F1 Official Thread - Grand Prix of Britain

[Thierry Henry]

@Flashout01 :l




You know what. Maybe Mercedes can out develop McLaren, I don't think Nico's win in China was a fluke. They do have Ross Brawn there, so there's hope. But what does Hamilton want? If it's his ego taking over, he might want more exposure to market himself as a global brand. That's maybe a reason he might be going to Mercedes, not to mention since they are a constructor they have an abundance of $. If he wants another shot at a title, his best bet is to stay at McLaren. Why would he want more $ from he team? I'm pretty sure he gets more from all those damn sponsors. I love the driver lineup we have now. There's been talk that if he leaves, Paul di Resta fills in his seat. Don't get me wrong I kinda like di Resta, that boy look like he gets all the poon lol. But damn our line up right now is like Durant and LeBron on the same team, I don't wanna lose that.

 

[zk1mpls]

Lewis won't look right in a team other than McLaren.

In all honesty, McLaren has the best driver lineup on the grid, with both guys having an equal shot at the title. McLaren just need to get their act together and get back in contention; start delivering results. Ferrari can do all the winning, though.

 

[zk1mpls]

'Mercedes offer Hamilton £60m'
McLaren driver continues to be linked with a shock move as a replacement for either Michael Schumacher or Nico Rosberg
Last Updated: September 6, 2012 9:50am

Could Lewis Hamilton really be on the move?

Despite denials from Lewis Hamilton's management team that the McLaren driver is close to joining Mercedes, fresh reports claim the former World Champion will be offered a £60m package to replace either Michael Schumacher or Nico Rosberg.

With just three months of the season remaining, Hamilton is still yet to extend his deal with McLaren which expires at the end of the year. Speculation surrounding his future went into overdrive on Wednesday after it was claimed that an agreement between Hamilton and Mercedes was 'imminent'.

Hamilton's management group, XIX Entertainment, have rejected those rumours, but sections of the British media remain adamant that Hamilton could stun F1 by leaving McLaren, the team he has driven for throughout his motor-racing career, for Mercedes.

Hamilton future in doubt
'Lewis Hamilton could leave McLaren and join Mercedes in a deal that would see him earn £60million over three years,' reports The Daily Mail.

'The German team are so keen to sign the 27-year-old for the next campaign they are prepared to hand him a deal which would eclipse Michael Schumacher's £16.5m-a-season package.

'Sportsmail understands the move is not dependent on Schumacher retiring for the second time at the end of this world championship, meaning the Briton could even replace his former karting team-mate Nico Rosberg.'

The Daily Telegraph is also certain that, despite its superficial unlikelihood, the possibility of Hamilton switching to Mercedes is genuine.

According to the newspaper, 'Hamilton gets on well with Mercedes-Benz's head of motorsport Norbert Haug and discussions have taken place'.

And The Guardian has poured more fuel on to the fire by reporting:

'There are problems between Hamilton and McLaren. The driver admitted last week that he was not close to signing a new contract and the friction between the two parties came to a head just before the Belgian Grand Prix when he tweeted confidential data revealing the car's setup details.'

Speaking about the situation to Sky Sports News, Sky Sports F1's Ted Kravitz said that while Hamilton and his management team were likely using the spectre of a Mercedes switch to improve their bargaining hand in discussions with McLaren, the Woking team still had to be wary about losing the 2008 World Champion to a rival given the dearth of suitable replacements of similar proven calibre available for next season.

Nonetheless Ted added that he expected both parties to eventually agree on a renewal.

"McLaren have to tread quite a fine line because on the face of it there isn't really anyone else apart from Lewis Hamilton who can win multiple grands prix and World Championships out there who McLaren can just pop into their driver line-up alongside Jenson Button," Ted said.

"Jenson Button has of course proved that he can win races, as he did three days ago in Belgium, but he's not really had the staying power this season to win multiple races and challenge for the championship.

"So that's a problem for McLaren. They have to keep Lewis Hamilton because he's shown them that he's the best chance of winning a championship. So it's very finely balanced on both sides.

"I think we'll probably see this month, October maybe, as to whether Lewis Hamilton stays at McLaren which is I think is probably the most likely outcome."

Nonetheless, it would be seen as something of a bombshell if Hamilton were to depart McLaren for a team which has won just once since its return to the sport as a fully-fledged member three years ago.

A spokesman for Mercedes said on Wednesday night: "Until we are in a position to confirm our full driver lineup for next season, it is inevitable that there will be speculation around this topic. We would ask for your understanding, however, that we do not comment on speculation."

 

[Sinner]

British press going nuts on this! 

 

[zk1mpls]

^This is like the same magnitude in F1 as LeBron switching teams. I don't think he's going anywhere, though (hopefully).

Didn't know the mirrors had cameras in them:

 

[flashout01]

i just hope Lewis wont end up like Damon or Villnueve, both moved to a promising team that just didnt pan out

 

[Sinner]

^ Yeah, that's always a risk with switching teams.  Could go both ways and become a winner.  

Anyway, this'll be interesting... for the BBC.

 

[zk1mpls]

Nice. Playseat F1s with Fanatec ClubSport wheels with the Formula rim. Really pricey kit for sim racing.

 

[Thierry Henry]

 

[zk1mpls]

EDIT: double post

 

[zk1mpls]

First time Felipe outqualified Fernando this season. Well done. Too bad Fernando had a problem with his car so he couldn't compete in Q3. So much for ruling Q2. :\

Pretty good lap by Lewis to grab pole. Di Resta's pace is definitely surprising.

Hopefully Ferrari will be competitive tomorrow. At least several places ahead of Vettel.

 

[Thierry Henry]

My boys with that 1-2 punch

Massa qualifying 3rd? What the hell? Where did that come from?

Guys don't sleep on Force India. Di Resta quietly qualifying in 4th


Edit: why do these guys look so blah? Its like they don't want to be there.

 

[zk1mpls]

Hmmm... I've been hearing the term "Double DRS" being thrown around a lot this weekend. Did some research on it, and it seems like a clever solution that Mercedes developed. Too bad they still can't get pole even with a better balanced car.

 

[zk1mpls]

By the way... looks like the new F1 2012 demo should be out next week. Trying it out to see how it feels.

 

[zk1mpls]

Watching the GP2 support race. Looks pretty raw compared to F1.

 

[Sinner]

The racing looked pretty good though! Not many incidents and clean maneuvers!

Yeah, all 3 F1 guys looked (-_-)

A good lap for Lewis, but apparently Nando said that they probably could have done high-23's! Even Lewis was surprised his 24.0 was enough!  

Just hoping for a clean start into T1!

Yeah, I remember seeing a lot of DDRS stories, dating back to the preseason.  Quite brilliant, but I think Nico admitted yesterday that it hasn't been as fruitful as they hoped.  They have to stick with it now cuz their car was build around that concept. 

 

[D Double]

I just hope the pole translate into a win to claw some points from Fernando. I think Vettel will also be one to watch out for since he's just sneaking in points every race

 

[flashout01]

i bet Schumi and Nico would do a one stopper

 

[robsheedwallace]

I also noticed that some drivers attitudes translated to "blah". Def a great thing we got the 1-2 positions. Def wonder if better been just holding back for the actual race. Kinda surprises me with his pace lately.

 

[robsheedwallace]

So far the race pace has kept me at the edge of my seat. Tons of passes back and fourth. But I had to comment mid race at the Hamilton pit stop That was amazing. Buttons was a little slower but still quick for having the mess up.

 

[robsheedwallace]

Amazing pace by Hamilton. We coulda had double points but Buttons car went down. That woulda been great to see... But the story of today, that boy Perez. Jesus that kid is scary!!!! Don't want to say it but if Hamilton leaves, McLaren better bring in Perez!!! Lol

 

[Sinner]

So happy for Lewis and equally disappointed for JB, but DAMN CHECO!!! 

 

 

[Thierry Henry]

What a race! So much passing back and forth! I knew Hamilton wasn't gonna disappoint. But damn McLaren reliability issues strike again I feel bad for JB, we had that 1-2 on lock. If Jenson would have stayed in the race the podium would have looked like this
1.Hamilton
2.Button
3.Perez

No podium for Ferrari

But that wasn't the case :\

Here are my reactions.


Lewis taking the W



Perez coming in second



Alonso in 3rd >:




Both Red Bulls out of the race

 

[D Double]

I'm so happy Lewis won. I liked how he upped his pace when Perez was trying to strike back.

Surely Mclaren have to back Lewis with Jenson 78 points behind Alonso of all people and our car has been looking good recently. Tyre Deg doesn't seem as bad as it was during the beginning of the season.

 

[zk1mpls]

Congrats to Lewis. Perfectly boring race from his end. Man, Checo was flying in the last part of the race! Sorry boys, he's taking Felipe's seat next year.

Great race from both Ferraris, with Felipe delivering his best result. Lots of overtaking on this track.

Disappointing turn of events for Button. No Red Bulls in sight.

Definitely enjoyed the past two Grand Prix weekends, as they were on two of my favorite circuits.

Just had a three week break, now we have two weeks to wait out again for boring Singapore.