Silly Season 2020/2021 (starting with silliness in 2019)

[Wass85]

I have a feeling (no more than that)that a combination of Red Bull and Honda would happily cough up the asking price for Hamilton. Not only would it be a huge plus in their team, but a mountain removed from infront of Red Bull Honda winning the championship.

You can't be serious? Verstappen is their future.

[Just_a_fan]

The team only care about winning, remember you said that when I mentioned they should be box office by bringing in an Alonso.

Box office only requires one star driver. Two star drivers makes problems as already explained ad nauseum.

That's the point, teams are not after box office like you said they are only after winning titles.

Marketing gold is a star winning the title in your car. Not two stars fighting each other and making the wrong sort of headlines.

[Just_a_fan]

I have a feeling (no more than that)that a combination of Red Bull and Honda would happily cough up the asking price for Hamilton. Not only would it be a huge plus in their team, but a mountain removed from infront of Red Bull Honda winning the championship.

You can't be serious? Verstappen is their future.

But you think having two stars in the team is the best thing for the team. So having Max and Lewis would be the best ever thing ever for the team ever!

[...]

[Wass85]

[...] I would actually like to see Hamilton go to Red Bull and challenge Max.

[Capharol]

Hamilton would be good in any team, and besides another star driver at Ferrari or Red Bull would probably make that team almost unbeatable..... but no such thing is going to happen [...]

[Wass85]

I agree with you it ain't going to happen, Hamilton is staying at Mercedes plain and simple. He knows where his bread is buttered and won't be going anywhere IMO.

[Big Tea]

I have a feeling (no more than that)that a combination of Red Bull and Honda would happily cough up the asking price for Hamilton. Not only would it be a huge plus in their team, but a mountain removed from infront of Red Bull Honda winning the championship.

You can't be serious? Verstappen is their future.

So, from a Red Bull point of view ( Not a Max point) which is more likely to win a championship?

Max and a.n Other driving a good Red Bull V Hamilton and a.n. Other driving a Mercedes on current form,
or Max AND Hamilton driving Red Bulls v the Mercedes with any one else driving as Hamilton is on their team?

Speculation I admit, but if forced to come down one one side, it would not take me long which I would opt for.

Remember Hamilton and Rosberg? They still won in comfort.

[Just_a_fan]

Remember Hamilton and Rosberg? They still won in comfort.

Would they still have done so last year or the year before when the competition was closer? Probably not.

The Mercedes was way quicker than anyone else as shown in Bahrain 2014 when they were fighting each other and turned the cars up to 10. They were fighting and still leaving the field for dead. If that had happened last year, the outcome would have been different. In 2015 at the same race, the Ferraris were as quick and, oh look, the Mercs didn't romp away, indeed it was Merc, Ferrari, Merc on the podium.

But this argument has been done to death already.

[Wass85]

I have a feeling (no more than that)that a combination of Red Bull and Honda would happily cough up the asking price for Hamilton. Not only would it be a huge plus in their team, but a mountain removed from infront of Red Bull Honda winning the championship.

You can't be serious? Verstappen is their future.

So, from a Red Bull point of view ( Not a Max point) which is more likely to win a championship?

Max and a.n Other driving a good Red Bull V Hamilton and a.n. Other driving a Mercedes on current form,
or Max AND Hamilton driving Red Bulls v the Mercedes with any one else driving as Hamilton is on their team?

Speculation I admit, but if forced to come down one one side, it would not take me long which I would opt for.

Remember Hamilton and Rosberg? They still won in comfort.

Like I said when you have the best car like Mercedes have done you can afford to be a bit more reserved in your driver choice.

I do know though that Red Bull would have certainly done better with a top driver beside Max last year.

This talk is silly tbh cos there's not a cat in hells chance Lewis will ever drive for Red Bull let alone partner Verstappen.

[Big Tea]

You can't be serious? Verstappen is their future.

So, from a Red Bull point of view ( Not a Max point) which is more likely to win a championship?

Max and a.n Other driving a good Red Bull V Hamilton and a.n. Other driving a Mercedes on current form,
or Max AND Hamilton driving Red Bulls v the Mercedes with any one else driving as Hamilton is on their team?

Speculation I admit, but if forced to come down one one side, it would not take me long which I would opt for.

Remember Hamilton and Rosberg? They still won in comfort.

Like I said when you have the best car like Mercedes have done you can afford to be a bit more reserved in your driver choice.

I do know though that Red Bull would have certainly done better with a top driver beside Max last year.

This talk is silly tbh cos there's not a cat in hells chance Lewis will ever drive for Red Bull let alone partner Verstappen.

I agree with you, but it was a reply to some posts saying he has to take the offer as there is nowhere else he can go.
I believe if he wanted to he could probably go to Ferrari or RBR

[Wass85]

So, from a Red Bull point of view ( Not a Max point) which is more likely to win a championship?

Max and a.n Other driving a good Red Bull V Hamilton and a.n. Other driving a Mercedes on current form,
or Max AND Hamilton driving Red Bulls v the Mercedes with any one else driving as Hamilton is on their team?

Speculation I admit, but if forced to come down one one side, it would not take me long which I would opt for.

Remember Hamilton and Rosberg? They still won in comfort.

Like I said when you have the best car like Mercedes have done you can afford to be a bit more reserved in your driver choice.

I do know though that Red Bull would have certainly done better with a top driver beside Max last year.

This talk is silly tbh cos there's not a cat in hells chance Lewis will ever drive for Red Bull let alone partner Verstappen.

I agree with you, but it was a reply to some posts saying he has to take the offer as there is nowhere else he can go.
I believe if he wanted to he could probably go to Ferrari or RBR

I would say Ferrari have him but Red Bull? Not a chance IMO.

[Manoah2u]

As for the Hamilton goes where saga,
to be honest i don't think he's going anywhere at all.
He mentioned he would like to be an Mercedes Ambassador when he stops his F1 career, so that would be a clear indication of where his loyaltie is found.
He asks 60 million, Merc offers 45 million, it'll probably be 52,5 somewhere in the middle, or they'll pay him 45 million and some interesting deals with it,
and all will be said and done.

Merc doesn't want Hamilton gone, and Hamilton doesn't really want to leave Mercedes.
Yes, things were a bit different not too long ago, but that's the past.

If relations between Lewis and Mercedes were 'sensitive' like they were with the Rosberg saga,
or if Mercedes did not deliver him a team capable of giving him WDC chances (like at the end of his Mclaren career),
then i think chances would be a lot bigger seeing him bail for Ferrari first, and perhaps even in an odd possibility, RedBull.

But the thing is, they're going hand in hand right now and there's really no reason to leave.

IF however there was an oddball chance he'd switch, then i think Ferrari is far more likely than any other team.
First of all there have been flirts, he has stated that the Reds interest him like every driver out there,
it would see him do what his biggest hero never managed to live long enough for to go to: Ferrari, where Senna WAS set to go.
And it might even make him a bigger star/legend if he can achieve what neither Alonso, Vettel, Massa or Leclerc except for Raikkonen
has achieved since the legendary Schumacher: a WDC title with Ferrari.

Yes, perhaps RedBull has the finances and is willing to finance Hamilton's salary demand.
But would Hamilton have any real interest? Even IF RBR has interest?

Yes, lewis has enormeous exposure, but does RBR really need that more than they have now?
Would Hamilton and Marko, Horner and Albon/Verstappen be a comfortable pairing?
Is Hamilton THAT GOOD that he would bring the RedBull WDC's and WCC's, where Verstappen couldn't?
Does Hamilton even WANT a WDC title with an 'energy drinks team' ?

Imagine Hamilton going to RedBull to then get beaten by Bottas in the Mercedes, and perhaps even by Max in the same team.
No glory, no honor.

Atleast with Ferrari, you'd be driving for the Reds, and giving it a go. And even if he couldn't manage another WDC or WCC at Ferrari,
neither could Vettel or Alonso, so it wouldn't actually be that kind of a shame at all.

Would winning with RBR-Honda up Hamilton's stats? Well, sure, in a way, but is it really that special? Apart from the Honda element?
Now imagine him winning WDC with Ferrari? Oh yes, instant legend and a Holy Highness with the Tifosi immediately.

No, i don't see him leaving Mercedes ever in the end. As much as i would LOVE to see him go to the reds, i think it's out of the question by now.

[Just_a_fan]

Atleast with Ferrari, you'd be driving for the Reds, and giving it a go. And even if he couldn't manage another WDC or WCC at Ferrari,
neither could Vettel or Alonso, so it wouldn't actually be that kind of a shame at all.

That would be the only reason for going to Ferrari - to win a title in a team that "his generation's" rivals never managed to do.

[langedweil]

Also what people need to remember is, if Lewis was in the Ferrari in 17 and 18, I'd bet a large amount on him winning at least 1 of those titles.

Hard to say, because aside the driving he'd still have the antics of the Ferrari team, tactics and screw ups, and he would have to adapt himself to the Ferrari car which could have been a hell of a different car compared to the very stable Merc platform and philosophy ..
All those things need to be taken into account besides his racecraft.

[raymondu999]

I think Hamilton driving at the level he is now, would win the title in the 2018, and maybe even 2017 Ferraris. However - I don’t think Hamilton would be able to drive to the same level at Ferrari at all.

The same issues blighting Vettel, in terms of lack of team direction, team strategy, etc would also force Hamilton to overreach or overwhelm himself (I would think) - which would then take capacity away from him.

It’s one of the reasons Horner and Vettel worked so well, and likewise Wolff-Hamilton, or Schumacher-Todt-Brawn. The team chief cocooned the driver such that all they had to worry about was what they do best.

I get that people say he could be a Ferrari WDC - but I don’t think they are taking this into account