http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/38185846
Can honestly say I was thinking he may do.

I was discussing with my sister how he wouldn't have the motivation for next year - he knows he can't beat Lewis in a straight fight.

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Originally posted by james h
I was discussing with my sister how he wouldn't have the motivation for next year - he knows he can't beat Lewis in a straight fight.

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Who's in line for that seat then.?

I assume maybe wehrline or maybe they will want a bigger name

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Originally posted by sdh2903
Who's in line for that seat then.?

I assume maybe wehrline or maybe they will want a bigger name

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Haha nice thought but Jenson sounded done with the whole circus. Although a competitive car and another chance to outperform Lewis again maybe a tempter.....

Lewis will have to find someone else to whinge about now then

I thought one of them might leave Merc but wouldn't have guessed Nico would quite F1. In most things in life it is better to quit while you're ahead as you don't give yourself an opportunity to fail.

It will be interesting to see who they get to replace him given that most teams have secured they're line-ups for next year, I don't think they'll be able to temp over another former Champion.

Wehrlein and Ocon are the Junior Merc drivers so it is likely to be Wehrlein....or maybe Hulkenburg as an outside possibility

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Originally posted by CRAIGR
Lewis will have to find someone else to whinge about now then

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quote:

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Originally posted by morcus
It will be interesting to see who they get to replace him given that most teams have secured they're line-ups for next year, I don't think they'll be able to temp over another former Champion.

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Lewis and max in equal cars. Ooooh now that would be interesting. Doubt it will happen mind as I think redbull will be back at the top next year as the focus switches more to aero. and we all know that redbull have the best aero guru in charge.

quote:

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Originally posted by sdh2903
Who's in line for that seat then.?

I assume maybe wehrline or maybe they will want a bigger name

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quote:

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Originally posted by sdh2903
Lewis and max in equal cars. Ooooh now that would be interesting. Doubt it will happen mind as I think redbull will be back at the top next year as the focus switches more to aero. and we all know that redbull have the best aero guru in charge.

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Engine regs not hugely different next year. 1 less each aswell so they are going to have to look after them more too.

Bottas to Mercedes, Wehrlein to Williams. Williams get free engines...

Pretty sure Jensen will be in Rallycross next year....

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Originally posted by Dave Bailey
Pretty sure Jensen will be in Rallycross next year....

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Engine regulations remain essentially the same, regulations written primarily for Formula Mercedes.
If you're getting a tad jaded with FM at the moment, then it could get a whole lot worse if a replacement for Nico doesn't have the German's talent.

It's up to Mercedes whether they make FM interesting, or not, in 2017. No competition for Hamilton will mean a rather pointless 'Championship'.

I can understand Nico. I can't think of many jobs that take you around the world, require continuous absolute commitment and have so much stress. He's reached the pinnacle of the sport, what else is there to do. Cf. Lauda.

I don't think Alonso or Vettel would join up to be partnered with Hamilton, though I would like to see Vettel and Lewis head to head in the same car.

My money would be on Pascal. It will be interesting to see who they get.

Isn't Palmer out of contract from Renault!!!

Would love to see Max, and wasn't Toto on the phone to Max's Dad/Manager the other week!!!!

Palmer signed for renault a few weeks back.
See my comments above re 'totos call'!

I would dearly love to see Alonso joining Mercedes and racing Hamilton without any team bias this time. He still has the fitness and work ethic and I honestly believe that Alonso has improved as a driver in the years since 2007 whereas Hamilton is clearly losing interest and focus. I don't even think Hamilton would come close over a season although he would inevitably come good over the occasional fast lap or two.

That said, I have good reason to fear that, if Alonso did come to Mercedes, somehow the 2017 car would turn out to be a lemon. Even though I'm an Alonso fan, I recognise that his luck/judgement/timing on moving teams is about as good as when I choose which checkout queue to join at the supermarket!

Personal preferences aside, I think Mercedes do need an experienced driver with a strong work ethic and 100% motivation because they are going to have their hands full with Red Bull next year for sure! Given that Hamilton threatened to quit earlier this year and given his other interests outdside of F1 (not a criticism - just a fact) I don't think he's the ideal guy to lead a team with a more junior member in it. The new 2017 cars will need to draw upon the experience of some of the older guys because some aspects of the cars won't have been experienced by the young guns yet. I wonder if Jenson could be lured back to McLaren to lead Vandoorne, releasing Alonso to go to Merc. McLaren might benefit from saving a few quid from Alonso's salary given the lack of sponsorship they currently have. If they can get a pay off from Mercedes then that might suit them even better.

Interesting to see what happens!


[Edited on 2/12/2016 by craig1410]

I reckon the move to get Bottas is likely, with Wehrlein to sit in at Williams. Merc can offer Williams a decent engine deal as well as a young hot shot driver in order to bring Bottas across. It's not a move I'd considered before reason the Sky Sports F1 column and seeing the opinion from My Brundle - I didn't realise that Tota Wolff has an interest in Bottas's management team, as well as his previous (and likely ongoing in some way) business connections with the Williams team.

I also wonder if they might try and tempt Button to sign up for a single season while they figure out what to do longer term. He's still a fast driver, and very experienced in terms of car development (plus has been one of the teams former champions under another guise).

Either option gives stability in the team, and neither (so far) have proven to be the kind of characters that will de-stabilise Hamilton. I think having two too drivers has worked for them while they've had a dominant car, but I don't think they'll want that pressure cooker to deal with when they need to keep a bigger eye on the competition - they need a clear lead driver and rear gunner set up.

quote:

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Originally posted by loggyboy
Verstappen - I suspect Totos calls to his dad were more than just 'dont mess up our boys race' more likely to be 'dont mess up our boys race, I want to convince the board your lad is mature enough for our team in a few years'

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I wonder how much Rosberg would have a financial penalty, I know written in the contract is the media interaction and promotion of the Merc brand, but if he has retired obviously this wouldn't happen.

Unless this is to boost his rating and he comes back for the team, trying (unsuccessfully) to gain more fans!!

I'm not a fan of Rosbergs but enjoy the team dynamics and how the team bosses seem to be very open and let the 2 race. Lewis started to annoy me late season but I'm sure I'll forgive him before next season.

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Originally posted by Huttojb
Lewis started to annoy me late season but I'm sure I'll forgive him before next season.

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Bottas confirmed at Mercedes, Massa and Stroll at Williams and Wehrlein to Sauber.

http://www.motorsportmagazine.com/opinion/f1/bottas-joins-mercedes-massa-returns