Mercedes AMG F1 Team 2012

[schumifan]

does anyone actually think mike might be stuck for a decent seat next year???? would he even consider a different seat - i think he could just be desperate enough to get a drive to prove a point for a year, eh??

[Shrieker]

If Rosberg can't cut it in that car, then so can't Hamilton. I don't think Rosberg is any worse than Hamilton. If he is, not by much. Merc need to realise they need to spend big and bring the car to the level of Ferrari/McLaren/Red Bull. If they spend the money on LH it'll al be in vain. Lewis can't make them a top team all of a sudden.

[Morteza]

If Rosberg can't cut it in that car, then so can't Hamilton. I don't think Rosberg is any worse than Hamilton. If he is, not by much. Merc need to realise they need to spend big and bring the car to the level of Ferrari/McLaren/Red Bull. If they spend the money on LH it'll al be in vain. Lewis can't make them a top team all of a sudden.

So true. And the question is why would Hamilton leave a proved top team fighting for championship each year to a lesser team like Mercedes? Even if Mercedes gives him the number one driver status, none can guarantee they give him a car on the level of the McLaren. It is a big risk not worth taking in my opinion.

[marcush.]

hamsy has shown rather often he is not very much into considering his actions thorrowly but is deciding based on his feelings .It might not be wise ..but he is that type of guy.who knows what Zetsche or the Hutt have promised to him.
and Mclaren have the problem of not being able to pay the askking price..If you got big money management you have to play hardball when it comes to cash in...so it may ...may just hold some truth..
I´d guess he is in for a major shock when reality check is on...Schumacher is on top of his game and not depending on a car to his liking as button does ..But honestly speaking i think these two would set the MGP on fire a bit more than Rosberg ...

[zyphro]

If Rosberg can't cut it in that car, then so can't Hamilton. I don't think Rosberg is any worse than Hamilton. If he is, not by much. Merc need to realise they need to spend big and bring the car to the level of Ferrari/McLaren/Red Bull. If they spend the money on LH it'll al be in vain. Lewis can't make them a top team all of a sudden.

If that is the case; Schumacher must still be driving at an extremely high level even at the ripe age of fourty-three. Incredible.

[xpensive]

...
Lewis can't make them a top team all of a sudden.

Of course not, but he seem to have the personality to imagine to himself that he could take an HRT to Q3.

[Glyn]

...
Lewis can't make them a top team all of a sudden.

Of course not, but he seem to have the personality to imagine to himself that he could take an HRT to Q3.

This sport is a business after all.

Who would draw more fans / sponsors to the team. Hamilton or Nico "one race win" Rosberg?

The potential for money from outside sources would increase. If only the car could then magically come back up to the same level... Mercedes couldn't lose then!

[zyphro]

...
Lewis can't make them a top team all of a sudden.

Of course not, but he seem to have the personality to imagine to himself that he could take an HRT to Q3.

Hahaha made my day.

[fiohaa]

If he goes there, his career will go down the drain much the same way Villeneuve's did. Arguably Lewis has more talent than him, but even Senna, Fangio, Prost and Schumacher all in their primes couldn't turn Mgp into winners. The team just can't cut it. It's always been the case in Bar and then later Honda days. And as you very well know, one swallow does not make a summer (2009). Button ran away from this very team at the first opportunity, it'll be a disaster if Hamilton picks them.

Do they even have half the budget McLaren have ?

i believe schumacher is the greatest (based on historical evidence)....this is just to show that its difficult for me to say this...but i believe currently (instinctively), if they were all in equal cars, over a single lap - hamilton would beat the lot of them.

unfortunately for him.....a grand prix isnt a single hotlap, and they're not in equal cars. And it requires a bit of thinking on your feet (seat).
to me he is the most naturally talented fast driver on the planet. Key word there, on fast.
over a grand prix distance, hes simply very good, and i dont believe he has the brains to pull off a complete championship assault, like alonso or vettel. When the speed isn't in the car, everything else falls apart around him.

schumacher is better than him still, fact. i dont believe he has the raw speed that he once did (but then again, how do we know, given that they are cruising around on pirellis over the race?) - but hes shown that his USP is still there.

if hes being replaced by ham, im going to have to go back to watching 2003 season on dvd again.

really annoys me that when schumi finishes, he outperforms rosberg completely, certainly from the middle part of last year, to now (look at valencia this year...belgium last year, india last year, etc...) and no one says anything. commentators say nothing.

infact the only person to marvel was HILL! when he stuck it on pole at monaco this year, it was Hill that expressed massive admiration on the sky coverage. oh the irony.

if anyone should be leaving merc.....surely it should be rosberg.

[Ferraripilot]

Schumacher/Hamilton would be eerily similar to Lauda/Prost.

Truthfully I would dump Nico were I the one making these decisions. Keep the proven commodities if you ask me.

Odd you mention that as I was thinking the same thing.

I don't think Nico's place is at Mercedes, he seems more suited to the lock-step paradigm of Mclaren. A Nico Hamilton swap would make sense to me. That way when Schu does go (whenever that may be) Di Resta can step in. I agree Schu has no reason to leave F1 just yet, not with how he's been driving. For whatever reason, 2012 has been a year of terrible luck/reliability/tires (!) for him yet his driving has been best since his comeback. The previous two seasons it seemed Michael was most of the time a shell of his former self, certainly not the case this season though.

[zyphro]

The previous two seasons it seemed Michael was most of the time a shell of his former self, certainly not the case this season though.

I'd say past 1.5 seasons; he began out performing Nico on a more consistent basis in the 2nd half of 2012,

[snoop1050]

yea nico isnt improving at all if anything hes getting worse.

schumacher on the other hand seems to be stepping up his game and during the wet qually sessions he has made nico look like a rookie and not a driver with many seasons of experience.
schumacher always seems to atleast for a limited time each race be able to compete with those in better cars such as kimi and vettel where as nico generally will already be slipping back many places down the grid

Nico doesnt seem like the type of person that can lead a team to me either nico + di resta or nico + hulkenberg would be a big mistake in my eyes.

mercedes need a proper star of the grid someone who stands out once michael leaves

[Chrisaix]

yea nico isnt improving at all if anything hes getting worse.

schumacher on the other hand seems to be stepping up his game and during the wet qually sessions he has made nico look like a rookie and not a driver with many seasons of experience.
schumacher always seems to atleast for a limited time each race be able to compete with those in better cars such as kimi and vettel where as nico generally will already be slipping back many places down the grid

Nico doesnt seem like the type of person that can lead a team to me either nico + di resta or nico + hulkenberg would be a big mistake in my eyes.

mercedes need a proper star of the grid someone who stands out once michael leaves

Agreed, that has also been mi impression of michael and nico so far. When the conditions requires more driver skills, you can easilly see michael up there. I think nico is more like jenson, he needs everyhting to be almost perfect for him to deliver. And yes, ditching michael would be the biggest mistake mercedes could ever make.

[sidmiester]

i m baffled at people who thinks nico is not a good driver. yes he has made mistakes, but who doesnt .... even top drivers like vettel alonso does.

the car has been absolutely terrible for nico and michael. if nico had good car he would be contender for championship.

if people thinks hamilton should swap with nico. im all in for it. it would be biggest loss for mercedes and hamilton and biggest gain for nico and mclaren.

i love this team, been supporter of brackley since 2001. and also started supporting button in 2003, and back then people use to make serious accusation to button exactly like nico rosberg now that he is showoff, playboy and not a good racer and he will never get his first win or will fulfil his potential.

i look at button now and he has had a last laugh, and nico will do the same. mark my words...

if nico was a type of a driver like bruno, maldonado, kovalainen, i would have thought yea nico will be like them... but nico is a really awesome driver, and i find him to be of level of vettel, alonso, webber, button, hamilton... like it or not, he is a damn good driver.

with current car, even alonso will find it difficult to qualify higher than 6th or 7th.

people have always been jealous of nico because of his style, and that he is son of keke, as well as him outperforming schumacher, and rarely appreciate him of all good things he has done , and some people spend way too much time writing bad things about nico.

he is highly rated by team principals, TDs, and even drivers, guys like montezemolo rates him... thats good enough for me.

[sidmiester]

yea nico isnt improving at all if anything hes getting worse.

schumacher on the other hand seems to be stepping up his game and during the wet qually sessions he has made nico look like a rookie and not a driver with many seasons of experience.
schumacher always seems to atleast for a limited time each race be able to compete with those in better cars such as kimi and vettel where as nico generally will already be slipping back many places down the grid

Nico doesnt seem like the type of person that can lead a team to me either nico + di resta or nico + hulkenberg would be a big mistake in my eyes.

mercedes need a proper star of the grid someone who stands out once michael leaves

Agreed, that has also been mi impression of michael and nico so far. When the conditions requires more driver skills, you can easilly see michael up there. I think nico is more like jenson, he needs everyhting to be almost perfect for him to deliver. And yes, ditching michael would be the biggest mistake mercedes could ever make.

i 10000% agree with u when u compare nico with jenson.. nico is like jenson exactly.... he needs a great setup to perform at his best... just like jenson. top driver but struggles at times with poor car and setup