This is interesting to have all this talk for a person that hasn't made any announcement and is under contract for the season. I really hope that he comes back. The ending was so off putting last year I understand not having the drive anymore but I really hope he comes back, wins one more and then walks away.
NY Nick said:This is interesting to have all this talk for a person that hasn't made any announcement and is under contract for the season. I really hope that he comes back. The ending was so off putting last year I understand not having the drive anymore but I really hope he comes back, wins one more and then walks away.
I think it's the skipping the F1 Gala, and his almost complete silence from social media since Abu Dhabi that's fueled speculation. I think he want's assurances guys like Masi our out.
It would be really easy for him to jump on his IG and say, "I'll be back fighting for a title next year" or something and end it.
In reply to z31maniac :
I guess but I am having trouble imagining that if he was done he wouldn't have told the MB team so to not berkeley them. If he did I can't believe that secret would be kept for long.
After the intensity of the last season, he may be unwilling to start up all the media frenzy again. I agree he's been in contact with the team, the sim driver might simply be there to put in laps for development.
I wonder if he's hanging out at his house in Beaver Creek? I could drop by and say hi.
In reply to Keith Tanner :
If you do please tell him I think he is totally awesome... 
wae said:I also saw today that the Q2 tire rule is gone for this year. All teams, regardless of where they qualify, will get to choose their starting tire.
That's good news. I hated this rule.
NY Nick said:In reply to Keith Tanner :
If you do please tell him I think he is totally awesome...
Same here, he's been favorite driver since his rookie year. Well him and Webbaaaaaaah!
CAinCA said:wae said:I also saw today that the Q2 tire rule is gone for this year. All teams, regardless of where they qualify, will get to choose their starting tire.
That's good news. I hated this rule.
It did lead itself to tire strategy right from the start of the race. If you're going to force people to run the wrong tires, might as well make it really interesting by making them juggle quali as well :) I'd like to see the "you must run at least two compounds during the race" rule go away, I don't think the quality of racing would necessarily suffer. In fact, it would open up more strategic options.
I don't do twitter but Mercedes put this on their LinkedIn page today. I guess that answers the question of coming back.
YES! Hammeeeeeellton, if you guys remember that, even got my better half into F1. Aside from being an incredible driver, he's really great for the sport.
Sir Hamilton is definitely chillin' in my part of the world. Here's to a great head space.
Based on the pants, He's been hanging with Sammy Hagar. Or Ronald Mcdonald.
In reply to Streetwiseguy :
If he is I am in for that hang out. 1- Hagar is awesome, my favorite VH albums have him as lead (although I think Roth has the best songs). 2- clowns are fun as can be to hang out with. RMcD could loose the white face and go August to be a little less creepy but hanging with clowns is usually a silly fun adventure. 3- it's Lewis, I am reading his autobiography right now, I would love to know how different LH 2022 is from LH 2007.
In reply to NY Nick :
I didn't say it was a bad thing.
In reply to Streetwiseguy :
No judgement from me. Sounds like a heck of a party story!
I'm watching the Aston Martin car launch right now and man.... Lawrence Stroll might actually just be a robot. I've never seen anyone who has made it that far be so bad at presenting.
So far, I am finding the 2022 cars to be pretty good looking. Not as nice as a 1990 McLaren, but still better than last year with all the fiddly bits
They do look nice. I just read an article on F1 . com about the development of the Aston Martin car. I would really enjoy watching (or at an earlier point in my career being a part of) the development of something like this. So much focused energy and resources on one goal. I must be interesting to see how many iterations of engineering happen before prototyping and how many prototypes are made obsolete before completion. I may be romanticizing the process because of my limited awareness but I just imagine the development and operational logistics of F1 to be completely epic.
Doohan picks Alpine academy over Red Bull as Caldwell also joins “F1 is obviously the ultimate goal but I think the Alpine program for me – spending obviously the last few years with Red Bull, which was good, but in the short time that I’ve worked with Alpine I think they’re a program that regardless of the end goal of Formula 1 aim to make you into a better driver by teaching you more,” Was that a shot at the Redbull program? I am not saying that is wrong just surprised, typically those reactions are bit more tight lipped.
That seems like a poke at RB to me but I am really biased. I know I am but I just can't seem to view RB objectively. I keep trying to rein that in but the more I read and see and watch the Horner and Max show the more I tend to not support Red Bull. It's funny too, I like the spice girls, I love the Netherlands. I even really liked working with Dutch people, mostly because of their bluntness which Max has in spades but he just rubs me wrong.
+=+ this is a shot at RB because they are evil.
This "race" was the biggest piece of E36 M3 of the year and it appears that the good folks at F1 agree and are taking some steps to fix it. Rain Races
Of the Red Bull developed drivers, they have been successful with 2, right? Vettel and Verstappen. Which is fine- considering what they have done, it's better than all other development programs at this point. BUT. The prospect of being #2 is kind of troubling. They seem to go through #2's with pretty consistent regularity.
It would be a tough thing to balance.
alfadriver said:Of the Red Bull developed drivers, they have been successful with 2, right? Vettel and Verstappen. Which is fine- considering what they have done, it's better than all other development programs at this point. BUT. The prospect of being #2 is kind of troubling. They seem to go through #2's with pretty consistent regularity.
It would be a tough thing to balance.
Danny Ric hasn't won a championship, but I would say he's had some success in F1. But I'm probably biased because I really like him.
In reply to alfadriver :
I think the shot and crituqe is warranted, but how many drivers wouldn't be in Pro racing if not for them? towing the line early on, some otherwise would have never made it to F1 even though RB and TR made it horrible. You could debate Daniel Ric should have stayed at RB, he moved from Renault to now a #2 at McLaren, to maybe searching for a ride in 23.
z31maniac said:alfadriver said:Of the Red Bull developed drivers, they have been successful with 2, right? Vettel and Verstappen. Which is fine- considering what they have done, it's better than all other development programs at this point. BUT. The prospect of being #2 is kind of troubling. They seem to go through #2's with pretty consistent regularity.
It would be a tough thing to balance.
Danny Ric hasn't won a championship, but I would say he's had some success in F1. But I'm probably biased because I really like him.
And he left the team. He did well at RBR until they got Max as the #2- which was very brief. Remeber, Max got promoted because Danil struggled and didn't get much support as the #2 to Ricciardo.
Max and Seb have been the only #2 drivers that have been treated well. Everyone else has been more disaster for the team than success.
Given Max's age right now, until he's signed with another team, it seems to me it will be something to consider to sign up to be his potential #2 if other teams are offering their development spots.
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