2020 Bahrain Grand Prix - Sakhir, Nov 27 - 29

[Just_a_fan]

WOW! Lewis doesn't know who Franz Tost is and even more hilarious is the stuff he said about Bottas!

Yeah, I think both interpretations (ignorance or malice) of him not knowing who Tost is are quite a bad reflection on Hamilton here.

Any excuse to have a go at the guy, eh?

Why would he need to know who the team manager of a mid-field / back marker team is? He'll have never had any contract talks with the guy, probably never even been introduced to him. He'll know who the team's drivers are and that's probably it - he won't know the who the TD is, or the senior race engineer, or anyone else in the team other than the drivers.

[Just_a_fan]

Exactly. The only poor reflecting associated with those comments is on Franz, for saying drivers should be happy with $10m and to shut up and drive, basically.

We are not here to see you Franz. We’re here to see the drivers. So maybe we can cap your salary first lol.

I think most drivers would be quite happy to do that, but all teams take ownership of the driver's image for commercial purposes. Is it fair to limit driver pay but allow teams to make unlimited revenue using their image?

A point Hamilton made when asked about the idea. I'm sure he'd be happy to have a $10m salary and then either control of, or payment for, his image/commercial rights.

[Scorpaguy]

Same stuff:
-Ham effortlessly great, bitching about tires
-Max chasing
-Big Red ...not so much

Different stuff:
-Perez no get ride...travesty
-Kub faster than Gio
-Alb does not even have to try anymore

[Moore77]

Exactly. The only poor reflecting associated with those comments is on Franz, for saying drivers should be happy with $10m and to shut up and drive, basically.

We are not here to see you Franz. We’re here to see the drivers. So maybe we can cap your salary first lol.

I think most drivers would be quite happy to do that, but all teams take ownership of the driver's image for commercial purposes. Is it fair to limit driver pay but allow teams to make unlimited revenue using their image?

Yep, Hamilton made the same distinction.

Hamilton said he personally wouldn't be bothered by the cap, but he doesn't want the young drivers to be adversely affected.

"If you look at other sports, there have been salary caps in some of those sports – think like the NFL or basketball.

"The one difference is that in those places the individuals own their image in many areas, so then they can they can try to maximise their image elsewhere.

"But this sport controls pretty much the driver's image. So, I mean, I'm not personally opposed to it. It's not my decision at the end of the day."

Who gets the benefit of the salary savings? People sitting in the board room doing pretty much nothing. There is going to be a cost cap for teams which is going to save hundreds of millions of dollars for big teams. That again is going to make their pockets fat. Why should there be a cap for driver salary, who is the star of the show. What is the benefit of it? To some extent cost cap on team spend makes sense, bit not on drivers. The regulations to include driver salary in team's cost budget was grossly wrong. If Franz' cry is that he wants most of team budget for car development then he should simply ask for drivers salary to be separated out, instead of making stupid remarks.
Maybe he and his management team of AT should travel economy to start with, instead of chartered flights.

[zibby43]

I think most drivers would be quite happy to do that, but all teams take ownership of the driver's image for commercial purposes. Is it fair to limit driver pay but allow teams to make unlimited revenue using their image?

Yep, Hamilton made the same distinction.

Hamilton said he personally wouldn't be bothered by the cap, but he doesn't want the young drivers to be adversely affected.

"If you look at other sports, there have been salary caps in some of those sports – think like the NFL or basketball.

"The one difference is that in those places the individuals own their image in many areas, so then they can they can try to maximise their image elsewhere.

"But this sport controls pretty much the driver's image. So, I mean, I'm not personally opposed to it. It's not my decision at the end of the day."

Why should there be a cap for driver salary, who is the star of the show. What is the benefit of it? To some extent cost cap on team spend makes sense, bit not on drivers. The regulations to include driver salary in team's cost budget was grossly wrong. If Franz' cry is that he wants most of team budget for car development then he should simply ask for drivers salary to be separated out, instead of making stupid remarks.
Maybe he and his management team of AT should travel economy to start with, instead of chartered flights.

Moore, I agree wholeheartedly with you on this issue.

It's a sport that generates billions of dollars in revenue and the drivers are contributing significantly to that. Drivers bring their brands to the sport, and although a few folks in the thread have said they follow F1 for the team principals, the overwhelming majority of fans like to see what the best talent in the world can do with the fastest prototype cars in the world.

I know I'm grateful to see talents like Verstappen, Charles, Lando, Sainz, Hamilton, Russell, etc. wrestle these cars in conditions like Turkey, vs. seeing someone like a Raghunathan crash 4 times on the formation lap.

And while Franz is certainly entitled to his opinion, his comment that drivers should be "happy" to accept the $10m and be "happy" that they get to drive F1 cars, came across as both silly and naive from someone with his experience.

[zibby43]

WOW! Lewis doesn't know who Franz Tost is and even more hilarious is the stuff he said about Bottas!

Yeah, I think both interpretations (ignorance or malice) of him not knowing who Tost is are quite a bad reflection on Hamilton here.

Any excuse to have a go at the guy, eh?

Why would he need to know who the team manager of a mid-field / back marker team is? He'll have never had any contract talks with the guy, probably never even been introduced to him. He'll know who the team's drivers are and that's probably it - he won't know the who the TD is, or the senior race engineer, or anyone else in the team other than the drivers.

Well said.

I watched the clip of the press conference, and there didn't seem to be any malice. I just thought it was a funny moment overall.

Here's footage of the question (time-stamped for right when the question begins). Think Hamilton did a fine job answering the question, too.

[selvam_e2002]

if engine and power unit freeze accepted by FIA, Mercedes will win till 2025 and we will see same line up. Boring races on the way....for couple of years....

[Phil]

I think some people underestimate the ability to fully understand one another when you have masks on and cant read lips as a visual aid. The way Franz Tost was pronounced could easily lead to confusion about who he was actually talking about. I’ve been in plenty situations recently, business and private, where my brain simply took me to places i could not fathom in trying to understand something that simply came across being pronounced a bit different than i was used to. Context is very helpful, but not always there to help you out.

I wouldnt discount the fact that this was simply such a case and not actually Lewis not knowing who Franz Tost is.

[matt_b]

WOW! Lewis doesn't know who Franz Tost is and even more hilarious is the stuff he said about Bottas!

Yeah, I think both interpretations (ignorance or malice) of him not knowing who Tost is are quite a bad reflection on Hamilton here.

Any excuse to have a go at the guy, eh?

Why would he need to know who the team manager of a mid-field / back marker team is? He'll have never had any contract talks with the guy, probably never even been introduced to him. He'll know who the team's drivers are and that's probably it - he won't know the who the TD is, or the senior race engineer, or anyone else in the team other than the drivers.

This

[hollus]

Stop the personal sniping, thanks.

[PlatinumZealot]

Calling Merc pole by half a second .

[godlameroso]

Calling Merc pole by half a second .

Pole was 1:27.7 last year. Mercedes have been ~.3 faster than last year's pole, when it was Ferrari who got it. Last year Ferrari snatched pole in Bahrain, so Merc should be in the low 27's, 27.3 or 27.4, problem is Verstappen can also do low 27's.

[Just_a_fan]

Pole is less important here than at some circuits so a sensible approach would be to concentrate on race pace over qualifying pace. Pole is nice for the kudos and record books but it's not a race winner like it is at some circuits.

[NathanOlder]

How much does that Redbull spark on the straights considering its a good 80+ KG lighter than it will be for tomorrows race!

[Shrieker]

Nice George.