the mercedes driver academy before racing in F2. He wasn't a no-name even well before he came to F1.

And online F1 2021 lobby is not a sim-racing platform lol

Russell is across the 3 seasons together matching a declining and unmotivated Hamilton. For me he just hasn't shown as much as Leclerc/Norris/Verstappen since joining F1. His race pace never living up to his rapid qualifying pace is probably part of that perception for a lot of people

Well I was not the one arguing he was a 'no name', I didn't know with your reply that that one little bit was the part you were talking about.

I've been following him in junior categories so also knew he was a potential star, and I am not defending that he's a 'no name', though again, I'd say he often gets overlooked in talks about who the best drivers are in F1 right now.

Also, what's the basis that Lewis is declining in the past three seasons, when the only basis for comparison is Russell? I'm not even necessarily disagreeing with you, but it further points to how Russell gets disregarded and written off, even when performing extremely well against Lewis Hamilton.

I think the mistakes like Imola and Baku '21 a peak Hamilton never makes. You can compare the way he goes about weekends to earlier in his career. And Hamilton himself acknowledges he's getting older and is losing one-lap pace. His declining record in qualifying Vs Bottas, and then Vs George suggests this to be true. It's been seen with lots of champions - I'd argue every driver that's had a lengthy f1 career - as they age so why should Lewis be an exception at almost 40.. you cant avoid the effects of time

[Seanspeed]

I think the mistakes like Imola and Baku '21 a peak Hamilton never makes. You can compare the way he goes about weekends to earlier in his career. And Hamilton himself acknowledges he's getting older and is losing one-lap pace. His declining record in qualifying Vs Bottas, and then Vs George suggests this to be true. It's been seen with lots of champions - I'd argue every driver that's had a lengthy f1 career - as they age so why should Lewis be an exception at almost 40.. you cant avoid the effects of time

In my experience, most top tier sports competitors dont ever admit they've 'lost a step', and say that as soon as they admit they do and cant be the best, they'll call it quits.

Do you have a source where Lewis said he's losing pace because of age?

I mean, many will still consider Lewis in 2020 a prime season(with 11 race wins in 17 races), yet in 2021, when he suddenly has an extremely tough competitor, was suddenly the start of his decline? And then in 2022 when the car isn't as good anymore and he's got a new up-and-comer teammate, he's struggling a bit more? Feels a bit....coincidental, no?

I dont know the truth, but it's a very convenient narrative for sure.

[ringo]

The pace of George in a race is 75% of the time average at best.

This is his fundamental problem and this is why he will never be WDC.

I don't think his pace is average. I think in Miami 2023 he was going long on some mediums and his pace did not fall off at all. Hamilton could not really make a dent. It was pretty much a stalemate. On the other hand there are types where his pace just collapses, but I feel this only happens when he is unrealistic in the inherent pace in the car and wears through the tyres to keep up with the front runners.
Never is a strong word. Look on Nico Rosberg for instance. He was not known for strong race pace. All his years in Mercedes and he never demonstrated a threatening pace. His strength was qualifying and getting the highest grid spot to have the lead driver strategy. And he didn't do too badly in getting a title.
George is in the same vein. He's not going to chasing down his teammate from afar, but he has enough strength of pace to win a title in a front row car.
Once the team sorts out his impulsive behavior, risk management and chattiness, then George would make a solid team leader.

[ringo]

I think the mistakes like Imola and Baku '21 a peak Hamilton never makes. You can compare the way he goes about weekends to earlier in his career. And Hamilton himself acknowledges he's getting older and is losing one-lap pace. His declining record in qualifying Vs Bottas, and then Vs George suggests this to be true. It's been seen with lots of champions - I'd argue every driver that's had a lengthy f1 career - as they age so why should Lewis be an exception at almost 40.. you cant avoid the effects of time

In my experience, most top tier sports competitors dont ever admit they've 'lost a step', and say that as soon as they admit they do and cant be the best, they'll call it quits.

Do you have a source where Lewis said he's losing pace because of age?

I mean, many will still consider Lewis in 2020 a prime season(with 11 race wins in 17 races), yet in 2021, when he suddenly has an extremely tough competitor, was suddenly the start of his decline? And then in 2022 when the car isn't as good anymore and he's got a new up-and-comer teammate, he's struggling a bit more? Feels a bit....coincidental, no?

I dont know the truth, but it's a very convenient narrative for sure.

I don't think those are accurate references. I don't even think 2020 and 2021 was his prime. His prime passed long before that.
We just have to look on sport in general. 32 is the peak. 34 is a drop off physically, but master level of experience.
Beyond that is a decline. Perez, Hulk, Riciardo.. these guys are declining. Webber and Button know where they stood and left a couple years after they peaked. There is enough evidence looking on other drivers who recently retired.
Vettel is a good example. It's no coincidence these guys didn't go much beyond 36 years old. and at 36 they were fighting a losing battle after the peaks of 32-33.

[PlatinumZealot]

George is only leading by 13 points? As usual Lewis is very wiley with these things. He knows fighting for 6th place means he can basically waste a third of the season experimenting and developing the car to make it come good by Silverstone, after which point he wipes kicks into "purple patch" season and devastes the field. What im saying is, as bad as he is losing H2H now... He might still come out on top by Abudhabi.

[214270]

The pace of George in a race is 75% of the time average at best.

This is his fundamental problem and this is why he will never be WDC.

Unless they give him a car with ample performance, enough to run & hide like VER last yr. If they ask him to fight for it, he’ll struggle IMO. Which reminds me of a comment on reddit about RUS outperforming HAM in a race; through all phases & stints, so start-to-finish. Eyeballing it, does such a race even exist?

[hollus]

Mod instruction!!
Take the hint guys & gals, lots of posts regarding the drivers have been deleted in the last few days.
...

No longer hinting, continued driver/driver ONLY discussion will be automatically deleted and will be reviewed for the purposes of warnings.

Spamming the team thread stops. NOW!

[Luscion]

[Formula 1 fan]

So, new floor will arrive for Canada race?

[PlatinumZealot]

New floor came in Miami did it not?

[Luscion]

New floor came in Miami did it not?

Yea i'd be surprised if they bring another in Canada