They should pick, at random, any one person who has said that Hamilton's job is easy because he has the best car.
F1 2020 Season
- Thread starter pauldyson1uk
- Start date
3 points behind, but can change in a race quite easily. The difference is about £2m in the coffers, so Williams will want the best possible chance to secure those points.
As much as Russell will get his chance long term, it's not fantasy F1. There are contracts in place with the driver & team. Can't see anything past Vandoorne, especially as he's flying to Bahrain after the Formula E test.
It will almost certainly be Vandoorne, but mathematically Merc saying said "here $500k for 2 races for us to have George" is a significantly better deal for Williams (i.e. 100% chance of 500k vs 0.1% chance of $2m). I really don't think this would come into it, if Williams say no it will be for other reasons that the possibility they could get 4 points in 3 races.
Mercedes wouldn't be paying cash though, just a discount on the engine contract. Williams, certainly at the stage they're at, will prefer liquidity rather than money off, even if it comes next year from the FIA/FOG.
We don’t know this, it’s conjecture. The point is, it wouldn’t take much to make it more worthwhile than the moon shot of Williams finishing 9th
Can't they get Rosberg back?
They should pick Botas
I doubt he'll be in the right condition for it. I don't know if he does much actual racing at the moment, but you need significant work on your neck muscles to have a chance.
Interesting. I saw on his Twitter anyway that he wants George Russell to take the seat.
Hamilton has a lot of a crazy stats but 264 consecutive race starts (now broken of course) is one of the craziest.
I suspect that Mercedes will try everything to see what Russell can do in the seat with an eye on 2022. It's kind of ideal for them to test him out for 1 or 2 races with little pressure.
Even if that involves a partial rebate on the engine for the current year to give cash to Williams I reckon they'll go for it. The money is nothing compared to a contract for him in a couple of years. On another note, it's sad that Williams are so bad with a Mercedes power unit. It had kind of passed me by that they used one being on the back of the grid.
Even if that involves a partial rebate on the engine for the current year to give cash to Williams I reckon they'll go for it. The money is nothing compared to a contract for him in a couple of years. On another note, it's sad that Williams are so bad with a Mercedes power unit. It had kind of passed me by that they used one being on the back of the grid.
That video with the radio clips is fascinating, like how for almost all the drivers their first priority was to check if he was ok/ out the car
Bianchi as well, friends since they were kids.
Will be interesting to see how they do against Bottas, who has seemed underwhelming, but against Hamilton its hard to know for sure.
Get the coward back? Nah.
Yea absolutely. Horrendous.
Agreed, I can only see giving Russell two drives in the Merc as being a huge win for Mercedes:
- Vandoorne will tell them and show them nothing, they get nothing from him driving it.
- Russell will give them a yard stick of where Bottas actually is.
- Gives them a chance to see Russell in a top car over two real race weekends. You cannot replicate that kind of examination.
However, I suspect it will be Vandoorne.
Well that will be a bit of fine at least
Russell confirmed! Aitken to Williams.
Nice.
Finally we get to see what Russel can do in a good car
Finally we get to see what Russel can do in a good car
Nice. I'm very excited to see what he can do. I'm surprised at this outcome but not complaining!
Great news, I’m excited to see what he can do now. He won’t be far off Bottas I don’t think, it’s a different kind of track this weekend.
This is brilliant, just hopes he can relax into it. I guess he won’t know until after the race whether it’s 1 or 2 he’s going to get.
Mick Schumacher confirmed to Haas next season. No surprise, but it'll be weird watching a grid with a Schumacher on it again. I feel old that I grew up watching F1 with his dad and uncle and now here he is! 
I’m hugely surprised by the news, wonder what odds we’ll have on George winning his first races? He has the pace to do so for sure.
Riders can just switch between teams mid-season if their bosses find an agreement, or am I missing something here?
A bit gutted for Vandoorne, being the "official" back-up I would've loved to see him at Mercedes for one or two races.
A bit gutted for Vandoorne, being the "official" back-up I would've loved to see him at Mercedes for one or two races.
I have said many time that watching Senna crash, stopped me watching F1 for many years, Sunday took me back to that crash , I really though for a while that Grosjean was dead, watching he run away with only a few burns was good.
The Halo has saved a few lives now.
Russel subbing for Lewis, will be interesting to see how he handles the car, I honestly don't see him doing much.
I don't see him winning. He will have the pace but lack of experience will be his downfall.
It will be a good yard stick to see his ability.
Finishing the race with the car in one piece , anything else would be a bonus.
I don't see him winning. He will have the pace but lack of experience will be his downfall.
It will be a good yard stick to see his ability.
Finishing the race with the car in one piece , anything else would be a bonus.
I wonder if George has driven the merc enough to understand the DAS system, It will be vital around the outer circuit.
Will tyre warming be an issue in the desert?
As much as I am disappointed that Lewis will not be racing, I am very excited to see how George Russell will perform in a competitive car.
Important he does not put too much pressure on himself. But he is a very mature young man.
Let's just hope that reliability or a crash on the opening laps doesn't affect him.
Best of luck George.
He's got a great chance of a good result I think, the track basically is just braking zones and straight bits. It's a really good race to ease yourself into a car, he won't be far off Pole I don't think, expect Bottas to get the job done but still.
Easily the most interesting race of the season.
He won't even need to use it. It isn't cold and the circuit is a harder wearing surface which usually helps keep temperatures up.
if he does though it's literally just pull the steering column out down the straights, i'm sure he'll manage that no problem.
It does have the potential to be, but I hope it isn't marred too much by blue flag issues, going to be a huge amount of lapping going on!
Can see some 2/3 car side by side battles which could get interesting, hopefully no big crashes again.
If all cars are out setting a time in Q1 there can only be a 2 second between each car. Going to be an entertaining nightmare.
Russell already looks comfortable.
Russell doing well, Bottas no so good, having set up problems.
Sub 1 minute laps, 2.6 seconds separate the whole grid, should make for a good race.