Bottas to Alfa? bye bye Kimi

[S griffin]

It's pretty much confirmed that Russell will go to Merc. We'll see if Alfa go with Bottas or maybe Albon. Bottas probably would get more out of the car than Kimi would to be fair

[Lancsbreaker]

After Bottas's performance today, I think its confirmed he's out the door Toto said on C4 that the announcement wouldn't be on Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday....but very pointedly didn't say it wouldn't be earlier

[Anyopenroad]

Originally Posted by Lancsbreaker

After Bottas's performance today, I think its confirmed he's out the door

Any more displays of petulance like that and he might be out the door before the end of the season.

[Skam85]

Was it petulance though?

Seemed to me like he was genuinely puzzled at his teams' strange strategy call.

Petulance wouldn't have been backing off in the final sector and setting a faster fastest lap.

[E.B]

Originally Posted by Skam85

Was it petulance though?

Seemed to me like he was genuinely puzzled at his teams' strange strategy call.

Petulance wouldn't have been backing off in the final sector and setting a faster fastest lap.

This.
Had Bottas not backed off in the last sector, that would have been petulance. The way he did it reminded me of Rubens back in his Ferrari days when he was told to yield to Schu, and waited to the final corner to do so. Make a bit of a statement but doing the team thing.

Bottas was somewhat confused to be called in so late 'for safety reasons' (yeah right).... with hindsight we all know that was purely to give Lewis a window to also stop for soft rubber and ensure the FL point.

Thus covering off what Red Bull could otherwise have done.... what they did at Silverstone - pit Sergio late for soft tyres with the FL, specifically taking it from Lewis, his mission.

As for the timing of the Bottas to Alfa etc announcement we all know is coming, it seems as stated that not all signatures are on contracts atm.

In addition timing of press releases to maximise exposure is critical.... Alfa would not want to announce a Bottas signing in Holland where the news focus was was always going to be all 'Orange'.

Much better to hold off a week and make a key Alfa announcement at Monza where all things newsworthy are red (I classify Alfa as a red team) and (pun intended) will be widely read. Just Marketing sense to maximise the opportunity.

[Anyopenroad]

Fair comments. I take back the petulance accusation. Sorry Valteri!

[FIRE]

Originally Posted by bathurst77

I wonder whats next for kimi?
Sports cars, another stint in rallies, or give up all racing?

Im not sure he is cut out to be a commentator

"And its over to Kimi to talk us through the lap"

" ."

Would like to to see him in rallycross.

[Anyopenroad]

As a sportscar fan above all, I find myself mildly resenting the assumption that a 41-year old ex-F1 driver could walk into WEC and kick ass. I’m not sure it’s quite that simple. Even if he still has the driving ability, he hardly seems to have the temperament to be part of a 3 or 4 driver team for 24 hours, with all the compromise and camerarderie that requires.

Mind you, I’m probably letting my own bias show now - I’ve never bought into the Kimi maverick stuff, he has too often come across to me as boorish and bullying.

[ascarracinguk]

Originally Posted by Anyopenroad

As a sportscar fan above all, I find myself mildly resenting the assumption that a 41-year old ex-F1 driver could walk into WEC and kick ass. I’m not sure it’s quite that simple. Even if he still has the driving ability, he hardly seems to have the temperament to be part of a 3 or 4 driver team for 24 hours, with all the compromise and camerarderie that requires.

Agree with this.

Sportscar racing takes experience and a certain talent/ risk reward second sense.

Alonso was good in sportscars, he had a couple of stellar stints in the Dpi at Daytona, and while he won Le Mans in the Toyota, he wasnt the best driver in that car....he stole the headlines, but without the other drivers stints the car wouldnt have won.

Just look at ex f1 drivers that have done sportscar racing....theres been quite a lot, some have been sucessful, but a lot havent. Just because youre great in one discipline, doesnt garentee youre going to be great in another.

With that said, i would LOVE a Ferrari line up of Kimi, Illott, Bird, Calardo, Bruni and Fissi...a great mix of experience and youth, all with Ferrari connections.

[S griffin]

I wouldn’t put it past Kimi to try sportscars, I think he might he have hinted at it in the past. Certainly would be interesting to see how he gets on. He’s always been good at bringing home the points, so it might suit him

Then again, I can see him just sticking to local rally events in the Nordic

[Greem]

Originally Posted by Anyopenroad

Mind you, I’m probably letting my own bias show now - I’ve never bought into the Kimi maverick stuff, he has too often come across to me as boorish and bullying.

If you have a read of Marc Priestley's book "The Mechanic: The Secret World of the F1 Pitlane" then there's a good bit of insight into Kimi's personality. I wouldn't describe him as boorish or bullying, but it'd be fair to say that he has a wicked sense of humour, takes no prisoners and gives as good as he gets...

And that's just the stuff Priestley decided was fit for publishing!

[Hawkwood]

Originally Posted by ascarracinguk

Agree with this.

Sportscar racing takes experience and a certain talent/ risk reward second sense.

Alonso was good in sportscars, he had a couple of stellar stints in the Dpi at Daytona, and while he won Le Mans in the Toyota, he wasnt the best driver in that car....he stole the headlines, but without the other drivers stints the car wouldnt have won.

Just look at ex f1 drivers that have done sportscar racing....theres been quite a lot, some have been sucessful, but a lot havent. Just because youre great in one discipline, doesnt garentee youre going to be great in another.

With that said, i would LOVE a Ferrari line up of Kimi, Illott, Bird, Calardo, Bruni and Fissi...a great mix of experience and youth, all with Ferrari connections.

Does anyone know how to find the stats on this?
Asking as I thought that his average laps times were better than Nakajima and Buemi? Of course, I may have mis-read at the time, or be mis-remembering now.

[Anyopenroad]

So it is indeed Bottas to Alfa for 2022 and beyond: https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/va...-2022/6661658/

[S griffin]

Well I wish him well. He’s done well at Merc, but sadly not enough to challenge for the title. But he’s still got enough in him to continue in F1. I’m sure he will benefit Alfa with his experience and might just get the team moving up the grid. No doubt he still has the speed

And it also means any remaining doubt about George Russell going to Merc has pretty much vanished, unless Merc have been trolling us this whole time…

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by Anyopenroad

So it is indeed Bottas to Alfa for 2022 and beyond: https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/va...-2022/6661658/

Still no news on the alleged return of Sauber-Mercedes

Lewis will miss his wing-man.

[S griffin]

Originally Posted by bjohnsonsmith

Still no news on the alleged return of Sauber-Mercedes

Lewis will miss his wing-man.

Will we see the changing of the guard, not just with Max, but with George also taking over? Or will Lewis still be on top come the end of next season? Exciting times ahead

[Aysedasi]

Originally Posted by bjohnsonsmith

Still no news on the alleged return of Sauber-Mercedes

Lewis will miss his wing-man.

He certainly will.

[NaBUru38]

Fun fact: Lewis Hamilton is older than Wayne Rooney, and Sebastian Vettel is older than Juan Mart?*n del Potro.

[S griffin]

And they are all still older than me…..

[Skam85]

Originally Posted by bjohnsonsmith

Still no news on the alleged return of Sauber-Mercedes

Lewis will miss his wing-man.

2022 just got very interesting. There has always been a bit of drama when there is a teammate on or better than Hamilton's pace - Alonso, Rosberg. Button was the outlier, while his times with slower teammates like Kovalainen and Bottas were peaceful.

If Russell is on it from the start, it will be very interesting. Hamilton will be very wary of his standing in the "greatest" discussion if George comes in and beats him. Will that see him raise his game to another level or will it all blow up like 2007?

Personally, I can see it becoming a Leclerc/Vettel type of situation. Can't wait.

[Adam43]

I think you’ll be more interested in the “greatest” discussion than Hamilton will be. He’ll be more interested in driving an F1 car.

How Russell does against him won’t change the previous career, or people’s perception of how great he is I suspect!

Looking forward to seeing Russell there and hoping he does really well.

[Skam85]

Originally Posted by Adam43

I think you’ll be more interested in the “greatest” discussion than Hamilton will be. He’ll be more interested in driving an F1 car.

How Russell does against him won’t change the previous career, or people’s perception of how great he is I suspect!

Looking forward to seeing Russell there and hoping he does really well.

True. Our job is to watch, enjoy and debate ad nauseum.
His job is to live out our dream.

[Adam43]

Very true.

[peterelise]

Originally Posted by Adam43

How Russell does against him won’t change the previous career, or people’s perception of how great he is I suspect!

Whilst I don’t expect Russell to get the better of Hamilton next year, if he was to do so, and do it convincingly, I think you will find many people will reassess their view of Hamilton’s place on the all time greatest list. I suspect that is the reason Hamilton was clearly keen to keep Bottas as his team mate.

[steve_r]

Originally Posted by peterelise

Whilst I don’t expect Russell to get the better of Hamilton next year, if he was to do so, and do it convincingly, I think you will find many people will reassess their view of Hamilton’s place on the all time greatest list. I suspect that is the reason Hamilton was clearly keen to keep Bottas as his team mate.

After 7 WDCs and 100 wins, there are plenty of people who already dismissed Hamilton just because Russell did well compared to Bottas in one single race. Some people are absolutely desperate to try to diminish his achievements. I think that the modern term for these people is "haters". Whether you take any notice of such viewpoints is up to you!

I was watching the Dutch GP and wondering just how much more difficult it would have been for Verstappen, if Russell (or whoever) in the 2nd Mercedes was genuniely in the mix for the win on a 1 stop strategy. No longer would the leader simply cover off the single Mercedes by reacting to the pit-stops one lap later. (By the same logic, the second Red Bull could also play a similair role).

It will be interesting to see how Russell gets on. So far this season the duel for the WDC has been just that, and there have only been a few occurances when the respective teammates have caused a major headache for Verstappen and Hamilton.