Motosport General discussion tread --- Formula1, MotoGP, WTCC, ETCC, DTM.....

[CryptoBuds]

^
But I can't deny that I liked Bottas' pairing with Lewis Hamilton.

You know, Bottas won the GP3 title with the Vasseur ART Grand Prix team in 2011. Maybe Bottas doesn't feel comfortable with Lewis Hamilton anymore that's why He will leave Mercedes where he has been together with Lewis Hamilton since 2017. Bottas's relationship with Vasseur is far better than Hamilton's, I'm sure Bottas will win some more titles with the help of Vasseur.


Toprak Razgatlıoğlu went ahead of Jonathan Rea by winning a weekend race at Magny course, who was topped the world's superbike standings.
This reckless Turkish rider was struggling with the six-time champion Jonathan Rea from the beginning, but he won in 5.5 seconds due to his good performance in the last lap.
Very exciting & furious race.. 

[coinlocket$]

Russell will be Hamilton's heir, he will be launched as an apprentice next year and then take over the position of the first driver in 2023 as Hamilton has signed a contract of only two years.
I believe this is the path they will take in the near future.

[Pulsar77]

Breaking news,Valteri Bottas to join Alfa Romeo next year and it is official.I guess now we will see George Russell at Mercedes which will make a really good team for next year,Hamilton will not have anymore a wing man but rather a true contender to fight with.Things are looking good now for F1 in the upcoming year.Let's hope it adds even more competition to the one we are already seeing during this year.I saw this just a few seconds before in the official F1 Instagram page. 

It was already obvious that Russell deserved Bottas' seat with his performance at Williams. He did awesome things lately with one of the worst cars in the grid. And Bottas hasn't been able to compete with Hamilton also. And his action in the last race already proved that he wanted to leave Mercedes. I wonder whether they give the same car to Hamilton and Bottas both. Because Bottas is not a really bad driver. Maybe the car is a hindrance for him to get ahead of Hamilton. We will see it in the next season when Russell joins the team.

[Koal-84]

Breaking news,Valteri Bottas to join Alfa Romeo next year and it is official.I guess now we will see George Russell at Mercedes which will make a really good team for next year,Hamilton will not have anymore a wing man but rather a true contender to fight with.Things are looking good now for F1 in the upcoming year.Let's hope it adds even more competition to the one we are already seeing during this year.I saw this just a few seconds before in the official F1 Instagram page. 

It was already obvious that Russell deserved Bottas' seat with his performance at Williams. He did awesome things lately with one of the worst cars in the grid. And Bottas hasn't been able to compete with Hamilton also. And his action in the last race already proved that he wanted to leave Mercedes. I wonder whether they give the same car to Hamilton and Bottas both. Because Bottas is not a really bad driver. Maybe the car is a hindrance for him to get ahead of Hamilton. We will see it in the next season when Russell joins the team.

Bottas is a good and solid midfield driver, in my opinion no more and no less, it will not be enough to become world champion like his compatriots Kimi and Hakkinen.

But the action with the fastest lap in the Netherlands I found funny, and I liked Bottas even if he went off the gas in the last sector and almost lost Hamilton the point for the fastest lap. Hope Perez is back in front in the next races and can help Verstappen a bit against Mercedes, tactically Verstappen's race was flawless.

I hope for more from Russell in any case and Hamilton will have a hard time the next 2 years, possibly the retirement of Hamilton will come.

[Juggy777]

Breaking news,Valteri Bottas to join Alfa Romeo next year and it is official.I guess now we will see George Russell at Mercedes which will make a really good team for next year,Hamilton will not have anymore a wing man but rather a true contender to fight with.Things are looking good now for F1 in the upcoming year.Let's hope it adds even more competition to the one we are already seeing during this year.I saw this just a few seconds before in the official F1 Instagram page.  

It was already obvious that Russell deserved Bottas' seat with his performance at Williams. He did awesome things lately with one of the worst cars in the grid. And Bottas hasn't been able to compete with Hamilton also. And his action in the last race already proved that he wanted to leave Mercedes. I wonder whether they give the same car to Hamilton and Bottas both. Because Bottas is not a really bad driver. Maybe the car is a hindrance for him to get ahead of Hamilton. We will see it in the next season when Russell joins the team.

Bottas is a good and solid midfield driver, in my opinion no more and no less, it will not be enough to become world champion like his compatriots Kimi and Hakkinen.

But the action with the fastest lap in the Netherlands I found funny, and I liked Bottas even if he went off the gas in the last sector and almost lost Hamilton the point for the fastest lap. Hope Perez is back in front in the next races and can help Verstappen a bit against Mercedes, tactically Verstappen's race was flawless.

I hope for more from Russell in any case and Hamilton will have a hard time the next 2 years, possibly the retirement of Hamilton will come.

I personally feel that Bottas is underrated and deserves more praise for his driving skills, and maybe he’s not the champion like you said but in his defence he was always asked to play a backup to Hamilton, hence let’s hope that next season he’s more competitive.

Also it’ll be interesting if Russell tries to get ahead of Hamilton, because we all know that Hamilton won’t play as a backup driver, and hence I expect some serious infighting between these two once the new season resumes.

[ILuckyGuyI]

I really enjoyed watching the Dutch GP even though it was really hard to overtake drivers. There was still a nice competition between some drivers. Verstappen was already the favourite to win this race and he did what was expected from him. He had a really nice strategy to be ahead of Hamilton all the time. Hamilton had a chance to get really close to him while Bottas was leading. But Verstappen overtook Bottas quickly and maintained a decent gap. Now we are in a new race week which is going to be in Monza.

[coinlocket$]

and now it's official, Russell at Mercedes next year



Source: https://twitter.com/MercedesAMGF1/status/1435168592388108290

Don't call me crazy but depending on how good Mercedes will be next year he will fight for the title.

[Cnut237]

Don't call me crazy but depending on how good Mercedes will be next year he will fight for the title.

He's certainly talented, and he won't be such a compliant second-in-command for Hamilton as Bottas was. But even if Mercedes have a top car next season, I think the title might be a stretch for Russell. Yes he has looked strong, but he is still unproven. We have seen so many times in F1 where talent doesn't translate into titles. I think he still has a lot to learn before he gets to the top.

But who knows, I could easily be wrong. Either way, it will make for a more exciting dynamic at Mercedes, and will take Hamilton out of his comfort zone.

[leea-1334]

It was already obvious that Russell deserved Bottas' seat with his performance at Williams. He did awesome things lately with one of the worst cars in the grid. And Bottas hasn't been able to compete with Hamilton also. And his action in the last race already proved that he wanted to leave Mercedes. I wonder whether they give the same car to Hamilton and Bottas both. Because Bottas is not a really bad driver. Maybe the car is a hindrance for him to get ahead of Hamilton. We will see it in the next season when Russell joins the team.

So Bottas will be expected to team up and play nice with Hamilton,,, I cannot see that happening easily unless Bottas already made a decision to take the money and do what the team need hehe. Yes he is not a bad driver but this season he should have at least 2 or 3 more Top 3 finishes. He has just not enough aggression to win.

[DIA7]

It was already obvious that Russell deserved Bottas' seat with his performance at Williams. He did awesome things lately with one of the worst cars in the grid. And Bottas hasn't been able to compete with Hamilton also. And his action in the last race already proved that he wanted to leave Mercedes. I wonder whether they give the same car to Hamilton and Bottas both. Because Bottas is not a really bad driver. Maybe the car is a hindrance for him to get ahead of Hamilton. We will see it in the next season when Russell joins the team.

So Bottas will be expected to team up and play nice with Hamilton,,, I cannot see that happening easily unless Bottas already made a decision to take the money and do what the team need hehe. Yes he is not a bad driver but this season he should have at least 2 or 3 more Top 3 finishes. He has just not enough aggression to win.

Bottas needs to stay a team player as when he moves to AlfaRomeo whomever who will be partnered with next season wouldn't be creating problems for him because I don't think that F1 teams likes a driver that doesn't listen to team instructions,
It will probably not matter as much as in a team where it competes on Drivers Championship but still there is some situations where divers from same team needs to be on the same page look at Hass for example Mazepin and Schumacher have been in a heated relationship that making it difficult race next to each other.
Other news for 2022 season is that Tsonoda and Gasly have been confirmed for Alphatauri so Perez is also confirmed to be partnered with Max next season with RedBull I know that he signed a new contract with Redbull keeping him one more year but this week results have suggested that Gasly should be the one to be promoted to RedBull car.

[tokeweed]

I wonder who will take Russell’s seat at Williams.  I think they’re the team to look out for next year with the new specs.   They have a good team behind them after the restructure.  Maybe not much F1 experience but a team of brilliant engineers.

And what ever happened to Pascal Wehrlein?  He was a decent driver.  I think he was also part of Merc’s academy together with Ocon.  Maybe Williams should get him.  

[Minecache]

It was already obvious that Russell deserved Bottas' seat with his performance at Williams. He did awesome things lately with one of the worst cars in the grid. And Bottas hasn't been able to compete with Hamilton also. And his action in the last race already proved that he wanted to leave Mercedes. I wonder whether they give the same car to Hamilton and Bottas both. Because Bottas is not a really bad driver. Maybe the car is a hindrance for him to get ahead of Hamilton. We will see it in the next season when Russell joins the team.

So Bottas will be expected to team up and play nice with Hamilton,,, I cannot see that happening easily unless Bottas already made a decision to take the money and do what the team need hehe. Yes he is not a bad driver but this season he should have at least 2 or 3 more Top 3 finishes. He has just not enough aggression to win.

I agree with you. Bottas' driving seems okay for me but his car might be the thing that has become a drawback for him. But Russell deserves all the appreciation for what he has done recently. Outstanding performance is what I'm gonna say.

[coinlocket$]

So Bottas will be expected to team up and play nice with Hamilton,,, I cannot see that happening easily unless Bottas already made a decision to take the money and do what the team need hehe. Yes he is not a bad driver but this season he should have at least 2 or 3 more Top 3 finishes. He has just not enough aggression to win.

The next year will be a particular year since we would have an almost complete reset on the rules and whoever finds a margin on the gray part of the regulation will have a considerable advantage over the opponents for this in case the if AlfaRomeo is able to play for the title I'd be happy for Bottas.

It will hardly happen but we remember the Brawn GP case about ten years ago.

Potentially if I were an engineer I would concentrate on heating the tires

[LTU_btc]

Finally it's official and we will see Russel in Mercedes. I already can't wait for next season to see what role in Mercedes Russel will have. I doubt that he is going to accept wingman role like Bottas, but at the same time it's difficult to expect that he will treated like Lewis already in the first season in team.

I wonder who will take Russell’s seat at Williams.  I think they’re the team to look out for next year with the new specs.   They have a good team behind them after the restructure.  Maybe not much F1 experience but a team of brilliant engineers.

And what ever happened to Pascal Wehrlein?  He was a decent driver.  I think he was also part of Merc’s academy together with Ocon.  Maybe Williams should get him.  

There is some names like Albon, Kvyat or Hulkenberg mentioned, but IMO, it's not likely options. Maybe Forumula E champion and Mercedes system driver de Vries is more likely. Or someone from F2 - Ticktum, Nissany or Zhou.
Wehrlein had big potential, but he never had chance in competetive team. I don't see his return to F1.

[jakdanyel]

Finally it's official and we will see Russel in Mercedes. I already can't wait for next season to see what role in Mercedes Russel will have. I doubt that he is going to accept wingman role like Bottas, but at the same time it's difficult to expect that he will treated like Lewis already in the first season in team.

I wonder who will take Russell’s seat at Williams.  I think they’re the team to look out for next year with the new specs.   They have a good team behind them after the restructure.  Maybe not much F1 experience but a team of brilliant engineers.

And what ever happened to Pascal Wehrlein?  He was a decent driver.  I think he was also part of Merc’s academy together with Ocon.  Maybe Williams should get him. 

There is some names like Albon, Kvyat or Hulkenberg mentioned, but IMO, it's not likely options. Maybe Forumula E champion and Mercedes system driver de Vries is more likely. Or someone from F2 - Ticktum, Nissany or Zhou.
Wehrlein had big potential, but he never had chance in competetive team. I don't see his return to F1.

I think that there is no way Russell will be racing like Bottas. Russell is not that kind of a driver. He is the kind of a driver who deserves to be the number one driver whatever team he goes to. So in the 2022 season, we can watch a really great competition between him and Hamilton. I don't expect the team to restrict Russell to just help Hamilton achieve titles. It would be a silly action. In the next season, Hamilton won't be this comfortable against his teammate.

[AndySt]

It was already obvious that Russell deserved Bottas' seat with his performance at Williams. He did awesome things lately with one of the worst cars in the grid. And Bottas hasn't been able to compete with Hamilton also. And his action in the last race already proved that he wanted to leave Mercedes. I wonder whether they give the same car to Hamilton and Bottas both. Because Bottas is not a really bad driver. Maybe the car is a hindrance for him to get ahead of Hamilton. We will see it in the next season when Russell joins the team.

So Bottas will be expected to team up and play nice with Hamilton,,, I cannot see that happening easily unless Bottas already made a decision to take the money and do what the team need hehe. Yes he is not a bad driver but this season he should have at least 2 or 3 more Top 3 finishes. He has just not enough aggression to win.

Bottas needs to stay a team player as when he moves to AlfaRomeo whomever who will be partnered with next season wouldn't be creating problems for him because I don't think that F1 teams likes a driver that doesn't listen to team instructions,
It will probably not matter as much as in a team where it competes on Drivers Championship but still there is some situations where divers from same team needs to be on the same page look at Hass for example Mazepin and Schumacher have been in a heated relationship that making it difficult race next to each other.
Other news for 2022 season is that Tsonoda and Gasly have been confirmed for Alphatauri so Perez is also confirmed to be partnered with Max next season with RedBull I know that he signed a new contract with Redbull keeping him one more year but this week results have suggested that Gasly should be the one to be promoted to RedBull car.

Knowing the leadership style of Red Bull and specifically Helmut Marko, there is no doubt that if necessary, there will be changes and all these contract extensions do not say at all that the composition of the teams will remain unchanged for next year. Also, I would not be very surprised if something like this even happens this year, if some driver from Alpha Tauri or Red Bull has an unsuccessful series. By the way, I am also surprised that the contract with Tsunada has been extended right now, and not at the end of the season. I don't think that Bottas will take revenge on the team in any way because of the non-extension of the contract, because in any case, Bottas remains in the Mercedes system and the contract with Alfa Romeo was signed precisely because of this and now it is just clarity and stability for Valteri, because before that the contract with him was extended these few years at Mercedes only for the next season.

[Spack17]

Now we are in a really important race week for Ferrari. I remember the huge rivalry between Leclerc and Hamilton on this track in the 2019 race.    Leclerc defended Hamilton superbly and won the race here. Ferrari was much faster than this of course. Now it seems like impossible that Leclerc or Sainz can get a win here. Because Red Bull and Mercedes are dominating the season and they are much faster than Ferrari. My favorite driver to win the race is Verstappen here also. But Hamilton can make him really big difficulties here like he did to Leclerc then.

[laurenB7742]

He's certainly talented, and he won't be such a compliant second-in-command for Hamilton as Bottas was. But even if Mercedes have a top car next season, I think the title might be a stretch for Russell. Yes he has looked strong, but he is still unproven. We have seen so many times in F1 where talent doesn't translate into titles. I think he still has a lot to learn before he gets to the top.
But who knows, I could easily be wrong. Either way, it will make for a more exciting dynamic at Mercedes, and will take Hamilton out of his comfort zone.

Hamilton and Russell could be an interesting matchup. Considering Russell taking Bottas' place, this could both be good and bad for Mercedes. I agree with you where you said that talents have not always been converted into titles and the same thing goes for Russell. He has to work really hard to be up there and Mercedes having a good enough car next season will be a plus point for him as well.

[LittleBitFunny]

I personally feel that Bottas is underrated and deserves more praise for his driving skills, and maybe he’s not the champion like you said but in his defence he was always asked to play a backup to Hamilton, hence let’s hope that next season he’s more competitive.
Also it’ll be interesting if Russell tries to get ahead of Hamilton, because we all know that Hamilton won’t play as a backup driver, and hence I expect some serious infighting between these two once the new season resumes.

New duo competitions are always fun to watch. I enjoy these every time. And Russell and Hamilton one is gonna be a banger . It will be interesting to see how Hamilton reacts if Russell tries to get ahead of him. Will it backfire? Or will it be a healthy competition between the two? Only time will tell.

[Jackl87]

I personally feel that Bottas is underrated and deserves more praise for his driving skills, and maybe he’s not the champion like you said but in his defence he was always asked to play a backup to Hamilton, hence let’s hope that next season he’s more competitive.
Also it’ll be interesting if Russell tries to get ahead of Hamilton, because we all know that Hamilton won’t play as a backup driver, and hence I expect some serious infighting between these two once the new season resumes.

New duo competitions are always fun to watch. I enjoy these every time. And Russell and Hamilton one is gonna be a banger . It will be interesting to see how Hamilton reacts if Russell tries to get ahead of him. Will it backfire? Or will it be a healthy competition between the two? Only time will tell.

It was already reported that Hamilton is not very happy with the decision, that Bottas will be replaced by Russell in the next season as Hamilton would have preferred to continue with Bottas as his teammate. The reason for that is obvious, Russell is a very talented young driver with huge ambitions so he won't be happy to be the no.2 in the team like Bottas was.
I also agree that Bottas is a way better driver than some people think he is or than media and fans depict him sometimes. At least he is able to support hamilton during most races like in the last one, while Perez was very far away from the top positions.