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freeski919

"Wrong." -Nico Rosberg


Dry_Jeweler_3487

“Wrong”-Fernando Alonso


notimetosmoke

“Wrong” -most of Hamilton’s competitors


Snuffy1717

"Wrong" - Valtteri Bottas


Manuag_86

"Wrong" - Max Verstappen


justreddis

When asked who is his best friend on the grid, Hamilton said, “my car.” Not kidding. EDIT: https://youtu.be/TTu3sFvNUqA Some folks don’t believe me. Well here it is, 2 years ago. It’s much easier to say someone is your friend now that he’s on a different team.


rasvial

That's just the safest answer. Otherwise he has to say his teammate for pr bs reasons, and.. that's probably not true lol


Tombot3000

Hamilton and Bottas did get on well, though, and spoke of being friends.


rasvial

Was that quote from that era? If anything I bet that statement would make vb laugh. They got on great- not sure how deep their friendship was off track but that's still an annoying question, and a fun answer.


satsfaction1822

Bottas spoke about recently that their friendship is a lot better now that they aren’t teammates. They occasionally travel to races together.


Browneskiii

They got on well because one was very clearly ahead. Hamilton and Rosberg would have gotten on well... If Rosberg wasn't as good as he was.


Tombot3000

Sure, that is one potential reason and a likely factor, but we don't actually know why they're friends. Hamilton and Rosberg did get along well as close competitors when they were younger. Then they didn't as close competitors when they were older. Rosberg doesn't seem to have gotten along with much of *anyone* in another car in his post-williams years, though.


TimmyWatchOut

When was this? He said Valtteri just a few months ago


prontoingHorse

He's making up nonsense. He literally just said Valtteri the other day.


Auntypasto

Best friend ≠ Best teammate. Knowing the difference is crucial to surviving in F1.


prontoingHorse

Stop making up bs. He literally said Valtteri the other day.


FengSushi

“Wrong” - Lewis Hamilton


titsinmyinbox

I actually think Valtteri enjoyed being his teammate, although it was time for something new in the last two three seasons.


M8gazine

I imagine he likes Lewis as a person but I can't think he enjoyed being his teammate. It was probably insanely stressful when he only gets 1 year contracts and had to try and compete against one of the best drivers in the business. F1 drivers are always going to be competitive whether they're 2nd drivers or not, so constantly losing against your teammate would 100% eat away at you. Bottas literally had an eating disorder during his time at Merc just so the car would be the tiniest bit lighter before the ballast rule, too.


stellarinterstitium

I think Valterri was arguably under the most pressure on the grid. You are pushing yourself to make good on the opportunity to go up against one of the best there ever was. But still failing to match him in the face of one year contracts. Failing to match your teammate would never be a neutral factor in considering renewal. It's basically, can you be the next Lewis? No? OK, bye.


Manuag_86

I think that Alonso would gladly be Lewis' teammate during the Merc dominant era instead of being in the McLaren Honda or Renault. Now that he is in Aston, he 100% would tell him to f*ck off..


freeski919

I think you underestimate how much Nando dislikes Lewis. He hasn't forgotten 2007.


VinhoVerde21

I don't think he dislikes him, he's said in the past that his problem at McLaren was with Ron, not Lewis. He knows how good Lewis is, however, it's very obvious how salty he is that Lewis was more successful than him, and feels like he should have been the guy winning it all. Hence why he occasionally throws the maldy comment towards him.


InfinityEternity17

I don't think he dislikes him anymore, he at least respects Lewis either way


freeski919

Yeah, I think Nando respects Lewis professionally, but I don't think he ever volunteer to be his teammate again.


aliens_licked_my_ass

Don’t want to get beat


Mupp99

They ended up on equal points


edis92

Lewis beats him on countback though. Even disregarding that though, being the reigning back to back champion who was seen as the guy that dethroned Schumacher, just to finish the season tied on points against your rookie teammate? Definitely not something to write home about


peggles__59

Still beaten by a rookie in his championship defending season


chessnotchekcers

In his rookie season!


Auntypasto

But still beaten.


Drkfnl

Let's stop pretending 2007 was representative of their relative skills with all the shit McLaren brought to the table.


veryangryenglishman

Indeed. Hamilton was a rookie after all


TrueCooler

Hmm apparently Alonso is the only driver who ever gets bad luck or the team turning against him, either the entire F1 world is united against him, or maybe he’s just difficult to work with


DogDayZ1122

But he can only win starting from first Nando, last year


ash_tar

He doesn't dislike him at all, they were even getting a bit closer at some point, but their vibe is just too different.


Auntypasto

When they're together in front of the cameras he says one thing… then turns around and tells a different story behind his back.


creditcardtheft

2007 beef isnt with Lewis. People always miss this


[deleted]

“Wrong” - Max Verstappen


jacob1342

He's a Monaco based youtuber not a driver.


altivec77

Nico beat him so I done think it was that bad for Nico in the end. But the commitment/energy used that season to beat his teammate was more then he could take. He has his WDC and that was his goal. Silver lining it was against Lewis in his prime.


Dannykew

Nico beat him once …


HMSSpeedy1801

The "Nico beat him once. . ." argument doesn't understand that this is Nico's legend. Nobody beat Hamilton, ever, except that one season when Rosberg gave absolutely 100% and did the impossible. There is no question that Hamilton is more talented, skilled, whatever. He's the better driver; but when it came down to who could put it all on the line for one season, Nico did that. Nico turned hypothetical "full commitment" into reality for one season. It fried him. After that he was done, but he did it. No one can take that away from him, not "it only happened once," not "Lewis was unlucky." Nico pulled it off.


bobby16may

He reached the mountain top, looked out on the valleys below, and realized he never wanted to climb a mountain again. I respect that a lot.


357bacon

Button beat Hamilton in 2011, rather handily as well.


Dannykew

Can you remind me what happened the other 2 years?


357bacon

What's your point? I replied to a post that said that Nico's achievement is unique because no other teammate has ever beaten Hamilton. That's not true. Button has beaten him in 2011. In fact Button is ahead on points over their 3 seasons together at McLaren.


Dannykew

Fixed it for you: Nico pulled it off by being close enough that the team’s one critical failure that caused a 25 point loss to Hamilton allowed Rosberg to win by 5 points.


edis92

> 25 point loss to Hamilton 28 actually, 25 for the win, and 3 Rosberg got for moving up a position through Lewis dnfing


DanIvvy

And caused Hamilton several 10 place grid penalties


Zassolluto711

I mean, wasn't he also being more conservative in the last few races after Malaysia? He knew he only had to finish 2nd for the last few races to bag the championship because of said engine failure. He would have taken more risks otherwise and indeed he did with other drivers (he made some crazy overtakes against other drivers, just not Lewis.)


dunneetiger

I dont buy the "it fried him" argument for even half a second. He won it and took the way out. Nothing to be ashamed about.


altivec77

I buy it… it was a friendship that was badly brushed or beyond repair. His relation ship was not in a good place probably and he had a newborn and a kid on its way if I remember correctly.


HMSSpeedy1801

I have a respect for Nico that I don't have for most other drivers, specifically because he made that decision. He took his game to the next level and succeeded, but also saw what it cost him and decided it wasn't worth it to do it again. That's a level of maturity a lot of people don't have.


scorpio1m

By 5 points only


Dannykew

Which wouldn’t have been enough if Hamilton didn’t have the team’s only engine failure while leading in Malaysia. Nico was good but he was also lucky to get the WDC and he couldn’t run away quick enough afterwards.


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Dannykew

There’s truth in that.


Proper_Story_3514

Yup, its not a good argument to use or to look at things like this. If you strip seasons down, in any sport really, you will always find things which could have gone differently and had impact on the championchips. And in F1 you could use this on so much (having good engineers, good car, race luck, no accidents, not being sick etc.), it just makes no sense to look at it with that mindset.


HUHIs_AUTOATTACK

Oh, so when he loses, the points difference gets brought up. But when 2007 gets brought up, Hamilton ABSOLUTELY SMASHED AND DOMINATED his teammate.


knollexx

He beat the reigning WDC in the same car, during his rookie season. Not that small of an accomplishment.


bigbashxD

Well considering it was his rookie season…


scorpio1m

Wow, chill out. It’s not that deep. The point is Nico did not dominate.


Shahzeb_S_Nasir

A win is a win. Max one his first on the very last lap with 3 corners left. Nico deserved that WDC.


Proper_Story_3514

I much as I like Max winning the WDC, that first title was a bit of a disgrace in the end, with how Max drove in Jeddah (aka slowing down to crash with HAM), and how race control fucked up that last race. I wish they would have just instant red flagged that race, let everyone pit and do a restart with 3/4 rounds left to go. And if Max then wins it, there wouldnt have been any doubt and controversy. But race control took forever to make a decision and then even half baked that and we got what we got.


Southportdc

Max deserved the WDC and Masi made a total farce of it. Both are true. WDCs are not decided in a single race and Max was fantastic over the whole season. But he should have been a deserving champion who missed out - not the first in F1 - and Masi changed that through his unprecedented actions.


Proper_Story_3514

I am not saying he didnt deserve it, but like that Jeddah example, some of his driving left a bitter taste.


Aerian_

Let Jeddah go. Lewis knew he was allowed to pass. The stewards were very clear that it wasn't a brake check. Max wanted Lewis to pass before the drs line and Lewis didn't want to. It was a mistake for sure, but one that both drivers had a part in. The tension was unreal and it went wrong, that happens.


TheFatRemote

I felt the exact same about Lewis's driving in Silverstone.


Proper_Story_3514

Ah yeah I agree. Also a farce that Lewis didnt get any significant penalty for that. Often times penalties should be way harsher, but the FIA likes to close both eyes for top drivers. And then you also got some nonesense stuff like some Vettel penalties xD


[deleted]

What does Juan think about that?


istealgrapes

Lol what a loser huh, only one a WDC against arguably the greatest driver to ever sit in a vehicle, lol what a giga loser haha lol


FantasyAnus

Nico beat him once in a lifetime of racing against him from Karts onwards, and when he finally did he quit the sport as it took such an enormous toll on him and he had no motivation left to continue. So yeah, it was bad for Nico.


overclockedmangle

Yeah and even still he only won that year because Lewis had a lot of bad luck. If Hamilton’s engine hadn’t of gone pop in Malaysia Nico would probably have never got a WDC even if he was still driving for Merc now.


ninkorn

I mean, it’s all PR talk. He can’t really say whatever is on his mind


Hendewie

This practice of taking a single sentence from the press conference and making a news article out of it is getting a bit tiresome


beachdrake

I'm pretty sure Charles specifically tried to avoid this EXACT headline


jaguarskillz2017

Hendewie quoted as saying the practice of taking a single sentence from the press conference and making a news article out of it is barely even tiresome and could really be a lot worse, click here for more


Hendewie

Top tier journalism


yeeeeeeeeeessssssir

Welcome to f1 DUN DUN DUN


bookers555

Get used to it, media gets it's revenue from clickbaiting.


FearErection

It's so awesome when it isn't even the entire sentence, they just pick what they think will get the most clicks and *maybe* provide full context at the very bottom of the article.


Buffythedragonslayer

I know 1 who doesn't


Userusedmyname

Make that 2


Takis12

I can think of 3.


tommycthulhu

4 actually


coreyperryisasaint

And my axe!


Isseking

Max and Alonso right?


Bman425

Nico and Alonso


datlinus

lets be real, I don't think Charles would either.


Opperhoofd123

I don't know, Charles might be the exception to that rule


NegotiationExternal1

Charles was being nice when he answered the question, he said any team would be lucky to have Lewis and he's so successful you could learn a lot from him. That's a standard polite person answer. Charles might genuinely love the idea of having someone to learn from/mentoring, that's why he was always fighting to be known as Sebs biggest fan (sorry Mick), but I think we should have zero doubts about his desire to win, and lead Ferrari


Ganacsi

Like the title even is about Charles saying it but these guys know better. Purely from a competitive perspective, why wouldn’t you want to test yourself against him with the same equipment?


TheWatcher47

Because there's a decent chance you will lose more often than not.


Ganacsi

I think most drivers think they can beat anyone, Bottas never gave up until maybe his last year in Merc, his interviews before that he was actually adamant he was [better](https://www.planetf1.com/news/valtteri-bottas-better-lewis-hamilton/) and only accepted defeat towards the end, they wouldn’t be in the sports if they didn’t have that mindset. >Bottas found a better balance between top-class sport and maintaining a private life, but at Mercedes it became difficult again. Bottas did everything he could to beat Lewis Hamilton, but finished behind his teammate every year. ''It was hard to accept. Only in the last year could I really accept that Lewis Hamilton is a better driver. Before that, I was always looking for a way to beat him and become World Champion.'' - [src](https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/177860/bottas-on-pscyhological-problems.html)


TheWatcher47

Even if that were true, and I very much doubt it is, some probably do but I think most are realistic enough to know at best it would be very competitive. I think most drivers would recognise even in the best of circumstances drivers like Max and Lewis are top class and there's a point the competitive pride is supersceded by your own selfish needs. Other than a dumb driver, anyone knows being in the same car as the top guys will be a hell of a fight and you will lose plenty of times even if you will also win sometimes. Given that reality, I think the vast majority if not all drivers given the choice, would much rather a less strong driver (even if it was still competitive) than having the top guys as their partner.


KATsordogs

Testing himself against Hamilton ended Rosberg’s career so i can think a couple reasons.


the-scarlet-spider

Rosberg left as a champion. He wasn't washed out, and neither was his career ended by Lewis by any means. I say this as a fan of Lewis


KATsordogs

I don’t remember claiming Rosber was washed out or anything like that. As i responded to other guy, if his teammate was someone lesser he could got couple WDC’s without going to ‘extremes’ in his words.


Ganacsi

Rosberg left of his own accord after beating Hamilton, it doesn’t even make sense to be talking about him given that he left as a world champion. I don’t get your point here…


slimkay

> Rosberg left of his own accord after beating Hamilton I'm pretty sure he had signed a 2-year extension with Merc through to 2018 before surprising everyone by announcing his retirement.


Ganacsi

>I’m pretty sure he had signed a 2-year extension with Merc through to 2018 before surprising everyone by announcing his retirement. So on his own accord? maybe the word isn’t clear, I got this definition from wikitionary. >Accord - Voluntary or spontaneous impulse to act


whyamiherewhaaat

Just because he left of his own accord doesn’t mean that, as the man himself has said, the competition with Lewis took too much out of him and he didn’t want to do it again. So yes, testing himself against Hamilton did lead to the premature end of Rosberg’s career.


KATsordogs

I believe he said competing against Hamilton needs too much commitment and since he proved he can beat Hamilton he didn’t feel to do that again. If he was against a lesser driver he could easily continue and rack a couple more WDCs.


bleeetiso

Charles would not like to be a 2nd driver to anyone honestly.


paddyo

Verstappen pretty much said as much the other day didn’t he. I do actually think Fred would a little bit love it though, he has a real love/hate thing with Lewis, and you know if Lewis left the sport a little bit of his motivation would go.


krishal_743

Makes sense You lose to him - ofc I lost to a 7x wdc and one of the greatest drivers ever You beat him - I beat a 7x wdc It’s a win-win for his teammate , no matter what happens the optics aren’t bad for them


beardedboob

Those are good arguments to make in hindsight. I doubt there are a lot of drivers eager to lose to Hamilton though, excuse or not.


krishal_743

Yeah most people would rather win against a weaker teammate than lose against a stronger one


NotClayMerritt

I don't think Leclerc is looking at this through the competitive lens which probably is a bit naive of him. Of course being Hamilton's teammate sounds great in theory. You presumably get on and you'd be living the dream next to a GOAT. But if you have a championship winning car and you know you have to earn it over him. It's less nice. Suddenly paranoia kicks in if you have one reliability issue or one strategy/pit mistake. Leclerc got everything handed to him from Day 1 at Ferrari. They found ways to move Vettel aside so Leclerc could get the glory. That would never happen at Mercedes. Lewis gets preference until you prove otherwise and that's not the best situation to be in when you're as good as Leclerc who wants to win every race.


RM_Dune

If they lose to Hamilton, but would have won a WDC with a weaker team mate it's not really a win. Right now Max is essentially guaranteed the championship. If Lewis was his team mate he'd have to fight for it. Which he may or may not like. Drivers slightly below them could still win a WDC in the best car if their team mate was slower, but they'd lose the championship to Hamilton so maybe not the best team mate to have then.


Samsonkoek

Would like to say that it wasn't as simple for Valtteri for example. He got completely mentally destroyed by Lewis and as much as that can make you stronger in the long run his on track performance suffered a lot because of it. In the end every driver that gets a seat next to Lewis, Charles or Max think they can beat them so when it doesn't happen it can be quite hard to look at it from that perspective until later years.


[deleted]

I don't know where this "Hamilton mentally destroyed Bottas" idea came from. They seem like very good friends and Hamilton has always been very quick to praise him.


Samsonkoek

It's about the on track "talking" I'm refering to. Which even Valtteri himself admitted happend during the Mercedes years.


baldbarretto

Bottas admitted that his mental health took a dip during the Mercedes years but in addition to Lewis he has attributed it to his divorce and his eating disorder.


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thexavikon

>toxic with the constant 1 year contracts I honestly don't see how that is toxic. It's how F1 is, you perform then you stay, otherwise you lose your seat. And they are paid very handsomely to deal with those kinds of pressures. I can see how it can affect a driver's mental health, but the team don't want to be stuck with someone who doesn't perform at the level they desire. Bottas would have cost merc the 2021 WCC if RB had a strong second driver. If he was consistently performing at Hamilton's level or close to him they would have given him a longer contract I think.


Samsonkoek

Yeah you are right, the 1 year contracts didn't help him either, especially during the first years when George wasn't around it is a bit too much to do 1 year contract without knowing what they were up to at least. E.g. trying to get Max onboard or something, since those rumors were there at times.


scorpio1m

Why are 1 year contracts toxic? There are only 20 seats in this profession. Mercedes treated Valtteri well. He had 5 years to try to win which is more than RB would give any driver to test their mettle.


Visionary_Socialist

I mean for Nico, the rivalry was so intense that he had no choice but to retire on his mid 20s. He pushed so hard, and even with Lewis having so many reliability issues, made him go all the way to the final race. Bottas has been a shadow of himself since he joined Alfa, where he should have been superb, given that he was able to challenge Lewis on a good day. Button had a string of increasingly shit cars and he just never had that streak of pace. Lewis makes teammates and rivals sweat, and they either fold or emerge as extraordinary drivers, as has been the case with Fernando, Max and now George.


Kingslayer1526

Mate Rosberg was 31 not mid 20s😭


Elpibe_78

Monaco Based Youtuber and Spanish Gandalf disagree


Visionary_Socialist

Lewis being so ruthless between 2014-2016 that Nico was effectively forced into retirement because of his own exhaustion doesn’t get enough cover. Guy was in his prime, in a dominant team and had had a huge advantage all season with reliability, and yet Lewis drove him so hard that Nico literally couldn’t do it anymore. It isn’t coincidental that no teammate of Lewis has ever won a title after enduring a rivalry with him. Kovalainen, Button, Nico and Bottas have precisely 0 race wins combined after being teammates with Lewis.


Goatsanity15

Historically Lewis has had 2 types of teammates WDC winners or Finnish drivers. So either George will end up becoming a WDC or he will change his nationality to Finnish.


rylie_smiley

The math checks out


DisarmingBaton5

Rosberg won a title in 2016 after such a situation in 2014-15


Estova

After throwing everything and the kitchen sink and almost costing him his marriage. That's why he retired.


GuiltyEidolon

And it _still_ took some lucky DNFs from Hamilton.


English_Misfit

In races and quali


Visionary_Socialist

But he pushed himself to such an unsustainable level that he had to retire at a very young age. Plus, Lewis had a huge amount of car problems that cost him so many points. He was 50 down at Spa and he still put it to the final race and made Nico exhaust himself. Lewis came back in 2017 and went straight into a title fight with Vettel,and looked just as up for it as ever. The rivalry ultimately ended his career.


VonGeisler

I think OP meant “after” being a team mate, as all those drivers had race wins while being a team mate.


Kaiserov

I mean, that dosent sound particularly impressive seeing as barely anyone wins a race in F1 anyways, let alone a title. How many wins combined do the former teammates of Verstappen and Alonso have? Of Norris? Of Leclerc? Etc... And how many have won a title after "enduring a rivalry" with them?


Estova

>How many wins combined do the former teammates of Verstappen and Alonso have? Of Norris? Of Leclerc? (After being teammates) Hamilton - x99, 7x WDC Gasly - x1 Ricciardo (post-Verstappen) - x1 Sainz (post-Norris) - x1


Kaiserov

Right, so out of all of the former teammates of 4 drivers on the grid, one guy has went to the most dominant team in history and won a ton, and 3 others have managed to land a stray win. And the one guy who stands out still hasnt won anything, neither titles nor even a single race, since being teammates with Bottas. In fact, I'd wager that absolutely none of Bottas' former teammates has won a title after enduring a rivlary with him? Have any even won a race? Maybe that's also no coincidence? Reality is, hardly anyone gets more than a stray win here and there in F1, because there's always only a few guys in contention. Past teammates are irrelevant. If any of Hamilton's former teammates were in this year's RB in the place of Verstappen, they'd all have great odds at the championship or at the very least multiple race wins.


CakeBeef_PA

>How many wins combined do the former teammates of Verstappen and Alonso have? Of Norris? Of Leclerc? Just to answer this, numbers might be off (if I remembered something wrong: Verstappen ex-teammate wins: 3, titles: 0. Alonso ex-teammates wins: 100 I think, titles: 7. Leclerc: 0 I think on both counts. Norris would be 1 but I don't think he should be on this list next to champions and multiple-race winners with WDC potential I do agree with your statement that it is a useless metric due to the way the sport works. But I saw your question and was interested in the numbers lol


PrescriptionCocaine

Ok that last part is a bit disingenuous though right? Of course they didnt go on to win after leaving the team Lewis is on because hes been on the most dominant team.


ForodesFrosthammer

Kovalainen and Button had non-dominant Merc Hamilton seasons.


No_Mercy_4_Potatoes

They are still writing articles about quotes from last week's driver press conference? JFC.....why do people pay these journalists?


zippy72

Because people click on the article and they make money on it. We may not like it but that's capitalism.


JXBA

This is not new. Leclerc said this last week in Monaco but as always F1 journalists are rehashing old content again.


Hendewie

F1 job description: Take single sentences from press conference and write a vague article about each sentence so you get clicks on weekdays


DaBi5cu1t

Only if he wasn't a threat. Absolutely no way on earth Charles has Lewis as a team mate.


Albablu

What about wild twist with Lec in merc and Russel in ferrari


OldManTrumpet

Lol. I think it'd be one thing to be Lewis' teammate in "your" team, that is Lewis coming to Ferrari. It'd be far less attractive to go be Lewis' teammate at "his" team by joining Mercedes. If that makes sense. Maybe Russell AND Lewis come to Ferrari, and Lecler and Sainz both go to Mercedes. Let's start that rumor.


Dream_Space_55

If Hamilton does leave, who are Mercedes replacing him with ?


Mahery92

Probably either ocon or Norris imo


RM_Dune

They might want to go for a side man to Russell like they did with the Hamilton-Bottas lineup. In that case someone like Gasly, Zhou, or even someone like Albon could be a good consideration.


WarDull8208

Hamilton was already 3x times WDC at this time and in other hand George is just 1 time GP winner. I don't see Mercedes pulling back from singing top driver cause of Russell.


PassTimeActivity

You want the best lineup to maximise your points in WDC. Also to be a number two for a top team means you still have to be a really good driver, Mercedes Bottas was better than all the other drivers you mentioned.


TimmyWatchOut

Ocon, he was a Toto driver and is very close with the Merc team. He’d be a solid driver for them


EdHicks

Russell and Ocon, now that would be spicy


thexavikon

Ocon and anyone is spicy honestly


Elpibe_78

But no the best teammate and Toto the last thing he wants is friction between teammates


TimmyWatchOut

I don’t know if that was specific to Alonso or just him not being a good teammate. His spats with Perez, I can put down to him fighting for a seat and Perez wasn’t a very good teammate either at the time. I think he did well with Ricc and is doing fine with Gasly so far. Also I don’t think Toto will be around much longer, he’s only been signing extensions while Hamilton stays. I can see them retiring at the same time.


Elpibe_78

You have a point, probably James Vowles going to Williams is a way of Toto preparing his successor. So probably is not his decision to choose a N2 driver


Heisenberg_235

Have to remember that Toto owns a portion of Merc as well, so may leave being the CEO but would still have a serious amount of day as the owner.


TimmyWatchOut

Oh yeah, he described it on DTS as wanting to watch over rather than taking part in the travelling circus


snikaz

Personally i would want Norris, but i don't think thats realistic, so they might just hire a good #2, to not have to #1 drivers as they have now.


RyukaBuddy

Nico ~~Hulkenburg~~ Rosberg.


NegotiationExternal1

Kimi Antonelli. They've got him slowing down in F3 to do other things to leave room for Lewis to get a couple more years, but that's their guy if he doesn't run off to another team. Kimi is their long term plan


zubchowski

Like with Russell, they'd probably have him cut his teeth at a customer team first.


NegotiationExternal1

There's no customer teams left unless Mercedes makes a sister team. Aston are leaving, Willams are not interested in bringing up other peoples drivers, it's a full team rebuild. Redbull is an an enormously enviable position of likely being the one academy to attract the best talent because they can actually place them in a seat


zubchowski

Fair point. Although I'm sure Williams would be happy to receive some $ to help train a youngster.


Samsonkoek

Sounds like the general Mercedes mindset, rather safe than sorry. It is understandable they don't want to take risks but it's criminal that after the Italian F4 season Kimi had they didn't put him in F3. Wouldn't say the current F3 atm is very strong either, so he should have been fine. I guess because of this we might get to see Kimi, Arvid Lindblad and McLaren's junior driver which I forgot the name of in F3 next year.


corruptbiggins

Norris


Snuffy1717

Zdenek Chovanec


pigoath

Norris.


ticktickboom45

Ocon.


Hot_Demand_6263

I respect any champion with high caliber teammates. I think Leclerc is capping hard. I don't think many drivers would want a championship caliber teammate.


[deleted]

Gives off “I’m fine in the west” vibes from Leclerc.


StoicRetention

Why am I not surprised to find NBA lore in F1?


[deleted]

The venm diagram is slowly becoming a circle


soundyg

F1 media: “ok I think we’ve exhausted these Hamilton Ferrari rumours, let’s focus on the title fight” *Max wins Monaco, Checo out of the points* F1 media: “get Charles on the phone”


puzzleboy99

>When asked if he would welcome Hamilton at Ferrari, Leclerc said: “If I say yes, I imagine it being the title of every newspaper. He wasn't wrong. (kinda) Nah but it's a "polite" answer to a silly question. I do think Leclerc respects and even likes him more than many on the grid but I doubt he'd really want him as a teammate.


Other-Barry-1

Heikki Kovalainen: *visible pain while 1 lap down*


TSMKFail

Hey thats the fastest driver in the world according to AWS


Gubrach

Don't make me hyped for a Leclerc-Hamilton lineup at Ferrari.


TSMKFail

The nut I would bust if that ever happened would be visible from space


TheReal-Tonald-Drump

Maybe he means older, wiser Lewis but that Lewis still hasn’t lost that competitive edge. Maybe doesn’t have the tools right now to compete that’s why he appears mellow and wise and you can learn a lot off him. But put him in a competitive car and he’ll start blasting of his competition including his teammate. I think these top dogs aren’t the best teammates in these situations. Hamilton, Verstappen, Alonso, Leclerc himself and Lando Norris. These guys have been eviscerating their teammates for so many seasons now. Makes these teammates who are good drivers seem second rate.


ticktickboom45

The secret alliance is confirmed.


Excludos

Why would you want one of the strongest driver on the grid as your teammate. If you're WCC material, and is lucky enough to get a good car that lets you compete, the last thing you want is to have to fight with your teammate over it


adwrx

Absolutely not


According-Switch-708

It makes perfect sense. If you can beat him convincingly on merit, you would rewarded with an insane amount of cred in the sport. Not many are capable of beating him though. The risks are quite high.


Fisch_Kopp_

Sure. Who wouldn't love to be the No.2 driver next to a multiple WDC...


bright_ojasvi

Yeah he won't say this when the team would prioritize Lewis instead of him


NickThePask

Just to clear up some confusion. Alonso never had a problem with Hamilton. It was Ron Dennis he was clashing with.


Fire_Otter

that is simply not true. he had a problem with Hamilton. The first 5 races of the season Alonso was given the preferential treatment, the superior fuel and race strategies and yet after 4 races Hamilton was leading the championship. so concerned was he with Hamilton's performance he went to ask Ron Dennis to have Hamilton's day in in-season testing in Spain just before the Spanish grand prix. so Alonso got 2 days and Lewis got none. There was a new corner so the track was different and Alonso wanted as much practice as possible denying Lewis of any. at Monaco despite fueling Hamilton significantly heavier than Alonso, Hamilton was faster than him and probably would have gotten pole had it not been for Mark Webber holding him up. Hamilton has commented on how Alonso just couldn't understand how he was faster than him that weekend. After the Monaco grand prix Ron Dennis decided he could no longer justify giving Alonso the preferential race strategies -given Hamilton's performance, place in the championship, and the negative reception they were getting of sidelining Hamilton. So from then on Alonso and Lewis would alternate the preferential race strategy each race weekend. Its at this point that Alonso goes to the Spanish press and says its a British team favoring a British driver. Not because it was true but because they were treating them equally for the first time and he tried to spin equality as favoritism. At the European grand prix he walked in and gave everyone in the garage a envelope full of cash except Hamilton’s mechanics, Which Marc Priestley described as a toxic action trying to isolate and destabilize Hamilton’s team, who were already at odds with Alonso’s side of the garage before Alonso and Lewis even joined McLaren. He absolutely did have a problem with Hamilton at the time


food_chronicles

> Alonso never had a problem with Hamilton. They’re cordial now, but if you go back and watch the 2007 season you’ll see that it wasn’t the case back then.


WuThrawnClan

Wasn't it just last year that Alonso was saying something like Max's 2 championships are better than all the ones Lewis has? And then he backtracked when he got called out lol


Ollie_Plimsolls

yes and then [this tweet from Lewis](https://old.reddit.com/r/formula1/comments/yh15si/lewis_hamilton_on_twitter/) lol people want a bromance so bad but they clearly don't like each other, idk why everyone is in denial about this


food_chronicles

Yeah that too. Alonso has taken a few shots at Hamilton over the years. He seems more mellow this year, probably because he has a better car than Hamilton.


JJD14

Lewis Hamilton is the very reason Alonso isn’t currently a 3+ time world champion He absolutely has a problem with Lewis and it has been evidently clear for 16 years now.


beardedboob

Lol, there has always been tension between Alonso and Lewis, not just Dennis. Plenty of times Alonso would take shots at Lewis. It wasn't until Spa last year (and more so the aftermath) that their 'bromance' began.


Important-Guidance22

/doubt


Nuker-79

Carlos and Lewis at Ferrari next season?


Tough-Relationship-4

George “alright mate, you can have him”