Quote:
Originally Posted by chillibowl
i suppose marketability would be a reason.
i actually think DR is a much better and far more aggressive driver (more of a winners instinct if you will) then Bottas...but for arguments sake lets say DR and VB are equal in ability and both seem like good guys so team harmony with LH would remain intact, then surely a global brand like Merc should go with the driver they think will help them sell more cars.
dont like the notion of boiling things down to who has a bigger social media footprint and on its own its not a good reason...but if all other things are equal then surely popularity/branding is a factor to consider.
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Marketability is a good point, although Mercedes doesn't seem to care about that. They made that really weird choice to try and make Lewis win the race rather than the title late last year, despite it making them look a bit odd. You're absolutely spot on that DR is more marketable, but that doesn't seem to be a Mercedes thing (ironically it's more of an RBR thing...!). No idea why that would be, tbh.
DR is probably a better driver than Bottas. Certainly more aggressive. But do Mercedes want more drama when they're winning both titles anyway? I'm not so sure. I think they prefer headlines like "Mercedes wins both titles" than "Mercedes drivers feuding". From a cold marketing view, I can see why they'd be happy with Bottas being second best.
DR has another year at RBR, right? So he has time to recover this Verstappen situation and solve it anyway.