Will Schumacher's Race Win and WDC records be broken?

[oT v1]

The way Merc have crushed the new formula I wouldn’t be suprised if they enjoy another early period of domination again in 2021.

Next year if red bull are in the mix for podiums and wins it could also make it easier for Ham (in terms of Vettel/or whoever is leading the charge being tripped up more often) to get to 7 wdc. No more ‘last to podium’ results for Merc/Ferr

Whatever happens with Merc I’ve thougherly enjoyed the hybrid era, with most thanks to rosberg for some awesome duals and suspense. Long may the status quo continue before it’s the time of the Verstappen...

[TAG]

I'm suprised to see so many votes for both records coming down. 8 championship titles... man. The 91 races is very much within reach, four or five more years in the sport and that's just four wins a year. I'm just not sold on the 8 titles and if it's not Vettel or Hamilton, in the short term, I think it won't happen.

[ScottB]

It’s a tough one. How much longer will Hamilton stay in the sport? Another 2 seasons seems very likely, and it’s well within his and Mercedes power to win both those championships. That could well take him close to, or past the win record, as well as equalling the championship record.

Does he sign on, for the new formula in 2021 and beyond? He’s spoken about being keen to drive the new cars, at least based on what the concepts looked like, but, he’ll be, what, 36 / 37 in 2021? For a guy who seems to have big plans for his post F1 career, will he stay? I guess having a shot at a new WDC record could tempt him, but would he seek a long term deal? Would Mercedes be happy to stick with Lewis on potentially short term contracts, or chase a Verstappen type as a longer term team leader?

I can see him potentially matching Schumacher for WDC’s, and maybe beating the race win record, but I don’t think he’ll be around long enough to get an 8th title.

[Fulcrum]

There are 2 principle components that will determine whether he does it or not. Will the car be competitive or not; and if so, how competitive? And, how long will Hamilton race?

If the car isn't competitive, I would suggest that even the race record becomes unlikely. If the car is competitive, but not dominant as per the past 5 years, then they are possible and plausible.

If the car is dominant, it will be a formality, subject to Hamilton choosing to race for 3 more years. He's got Bottas whipped, and I don't see that situation changing. One of Red Bull or Ferrari have to produce a beast

The second component - how long will Hamilton race - is, to me, highly dependent on the first component. If he wins next year, or the year after that, I think he'll stick around to try and break or equal (WDC) the records, even if it means staying longer than he had originally planned.

If he doesn't win either of 2019 or 2020 (championships that is), then that could precipitate his exit faster than intended. The exception being, if Vettel to win either of those years, I think Hamilton would want to 1-up him.

[ringo]

With these young drivers coming to the sport, they have almost 20 years to get 7 championships. Max Verstappen i believe has the best chance to break the record. Hamilton can equal it.
The only thing that stops the young drivers is if the rules change where the cars are very equal, or the average career for a good driver is severely shortened becuase of change in the culture. Teams seem to cycle out drivers and cycle in young ones faster these days. Maybe Max becomes garbage to redbull and they dump him for a fresh guy in 3 years time?

[NathanOlder]

The only thing that will stop young drivers breaking records, is other young drivers. Which is what has been the case for decades hasn't it ?

As for Schumachers record, how many years was he in a car that he was capable of winning a title in, 94, 95, 97, 98, 99, 00, 01, 02, 03, 04 & 06. So I make that 11 years where he could have won in the 18 full years he competed so he had a worthy car for 61% of his career.

Lewis has currently done 12 seasons and has had a championship worthy car in his hands in 07, 08, 10, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17 & 18 so 9 seasons out of 12 is 75% so if that continues, he has every chance to break records.

I even read this morning that Mercedes claim Hamiltons partnership can last forever
https://www.skysports.com/f1/news/12433 ... st-forever

[Phil]

It's weird. At the time Vettel won his 3rd and 4th title, I thought he would go on to break all the records. Not even when Hamilton won his 2nd championship or 3rd, did I think it was possible. Now he is at 5. But I am with Ringo on this. Considering how young Max is, I think he is in an ideal position to beat records with the time of the world ahead of him. He just needs the right car, but with the right talent and ambition, it's easier to get into the right car... Same applies to Leclerc too, though he first has to prove himself against Vettel next year.

[Just_a_fan]

There is also the need for a particular kind of personal drive. Hamilton started out wanting to get a title. He got that. Then he wanted to match his hero's (Senna) 3 titles. Then he seemed to decide to go for more. Now he has 5, I think he'll set himself the goal of getting 7. Has Max got that in his temperament or will he find the glamour/adoration of being a champion is overwhelming? I guess we'll find out.

Of course, Max needs a title-capable car first. And then he'll need to be consistent over a season or two.

[Manoah2u]

Let's wait and see. Hamilton could reach Schumi's results and has more chances at this moment compared to Max, even though max has more time ahead.
Lewis' biggest opponent surely will be Max next year. I think reliability is the biggest danger for Max next year.

But, that being said, it can go everywhere. For all it's worth, Max can just as easily drive himself into a wall and get injured for a few races, or worse, get unfit for f1 racing.
That goes for everybody, but Max has 9 titles to go for the least; if Hamilton makes it to 7, he's gonna go for 8. Max needs 9 to beat that, and i think Max isn't the guy that
has interest in that. Vettel had, but is losing his motivation i think.

Personally, i don't want Max to go for those numbers. It would make it rather monotone at some point, regardless whether he had to drive spectacular and amazing for it.

For example, Alonso only has 2 titles, but will be remembered for the guy who beat Schumacher, who had 7 titles.

Right now, nobody is beating hamilton. So Max beating him would give Max that similar 'notion'. After that, it can go anywhere.

[PlatinumZealot]

There is also the need for a particular kind of personal drive. Hamilton started out wanting to get a title. He got that. Then he wanted to match his hero's (Senna) 3 titles. Then he seemed to decide to go for more. Now he has 5, I think he'll set himself the goal of getting 7. Has Max got that in his temperament or will he find the glamour/adoration of being a champion is overwhelming? I guess we'll find out.

Of course, Max needs a title-capable car first. And then he'll need to be consistent over a season or two.

Hamilton is a very competitive guy and he thrives on proving that he's the best. As long as he's got guys he thinks he can beat, he will be in the sport. When Max starts beating him up on a regular basis, that's when he'll call it quits. I can see him going until a ripe old age. I say this because like most Hamilton fans I never really cared to learn about the history of Juan Manual Fangio. I knew of his records and the cars and people he raced, but I didn't know his story. After watching a documentary on Fangio to sort, you know as a tribute to HAM's 5WDC.. I learned about hid life, his fearlessness, his symbiosis with his cars, how he won his world championships between the age of 40 and 47!! I am sure that Hamilton too, read a little more about the man ... and he too will see that magic of being the "old man" the old master on the field that all the guys look up to and respect... and cannot beat! ha. I think that's will keep HAM in the sport until the age of 42 if Max/Leclerc/Russel don't start regularly kicking his but before that...

[NathanOlder]

Let's wait and see. Hamilton could reach Schumi's results and has more chances at this moment compared to Max, even though max has more time ahead.
Lewis' biggest opponent surely will be Max next year. I think reliability is the biggest danger for Max next year.

But, that being said, it can go everywhere. For all it's worth, Max can just as easily drive himself into a wall and get injured for a few races, or worse, get unfit for f1 racing.
That goes for everybody, but Max has 9 titles to go for the least; if Hamilton makes it to 7, he's gonna go for 8. Max needs 9 to beat that, and i think Max isn't the guy that
has interest in that. Vettel had, but is losing his motivation i think.

Personally, i don't want Max to go for those numbers. It would make it rather monotone at some point, regardless whether he had to drive spectacular and amazing for it.

For example, Alonso only has 2 titles, but will be remembered for the guy who beat Schumacher, who had 7 titles.

Right now, nobody is beating hamilton. So Max beating him would give Max that similar 'notion'. After that, it can go anywhere.

If Hamilton makes it to 7 or 8, that would likely put Max on 0 or 1 title when Hamilton reaches 7 or 8. That means Max will be probably 25yrs old with 1 title. Would people then think he can get to 9 ? that would need 8 titles in 10 years and that is very very unlikely to happen. What do ya think ?

[Just_a_fan]

I don't actually think Hamilton will get to 7 titles. I'm not convinced he'll get to 6, to be honest. I think that either Ferrari (most likely) or RedBull will leap frog Mercedes on pace. We saw it start to happen this year. Next year, I wouldn't be surprised to see the Ferrari being the overall best car. Whether Vettel wins his 5th title will come down to Leclerc and how the team manage their drivers. If Leclerc is allowed to race, then he might take points away from Vettel. If he's not, then Vettel will be the champion next season. I don't see RedBull's Honda getting them close enough to challenge, although it would be good if it did. A three-way battle between the 3 teams would be an excellent thing for F1.

[NathanOlder]

i read somewhere that Marko said Honda will be 10kW down on Ferrari and Merc next season, what I'd like to know is, how he knows what Merc and Ferrari have next season

[Just_a_fan]

Looks like RedBull are getting ready to blame the engine for every time they fail to be quick enough next year. They've got so used to doing that over the last few years that they just can't help themselves.

Hang on 10kW is 13hp. That's hardly a deal breaker now, is it?

[Phil]

i read somewhere that Marko said Honda will be 10kW down on Ferrari and Merc next season, what I'd like to know is, how he knows what Merc and Ferrari have next season

Perhaps you should have made the effort to understand what he was saying exactly before drawing conclusions and rolling your eyes?

He said he expected Honda to be close enough to Mercedes and Ferrari next year (hopefully around 10kW) and if that proves true, they could make up the rest with their chassis.

Of course no one knows if Mercedes and Ferrari can improve further. Maybe they will, maybe they wont. In my opinion, i personally dont think they will [by much]. The definite trend has definitely been that both Honda and Ferrari have been closing the gap to Mercedes. One more so than the other, of course.