2024 Mercedes-AMG | Petronas F1 Team

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I am going to hold a popcorn bucket to see that huge mess, at Ferrari next year.

It takes two to tango and so far, George has proved, he isn't one for tangos, on track or off track.

George has tried to pull a couple fast ones before.. It's just that Lewis hasn't really squeezed him as the two are in different career cycles and aren't fighting for much. When Kimi arrives, he will be pushing for poles ans wins to prove himself... And if it ever so happens the car is the quickest... The two drivers will be fighting for their first championship! So it will get veeeery tasty!!

Even if they aren't fighting for a championship in 2025, it will get very tasty. Especially if the thought "Max might decide to switch Mercedes" is in the air.

Yes I think George will be quite keen to cement his place... And maybe that'll spill into his on-track driving

[Dunlay]

George has tried to pull a couple fast ones before.. It's just that Lewis hasn't really squeezed him as the two are in different career cycles and aren't fighting for much. When Kimi arrives, he will be pushing for poles ans wins to prove himself... And if it ever so happens the car is the quickest... The two drivers will be fighting for their first championship! So it will get veeeery tasty!!

Even if they aren't fighting for a championship in 2025, it will get very tasty. Especially if the thought "Max might decide to switch Mercedes" is in the air.

Yes I think George will be quite keen to cement his place... And maybe that'll spill into his on-track driving

I have said this before and say this again. We are not in Bridgestone era where rookies had hay day and can simply push the car to it's limit. These Pirellis are a black art and it takes a lot of experience to understand as to how to use them. That's one of the reasons why Piastri struggles to consistently match Lando. It was the same for George when he arrived at Mercedes. Lewis had his legs up on him. Besides, George has won his junior championships and has a lot of experience in F1 and more specifically with Pirellis and the struggling platform of the current Mercedes cars. Kimi, without any such pedigree, coming and beating, heck even matching would be a herculean task. He probably will have a few better weekends first year, but that's about it. It would take a couple of years minimum to get his understanding. George is also getting in his prime, unlike Lewis who was getting older. So expecting George to be stagnating and Kimi having consistent battles with him would be naive.

[OverheatedTurbo]

I was just thinking about the W15. I have a suspicion that there is an intrinsic design flaw somewhere from the W13 in the current car. The team needs to find it ASAP or else they’re going to stay 4th fastest for 2025. It has to be linked to the car being doodoo in full fuel, but it’s all speculation in my part.

Yes it is instrinsic. Yes they know what it is. Mercedes cars in the hybrid era can only work at low ride heights... Very poor at low speed when they have to compromize rear roll for traction. In other words they will suck at hot, tracks slower speed tracks, because their aero platform doesn't work if it is not low and stiff.

That’s true since they ran the low rake concept in the previous regs. What you’re saying makes sense if we take Shov’s comments in august saying that the “overheating of the rear axle is due to how they run the car.” If they can figure out how to make next year’s car ride softer and higher without losing much performance, they’ll be up there, but it’s a tough ask. Let’s see what they concoct for next year. I have zero expectations for them.

[FW17]

Toto talks about Lewis's shelf life, what is his? Can this guy manage a team only when he has a 100hp advantage?

[PlatinumZealot]

Even if they aren't fighting for a championship in 2025, it will get very tasty. Especially if the thought "Max might decide to switch Mercedes" is in the air.

Yes I think George will be quite keen to cement his place... And maybe that'll spill into his on-track driving

I have said this before and say this again. We are not in Bridgestone era where rookies had hay day and can simply push the car to it's limit. These Pirellis are a black art and it takes a lot of experience to understand as to how to use them. That's one of the reasons why Piastri struggles to consistently match Lando. It was the same for George when he arrived at Mercedes. Lewis had his legs up on him. Besides, George has won his junior championships and has a lot of experience in F1 and more specifically with Pirellis and the struggling platform of the current Mercedes cars. Kimi, without any such pedigree, coming and beating, heck even matching would be a herculean task. He probably will have a few better weekends first year, but that's about it. It would take a couple of years minimum to get his understanding. George is also getting in his prime, unlike Lewis who was getting older. So expecting George to be stagnating and Kimi having consistent battles with him would be naive.

Very flawed theory there! I don't ever remember Rookies having a day to come up to full speed in the Bridgestone era. There were exceptions, but it was not the norm. I actually think today's rookies are way stronger than those days. They aren't up to full RACE PACE obviously, but they are quicker in raw pace for sure. And it doesn't take long. Remember Piastri is only in his second year and is winning races, and he is not a guy that you would call the next Max or Leclerc.