Scoop! 2017 Mercedes driver lineup

[joostpijpen]

I have a scoop for you, from a very reliable source (Mercedes inside information). Unfortunately I cannot tell you their names or mine or we would all be out of a job.

The information is as follows: Mercedes 2017 lineup will still be British-German, but it will be Hamilton and Werhlein.
The decision has been taken last weekend in Austria.

Mercedes feel they have the best car and think everybody can win in their car. They think Rosberg has done nothing that someone else couldn't have done (think: Bottas, Wehrlein, Magnussen, Hulkenberg, etc).
All Rosberg junior has done is damage Mercedes' reputation (remember Spa 2014, Barcelona 2016, Austria 2016 amongst others), and whilst doing so destabilize the team.
Team talks and financial punishments have not cured the situation and for 2017 they need stability. Rosberg will be a liability, so he has to move on.
Mercedes has been watching Werhlein's progress and has been impressed by the job he has done in testing, and while racing for customer team Manor.

The official announcement could come as early as next race.
Preferably, Mercedes would want to wait until
-> the constructor's championship is safe [almost done]
-> the driver's championship is almost safe [almost done]
-> Hamilton has taken the lead in the championship [almost done]
If the Rosberg punishment in Silverstone was a bit heavier, it could even have been announced today.

Mercedes has won all but one of the races so far, and we all know why they didn't win that one. It is possible Ferrari or Red Bull or even an outsider will win a race, but no way will they beat Mercedes on a regular basis.

All they have to do afterwards is make sure Hamilton scores as much points as Rosberg. Hamilton can easily do that on his own. Of not, Mercedes can and will make sure he does.


Mercedes has specifically waited until the driver announcements at Ferrari (official) and Red Bull (unofficial still) are complete so Rosberg won't be able to move there.
While that may seem harsh, they feel Rosberg should be punished for his actions. And what better punishment than to make sure he doesn't have a competitive drive next year? Maybe he can replace Wehrlein if he finds a sponsor, or he can go to Williams if they are interested and be outclassed and finished by Bottas.

In Germany not everybody will be happy, but they will be appeased by the signing of the new German star. Rosberg will soon be forgotten.

Anyway, to summarize:
-> Hamilton/Werhlain at Mercedes in 2017
-> no driver championship for Rosberg in 2016
-> no top seat for Rosberg in 2017

Of course hardly anyone will believe me but when it gets announced remember I told you first.

Joost Pijpen

[Adam43]

Thanks for letting us know.

[peebee2]

Would save them about 25m with Ros wages and Manor sponsorship so would make some sense

[gert]

I don't believe a single bit of it.

Maybe the "let's replace Rosberg with Wehrlein" part may be true (I even doubt that) but I don't buy the "let's screw Rosberg, because we have to make him pay" part at all.

I feel a lot of hate towards Nico Rosberg from the original poster for no reason at all.

[Razzzor]

Yeah seems a bit of a hate-Nico post. The discrepancies and in-fighting has been every bit Hamiltons fault as Rosbergs, so why do you feel they want to punish Rosberg and give him no options for next year with other teams?

Why wouldn't they feel guilty about the technical problems he's been having... the incident in Austria could be considered their fault.

What happens if Nico wins the title, do they still replace him with a 2nd year rookie who's score all of 1 point in his entire career?

Werhlein... too early. 1 year ago he was racing tin tops. If he was in a mid field car I might have said maybe, but you can't judge a driver too well when they're in the slowest team in the field.

[Richard C]

Originally Posted by gert

Maybe the "let's replace Rosberg with Wehrlein" part may be true (I even doubt that) but I don't buy the "let's screw Rosberg, because we have to make him pay" part at all.

Agree.

I really want to see outcome of this only to see OP (Lewis, is that you? ) either show up and gloat if true, or better yet fess up that he had it wrong if false. Personally I am rooting for Nico just to see something different.

Will we ever see another post from the OP?

Richard

[Armco Bender]

I thought Hamilton was off to Ferrari?.....next thing people will be saying is you cant trust the internet.

[canamman]

Hmmmmmmmm. A bit of me wants Nico to get the
championship mainly to add a new name to history.

I give this rumor a 60% chance mostly because Mercedes
may be thinking this teammate chemistry is not
sustainable.

[Aysedasi]

Originally Posted by Armco Bender

I thought Hamilton was off to Ferrari?.....next thing people will be saying is you cant trust the internet.

Tell me this isn't true....?????

[F J Nedos]

Let's assume that Mercedes haven't signed Rosberg yet. They are keeping an eye on Werhlein, that we do know. And post GP at Silverstone they said Werhlein would be testing for Mercedes and in a 2014 car. But it would be one hell of a jump for Werhlein and a massive slap in the face for Rosberg who was there years before Hamilton, years before they were this dominant.

If the OP is to be believed, where could Rosberg end up? I could only think of Mclaren. That could almost assume Mr Button leaves (to williams) or altogether. Mclaren seem keen on Stoffel whatshisname, so what of Mr Alonso? Would he go to williams if Button calls it quits?

[Paradise City]

*clicks on thread, smashes the rainy day piggybank into tiny fragments and makes a beeline for the bookies*

[GTRMagic]

Originally Posted by Paradise City

*clicks on thread, smashes the rainy day piggybank into tiny fragments and makes a beeline for the bookies*

Are the odds any good?

[F J Nedos]

Did the piggy bank have much in it?

[chillibowl]

Originally Posted by joostpijpen

Mercedes feel they have the best car and think everybody can win in their car....

if they actually thought that then why not get rid of LH and his massive retainer?

also its debatable that their advantage will be as great next year as it is now.

[Adam43]

Originally Posted by chillibowl

if they actually thought that then why not get rid of LH and his massive retainer?

also its debatable that their advantage will be as great next year as it is now.

My favoured outcome is they sack them both.

[chillibowl]

Originally Posted by Adam43

My favoured outcome is they sack them both.

absolutely! about time they gave two new drivers a shot at crashing into one another.

[chunterer]

Originally Posted by Adam43

My favoured outcome is they sack them both.

Oh don't get me all excited!!

[wnut]

Sack them both and put Wehrlein and Haryanto in the car.

That would prove how good the Merc was, if one of them could win the WDC.

[P38 in workshop]

Originally Posted by wnut

Sack them both and put Wehrlein and Haryanto in the car.

That would prove how good the Merc was, if one of them could win the WDC.

I partly agree but would give Ocon the seat you allocated to Haryanto.

[Adam43]

Don't worry. What you have been reading is true, both petrol and diesel is favoured at Le Mans
Also, do you think the OP signed a NDA?

[peebee2]

Great idea! They could bring in Pascal and Max Verstappen's supposedly faster sister!

[Adam43]

Max and Pastor?

To be fair to Max normally drives into walls


#43

[Armco Bender]

Are the odds any good?

Their paying the same odds for Elvis returning,that would be a safer bet.

[TzeiTzei]

Originally Posted by joostpijpen

or he can go to Williams if they are interested and be outclassed and finished by Bottas.

I think that says it all. A hate post. Might be true, but still a hate post.

[JamesH]

Originally Posted by joostpijpen

I have a scoop for you, from a very reliable source (Mercedes inside information). Unfortunately I cannot tell you their names or mine or we would all be out of a job.

Interesting. When someone starts a post like that, I immediately think - testicles. No citation or anything. No proof, someones making s**t up.

The next thing I think is - why would anyone under a strict NDA tell someone like the poster this sort of information, when the first thing they do is blab about it on the internet, putting their job immediately on the line - whether named or not.

The thing that I think of after that is, given the thinly disguised hatred towards some drivers in the post, it's a troll post with no merit whatsoever.

Then I think - hey look, a unicorn!