sandman1347 wrote:
Blinky McSquinty wrote:
BMWSauber84 wrote:
Exediron wrote:
Blinky McSquinty wrote:
Two races to go, and IMO the real battle is now between Bottas and Vettel. Bottas has closed the gap to second place to just 15 points. And I am very sure that Mercedes would love to sweep everything. Both drivers finish 1 - 2 in the WDC and winning the WCC.
So after the many times Bottas has been asked to support Hamilton, will Hamilton repay the favor?
I don't think it matters. If Vettel runs clean, Bottas is nowhere near his pace.
It would be a stupid thing to do. Vettel has been better than Bottas by some margin this season. On current form, even a Hamilton on mental vacation should be quite a bit up the road from Bottas.
Besides, Hamilton is record chasing. He won't be giving wins up for such little reward.
Oh yea of little faith. One year ago Hamilton displayed a selfish aggression at Abu Dhabi. But for this year, IMO Hamilton has improved drastically and I believe those days are over. And consider this possibility. If Hamilton does not play according to the Mercedes game plan, his days of chasing records may be flushed down the toilet. He does have to think about the future.
Little reward? For all of the manufacturers, Formula One is just part of their advertising budget. Mercedes have probably spent over 350 million dollars in just this year. As a fan you may not see the forest because of the trees, but for such expenditures it is a big thing for Mercedes. The ideal advertising message is " we came, we kicked butt". And securing second place in the WDC completes that statement. It would make the advertising executives, the people who approve the racing budget, very, very happy.
This is up there among the most ridiculous things I've heard top to bottom. Selfish aggression? You mean trying to win the championship at a time in which both the WDC, WCC and a 1-2 finish in the standings was already secured for Mercedes? Really? And exactly how you calculate that there is a significant boost to the brand by Bottas finishing second in the standings is beyond me. I think it makes almost no difference whatsoever considering, once again, that they have already secured the WDC and WCC. From a marketing perspective it is almost certainly best for them when Hamilton wins, simply because he is the more popular of their two drivers and his popularity is strongest in Mercedes' biggest markets (USA, England, etc.). Maybe you'd like for Lewis to hand over wins but I don't think that makes sense to anyone else.
I agree the AD bit if a bit ridiculous. But Blinky's 2nd paragraph is true.
2014: 1st, 2nd in WDC and WCC Champions.
2015: 1st, 2nd in WDC and WCC Champions.
2016: 1st, 2nd in WDC and WCC Champions.
2017: 1st, 3rd in WDC and WCC Champions.
It ruins the perfect run. I am sure Mercedes would love it to end with the 1-2 without the need for team orders and with Hamilton winning the races. If they needed team order they also have to weigh up the negatives of that - especially for a win. Maybe they could to it subtly.