Hamil7on

[rossybee]

Russell has it

[c8rkh]

Spoke too soon. Such a shame.

Really pleased for Perez though. Hope we still see him in F1 next year.

[C7Steve]

Russell has it

I was cheering him on.


Steve.

[j2 lot]

Such a shame for Russell but his day will come. Maybe even this weekend if Hamilton still has a sick line
I think the top team each year should run 3 cars the next year and each driver on the grid gets a shot in the 3rd car with their seat then being filled by their teams 3rd driver.
That way some of the talent held back by underperforming cars can demonstrate what they’re capable of and the back up drivers get more than simulator runs or a first practice outing.

[robin]

Hamilton will be back driving this weekend it seems. I am amazed he can be arsed! Even though he has recovered from COVID in the sense of testing negative, I cannot imagine he is at full fitness!

[Mikie711]

Hamilton will be back driving this weekend it seems. I am amazed he can be arsed! Even though he has recovered from COVID in the sense of testing negative, I cannot imagine he is at full fitness!

you weren't wrong. I was surprised he bothered TBH, already WC and constructors in the bag. Nothing to prove why take the risk.

[campbell]

And the race was sh*t too. And he didn’t even win

[woody]

To paraphrase Senna, when you no longer turn up to the races, you're no longer a racing driver.

[ScottJ-PS]

Hamilton will be back driving this weekend it seems. I am amazed he can be arsed! Even though he has recovered from COVID in the sense of testing negative, I cannot imagine he is at full fitness!

What a crap race. If I was Toto I would have told Hamilton to take a day off and given Russell another test. It’s like playing a footballer/rugby who has just been rushed back from a Hamstring (no pun intended) and subbed at half time,

[Mikie711]

I think they are obliged to turn up and race but, despite the denial, they turned the engine down much more than they are letting on. There is no way they were that far off the pace and as long as Bottas was in second Max couldn't finish higher than him in the drivers championship. Hence no challenge from Hamilton. A very carefully orchestrated end to an otherwise very entertaining season.
Abu Dhabi usually ends up as a damp squid unless there is some incidents on track. Never been a good car to car race track. It has maintained it's reputation this year.

[Mikie711]

To paraphrase Senna, when you no longer turn up to the races, you're no longer a racing driver.

Yeah, but he obviously wasn't fully recovered and admitted as much himself. Sounded a bit surprised about how much the race took out of him in the post race interviews.

[Mikie711]

Bring on next year, don't really care who wins so long as it isn't Max "Pretentious Pr*&k" Verstappen. Everybody goes on about what a talent he is but I just don't see it. Boy can certainly moan though.

[robin]

Well we will see. Perez will be a reliable measure. My guess is that Max will beat Perez but not in the way he has dominated his previous team mates.

I think Max is properly talented but of course he was also born into racing which helps. As usual, the only thing that matters is where you finish on a Sunday ... His moaning doesn't seem to have prevented him from finishing well, apart from the mechanical DNFs. Maybe there was the odd incident he could have stayed out of, but nothing compared to previous years. He has matured, he has the strategic understanding, he has time to chat whilst racing. I think he will continue to do well, but with Honda going, RBR might struggle again when the engines change.

I loved watching Russel (two Ls?) this year. Would be good to see him at a better team when the engine change comes.

Stroll I could do without. Would be good to see Vettel find his form again, but the pink cars might not be as competitive next year as the copying strategy is going to be harder to execute within the rules. So chances are he will settle in around P10 and stay there.

Kimi always provides good entertainment on track, his team mate provides nothing, as does Latifi IMHO.

Gasly is worth watching out for. Don't know his new team mate.

Ferrari will do well if half decent car. LeClerc will mature and be good scorer.

Haas, well I wonder how much more cash they will tip in. They've been going backwards since they joined the sport. It's very hard to get any sense of how good their drivers are when the car is so bad.

Hopefully will be a good season, but chances are will be a Merc procession and we'll need to look deeper into the field for entertainment

Cheers
Robin

[campbell]

Haas need to offer their new boy some social media training too or they will be on the naughty step regularly.

[Mikie711]

I find it curious how a lot of people criticise Mercedes for their dominance of F1 in the highbred era when really the failing is everybody else not catching them. That said it is the first time and won't be the last where one manufacturer has dominated for several seasons.
Next year will be interesting, will Perez push Max? Doubt it very much as the whole team and car design has revolved round him, hence why neither Gasly or Albon could get it to handle to their liking. And if you can't get the car to behave in a predictable manner on the limit then you are never going to build confidence. It suits Max's driving style but not so much the other 2.
Will Russel replace Bottas mid season, possibly but unlikely unless Valtari has a shocker of a start to the season. That said Toto is 1/3 owner of Mercedes Motorsport now and Russel's manager so can't rule it out.
How fast will the McLaren's be with the Mercedes power plant or will they be on a steep development curve for the whole year. Racing point (Aston Martin) will be there or there about even without any development to last years Merc.
Should be entertaining, can anyone stop Lewis getting number 8?
Still don't like Max, like Robin said born into racing so not had to fight and claw his way into F1. Bit like Stroll. Everyone keeps saying he is a talent, so far all I see is an also ran with a big bag of excuses.