I think Mclaren, Red Bull, Ferrari and Lotus are in a far stronger position to take the championship on. Even Sauber think they might sneek a few wins so looking at Mercedes doesnt shout out much to me. Then again F1 has given suprises before
I'm only optimistic for Lewis because the tyres are softer again this year. I'm hoping for a 2012 start to the season again. The rumors about the new Mercedes car fills me with some hope but we won't know until testing if those "rumors" are true.
Wrong Stewart, Mercedes only pull out of Motorsports when one of their cars accidentally kills over a hundred people at Lé Mans, not when they don't win... If anything they would have dominated all the way into the 60's if they decided to stay after that incident since their cars were like 2-3 years ahead of anything else on track.
I disagree with you, Silver. Mercedes is very much a corporation. As an organisation, it has a corporate head, shoulders, belly, back-bone and legs. They are in business to make money; and although adventurous in the relative short-term, they are very capable of pulling the plug on their current interest in F1. The closest comparison with Mercedes is Honda. Both have a passion – and a very competitive passion – to be seen as 'all-conquering, whenever we put our corporate minds to it'. (For example: Honda enters: Honda wins" was the company maxim for many years). Both have a very keen interest in world markets and how their products are perceived. You make reference to the Le Mans disaster. Well, my last point was critically important in their decision to both withdraw from the race and to disassociate themselves with motor racing until memories of this awful incident began to abate. However, I repeat: they have a global mind-set; and pulling the plug on their involvement in F1 could be done for all manner of reasons. Sir Jackie Stewart has a point.
Exactly. Mercedes were very conscious of their position in the world – as representatives of Germany – during a period of the most nationalistic thinking across the globe the world has ever seen. Yes, even then, Mercedes were sensitively, 'globally aware'; just as they still are. And it is this sensitivity which underpins my point. I also believe this is the basic ground from which Sir Jackie Stewart made his point.
Agree 100%, they are in it for money and publicity, once they are finished dragging Lewis through the mud they might leave.
Ah ok it just sounded for me: "If they don't win, they go away." When in fact they have lost a number of times over the 3 years and they're still pushing hard to get to the top.
I think Mercedes will give the 2014 regs a crack for at least 2 years before thinking of giving up. So that either makes Hamilton free in 3 years (which he may want), or he'll be at a winning team
Yep, I quite agree. This is in tune with current Mercedes thinking and 2014 will be pivotal in determining their continued involvement in F1 as a team owner. I also agree that it is unlikely that they will run away after one failed attempt with V6s, so 2015 will almost certainly see them still on the grid. However, if things do not go their way eventually, it may be seen, corporately, as less than positive for the company as a whole. Mercedes pride themselves on bullet-proof engines and the V6 format will present greatest opportunity to very well financed teams who also manufacture engines*, who tend to have an advantage in development. As time passes, this advantage tends to ebb away, since others will gradually catch up will the various innovations which always accompany a major shake-up in regulations. I also think that Lewis Hamilton became aware of the above, and that it may have played a part in his decision. *Red Bull are something of an exception. They are the 'de facto' Renault team, who have an awful lot to draw upon in terms of V6 technology; and of course, Red Bull are extremely well-financed.
Dont Mercedes have a deeper interest in F1 now that they are going to V6's. In a global market where their performance brand is driven by V8's & V12's it surley gives them a cross over of high powered performance engines that can cover a wider range of the Mercedes portfolio in different tune states. Evene if they are not a winning F1 team I would see them remaining in F1 as a partner (similiar to the Mclaren deal in years gone by) and supply engines to teams across all forms of motorsport to promote their racing heritage.
I completely agree that Mercedes will most likely continue to supply engines in the longer-term, relative to their existence as an F1 team. Indeed, it might be argued that the imminent change in engine format has encouraged them to stick around. However, what we were talking about was the future potential for Mercedes to withdraw from F1 as a team in its own right.
http://www1.skysports.com/formula-1...-Lewis-Hamilton-as-the-strongest-driver-in-F1 Tough to decide whether this is more of a dig at Vettle but either way based on these comments from Alonso you would think he sees lewis as a genuine title contender.
Watch out Alonso and Tifosi, International Marko has been called in: [video=youtube;9XNWA_yZvWo]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XNWA_yZvWo[/video]
I do not believe Alonso is trying to be political here, although of course, any reporting of such statements can be seen as shadows in the light. Since I share his opinion, I think he is being honest in his assessment of Hamilton as a driver; after all, he has worked with him and was quite staggered at what he saw, especially when one considers their relative positions in F1 at the time. I also agree with Alonso's previous comments alluding to Adrian Newey's considerable contribution, which may appear to have been a deliberate slight upon Vettel. Well, if some people choose to take it that way, so be it; but personally, I agree with Alonso at face value on both counts. Alonso knows about driving talent and he knows there is currently someone alongside him who is very exceptional. - - -o0o- - - Sorry Seb: it's nothing personal and I have no axe to grind. It's just my opinion that you're damned quick but not quite right at the top. Very pleased for you that you have such a great situation but just remember; if or when you go to Ferrari, make sure you take Adrian with you…
Well I'm just surprised that Alonso and the "Vettel haters" keep forgetting Seb didn't actually have the fastest car in 2012, Autosport showed they were slower than McLaren by about 2 tenths on average in qualifying trim, that and Jenson was lost at sea for a portion of the season altering the result a tad. Race pace was better for RBR by the looks of it, but that also might be a problem since Seb actually wants to get the fastest lap where as other drivers might not bother or are on longer stints with their tyres. One rule of standards for Seb, another set of standards for Lewis and Alonso.
