These 2 drivers will very likely be at the sharp end for the next 12-15 years of their F1 career. It's because of this talent from both racers that one day surely! a team will take the challenge to try and get them together under the same roof and by a pure mircale keep it under control. I just feel it in my bones that it will happen one day and the electricity produced would be something maybe greater than that of Prost v Senna, even if it was just for one season. Fastest lap after fastest lap would be the norm from these two, qualifying will always be a battlefield between them and the races would be something once in a lifetime to see. Great Britain vs Germany, The Eagle vs The Lion, WW3 on track!!!! Who wouldn't want to see this happen, though hopefully nobody gets hurt in the process! please log in to view this image Sebastian Vettel Age: 24 Country: Germany Years in F1: 4 1/2 years (Since 2011) Wins: 21 Poles: 30 Podiums: 37 WDC's: 2, 2010+2011 Vettel has a contract with RBR until 2014 and he has made it clear that he would like to drive for either Ferrari or Mercedes in the future unless RBR keep producing the top car as he is more interested in breaking records. He would still be only 27 and heading into his prime come the 2015 season and very likely to be a triple WDC at the time considering the cars RBR produce. Seb has said in the past that he fears no driver and has admitted that he will one day have to prove himself against another world champion if it comes to it. (Possible fighting talk from Vettel early on?) The more the public try to deny his talent the more he proves them wrong, over the years the respect for Vettel has grown and the fear of going beyond that of which was set last season is now dreaded by other f1 fans. What will the gap of ability be from Vettel of 2011 to now? Could Vettel be the undoing of F1 as we know it with Newey by his side... If RBR didn't think he was the man to do it, why do they keep trying to extend his contract? Horner, Newey and Helmut must see something in him that even Vettel fans don't understand yet. Though the 2012 season is young he has shown improvement every year when he gets put into a new Red Bull and even on a bad day he can still outperform a very experienced Mark Webber on raceday. so it begs to differ what will be Vettel's limit when he gets to his peak, the greatest ever possibly? or maybe just one of the best of this era? For Vettel, youth and inexperience that compared to a "10 year career of a veteran", is on his side at the moment. please log in to view this image Lewis Hamilton Age: 27 Country: Great Britain Years in F1: 5 (Since 2011) Wins: 17 Poles: 21 Podiums: 44 WDC's: 1, 2008 Lewis Hamilton, no new contract signed as of yet with McLaren and maybe tabloid pressure getting to the relationship with Whitmarsh and Lewis. It's possible that Mercedes will take him come next season with a contract lasting 3-4 years replacing Schumacher for age reasons, Lewis would fill the gap as I now think that Nico cant. Though he might just sign for McLaren for another 3 years to keep the team happy he will surely beat Jenson a few more times before he retires. Come 2015 Lewis will be 30-31, the peak of his ability and highly experienced to boot with 9-10 years of experience, a win win situation for any team to hire him as the "rough rock" is now a fine statue. The raw ability of Lewis would meet the age and experience of a Jenson a very deadly combination. He has dueled with Alonso in the past so like Vettel, he fears no driver on the grid, no matter how many WDC's they may have. So even if Vettel had "10 WDC's" under his belt before then, it wont phase him one bit as he will still go out fighting for the victory even if all hope is lost. Making others to try and keep up with him is Lewis' second favorite past time to that of Winning WDC's Though he may have lost to Jenson last season (who is no push over that's for sure) it looks like he has got to grips with things around him so the only way is up for Lewis in the coming future. People should watch out and write him off at their peril for this season as it looks like he only needs a bit of momentum and a bit of luck to run away with this WDC. Both drivers now compared have their quiet sides, their ruthless side and of course their pissed off sides when the media come calling, so emotion wouldn't be a problem and the stories that would be written WOW! would we ever get bored of the small mind games? Traits with two high calibre drivers like these two could have some great buddy buddy relationships at the start but come the next few races or the next season you would have both at each other's throats if it meant getting the WDC. Though they might just accept they're both equal in almost every area of talent and it just came down to time, place and luck to who won the WDC, but without a doubt they wont be able to dominate the other easily like in the past, one **** up could cost him the season as the other would not fail to deliver on the day. It will surely be neutral territory, Ferrari or Mercedes. No way will Vettel walk into McLaren knowing their history with Lewis, no way will Lewis walk into RBR knowing the history they have with Vettel no matter what the media think. Ferrari are a team that want to hire the best, but Perez or a silverback Alonso could be the party pooper here unless they kick them both out. So Mercedes must be the likely future battleground for these two if they stay in F1 for the long run. Vettel being German and Lewis' history with Mercedes engines would both give them peace of mind that they will get equal treatment in the team. Equal pay, equal standing, no inequality, no BS and no excuses, just racing! Who would you think would come out on top? A 28 year old Vettel, or a 31 year old Hamilton if they got put into the same team over 3 seasons? Is this face off comparable to Mayweather vs Pacquiao? 2 men at their peaks, taunting the public with PR bollox and spouts of "maybe's" when at the end of the day we just want to see this happen and create history. Is this lineup impossible as it's likely not even Ferrari could control both sides of the garage? Would they both be even able to finish without crashing with the amount of DRS overtakes they would do? Lewis vs Vettel, Vettel vs Lewis, is this lineup inevitable? THE PUBLIC MUST SURELY DEMAND IT!!!!!! It's only simmering now but it will one day become boiling point a few years down the line. No polls required here thanks! Sorry for spelling and grammer mistakes but I don't care as I just want to talk about something else while I'm waiting for the Chinese practice to start.
It may never happen. Button and Alonso still have a few years left in them to win championship's and there could always be a new hotshot that comes along and takes the world by storm. I hate to compare people but look at what happened to Jacques Villeneuve he won Indy car and the F1 championship at quite a young age and then suddenly his career dropped off. I like that you compare to Pacman and Mayweather, because that what it may turn out to be, all rumour and nothing comes to it. Would be great though; if they were in the same team.
Lovely thought... But I think you'd have to be bonkers to even try it. Who knows though, could Red Bull be crazy enough to give that one a roll of the dice?
This was written in Autosport last summer: I could've seen Hamilton moving to Red Bull for 2013 if McLaren hadn't built such a good car this year. As it is I don't think they'll be paired together for several years yet, the only way I see it happening is if one has a far superior car to the other for a couple of years running. People always say it could be Prost-Senna all over again as if it's some kind of negative. But in their two seasons together they won both world championships and took 25 wins in 32 races. Not too shabby.
Doubt it myself! I think the mErc seat will decided where both of their careers go in the future! If Lewis signs for them in 2013 then Vettle will be looking at Ferrari or his RB 2014 onwards. If Lewis stays with Mclaren (not guaranteed by far and dependent on his season up to Silverstone) the I think Vettle will end up in the Merc. One thing we dont k now is how the teams performances will shuffle with 2014 reg changes and where the likes of the creative designers will end up? Who's to say a Lotus or a Williams wont be the team to beat in a few seasons time?
Never say never, but probably not in the near future or for RBR, their next driver will probably be whoever wins the team-mate battle at STR, Vettel and Alonso, now that would be a great pairing. I think you have to balance your team pairing more when you're at the top, but who is to say Lewis hasn't matured, or won't, driving wise? or Vettel curb the mistakes (and be more aware of others making them) "it could be Pros/Senna over again" if only........ Smithers, who's to say the Williams and Lotus won't be the team to beat in a few races time?
What do you mean "something else"? Hamilton vs. Vettel is all you ever talk about. I agree with most people here. They won't end up in the same team unless extraordinary circumstances come into play. I think Hamilton might have gone to Red Bull for 2012 given how dominant the RB7 was but the offer wasn't on the table and the dominance looks to have disappeared now. Given all that's happened in the past twenty years, I can't see any team other than McLaren wanting two World Champions driving for them.
I dont think anyone can say "wont happen". I doubt it in the next few years, but if i go back to 2008 i would have had similar thoughts about the likess of Hamilton-Button and Schumacher-Rosberg.
If Vettel goes joins another top team, it will not be McLaren. That leaves three places where Hamilton and Vettel could be teammates in the next few years: Ferrari - They can't be teammates here until after 2016, possibly longer if Alonso wants to extend his contract. By the time Alonso retires there might be another young driver that Ferrari have their eye on, or Perez might be talented and experienced enough to take over from Alonso as the team leader. Red Bull - It could happen as early as next year if Hamilton moves to Red Bull - he was in talks with them last year and Vettel and Hamilton aren't afraid of each other. IF Red Bull overtake McLaren as the best car and McLaren start to slip back, maybe Hamilton might want to switch to Red Bull for next year - whether Marko will actually sign with Hamilton is another matter. Like Ferrari, this seems is very unlikely to me. Mercedes - This is the most likely place for them to do battle imo. One scenario could be that Hamilton moves there in 2013 and to partner Rosberg. When Rosberg's contract ends at the end of 2014 they could bring in Vettel - but this will only happen if Mercedes can prove themselves to be potential champions. But would Brawn want Hamilton and Vettel as his driver-line up? It might happen in the future but I doubt it. To me what is most likely is that Vettel will be at Ferrari or Red Bull from 2015 onwards, while Hamilton will be at McLaren or Mercedes.
I couldn't see either of Vettel or Hamilton wanting to drive for Mercedes. They're distinctly second rate, I don't know why people talk of there being a big four, they're only competitive in terms of budget. I'd rather join Lotus than Mercedes.
I feel exactly the same. I don't understand why people keep talking about Mercedes as a plausible option for likes as Vettel and Hamilton. Well, I guess with their economy, and some time catching up, there should be no reason why they Wouldn't be a real option in the future, but so could Force India, Lotus/Renault, Williams, etc. I personally can currently only see Red Bull as an plausible option for them two to team up in the next 5 or so years. IF Webber doesn't extend his contract that is. And in five years from now, It might just be Williams and Lotus being the top teams to join. Though, I am pretty certain Ferrari will still be Ferrari and will most probably still be attractive no matter how they will do WCC wise until then.
I think people mention Mercedes as they are the only team that have the resources to break in to the top 3 and potentially stay up there The others lack resources to break in to that bunch long term.
Vettel will never be allowed to leave Red Bull, Hamilton will not leave McLaren as long as Ron is there.
Before this year I could of seen Lewis going to Red Bull, but because McLaren have such a good car this year it seem less likely. I could also see Seb going to McLaren, because they have proved with Button that they give both drivers a fair crack of the whip. I'm in the camp that believes that the Merc will come good, sooner rather than later. The reason I believe this is because of the talent they have been snapping up behind the scenes. They have been very clever in getting good people in the right places over the last year of so, I see this as Brawns greatest strength and I think it lays good solid foundations
Mercedes have gone backwards every year since they've been in F1, just because they are a big car company that builds title winning F1 engines doesn't mean they'll do well, just ask Honda.
And practically every other major manufacturer that has tried to do it on their own. Toyota showed that even with a practically limitless budget, success cannot be bought. They all get bored when the shareholders want a return. I give Mercedes another two years before they hand the team back to Brawn to run indenpendtly unless they start getting some success.
