F1 2017 Season

F-Red

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He wasn't talking him up, he was just saying he's a good driver but he's got a contract with McLaren and they were assessing options.

Andrew Benson is at clickbait level of journalism.
 

Infordin

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There is always luck involved but Hamilton had already proven his worth by beating Alonso in the same car as a rookie the season before. Rosberg knows he is nowhere near the quickest drivers on the grid in an equal car.
Rosberg is pretty near Hamilton in equal cars. Are you implying Hamilton is not one of the quickest drivers on the grid?

The don't think he is gone for good though. He's too young to retire permanently. He will probably make a comeback sometime in 2018 or 2019 with another team (like Renault, or perhaps McLaren).
 

theyneverlearn

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Rosberg is pretty near Hamilton in equal cars. Are you implying Hamilton is not one of the quickest drivers on the grid?

The don't think he is gone for good though. He's too young to retire permanently. He will probably make a comeback sometime in 2018 or 2019 with another team (like Renault, or perhaps McLaren).
I'd like to see Hamilton at Ferrari replacing Kimi in 2018, which opens the door for Rosberg to return to Mercedes.

Hamilton will want to have a few seasons in the most iconic car in F1. His ego would want him to be the guy to bring them their first championship in years. They'll improve this year and it will be a good point change to them, they'll be closer to the Mercedes then they have been since the Hybrid era began.
 

christy87

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I'd like to see Hamilton at Ferrari replacing Kimi in 2018, which opens the door for Rosberg to return to Mercedes.

Hamilton will want to have a few seasons in the most iconic car in F1. His ego would want him to be the guy to bring them their first championship in years. They'll improve this year and it will be a good point change to them, they'll be closer to the Mercedes then they have been since the Hybrid era began.
I never want to see him in a Ferrari as a Ferrari fan. I hate him.
 

Infordin

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I'm not sure if Hamilton would be a good fit for Ferrari. Hamilton has previously criticized his teams in public before, both Mercedes and McLaren. Imagine the outrage if he was at Ferrari and he tweeted out the telemetry after a poor qualifying session. Ferrari would probably sack him on the spot.
 

Rado_N

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Hamilton is too self absorbed for Ferrari, they're all about the team and he's all about himself.
 

FC Ronaldo

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Rumours picking up...

Paddy Lowe to Williams
Valtteri Bottas to Mercedes

 

theyneverlearn

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Bottas is a very quick driver and also consistent. He'll not disrupt the team much in regards to Hamilton and his status.

He'll pick up the points required for them to win the constructors, but won't put up much of a fight for Hamilton in regards to the championship itself.
 

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Bottas is a very quick driver and also consistent. He'll not disrupt the team much in regards to Hamilton and his status.

He'll pick up the points required for them to win the constructors, but won't put up much of a fight for Hamilton in regards to the championship itself.
That sounds so exciting.
 

theyneverlearn

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That sounds so exciting.
It's the most likely scenario, I can see the Red Bulls and Ferraris being slightly closer, but I can't see past a Mercedes dominance.

F1 is not very exciting anymore. Especially not in regards to the front runners. Some of the battles in the middle order are good to watch, but there's not much to gain.

I'd have loved Alonso at Mercedes as that would be truly exciting to watch. That seemed like a no-go from the start, I don't think Mercedes would want to have to deal with two big personalities.
 

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It's the most likely scenario, I can see the Red Bulls and Ferraris being slightly closer, but I can't see past a Mercedes dominance.

F1 is not very exciting anymore. Especially not in regards to the front runners. Some of the battles in the middle order are good to watch, but there's not much to gain.

I'd have loved Alonso at Mercedes as that would be truly exciting to watch. That seemed like a no-go from the start, I don't think Mercedes would want to have to deal with two big personalities.
It's a shame. This year was the most immersed I've been in F1 in years. A proper contender alongside hamilton would guarantee drama again even if Mercedes were miles ahead of the rest.
 

Rooney1987

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So Pat Symonds will be replaced by Paddy Lowe. Didn't even know Paddy Lowe was leaving Merc thought that'd be a pretty big deal but first I read about it is in a story about Symonds leaving Williams.

Good to see Massa back but I'd thought Button would be a better shout for 1 year at least.
 

Robertd0803

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Bottas is a very quick driver and also consistent. He'll not disrupt the team much in regards to Hamilton and his status.

He'll pick up the points required for them to win the constructors, but won't put up much of a fight for Hamilton in regards to the championship itself.

Sounds bloody ideal to me. But then Im a blatantly biased Hamilton fan so its bound to.

While the Hamilton/Alonso pairing at Mercedes would have been an amazing combination lets be honest its never going to happen. Mercedes had a nightmare for the last few years dealing with Hamilton and Rosberg (and that's considering Rosberg isn't really in the same vein as Senna/Hamilton/Alonso as regards being difficult to deal with), they were never going to go for a even more explosive partnership this time around.
 

Ubik

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Looks like a dying sport at the moment.
 

pauldyson1uk

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Paddy Lowe has left his role as Mercedes executive director.

Mercedes have confirmed Lowe has now begun a period of gardening leave with Sky Sports understanding he will eventually join Williams.

"I have had a fantastically successful and enjoyable three and a half years at Mercedes working with an incredible team of people," said Lowe."I am now looking forward to a new challenge and wish everyone well at Mercedes."


Toto Wolff, Mercedes' motosport boss who recruited Lowe from McLaren in 2013, paid tribute to his departing colleague.

"Paddy has played an important part in our success during the past three and a half years and we thank him for his contribution to this significant chapter in Mercedes' motorsport history," said Wolff.
 

Dr. Funkenstein

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Bottas is a very quick driver and also consistent. He'll not disrupt the team much in regards to Hamilton and his status.

He'll pick up the points required for them to win the constructors, but won't put up much of a fight for Hamilton in regards to the championship itself.
That was said about Button and Rosberg too, but they both managed to beat him. Hamilton is among the quickest, at least of the old generation, and Bottas has shown little to suggest he is too. But it's not only quickness that counts, if Bottas manages to stay within 0.15-0.2 he could put up a fight on consistency.

But it's more important for formula1 that the other teams put up a good fight. Mercedes might miss Rosberg's contribution to the development of the car, especially now there's a lot to develop. Mercedes will be ahead on power, but power isn't the only thing and getting less important with cars carrying more speed out of the corners.

How are they getting such big advertising deals for a dying sport?

There's clearly a lot of potential to save the sport.
The sport isn't dying. There are just a lot of people complaining that it isn't what it should be, allthough it has never been like that in the past and their idea of what it could be is fictitious. F1 gets quite boring when one car is a lot better than the others, but that happens. There have always been problems and wrong solutions, but the sport is dynamic so there will be different problems and wrong solutions in the future.
 

Rado_N

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The sport isn't dying. There are just a lot of people complaining that it isn't what it should be, allthough it has never been like that in the past and their idea of what it could be is fictitious. F1 gets quite boring when one car is a lot better than the others, but that happens. There have always been problems and wrong solutions, but the sport is dynamic so there will be different problems and wrong solutions in the future.
Nah, it's been slowly dying for years but with some good driver battles at times distracting us from it intermittently.

The spread of Tilke dromes and changes to the technical regs over the years have softened the spectacle of the sport. KERS and DRS may be moving technology forward but not in any way that's exciting to the viewer. Those engines sound like shit and whether people want to admit it or not the sound of F1 is important.

Tyre management and (spit) fuel economy have become more and more fundamental aspects of the sport and drivers are spending less and less time at maximum performance. It's almost an endurance race at times.

Bernie et al have wrung as much money as they can out of it which leads to situations like Silverstone, the birthplace of F1, looking like having to drop out because the money is being hoarded elsewhere and they're losing millions every year. Spa and Monza are under threat as well, whereas instead we're watching processions at the likes of Abu Dhabi where nothing interesting will ever happen.

If you continue to ignore fans and bleed them dry eventually there will be nothing left.
 

Dr. Funkenstein

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Nah, it's been slowly dying for years but with some good driver battles at times distracting us from it intermittently.

The spread of Tilke dromes and changes to the technical regs over the years have softened the spectacle of the sport. KERS and DRS may be moving technology forward but not in any way that's exciting to the viewer. Those engines sound like shit and whether people want to admit it or not the sound of F1 is important.

Tyre management and (spit) fuel economy have become more and more fundamental aspects of the sport and drivers are spending less and less time at maximum performance. It's almost an endurance race at times.
That comes with the distance, it has always been something between a short race and an endurance race, with the threat of not making it to the finish and the need to manage the car's problems, whether it's brakes, tyres or turbo's in the 80's. Sometimes the technical rules of a certain year just work out wrong, but last year the tyres didn't fall off the cliff anymore and it was mainly the Mercedes that had trouble with tyre degradation when following a car closely. The worst of the Tilke tracks is also already over. That's the point, things go wrong but things always change in F1 and after that other things go wrong. In the early 2000's the BMW's could be steered around the circuit from the pit, in the late 80's cars drove the last laps at pedestrian pace or came to a standstill without any fuel lef, and those wereof course huge wrongs but got corrected a couple of years later.

Bernie et al have wrung as much money as they can out of it which leads to situations like Silverstone, the birthplace of F1, looking like having to drop out because the money is being hoarded elsewhere and they're losing millions every year. Spa and Monza are under threat as well, whereas instead we're watching processions at the likes of Abu Dhabi where nothing interesting will ever happen.

If you continue to ignore fans and bleed them dry eventually there will be nothing left.
Last year's Abu Dhabi was very exciting, Spa and Silverstone have known some very boring GP's. If you're not prepared to sit through a dull race you're missing out on the excitement of a great race, or a great few laps. That has always been the case with F1, I can't remember a season without at least 5 very dull races. I agree Bernie will try to bleed everyone dry, the fans, the circuits, the tv-stations, but he will backtrack before it collapses. It has always been a business, with other businesses like constructors and circuits taking part, and in the process it often looks a lot like a sport but it has never been a sport like normal sports that could do without the business.

F1 is not having a great couple of years right now, but I've seen it worse and I have seen it change always.
 

Rooney1987

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That was said about Button and Rosberg too, but they both managed to beat him. Hamilton is among the quickest, at least of the old generation, and Bottas has shown little to suggest he is too. But it's not only quickness that counts, if Bottas manages to stay within 0.15-0.2 he could put up a fight on consistency.
In 10 season Lewis has only finished behind to his team mate in the standings twice. I know your on about races but over a season for me Lewis has that extra bit of quality. Bottas he a good talent, but clearly not on the level as Lewis I'm interested to see if he can at least get close to Hamilton. Season or 2 ago he was being lined up to replace Kimi and that didn't happen. Last season he took a step backwards but for F1 sake he needs to step up. Whatever you think of Nico or Lewis the drama over 3 season made it interesting to watch.