Race 21 - Brazillian GP 2024 [Sao Paulo]

[sgr]

The bit of a steward has to go. Max calling out the British media for their lack of sportsmanship in the news conference was spot on.

[Used to be Starter]

Hmmm, Max looking for good sportsmanship is a contradiction in terms.

[N. Jones]

His form is why I do not think he will do well at Ferrari next year.

[Nitrodaze]

It's highly unlikely that is what is happening. There are too many incentives, monetary and otherwise, for any team to do that. With the exception of a team like Williams, which didn't have the resources to have two up to date cars. I think Hamilton is done with Merc and is just going through the motions. To be competitive at this level you have to be on point all the time and he hasn't been. He's still better than maybe half the grid, but right now he is toast as far as being really there. If he doesn't get it together for the start of 2025 he may be one and done at Ferrari.

You are partly correct. To be motivated to perform, the team has to provide a car that is compliant to the driver and gives the driver confidence to push it to the limit. Hamilton has not felt that from the Mercedes most of the time. He has experimented a lot with various settings of the car and has not been able to find the sweet spot to give him the confidence in the Mercedes like he had previously experienced in their hay days.

His Ferrari debut shall be a different affair. Mainly because Ferrari shall be properly invested in Hamilton getting all the support he needs to perform at his best. When Hamilton is comfortable, there is none on the current grid that can challenge him. I mean NONE.

That said, it comes down to whether he can settle in quickly and well enough to be able to communicate his wishes. And whether Ferrari can extract the best from him by taking in his requirements and producing the car he desires. If both sides can achieve that, then Mercedes and Redbull have a real headache to deal with from a Hamilton-driven Ferrari.

I think you would be wrong to view Hamilton from the picture that Mercedes has painted him over the last two years.

[Nitrodaze]

Hmmm, Max looking for good sportsmanship is a contradiction in terms.

Ha ha ha, a bit narcissistic don't you think.

[Nitrodaze]

His form is why I do not think he will do well at Ferrari next year.

To be fair, the last three seasons have raised a question of whether he is still up there for championship contention. This is something he would have to prove in 2025. I watched his form and cringed some of the time. Take Sao Paulo for instance, what a douch.

But l also saw enough evidence that there was a lack of performance from the team's perspective as well. A hungry young driver would make the most of the situation at Mercedes as he would not know the best that Mercedes is capable of. For Hamilton who knows the highest capability of the team, he would spend more time trying to find a way back to that level of performance from the car and may lose his way in the process on occasions.

For someone who has provided the team eight constructors championship titles, it is really the failing of Mercedes for not being able to provide their most successful driver with a car that allows him to access his best capability. This is why l think the real measure of Hamilton's true level would be best gauged when he turn a wheel in the Ferrari.

The situation is not much different to the situation of Perez in the Redbull. Poor fellow was doomed to fail on all fronts by situations outside his control. That second seat may be up for grabs, but it is a cursed seat that would ruin the career of any other driver that takes it.

[Bagwan]

So , anybody care to calculate how much Lewis gets paid each time he steps into the car to do his job ?

That , and the job his employer has done for him over the years of success they helped him achieve isn't enough ?

Lewis , with his record , is entitled to respect , but respect is a two-way street .

[N. Jones]

To be fair, the last three seasons have raised a question of whether he is still up there for championship contention. This is something he would have to prove in 2025. I watched his form and cringed some of the time. Take Sao Paulo for instance, what a douch.

But l also saw enough evidence that there was a lack of performance from the team's perspective as well. A hungry young driver would make the most of the situation at Mercedes as he would not know the best that Mercedes is capable of. For Hamilton who knows the highest capability of the team, he would spend more time trying to find a way back to that level of performance from the car and may lose his way in the process on occasions.

For someone who has provided the team eight constructors championship titles, it is really the failing of Mercedes for not being able to provide their most successful driver with a car that allows him to access his best capability. This is why l think the real measure of Hamilton's true level would be best gauged when he turn a wheel in the Ferrari.

The situation is not much different to the situation of Perez in the Redbull. Poor fellow was doomed to fail on all fronts by situations outside his control. That second seat may be up for grabs, but it is a cursed seat that would ruin the career of any other driver that takes it.

We thought Vettel would be better once he left Ferrari and that did not happen. I think the same will happen to Lewis.

[Nitrodaze]

We thought Vettel would be better once he left Ferrari and that did not happen. I think the same will happen to Lewis.

Come on buddy, totally different scenario. Vettel had all the support he needed from Ferrari to do well. It just did not work out because both sides made costly mistakes. The car was good and Vettel was the number one driver. And leaving Ferrari to a customer team in the midfield was never going to be better than his Ferrari years.

On the Hamilton side, the car was several iterations of crap. It showed flashes of good performances now and again. The W15 was a second-rate car compared to Redbull, McLaren and Ferrari. Mercedes never really got their heads around the ground effect regulations.

From the moment they chose not to fight on behalf of Hamilton for the stolen 2021 driver's title, it was apparent there was disparity between the team and Hamilton. It was very clear in 2022, where it was clear they did not design the car with Hamilton in mind. The internal disarray culminated in the designer of the 2022 car being removed from the role and replaced. Eventually, he left the team. What continued was the diminished status of Hamilton within the team. He had to battle to get support for his side of the garage from as far back as 2022. Ofcourse these are things that would not be easily apparent to on-lookers outside the team. This is what politically correct lack of support looks like. From the outside it looks normal, from the inside it is usually hell.

Hence, his decision to leave the team and head to Ferrari did not really surprise me. He seemed already out of the team since 2022. If anything, Mercedes slowly pushed him out without really realizing it.

[N. Jones]

I knew you were going to say that. This is not a totally different scenario. This is two old drivers having issues toward the end of their stay at a team. I don't think Lewis is going to be any better at Ferrari. Sure, he will be on the podium, but he is going to get beat by Charles.