Current Lewis Hamilton

A place to put all the posts from all the other threads primarily but love him or hate him, and even for the indifferent amongst us this is the place to discuss the marmite that is Lewis Hamilton, to learn a thing or two about his rise, talk about those controversial, genius or mad moments and something that i am bemused by, the recent articles that suggest something quite different to my perception of what's going on. Any experiences of meeting LH?

Brundle had to write a Lewis Hamilton article recently and in my tweets (which were probably ignored) I asked him to talk about LH the driver not LH the personality. It seems that you can't have one without the other.

So as a starter for ten, here is a fairly recent LH article. Posts should not be limited to this link but it can get some discussion going. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/formula_one/13755883.stm

The only banned topic as it is clearly ridiculous involves these four things "Glock" "2008" "Brazil" "conspiracy"

 

[cider_and_toast]

Amazingly, I've just discovered John Surtees never lost to a team mate over the course of a season. Granted at least 4 or 5 of his seasons were in one car teams but he still faced strong team mates in Bandini and Rindt.

 

[teabagyokel]

Fangio was beaten in 1950 by Farina. Mostly due to unreliability but all the same...

 

[cider_and_toast]

Ah yes, so he did.

So far then its only Hunt and Surtees. Ironically the two drivers who only lead the world championship for the only time, in the last few laps, in the last race of the season in the years they won the title.

 

[cider_and_toast]

Ascari does make it on to the list as well.

 

[cider_and_toast]

Just in case someone fancies replacing Bottas next season?

Lewis Hamilton warns Daniel Ricciardo not to alienate Red Bull

 

[Bill Boddy]

Is Hamilton warning Ricciardo off? Does he realise that he is four years older than Ricciardo and that if Mercedes are committed to F1 then he could make an excellent second string ready to take over when a replacement is needed?

 

[Lewywo4]

Mercedes will be looking for someone down the road who can deal with Max, and Ricciardo so far it looks, and questionable if he can.

 

[Titch]

How about Max for Mercedes

 

[Lewywo4]

That would be something Titch, because as Lewis said, " Max will be a force to be reckoned with."

 

[teabagyokel]

Does it actually matter who drives the Mercedes. If they're halfway competent and better than the other Merc, they'll win the title.

 

[cider_and_toast]

Depends if your worried about upsetting your current driver who has been known to get a little precious when challenged by team mates?

 

[F1Brits_90]

For me ive thought that ocon will be the successor. But i would love to see lewis & max/Daniel could be amazing. But for me why wouls you leave red bull because all its takes is a engine near parity & red bull could be dominant

 

[cider_and_toast]

Because in Danny's case, you may need a slightly better car to beat your current team mate.

Ironic isn't it? I could see Danny beating Max and Lewis in a Merc but can't see Danny beating Max in a Red Bull.

I feel the momentum of support at RBR has swung behind Max as the more flamboyant, aggressive brand image type they are after. Danny seems to.be slipping into the Webber role.

At Merc I think he'd be more in a Button role. Not affected by mind games and able to beat Hamilton (and by virtue of a better car, Max).

 

[vintly]

Danny is slipping into a no.2 driver on merit, unfortunately for him. Able to beat Hamilton? I’d give you good odds on that cider_and_toast!

 

[Rutherford]

cider_and_toast Are you implying that Verstappen and Ricciardo are not treated as equals at Red Bull and if so, why should they do that at this stage?

Do you not think the Verstappen's pace has been better in general since last year? At least qualifying performance are a strong indicator that Verstappen is faster by an average of 0.3 sec. (in Q.).

Of course, there's more pressure on Ricciardo at the moment, as he's in a limbo where he has to perform well to either remain at Red Bull or move to another team, if he doesn't his days may be numbered in terms of being a top team driver.

 

[cider_and_toast]

No, I think they are equal within the team in terms of treatment but I think its more of an over all fit and feel. The team would be more excited by Max than Danny. Max is more, at least outwardly, the spirit of the Red Bull brand. Its the sort of thing that gets into the heads of teams.

In terms of pace, I think Max is slightly quicker because he's slightly less conservative. Last season it brought fewer rewards, and his car had a few niggles. This season I expect Max to come out on top with another year under his belt.

Danny is a brilliantly consistent driver. The trouble with that is that it is perfect for some race weekends and not enough for others. Some days he really needs to turn it up to 11.

If he was at Merc, he'd have a fresh challenge, a clear head, is extremely likeable and I would imagine would be a good fit all round. I feel he would beat Hamilton in the same way Button did at McLaren. If Hamilton starts to struggle against a team mate, a lot of the time he loses to himself. When he realises that Danny is going to keep on going then that is the time he Hamilton starts to struggle.

Just look at Hamilton v Bottas. Hamilton is so comfortable he even gave a place back in a race. Hamilton knows he can beat Bottas in his sleep.

 

[RasputinLives]

I bloody hope Ocon doesn't go to be Hamilton's number 2. I rate the guy and Don't want him to become Mark Webber.

 

[FB]

NO ONE wants to become Mark Webber!

 

[siffert_fan]

Do you think Hamilton thinks he "wiped the smile off Vettel's face" in the race as he claimed he was doing in qualifying?

 

[cider_and_toast]

Interesting article offering a potential explanation on the 'party mode'.

https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/opinion/f1/hamilton-vs-party-mode