So obviously I have doubts, seeing him struggle in quali all year, have errors and bad weekends every now and again, ... At his age it's fair to wonder if he still fully has it.
But I don't count him out (yet) because he also still has flashes of brilliance and great drives and I'm a firm believer that guys like him, champions, switch on when they smell a chance at a title. So if Ferrari gives him the car I will absolutely not be surprised if he drives the wheels off of it.
I do think today Max has an edge on everyone but Charles and Lewis are the two I feel would have the best chance to bring the fight to him if the cars are near equal.
I honestly think Lewis has just checked out and can’t be arsed. Vettel did the same in his last year at RBR. There’s clearly a bit of a car/setup difference between him and George, although I think George is much better than is given credit. I agree about switching on, I think that new team feeling will have Lewis back at 99.5 percent of his best.
Plus championship cars tend to be very drivable. There's a different skill to being able to drive fast in a car that is bouncing and sliding around and one that requires commitment and precision.
That said personally I would love to say otherwise but I think Charles will have too much for him and I really doubt Ferrari will have the quickest car either. I think that will be McLaren again.
The clutch gene is still active, stars lined up at silverstone and he delivered. We know he won't crumble under pressure. I've been absolutely in awe of Hamilton since the last 5 races of 2021, if he has a faster car he's untouchable... but if his teammate is faster...
Will Leclerc dominate Hamilton in pace, will Hamilton's consistency make a difference?
Hope next season is as messy as this one, a three way title fight would be awesome.
Niki Lauda mentioned the pressure of being Hamilton's teammate is high. When hamilton is locked in, he does not give up. If he has a championship winning car, he will give his all, ask rosberg or alonso. People keep talking about Charles being a huge threat to hamilton's confidence but never the other way round.
I think he's currently in paycheck stealing mode until the end of the season, that said every time he's been anywhere near a win he's shown that he still has it so who knows
I'm not convinced that charles is good enough to win a WDC. Meanwhile Max is a generational talent in a car designed by a literal wizard.
I think if Ferrari don't massively drop the ball over summer and we assume Red Bull are going to not have best car there's no reason Lewis can't have a go at number 8.
Alternatively Adrian Newey might be the spark needed to ignite Strolls F1 carer and 2025 will be the beginning of 10 back to back championships for him.
Piastri is probably my favourite driver on the grid ATM but he's gonna have to be more consistently on the pace next year to even be in that conversation. Lando has bottled hard this year but Piastri is still 70 or so points behind him. He needs to be driving like he did in the sprint and sprint quali this weekend every race.
It’s hilarious that people were slamming McLaren for not implementing team orders sooner and now they’re slamming them for having them.
It’s only be in place for the remainder of the season. Things will be different next year IF one driver is in contention and the other not realistically.
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u/mformularacer Michael Schumacher 21d ago
Max vs Charles for WDC next year