Bottas

[TravelGal]

Hooooooooray! Thoughts from the cognoscenti?

[nissan gtp]

Lewis and George is a fantastic combo, as long as Toto can keep them from a Senna/Prost inter-team battle. Which might just be impossible. The pressure on George will be tremendous. Sky-high expectations, going against one of the very best ever, in "his" team.

[Hard Driver]

This is a good thing for Bottas. Mercedes was definitely handicapping him and helping Hamilton. Numerous races where Bottas was asking for an alternate strategy but wasn't allowed so he could run cover for Hamilton. Heck, he was told to slow down so Hamilton could have fastest lap at the last race. Sure it is a Mercedes seat, but a seat with a #2 stitched into it.

If he goes to Alpha and has a fresh start and respect of the team, that is better than his current situation.

[stroker]

Did I miss something?

[TravelGal]

Did I miss something?

Bottas to Alfa Romeo. Russell confirmed at Mercedes.

[pfc_m_drake]

I'm happy for him, and I suspect he'll do well. I also suspect the Ferrari engine next year will be a fair bit better than this year, and I'm hopeful that Alfa hit the ground running with development on the new car for next year.

Hard Driver hit on all my thoughts regarding Bottas' Mercedes seat. And I suspect that Mercedes is going to find out that Russell isn't all-that-and-a-bag-of-chips next year (just like they found out with the reincarnation of Ayrton Senna a.k.a. Esteban Ocon).

I was holding out hope that the 2nd Red Bull seat would somehow open for Valtteri, but that was my wishful thinking more than anything based in reality.

All in all, I'm pleased. We'll see what next year brings.

[WickerBill]

Lewis and George is a fantastic combo, as long as Toto can keep them from a Senna/Prost inter-team battle. Which might just be impossible. The pressure on George will be tremendous. Sky-high expectations, going against one of the very best ever, in "his" team.

You may be right, but I think perhaps the opposite happens. He'll have plenty of media coverage, of course, but since his teammate is Hamilton, I don't think there's going to be a ton of pressure in year 1. As long as he doesn't continually tear the corners off the car and religiously finishes in the same neighborhood as his teammate, I think he'll be given a year of grace.

[datachicane]

You may be right, but I think perhaps the opposite happens. He'll have plenty of media coverage, of course, but since his teammate is Hamilton, I don't think there's going to be a ton of pressure in year 1. As long as he doesn't continually tear the corners off the car and religiously finishes in the same neighborhood as his teammate, I think he'll be given a year of grace.


I agree. Hamilton and Russell are both at very different points in their respective careers than Hamilton and Rosberg were back in the day. It's not unlikely that this is Hamilton's last contract, and given his age he won't be able to drive at his current high level for more than a few years in any case. Given the short wait ahead of him, Russell's smart enough not to jeopardize his future as Hamilton's heir apparent in his first season or two, and regardless of how talented Russell may be Hamilton has a huge baked-in advantage in terms of both experience and team dynamics.

Gonna be a bunch of fun to watch next season, with Bottas at a team where he'll be compared against drivers besides the 7-time champion and another fast young guy at the front of the grid. With Norris and McLaren stepping up their game, Gasly consistently finishing better than he should, and the hope for better results under the new spec for Leclerc and Sainz, I haven't been as excited about a new season in a long time.