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Tipps69

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Yeah I'm really not convinced the barrier should be collapsing in like that. I get that barriers are designed to withstand a certain level of impact but what's happened here is very similar to what happened to Francois Cevert decades ago - part of the barrier has failed and part of it has survived. Unfortunately in the case of Cevert it essentially meant he was cut in half - and a similar fate would have happened to Grosjean had it not been for the staggering strength of the halo.

Another oddity is the fire itself which you very rarely see from an impact these days. Engine blow-outs were still common in the 90's and the 00's but since Berger at Imola back in the late 80's I can't think of an example of an F1 car catching fire from an impact alone.

A really strange crash for different reasons, and at the very least, this settles the halo debate once and for all. 

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Williams driver George Russell will replace Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes for this weekend's Sakhir Grand Prix.

Hamilton has been forced to withdraw from the race in Bahrain after testing positive for Covid-19.

Williams reserve Jack Aitken will replace Russell.

"I might be wearing a different race suit this weekend, but I'm a Williams driver and I'll be cheering my team on every step of the way," said 22-year-old Russell.

"I see this as a great chance to learn from the best outfit on the grid right now and to come back as an improved driver, with even more energy and experience to help push Williams further up the grid. A big thank you also to Mercedes for putting their faith in me.

"Obviously, nobody can replace Lewis, but I'll give my all for the team in his absence from the moment I step in the car. Most importantly, I wish him a speedy recovery. I'm really looking forward to the opportunity and can't wait to get out on track this week."

Mercedes have guided Russell's career since 2017 and he was a Mercedes reserve driver in 2018 before they released him to Williams on a three-year contract from the start of the 2019 season.

He is highly rated by the team as a candidate for a potential future drive.

The Briton has tested several times for Mercedes but running him in Bahrain this weekend - as well as potentially the season-closing race in Abu Dhabi a week later if Hamilton does not recover in time - is a good opportunity for the team to assess his development in a competitive environment.

Mercedes inquired as to Williams' position on Russell in the summer before they confirmed Valtteri Bottas for the 2021 season, but were told they were not prepared to release him.

However, that was under Williams' previous management before their sale to the investment group Dorilton Capital in August.

"It will not be a straightforward task for George to make the transition from the Williams to the W11, but he is race-ready and has a detailed understanding of the 2020 tyres and how they perform on this generation of cars," said Mercedes chief Toto Wolff.

"George has shown impressive form this year with Williams, playing an instrumental role in their climb up the grid, and I am optimistic that he will deliver a strong performance alongside Valtteri [Bottas], who will be a demanding reference for him.

"This race will mark a small milestone for us, as we see a member of our Junior programme compete for the works Mercedes team for the first time."

Aitken, 25, will make his F1 debut when he takes to the grid this weekend.

A practice driver at the Styrian Grand Prix earlier this year, he has also competed in Formula 2 this season, earning two podiums and eight other points finishes. He finished fifth overall in F2 last season.

"I'm absolutely over the moon to have the opportunity to make my debut with Williams this coming weekend and I am extremely happy for George to have his chance too," said Aitken.

"I really mean it when I say I've felt very much at home since I joined Williams earlier this year, so to get my chance to help the team try to achieve that elusive points finish is an extremely satisfying occasion to say the least."

TAKEN FROM: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/55152354

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Adding proof to the fact that the car is the massive difference?

Possibly his lack of experience may be a difference come race day, but . . . . 

Britain's George Russell set the fastest time in first practice at the Sakhir Grand Prix as he had his first miles in Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes.

The 22-year-old, deputising after Hamilton contracted coronavirus, was 0.176 seconds quicker than Red Bull's Max Verstappen.

The second Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas was fourth, 0.322secs off the pace.

The Finn made a series of mistakes on his laps and damaged his car in an off-track moment at Turn Eight.

Russell, who is a Mercedes protege, has been driving for Williams since he made his F1 debut in 2019.

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff decided he wanted to try Russell out in the car in Hamilton's absence rather than designated reserve driver Stoffel Vandoorne.

"P1 was a good session for him," said Wolff. "We need to calm everybody down - it was a first practice session on a really short track. But he delivered a really solid job in what we expect from him on a single lap.

"The long runs were difficult with our car and difficult to establish a benchmark because [Bottas] broke his car early on and it was difficult for him to stop it properly."

Russell, who has been a Mercedes young driver since 2017, has done a total of just over 6,500km of testing for the team but had not driven this year's car for real or in the simulator before this practice session.

He revealed on Thursday that he is having to wear driving boots one size too small to fit his size 11 feet in the car.

At 6ft 1in tall, Russell is five inches (14cm) taller than Hamilton.

He spent his first run acclimatising to the car and ended it a second slower than Bottas.

But on their second runs Russell went to the top of the timesheets on his first flying lap and Bottas started to make mistakes, apparently over-driving as he sought to match Russell's time, running wide at Turn Eight and having a wobble through Turn Two.

On his second flying lap of the run, Russell almost matched his first time, and then on his third he knocked a further 0.3secs off to end the session in impressive style.

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5 hours ago, TomF said:

First Practice and the LH hat0rs are out saying its all about the car.

Yeah so about Bottas 

Mercedes have by far and away the best car. There is no argument to that.

Bottas has had bad luck with parts breaking down this season, but he also just isn't as good a driver as Hamilton.

Mercedes will dominate again next season as well, just hoping 2022 has an actual competition for the titles after the rule changes come in.

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12 minutes ago, TomF said:

So you admit that Hamilton is the superior then. 

No, I don't believe he is

12 minutes ago, Maltshoveller said:

Dont think anybody is saying rank average

Just that however good he is he wouldnt be 7 times world champion if he drove for say Haas or Racing point

This is the point.

Any other car a novice driver debuts in wouldn't probably make final qualifying, not alone the front row

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1 hour ago, phantom said:

No, I don't believe he is

This is the point.

Any other car a novice driver debuts in wouldn't probably make final qualifying, not alone the front row

Sorry you don’t believe Hamilton is superior to Bottas?


George Russell isn’t a novice driver driver. He is someone that, up until today, had beaten his teammates in qualifying 36 times in a row, a record only beaten by Schumacher and Senna.

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Quite how anybody can deny that Lewis Hamilton is one of the greats is beyond me. 

Yes, the Mercedes is obviously the best car, and of course he'd struggle to win the title in any of the other cars. But name me one World Champion who hasn't had one of the best cars. 

He's consistently outperformed his teammates over his years at Mercedes in an identical car (and don't give me any rubbish about him getting all the good parts before his teammates, Mercedes do not operate with a 'number one' driver and treat both equally).

And as for Russell being a novice - he's had almost two full seasons in F1, until today had never been beaten by a teammate in qualifying, has won every category he's raced in, and has already tested this car so knows it well. He's a future World Champion.

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51 minutes ago, bearded_red said:

Sorry you don’t believe Hamilton is superior to Bottas?


George Russell isn’t a novice driver driver.

Didn't say anything about Hamilton not being a better driver than Bottas, the point is the car is A MASSIVE factor in his records.

George Russell is obviously a novice driver in Formula 1 racing terms compared to Hamilton. 

32 minutes ago, elhombrecito said:

Quite how anybody can deny that Lewis Hamilton is one of the greats is beyond me. 

....and don't give me any rubbish about him getting all the good parts before his teammates, Mercedes do not operate with a 'number one' driver and treat both equally

He's a future World Champion.

He's one of the greats majorly because of the superior car he drives, there is not a chance he would have been near his record in any other team. 

It's well documented that Hamilton gets priority on parts and improvements  Bottas has spoken about it many times too.

Let's hope so

....................

Let's see him go to any other team in F1 and dominate the same 

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3 minutes ago, phantom said:

Didn't say anything about Hamilton not being a better driver than Bottas, the point is the car is A MASSIVE factor in his records.

George Russell is obviously a novice driver in Formula 1 racing terms compared to Hamilton. 

He's one of the greats majorly because of the superior car he drives, there is not a chance he would have been near his record in any other team. 

It's well documented that Hamilton gets priority on parts and improvements  Bottas has spoken about it many times too.

Let's hope so

There is no chance that any of the greats of Formula 1 would have the records they did without having a great car too. You get to be in the best car by being one of the best drivers. 

I don't believe it is well documented at all, in fact Mercedes tend to go out of their way to give both drivers equal opportunities.

The fact is that Hamilton is an all time great, and it honestly staggers me that there is even a debate about it.

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14 minutes ago, phantom said:

Didn't say anything about Hamilton not being a better driver than Bottas, the point is the car is A MASSIVE factor in his records.

George Russell is obviously a novice driver in Formula 1 racing terms compared to Hamilton. 

Yes, obviously the car is a massive factor in his success. That is so obvious I can’t believe you think it needs pointing out. Clearly Vettel was helped by a dominant Red Bull, Schumacher was helped by a dominant Ferrari and so on..

That doesn’t change the fact that he is quite obviously a great. Would he win the championship in a Alfa Romeo? No. Would he beat anyone else out put in an Alfa Romeo with him and get results the Alfa doesn’t deserve? Yes.

As Carlos Sainz said in the week, 90% of drivers would win the championship in a Mercedes, but 90% of drivers wouldn’t win it if Hamilton was their team mate.

If you want to talk about novice drivers, how about an actual rookie, not one with two full seasons, who at the age of 22 beat the two time reigning champion in the same car? What was his name again? Oh yeah, Lewis Hamilton.

Edited by bearded_red
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9 hours ago, TomF said:

Let’s not also forget how bad the Ferrari was when MS joined them - he way out performed in that car in the same way, perhaps, that GR has done in the Williams this season. He clearly is going to be one to watch, especially if he gets the Merc drive in 2022

If Mercedes stay dominant, whoever gets the drive with them will be one to watch, doubt they’ll employ another Bottas when Lewis quits.  But maybe the rule changes will even things up, who knows.

Lets see what the race brings, if Red Bull get the strategy right, it’s a good chance for Max (could be final nail in Albon’s career as well).

Hamilton is obviously leading the pack because of ability and car, the car element shows how a Driver who hasn’t started on the front row before and has 0 world championship points was outstanding in P1 and P2 and was just pipped for pole.  Bottas showing that experience in the car pays off, but, that could all blown out of the water, by a safety car, car failure etc.  Should be a great race.

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I think pre 2010 Schumacher is great because he regularly trashed his team mates and performed even better when the rain came. He has the DQ year, and when he broke his leg he was even with Irvine IIRC as the only failures in the standing IMO.

I'm not so high on Hamilton because of the losses to Button and Rosberg even though the Rosberg title was filled with reliability issues admittedly.

So if Schumacher continually trashed Barichello, who was close to Button, who beat Hamilton or was close, then that puts Schumacher ahead for me. Plus and this isn't Hamilton's fault, I got to see Schumacher in a worse car more often so he had the opportunity to out perform his team mates by more. Having two drivers 1st and 2nd looks different to 3rd and 10th as memories fade of actual performances.

Bottas has wins over Massa at Williams. Who Schumacher also beat up on. Russell in qualifying is definitely making Bottas look bad though. Bottas needs to dominate in the race (assuming nothing weird happens) or questions about how good he is will heighten dramatically. If you're Lewis Hamilton, you either want Bottas to as well, because if you have the best car and your team mate doesn't look so good, it takes away some of your achievement too, or you want Russell to turn out to be a superstar (after you beat him and retire).

Anyway, this mix up, brings in a tonnes of fun story lines and intrigue to the race, which with the titles over, I wasn't that interested in.

Edited by Prinny
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