Royston Vasey
Established Member
Badged as "Telmex" perhaps, a la Tag Heuer or going back a few years, Playlife
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Formula 1
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After the last few races it's hard to imagine almost any established driver not being an upgrade on Albon, but that said I think some people might be quite disappointed by how far Perez or Hulkenberg are from Verstappen. Latest rumour seems to be that Albon won't even get an Alpha Tauri seat if Tsunoda gets a superlicence.
Russell is very lucky Williams have already announced their drivers for 2021. But if he really does have more talent than he showed today a third year in that car is a waste of time.
Peregrine 4903
Established Member
I like Hulkenberg but Perez I think is the better driver and clearly deserves the seat on merit.
Lewis Hamilton ponders quitting F1 at end of 2020 season
Lewis Hamilton is giving serious consideration to calling time on his long and glittering Formula One career at the end of the current season
www.theguardian.com
If this is true, could shake things up a bit - reigning champion to leave a prime seat available?
birchesgreen
Established Member
I wouldn't be surprised if he quit, he has achieved so much and don't forget it is a dangerous sport. I always think that top sportsmen never say this kind of thing unless their hearts are no longer 100% in it.
I was surprised he said that, does he really want to call it a day? perhaps he does or is it more about Toto Wolf? whatever Toto Wolfs plans are it seems likely he will not be running the Merc F1 team on a day to day basis next year, it seemed to be a distinct change of line we have been getting, I must admit I have been a little suspicious of the lack of a new contract for a while and did wonder if he won the championship this year he might call it a day.
There are a lot Lewis detractors out there but for me it will be a sad loss to F1 and I doubt we will see a British Driver of his level again for a very long time and certainly not in my lifetime. People say he has the best car well that wasn't the case in 2008 or 2018 when Ferrari had a car good enough to win the championship, 2008 Lewis only won by a point over Massa, 2018 Vettel and Ferrari made mistakes Lewis and Merc didn't, as for the other championships you can only beat what your presented with and if the opposition don't do a good enough job there is not much you can do about, and you still have to beat your team mate of course.
Having said that Merc may find it tougher going forward with the budget cap and the 2022 rule changes so at the age of 35 with likely 7 championships maybe it is time to call it a day.
There are a lot Lewis detractors out there but for me it will be a sad loss to F1 and I doubt we will see a British Driver of his level again for a very long time and certainly not in my lifetime. People say he has the best car well that wasn't the case in 2008 or 2018 when Ferrari had a car good enough to win the championship, 2008 Lewis only won by a point over Massa, 2018 Vettel and Ferrari made mistakes Lewis and Merc didn't, as for the other championships you can only beat what your presented with and if the opposition don't do a good enough job there is not much you can do about, and you still have to beat your team mate of course.
Having said that Merc may find it tougher going forward with the budget cap and the 2022 rule changes so at the age of 35 with likely 7 championships maybe it is time to call it a day.
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LOL The Irony
Established Member
I personally don't think he's leaving, not with next year being an almost certain 8th title for both parties.
Well on the face of it maybe but the big teams are going to have to get used to a smaller budget and that's likely to be a significant change for them where as the smaller teams are used to a limited budget.
I agree. Winning this year ties him with Schumacher for most championships, whereas winning more gives him the outright record which looks much better.
There seems to be a split of opinion on how to deal with the new rules coming in from 2022. Some teams may take the opportunity to change their driver line-up, whereas others want the consistency of having their existing drivers carry over so they know what's going on rather than changing every variable at once.
D365
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Some teams just want pay driver income (Haas).
Peter Mugridge
Veteran Member
He would also be likely, if he gave it one more year, to be the first driver ever to reach 100 F1 victories; that has to be worth his while, surely?
birchesgreen
Established Member
Depends really, i think being in F1 is something you really need to be 100% in, once your heart is no longer fully in it...
D365
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LOL The Irony
Established Member
Ferrari's quit threats come to mind...
I agree it would make sense for him to do one more year it gives him the opportunity to win an 8th Championship and a lot more wins than Schumacher, and then call it a day at the point the significant regulation changes, but I'm not sure Hamilton will look at it that way, It probably be a few more years or call it a day at the end of this season.
He might see his leaving as soon as he breaks the number of championship titles as no better than Rosberg who by fair means or foul, managed to win the championship once in 2016, by just over 1% more points, and then retired as a 'World Champion'.
LOL The Irony
Established Member
I've just done some calculations. The maximum points Bottas can now score is 301, meaning Lewis (currently on 282 points) just needs 19 points from the next 4 races. He can score 19 points at Turkey by getting 2nd and fastest lap. The only way Bottas can beat him by maxing out his points haul and praying Lewis doesn't finish higher than 8th in the next 4 races (104 points to 16, Lewis can have a 7th which will still give Bottas the title by 1 point vs 3).
Or to put it more simply in the next race if Bottas Wins and Lewis comes second, Hamilton Wins providing Bottas doesn't get fastest lap, it doesn't really matter if Lewis doesn't get the fastest Lap because the best Bottas could do would be a tie on points and Hamilton would Win having won more races.
greatvoyager
Established Member
If Lewis isn’t champion this year I will be incredibly surprised.
Peregrine 4903
Established Member
It would literally require him to dnf, in all the remaining races, and even then he could still win the championship.
Yes, mathematically Bottas can still win but it's not going to happen.
I can definitely see that as being enough of a draw to keep him in the sport. If the rule changes were happening then he'd probably leave, but another year with basically the same cars - surely the possibility (near certainty) of 100+ wins would give him the drive that he needs.
With my cynical hat on, I wonder if the "ah, we'll see if I'll drive next year" type comments are a tool he's using in his negotiations with Mercedes. Not a particularly effective tool I'd have thought as there's no shortage of drivers who'd be willing to replace him, but if Merc want to keep him it's certainly going to force their hand a little
DarloRich
Veteran Member
Vietnamese Grand Prix dropped from 2021 F1 schedule:
www.bbc.co.uk
Formula 1 calendar: Vietnamese Grand Prix dropped from 2021 F1 schedule
The Vietnamese Grand Prix is dropped from the 2021 Formula 1 calendar, raising doubts that the race will ever take place.
www.bbc.co.uk
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greatvoyager
Established Member
Shame, it looked like an interesting track.Vietnamese Grand Prix dropped from 2021 F1 schedule:
Formula 1 calendar: Vietnamese Grand Prix dropped from 2021 F1 schedule
The Vietnamese Grand Prix is dropped from the 2021 Formula 1 calendar, raising doubts that the race will ever take place.
LOL The Irony
Established Member
Nooooooo! He was the best part of C4 commentary! 
PG
Established Member
Presumably, shame though it is to lose him, that at least means C4 will still be covering F1 next year?
LOL The Irony
Established Member
They have a contract to "air" it through 2024. Sky's current contract lasts the same.
DarloRich
Veteran Member
If he lets David Coultard say "under rotation" once more I will swing for him...................
PG
Established Member
TBH I think even though he's not been an F1 driver whereas DC has, Billy Monger would be a better commentator.
Not likely to happen since DC is a director of, and one of 3 people who set up Whisper Films who produce C4's F1 coverage.
LOL The Irony
Established Member
Still better than david croft.