2024 Mercedes-AMG | Petronas F1 Team

[JPower]

With Lewis gone it will be like a McLaren that intensity will be totally gone. The intensity of a team normally reflects that of it's lead driver.

Currently George is sorta the lead driver... But Lewis is keeping the pressure on with getting the car right and the experiments. It was working beautifully until the British GP and Spa after which the team went back to their snarky ways and started ignoring him to favour George.

Headcanon.

[PlatinumZealot]

Lol.. That's the only explanation for the sudden u-turn in the cars progress don't you think? Correlation can indeed be causation this time around!

[Dunlay]

Lol.. That's the only explanation for the sudden u-turn in the cars progress don't you think? Correlation can indeed be causation this time around!

Then why was the cars so bad in 2022 and 2023 when Lewis was the leading driver? He must be responsible for those turds, if he is not responsible for the current state of W15 as he is not leading the development.

[SKYnRacing24]

I’ve got to admit, Lewis's fans are some of the most unhinged I’ve seen in my 30 years of watching F1. Granted, back then there was no social media, but some of the takes coming from his fanbase this year have been downright bizarre.

It feels like anything Toto says is immediately seen as him being resentful or slagging off Lewis. I watched Toto’s High Performance interview, and if you actually listen to it, he was very complimentary about Lewis, multiple times. But I mean, his fans' take on Toto’s comments on the 2021 season, when Lewis went to some Caribbean island with a few friends and they told Toto he was doing okay, is completely unhinged. They’re making it sound like Toto is a terrible person who doesn’t care about Lewis’s mental health. I mean, what??

December 9th can’t come soon enough. As a Mercedes fan, I really need a break from all this vitriol and madness, and I’m sure Toto and the team feel the same. Looking forward to a more peaceful 2025 season.

Next year will be a welcome turning of the page for the Merc team. Russell and Antonelli have great potential, every bit the potential of the Norris/Piastri partnership. And you can see what happens when you have a positive driver pairing spurring on the team like at McLaren. No excuses, no conspiracies, no harrassment of team members, just pure focus towards winning with two young talented drivers at the helm. Suddenly the results come.

You know what. I think this post hits the nail on the head. Hamilton is the catalyst for division in a team. Due to his status and wearing his heart on his sleeve. Everything gets micro analysed because he runs his mouth. He indirectly got Mike Elliot fired. Team LH have weird issues and they have spread through most social media platforms escalating certain issues because Lewis has stroked the fires himself.

Team harmony will get this team back on track. Kimi will be keen to learn from George and it wouldn't surprise me if this improves overall results. Whatever Lewis is having trouble extracting in these GE merc cars. I feel Kimi won't have the same issues because his driving style can still be adapted and is not as hard wired as Lewis's previous gen of car was.

Its humbling to see what the real merc fans have to say about the Lewis Hamilton effect. He is part of the reason for the downfall of merc in its current guise. Yes he's been a stable in this team but this era has come to a end and im glad he's leaving so he can find his form in Ferrari and merc can take things back to basics and follow GR lead. If Merc can give him a car even level on the Mclarens and Ferrari's then he can have a shot at a title. His one lap pace is great and his race pace has improved. If Kimi can show the same traits then the next era will be a exciting one.

[Luscion]

Not sure where to post this but i guess its both Merc and Ferrari related

Lewis Hamilton will not take part in the end-of-season test.

Ferrari is planning a test for Hamilton with its 2022 car.

[DGP123]

It's very peaceful in the midfield...

Last time Lewis left a team it marked the end of that team's fortunes for a very long time. I wouldn't be happy if I was a Mercedes fan

The only post with a sense of reality in the past two pages.

[Jurgen von Diaz]

As a Mercedes fan, I really need a break from all this vitriol and madness, and I’m sure Toto and the team feel the same. Looking forward to a more peaceful 2025 season.

It's very peaceful in the midfield...

Last time Lewis left a team it marked the end of that team's fortunes for a very long time. I wouldn't be happy if I was a Mercedes fan

There is a rumor that Merc's '26 engine will be a spicy one, and I'm not talking about the "spicy São Paulo '21 engine" but the '14 engine. If Merc does it again, George's dominance could bore the fans.

[Cs98]

I’ve got to admit, Lewis's fans are some of the most unhinged I’ve seen in my 30 years of watching F1. Granted, back then there was no social media, but some of the takes coming from his fanbase this year have been downright bizarre.

It feels like anything Toto says is immediately seen as him being resentful or slagging off Lewis. I watched Toto’s High Performance interview, and if you actually listen to it, he was very complimentary about Lewis, multiple times. But I mean, his fans' take on Toto’s comments on the 2021 season, when Lewis went to some Caribbean island with a few friends and they told Toto he was doing okay, is completely unhinged. They’re making it sound like Toto is a terrible person who doesn’t care about Lewis’s mental health. I mean, what??

December 9th can’t come soon enough. As a Mercedes fan, I really need a break from all this vitriol and madness, and I’m sure Toto and the team feel the same. Looking forward to a more peaceful 2025 season.

Next year will be a welcome turning of the page for the Merc team. Russell and Antonelli have great potential, every bit the potential of the Norris/Piastri partnership. And you can see what happens when you have a positive driver pairing spurring on the team like at McLaren. No excuses, no conspiracies, no harrassment of team members, just pure focus towards winning with two young talented drivers at the helm. Suddenly the results come.

Norris and Piastry, With what ive seen this season from the pair in the best car on the grid, I wont be filled with confidence if that is what i should expect from GR and Antonelli. I expect more from GR, Antonelli gets a free pass as it will be his first season, But considering he was so highly rated we let LH go, he should be expected to perform to the level Max shown in his first season.

Dont get why just becasue LH is leaving, the team will be less pressured to perform, like this season, i expect Mercades to challange for the constructors, that is the level a top team should be aiming for, any thing less is accepting your not good enough, now the rot has just set in and the rebuilding needs to start, now we on a Williams / Mclaren / ferrari barren run.

Norris and Piastri have provided a stable and positive environment for McLaren to develop and get better, without the pressure of needing to instantly perform like when you have a Hamilton in the team. That doesn't mean they are the best drivers on the grid individually, but they are a very good pairing. I think Russell and Antonelli will have a similar dynamic. Both very talented, both have positive and workable attitudes, no ego issues, no entitlement from too much success. That will provide a great platform for Mercedes to return to competitiveness in time.

[Dunlay]

Dont get why just becasue LH is leaving, the team will be less pressured to perform, like this season, i expect Mercades to challange for the constructors, that is the level a top team should be aiming for, any thing less is accepting your not good enough, now the rot has just set in and the rebuilding needs to start, now we on a Williams / Mclaren / ferrari barren run.

Mercedes won't have any less pressure to perform, but they will have NO pressure to satisfy a megastar driver's needs and don't have to worry about maniacal sabotage claims and undue pressure from a toxic fan base abuse. It should allow the team to simply focus on the job in serenity and take technical decisions purely on the basis of the collective intellect of the technical team, not because a star driver is pressurizing them to copy some other car on the grid. They may or may not produce a competitive car for next year, but their focus on 2026 would be far easier.

[Matt2725]

It's very peaceful in the midfield...

Last time Lewis left a team it marked the end of that team's fortunes for a very long time. I wouldn't be happy if I was a Mercedes fan

The only post with a sense of reality in the past two pages.

If you believe that Hamilton has magic powers then sure, reality. It worked out for him one time switching from McLaren to Mercedes.
Mercedes fans should be happy because the vast majority of the toxic fan culture surrounding the team will be heading for the Tifosi instead.

[Luscion]

Dont get why just becasue LH is leaving, the team will be less pressured to perform, like this season, i expect Mercades to challange for the constructors, that is the level a top team should be aiming for, any thing less is accepting your not good enough, now the rot has just set in and the rebuilding needs to start, now we on a Williams / Mclaren / ferrari barren run.

Mercedes won't have any less pressure to perform, but they will have NO pressure to satisfy a megastar driver's needs and don't have to worry about maniacal sabotage claims and undue pressure from a toxic fan base abuse. It should allow the team to simply focus on the job in serenity and take technical decisions purely on the basis of the collective intellect of the technical team, not because a star driver is pressurizing them to copy some other car on the grid. They may or may not produce a competitive car for next year, but their focus on 2026 would be far easier.

Merc werent pressured by it, infact they told him he didnt know what he was talking about and to shut up when he was begging them to change concepts so he stopped, then in bahrain 2023 they had that emergency meeting during testing and they told him maybe he was right and almost immediately abandoned the concept, toto also said the biggest mistake was them sticking with the no sidepods concept and not listening to him, some of this is on DTS. But i do agree there will still be pressure off the team not having to satisfy a 7 time world champ in general

[Mosin123]

Next year will be a welcome turning of the page for the Merc team. Russell and Antonelli have great potential, every bit the potential of the Norris/Piastri partnership. And you can see what happens when you have a positive driver pairing spurring on the team like at McLaren. No excuses, no conspiracies, no harrassment of team members, just pure focus towards winning with two young talented drivers at the helm. Suddenly the results come.

Norris and Piastry, With what ive seen this season from the pair in the best car on the grid, I wont be filled with confidence if that is what i should expect from GR and Antonelli. I expect more from GR, Antonelli gets a free pass as it will be his first season, But considering he was so highly rated we let LH go, he should be expected to perform to the level Max shown in his first season.

Dont get why just becasue LH is leaving, the team will be less pressured to perform, like this season, i expect Mercades to challange for the constructors, that is the level a top team should be aiming for, any thing less is accepting your not good enough, now the rot has just set in and the rebuilding needs to start, now we on a Williams / Mclaren / ferrari barren run.

Norris and Piastri have provided a stable and positive environment for McLaren to develop and get better, without the pressure of needing to instantly perform like when you have a Hamilton in the team. That doesn't mean they are the best drivers on the grid individually, but they are a very good pairing. I think Russell and Antonelli will have a similar dynamic. Both very talented, both have positive and workable attitudes, no ego issues, no entitlement from too much success. That will provide a great platform for Mercedes to return to competitiveness in time.

Norris and OP have been squabling for half the season, with both ignoring team orders, or waiting to the very last possible sec to abide by them, OP next year is going to want to make his mark even more.

Every driver on the grid is " entitled "

[Mosin123]

Dont get why just becasue LH is leaving, the team will be less pressured to perform, like this season, i expect Mercades to challange for the constructors, that is the level a top team should be aiming for, any thing less is accepting your not good enough, now the rot has just set in and the rebuilding needs to start, now we on a Williams / Mclaren / ferrari barren run.

Mercedes won't have any less pressure to perform, but they will have NO pressure to satisfy a megastar driver's needs and don't have to worry about maniacal sabotage claims and undue pressure from a toxic fan base abuse. It should allow the team to simply focus on the job in serenity and take technical decisions purely on the basis of the collective intellect of the technical team, not because a star driver is pressurizing them to copy some other car on the grid. They may or may not produce a competitive car for next year, but their focus on 2026 would be far easier.

So when LH leaves, You think GR is going to magically stop calling the car --- too? GR who has already been more critical than LH has been is going to stop?

Was Toto not screaming from the roof tops that he wanted Max in the team.. That doesnt sound like a team needing less pressure.

If your are at a top team, your expected to perform. If your aiming to win, any thing less is already a failure unless your really close. If aiming to win is to much pressure, then your no longer top team material.

[Cs98]

Norris and Piastry, With what ive seen this season from the pair in the best car on the grid, I wont be filled with confidence if that is what i should expect from GR and Antonelli. I expect more from GR, Antonelli gets a free pass as it will be his first season, But considering he was so highly rated we let LH go, he should be expected to perform to the level Max shown in his first season.

Dont get why just becasue LH is leaving, the team will be less pressured to perform, like this season, i expect Mercades to challange for the constructors, that is the level a top team should be aiming for, any thing less is accepting your not good enough, now the rot has just set in and the rebuilding needs to start, now we on a Williams / Mclaren / ferrari barren run.

Norris and Piastri have provided a stable and positive environment for McLaren to develop and get better, without the pressure of needing to instantly perform like when you have a Hamilton in the team. That doesn't mean they are the best drivers on the grid individually, but they are a very good pairing. I think Russell and Antonelli will have a similar dynamic. Both very talented, both have positive and workable attitudes, no ego issues, no entitlement from too much success. That will provide a great platform for Mercedes to return to competitiveness in time.

Norris and OP have been squabling for half the season, with both ignoring team orders, or waiting to the very last possible sec to abide by them, OP next year is going to want to make his mark even more.

Every driver on the grid is " entitled "

Some squabbling is inevitable when you have two competitive drivers, the problem is if it devolves into toxicity and negativity for the team as a whole. That hasn't happened at McLaren as far as I can tell, but it has been a consistent theme at Merc in recent times. For example, how many times have we seen some version of the following story? Driver has a subpar result in quali or the race, afterwards they make some cryptic comments about the car or the strategy, then a sh*tstorm ensues on social media when a faction of toxic fans start making unfounded allegations, and finally the team has to come out and defuse/debunk the situation in their post-race debrief. We've seen that story on repeat for a while now coming from one side, it's got to be grating for the people working within the team.

[Mosin123]

Norris and Piastri have provided a stable and positive environment for McLaren to develop and get better, without the pressure of needing to instantly perform like when you have a Hamilton in the team. That doesn't mean they are the best drivers on the grid individually, but they are a very good pairing. I think Russell and Antonelli will have a similar dynamic. Both very talented, both have positive and workable attitudes, no ego issues, no entitlement from too much success. That will provide a great platform for Mercedes to return to competitiveness in time.

Norris and OP have been squabling for half the season, with both ignoring team orders, or waiting to the very last possible sec to abide by them, OP next year is going to want to make his mark even more.

Every driver on the grid is " entitled "

Some squabbling is inevitable when you have two competitive drivers, the problem is if it devolves into toxicity and negativity for the team as a whole. That hasn't happened at McLaren as far as I can tell, but it has been a consistent theme at Merc in recent times. For example, how many times have we seen some version of the following story? Driver has a subpar result in quali or the race, afterwards they make some cryptic comments about the car or the strategy, then a sh*tstorm ensues on social media when a faction of toxic fans start making unfounded allegations, and finally the team has to come out and defuse/debunk the situation in their post-race debrief. We've seen that story on repeat for a while now coming from one side, it's got to be grating for the people working within the team.

Obviously didnt see the fall out from Norris giving the race to OP earlier in the season, or when OP over took Norris at the start and finished 1 and 2. toxic fans are all over, in every team. Mercades and Lewis Hamilton fans are not alone, Max's fans are the worst of all, yet every one of them would like Max.