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The 2020 F1 Season

cutting42 said:
Nice piece on the new Merc by some random geezer in team clothing:

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Great video, but it's not like Mercedes to big-up their car like that after their first win let alone first testing! Toto is very much a guy who says it's coming on well but there's more work to be done. The way James is talking here makes me think the car ran sub-max potential in Barcelona. I just can't see Mercedes being all bluster so I'm inclined to think their cars will be 1-2 quite a lot during the coming season. It's weird to see this confidence so soon!
 
Roger Adams said:
Again Ian (and apologies if you already answered) is there a driver, you would put up against Hamilton, as someone who could consistently extract so much from his package over the course of a season?
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Ayrton Senna is the best driver that I have worked with and the one that I would choose to extract as much and possibly more from the race than Lewis.

Of the current crop, difficult to say as I have only worked with a few. Max Verstappen looks to be the one that could do it, but I have no idea what he is like to work with.
 
Roger Adams said:
Fixed. I'm just not naturally talented when it comes to digital media - I am persistent however :)

Again Ian (and apologies if you already answered) is there a driver, you would put up against Hamilton, as someone who could consistently extract so much from his package over the course of a season?
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Apologise for diving in here, but Alonso would be my pick even now. Yes I know everyone says Hamilton beat him in 2007, but I think both drivers are much better now than then and Alonso seems able to get the maximum out of any machinery every time. It's a travesty he only has 2 WCs to his name, but if 2010 and 2012 had gone slightly differently he'd have 4. 2012 was his most impressive season for me.
 
windhoek said:
Great video, but it's not like Mercedes to big-up their car like that after their first win let alone first testing! Toto is very much a guy who says it's coming on well but there's more work to be done. The way James is talking here makes me think the car ran sub-max potential in Barcelona. I just can't see Mercedes being all bluster so I'm inclined to think their cars will be 1-2 quite a lot during the coming season. It's weird to see this confidence so soon!
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I think the regs change for 2021 has a lot to do with this. They know that other teams won't be able to steal their ideas as it's simply not worth it for half a season so they can boast about what they have achieved quite openly. After 6 dominant seasons where they have always downplayed their capabilities why not have a shout about it at a time no one else can do anything about it. Best of luck to them... 7 in a row would be a massive achievement... I never thought Schumacher's Ferrari dynasty would be toppled, but it is happening right now.

To think Hamilton could end the season with more wins than Schumacher is jaw dropping. Remember Schumacher has won as many races as Senna and Prost put together (well one less) ... I never thought anyone would get close.
 
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The problem with assessing Alonso for me (not that I have any particular skin in the game) is deciding whether he was really anywhere near as good as people claim and was therefore mainly scuppered by his own political ineptitude which meant he often ended up in the wrong car/team situation to maximise his talent - or whether he was just rather over-rated.
 
Yes Alonso is a good driver but agree his true ability is difficult to judge as he has played team politics badly , he now does not seem to be able to get a decent indy drive having openly slagged off Honda on several occasions . A bit of boot licking at times could have seen him do better
 
tiggers said:
Apologise for diving in here, but Alonso would be my pick even now.
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Mentally I just don't think he had it, He was easily unsettled famously by Hamilton, was far from happy when Massa threatened him and invoked team orders on more than one occasion, and I get the impression that his regular complaints about his engineers and those back at the factory again just added to his overall weaknesses.

He was clearly quick, but it seemed that he needed to be mollycoddled. Whereas his reaction would be to throw the toys out of the pram, Hamilton's appears to be to look for ways that he and his engineers can work better as a team over a race weekend.
 
vuk said:
do you find that car attractive?
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Not really, they are great long limousines these days, heavy and clumsy compared to the earlier cars of the 80’s and before. The Merc is no worse than any other as they are all shape by the regulations
 
cutting42 said:
Not really, they are great long limousines these days, heavy and clumsy compared to the earlier cars of the 80’s and before. The Merc is no worse than any other as they are all shape by the regulations
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this first time i saw a real live F1 car was in the late 80s parked in front a benetton clothing shop in montreal as a promotional stunt. at first, i seriously thought it was a toy-like replica because of the size.
 
Roger Adams said:
Mentally I just don't think he had it, He was easily unsettled famously by Hamilton, was far from happy when Massa threatened him and invoked team orders on more than one occasion, and I get the impression that his regular complaints about his engineers and those back at the factory again just added to his overall weaknesses.

He was clearly quick, but it seemed that he needed to be mollycoddled. Whereas his reaction would be to throw the toys out of the pram, Hamilton's appears to be to look for ways that he and his engineers can work better as a team over a race weekend.
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A previous employer sponsored Renault when Alonzo was driving. I did a factory and manufacturing tour with some EMC customers at Emsworth, and he happened to be there. He swung by and schmoozed for 20 mins at lunchtime, and was very relaxed and also interested in data capture and storage for modelling etc.

All the engineering staff praised him highly for his easy going nature and ability to give structured and usable feedback during design, dev and setup phases. He also hD his stag do locally, which I thought cool considering his jet set status.

I rate him highly. Not sure we’ll see him back in F1 though.
 
Anyone who parks his car in the pit lane to prevent his team mate getting a shot a taking his pole position away will never earn my respect. He was childlike.

I do agree that 2012 was an impressive season. Just the one though. Did engineers move teams with him out of interest?
 
I've seen an interview with Rosberg where he admitted that he thought he couldn't beat Lewis so he resorted to the only tactic available when you're in the same team i.e. messing with the other driver's head. He did this and it netted him the world title.

Underneath I don't think that Lewis has that same extreme drive to win that Senna and Schumacher had. You know that they would drive over their mothers if they were in the way of a win. Lewis wouldn't do that, he's not quite so fanatical.

One of the great skills that Fangio had was knowing when to change to the car that was going to be fastest next season. He drove for Alfa Romeo, Mercedes, Maserati and Ferrari for his 5 championships. Alonso suffered greatly for the lack of that talent. There's no doubt he was a great driver, that pass he put on Schumacher in Japan round the outside of 130R was just unbelievable.
 
2ManyBoxes said:
I've seen an interview with Rosberg where he admitted that he thought he couldn't beat Lewis so he resorted to the only tactic available when you're in the same team i.e. messing with the other driver's head. He did this and it netted him the world title.

Underneath I don't think that Lewis has that same extreme drive to win that Senna and Schumacher had. You know that they would drive over their mothers if they were in the way of a win. Lewis wouldn't do that, he's not quite so fanatical.

One of the great skills that Fangio had was knowing when to change to the car that was going to be fastest next season. He drove for Alfa Romeo, Mercedes, Maserati and Ferrari for his 5 championships. Alonso suffered greatly for the lack of that talent. There's no doubt he was a great driver, that pass he put on Schumacher in Japan round the outside of 130R was just unbelievable.
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Lewis is a hard racer, just not a dirty one. Think he’s ready to get his elbows out this season now knows the mindset of the likes of CLC & Mad Max. That’s if they have the car underneath them to get near the Mercedes. If that car is a fast as predicted (and reliable) Lewis looks set to smash some more records. He’ll want to stamp all over Bottas from the off this year too.

It could a very boring season for anyone’s who not a Hamilton, Mercedes (or both) fan.
 
vuk said:
this first time i saw a real live F1 car was in the late 80s parked in front a benetton clothing shop in montreal as a promotional stunt. at first, i seriously thought it was a toy-like replica because of the size.
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Is it now becoming a championship between the top three or four, then their cars from the previous year, then anyone else left with a permit?
 
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