Posted on 08/05/2009 7:57:45 PM PDT by Chode
This will be a general purpose thread for F1 news and pings that really don't require a thread of their own.
Never gonna happen.
Mark my words, he'll get hired as a commentator or analyst or otherwise find a way to be even more visible in retirement than he was when he drove.
All this fawning over him has been White guilt-trippers licking his boots to prove they weren't racist. That won't end when he stops driving, there'll still be a bunch of sycophantic toadies exalting him because the creases on his trousers are so sharp.
He dresses as he does entirely because he's an attention whore so he won't be able to quit as long as they're worshiping at his feet. My body will long have been a-mouldering in the grave before his presence no longer pollutes the airwaves.
I have a different theory.
Hambone's fall from grace didn't start when he moved to Ferrari. He finished behind George Russell in the WDC two of the three seasons they teamed together at Mercedes, including Russell's fist season with the team.
My theory is that for years Mercedes had a car that was so dominant, it could have a forgiving set-up and still be competitive. Once enough development "token" seasons had passed for the competition finally to catch up, Mercedes had to adopt a harder-edged set-up, one that was less tolerant of mistakes.
Hambone deluded himself into thinking it was the team's fault that his teammate was faster than he and that changing to the highest-profile team in motor sport would put him back on top. What it's really done is show how marginal his skill sets always were.
Christian Horner backs me up on the reason Mercedes was untouchable for seven seasons:
“When you get a big regulation change, there is performance divergence and that is almost certain to happen next year. One of the topics on the agenda this morning was how quickly can there be convergence.
“We have a budget cap. Perhaps the engines don’t need homologating, perhaps you’re able to upgrade your engines under that budget cap to encourage convergence as quickly as possible.
“I think we all want to have close-quarters racing, not a repeat of what we had in 2014.
“It’s about having that ability – particularly for the newcomers – to be able to catch up.”
Filtered through my custom disgronificator, he's saying Mercedes' 2014 entry bought them the WDC and the WCC for that and the next six seasons because the new development rules prevented anybody catching up.
Still not buying it? In 11 full seasons in F1, Nico Rosberg scored 29 race wins. He had never come better than 6th in the WDC until the 2014 season at Mercedes. In 2014, '15 and '16 he won 26 races (of his 29) and came 2nd, 2nd and 1st in WDC.
In dime store detective novels, that is what's called "a smoking gun."
*
"...Anderson believes Mercedes are finally accepting their limitations this season, and it’s paying off. McLaren are 77 points ahead at the top of the standings.
"Hamilton launched some ‘wacky’ set-up experiments in his final years at Brackley to try and find the car’s illusory sweet spot. But a back-to-basics approach has made the team more ‘stable’, as Russell’s 100% top-five record proves.
"Hamilton was naturally a dominant figure within the team as the most successful driver in the sport’s history. But Anderson wonders whether that had become a problem by the time he left.
"He wrote: “Throughout Mercedes’ struggles from 2022-2024 I always said that they should attempt to get the best from what they have, rather than trying to find a magic bullet to get them back to winning races again in one go...."
"...Leclerc’s grand prix is also to be applauded. Not only did he give Ferrari its first podium of the season in a GP, but he hid and lessened the car’s real problems which were instead very evident with Hamilton who had a pace that did not line up with a seven times world champion. At the present time it is rather inexplicable...."
It's not "inexplicable." I done 'splained it.
"...Well-known Italian F1 insider Leo Turrini said of the 56-year-old Frenchman who runs the Ferrari team: “Vasseur’s balance sheet says this – one podium in five races.
“Is that enough? Not at all. Can we imagine a better future? Maybe, even if the disappointment is palpable – especially considering that there is another Ferrari, the one from the WEC, that wins,” Turrini added.
"As for Hamilton, Turrini continued: “That he is slower than Leclerc on a lap, well, I took it for granted. The point is the size of the gap...
"...Spanish commentator Antonio Lobato, however, suspects Ferrari made the decision to oust Carlos Sainz in favour of Hamilton with commercial interests front of mind.
“Is this what they wanted – to sell caps and t-shirts and nothing more?” he said on DAZN. “I say if you really want to take over social media and sell a lot of caps, sign Jennifer Lopez instead – and you might sell even more....”
He forgot sneakers -- PG
Speaking of which, Ollie Bearman looked pretty good in red, didn't he? ;-)
Six-time Grand Prix winner [Ralf] Schumacher explained: "If this continues, there's a danger that at some point he'll say: 'Look, I don't want this anymore...
"He just can't handle the car. We talk a lot about Lando Norris, but it's almost worse with him.
“You can see it, he's [Hambone's] really slumped. When you're standing there at some point and have no more resources and are constantly slowing down, then you lose everything.
"I know from my own experience: If things continue like this, it's no longer fun.
“Then he wakes up one morning and thinks: 'Why am I doing this to myself?
"I'm not having fun anymore, I can't manage it anymore. I'm getting in the way of my team.'”
..."'I want to live my life now, I'm 40 years old. I'm so rich, I'm not going to do this to myself anymore’...."
I don't know that he'll retire but I knew beyond any doubt that the blood-sucking vampires in the F1 press would pick up the rumor and run with it. And if they make enough of an issue out of it, the press could talk him into it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ut53aKxfYNU
Saudi Arabian GP 2025 | Highlights | Comedy on F1 racing
Madrid GP full track, replacing Barcelona from next year onwards
https://x.com/cytrusf1/status/1915399934448201737
Explained: Why F1 2026 engine rule changes are being discussed at F1 Commission meeting
Toto Wolff was first to put the kibosh on that idea, so apparently Merc's development on the 2026 engine is going like gangbusters.
Thanks for the update on that.
it never ends...
Helmut says it was because they were able to find a sweet spot in the balance, which the smoother circuit made possible. Says some of the remaining tracks will be good for them and others not.
He says they've got to treat practice more like a quailifying simulation.
Revealed: How Red Bull achieved ‘marked improvement’ in performance at Saudi GP
It’s called more downforce due to clean air. Less downforce equals more wheel spin….
Concerning Lewis Hamilton data ‘trait’ uncovered in Mercedes hangover
You could read this to mean Hambone already has given up on the 2025 season:
Lewis Hamilton hopes 2026 F1 reset inspires reprieve amid ground effect criticism
Because, clearly, it's the car's fault, not Lewis's.
Or so he thinks.
I say ,et the batteries deplete and the last car standing af the finish line wins. The best battery conservation wins the day. J/k
Amen and Amen!
I have to say, electric has its place, it just ain't in F1....
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