Will Ham ever win again, ??

yellowperil · 10-10-2022, 07:19 AM

Or is he "Done and Dusted" as they say.

stevej37 · 10-10-2022, 07:31 AM

In my opinion...Ham beats Turkey on any holiday dinner table.

astrochex · 10-10-2022, 07:45 AM

It is possible, but highly unlikely.

rcooled · 10-10-2022, 08:54 AM

I think that lately he's been more concerned with positioning himself for his post-racing career as a fashion designer and social media icon than he is about his driving.

pwd72s · 10-10-2022, 08:58 AM

^ That whirring sound you hear is James Hunt spinning in his grave...

cockerpunk · 10-10-2022, 09:00 AM

F1 is far more about the car than the driver these days. maybe next year when Mercedes catches up a bit.

David Inc. · 10-10-2022, 09:08 AM

Almost certainly. Mercedes has been on podium in half of races, and Hamilton has already placed second twice. There's still a chance for him to take a win this season, and considering their placement they'll have more testing time in preparation for 2023. I don't think it happens this year or next without some RB and Ferrari retirements, but it'll happen.

herr_oberst · 10-10-2022, 09:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pwd72s

^ That whirring sound you hear is James Hunt spinning in his grave...

I wonder what Tazio Nuvolari or Bernd Rosemeyer would have thought about James Hunt getting head in the garage just minutes before a GP?

matthewb0051 · matthewb0051's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by herr_oberst

I wonder what Tazio Nuvolari or Bernd Rosemeyer would have thought about James Hunt getting head in the garage just minutes before a GP?

I doubt if the video below is going on in the Merc garages these days.

Nursey was hot BTW.

pwd72s · 10-10-2022, 09:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by herr_oberst

I wonder what Tazio Nuvolari or Bernd Rosemeyer would have thought about James Hunt getting head in the garage just minutes before a GP?

Probably would wish they'd done the same? Or...who knows? Maybe they did?

Point being...I doubt James Hunt ever wore a skirt...but he removed some.

Tervuren · Tervuren's Garage

He's been doing the fashion/social/celebrity/music stuff his entire time at merc.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rcooled

I think that lately he's been more concerned with positioning himself for his post-racing career as a fashion designer and social media icon than he is about his driving.

rfuerst911sc · 10-10-2022, 09:44 AM

If Mercedes can improve the car Hammy and Russell can both win . But the competition doesn't sit still either as shown by this year . Next year I think will be interesting to see how teams come out of the gate . They all have enough data on what works and what doesn't . Whoever reacts the best to what didn't work will be a contender for wins .

matthewb0051 · matthewb0051's Garage

The other, possibly better question, is when do MB decide to go with a younger guy for development purposes and possibly salary saving purposes? Closely related to OP question though. Hammy ain't going to race forever and may just be postponing the inevitable and the team may have to make the decision for him.

The other related question is how many 'fans' and celebs will stop following F1 after he leaves? My opinion is that a large number of new, sort of fringe, fans are only interested because of him. Especially some of the celebs. Interesting to hear them say, Aston Martin has me here, but I'm rooting for Lewis. Pretty ballsy when another team is footing the bill.

URY914 · URY914's Garage

You're asking if the luckiest man in F1 can win another race? If anyone can it would be him.

herr_oberst · 10-10-2022, 11:42 AM

Here's my opinion: Now that Russell has had a season in the Merc biosphere, he'll outqualify and outscore Lulu the majority of the time from here on out. The problem with that is, he'll also become an insufferable dooshbag thanks to the Toto influence that seems to permeate (this is my perception) the Mercedes team.

As evidence, last weekend in Singapore, when he drove into Mick Schumacher's Haas and got all indignant until his race engineer had to remind him who hit who.

I hope I'm wrong.

Edit, to answer the question, yes, Louie will win races. He hasn't forgotten how to drive.

Deschodt · 12:41 PM

What's good about this is a reminder for new fans that F1 is mostly about the car.. of them could be WDC given the dominant car, 5 more would have a chance on a good year.

Was Hamilton's talent alone worthy of 7 WDC ? Was Schumacher's ? In both cases I vote "not without the best car".
Vettel was 4x WDC and yet once the double diffuser went away, trashed by Ricciardo at RB, destroyed by Leclerc at Ferrari (and to a degree embarrassed by Stroll at Aston) - in the same car.
Hamilton isn't looking all that impressive vs Russell this year. he was also beaten once by Britney (as Webber once called Rosberg). The only time we got a fair comparison of champions was Lauda vs Prost then Prost vs Senna, arguably the best drivers of the era in the same car. And even that was not as clear cut as people thought.

Now that Sir Lewis has to start mid pack and not lead from turn one most races, we're seeing that he's great, but just as whiny as the rest of them when having a bad day - and maybe not walking on water. I truly believe Verstappen, Leclerc, Alonso, Russell, Hamilton, (who am I forgetting?) would all win in this year's Red bull (or in the Ferrari w/o Ferrari's strategists.)

matthewb0051 · matthewb0051's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by herr_oberst

The problem with that is, he'll also become an insufferable dooshbag thanks to the Toto influence that seems to permeate (this is my perception) the Mercedes team.

As evidence, last weekend in Singapore, when he drove into Mick Schumacher's Haas and got all indignant until his race engineer had to remind him who hit who.

.

Evidenced also by George's interpretation of the 'along side' rule in Austria (?) this year. He was literally saying that if he lunged and got along side another car in a turn the other driver had to leave him space. Total nonsense but he was soooooo sure of himself and it came off very bad.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deschodt

Was hamilton that worthy of 7 WDC >? Was Schumacher ? In both cases I vote not "without the best car".

I think Schumi was worthy. There were some douche things at times but he arrived to a broken Ferrari and he, along with Ross Braun, the Jean Todt, and others turned it into something. Hammy arrived to Merc after Schumi and Nico had put in some work and on the eve of the hybrid era that Merc guessed right on and became dominate.

We could extend this to Seb as well.

cockerpunk · 10-10-2022, 12:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deschodt

Was hamilton that worthy of 7 WDC >? Was Schumacher ? In both cases I vote not "without the best car".

the shame of F1 is that we we will never know. car is so much more important than driver these days. i mean im not saying either were terrible drivers, there arnt many of those in F1, but i do think that you need to have the best, or maybe second best car to win championships in F1.

herr_oberst · 12:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deschodt

Verstappen, Leclerc, Alonso, Russell, Hamilton, (who am I forgetting?) would all win in this year's Red bull (and without Ferrari's strategists.)

Vettel, Magnussen, Bottas, Norris, Sainz maybe even Riccardo. and Gasley.

Tervuren · Tervuren's Garage

It is the nature of a competitive sport that the best drivers will seek out the best cars and the team with the best car is in the position to sign the best driver.

Drivers who win with an overwhelming car got that seat for a reason.
And if they continue to win with an overwhelming car, they are keeping it for a reason.

That said, some drivers, no matter their on track ability, seem to drag a team down.
Others, seem to build wherever they go up.