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History made today: Covid Lewis wins his 7th World Championship!

sglowrider

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Apr 9, 2012
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Who would have thought 20 years ago he would have broken the greatest racing driver, Michael Schumacher's win record?






Here's why & how:




Interview post-race:
 
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It's crazy to think that Senna's record was 41 and Schumacher broke it 20 years ago, then absolutely torched it. Will Hamilton destroy Schumacher's record like that?
 
It's crazy to think that Senna's record was 41 and Schumacher broke it 20 years ago, then absolutely torched it. Will Hamilton destroy Schumacher's record like that?

Maybe he will just get his 8th title and call it quits? Or maybe he has another 2 more good years. (He hasn't signed the new contract with Mercedes yet.)
So that will be another 10-15 more wins at least if he gets his 8th.

He has changed a lot on the years -- he just seems to be able to pull the rabbit out of the hat whenever its required. Best rain driver in the field still.
And like Verstappen said, he rarely makes mistakes now. That came with maturity.
 
I don't really follow F1 anymore, so I'm not up on the driver's. Who is the active with the second most wins? Can't imagine that there's anyone within striking distance of the record.
 
I don't really follow F1 anymore, so I'm not up on the driver's. Who is the active with the second most wins? Can't imagine that there's anyone within striking distance of the record.

Active drivers: Seb Vettel -- at 53 wins and 4 world championship wins. But I think he's been mentally broken by Lewis.

Most likely multiple world championship winner will be Verstappen. He has that ruthless streak, arrogance about him. And only 22y.o and on $25M per season. That's how much Red Bull wants to keep him!

 
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Well, from what I've seen of Lewis Hamilton, he probably thought it!



He's been quite humble with this achievement. I mean beating Micheal feckkin' Schumacher's record?
You wouldn't hear me shut up!! Mooning the camera would certainly have crossed my mind!
 


He's been quite humble with this achievement. I mean beating Micheal feckkin' Schumacher's record?
You wouldn't hear me shut up!! Mooning the camera would certainly have crossed my mind!

Agreed.

It was really moving to see Mick Schumacher give Lewis one of his dad's helmets when he tied the record at 91. I get a little tired of Mercedes 1-2 wins (I mean, 26 second leads don't leave a lot of excitement at the front of the pack), but can't deny that Lewis is a hell of a driver.

And from an earlier post, yes, Seb is a mess. Ferrari is not looking great, but Vettel can barely get out of Q1 on the regular. Also, I miss seeing Raikkonen in a good car.
 
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Agreed.

It was really moving to see Mick Schumacher give Lewis one of his dad's helmets when he tied the record at 91. I get a little tired of Mercedes 1-2 wins (I mean, 26 second leads don't leave a lot of excitement at the front of the pack), but can't deny that Lewis is a hell of a driver.

And from an earlier post, yes, Seb is a mess. Ferrari is not looking great, but Vettel can barely get out of Q1 on the regular. Also, I miss seeing Raikkonen in a good car.
Yah, I had tears in my eyes when Mick did that -- I think Lewis was quite emotional then too. Dont think he expected it.

I think at 40 or 41, Raikkonen is past his best. It does give Lewis hope to carry on though.

Schumi mas F1 equally boring when he was at his peak. They had the excuses back then too -- no real competition. Ferrari was heads & shoulder better than anyone else etc.

The only one who must be thinking hard is Verstappen.

He has only an ever shirnking 10 to 12-year window left -- and I think he always thinks he's a better driver than Lewis to start with.
And if Lewis hangs on another few more years and Red Bull doesn't have a car that can win it all...
Maybe he leaves RB for Merc when Lewis retires.

He looks like the only driver out there that has that singularity (on winning) and the 'bastard' personality to go along with it. I think Lewis was a nicer kid growing up.

Alonso is back next season too. Makes for interesting racing.
 
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Yah, I had tears in my eyes when Mick did that -- I think Lewis was quite emotional then too. Dont think he expected it.

I think at 40 or 41, Raikkonen is past his best. It does give Lewis hope to carry on though.

Schumi mas F1 equally boring when he was at his peak. They had the excuses back then too -- no real competition. Ferrari was heads & shoulder better than anyone else etc.

The only one who must be thinking hard is Verstappen.

He has only an ever shirnking 10 to 12-year window left -- and I think he always thinks he's a better driver than Lewis to start with.
And if Lewis hangs on another few more years and Red Bull doesn't have a car that can win it all...
Maybe he leaves RB for Merc when Lewis retires.

He looks like the only driver out there that has that singularity (on winning) and the 'bastard' personality to go along with it. I think Lewis was a nicer kid growing up.

Alonso is back next season too. Makes for interesting racing.

Agreed on all counts. Raikkonen getting another shot in a good car is a pipe dream, but I'm always glad to see him drive the hell out of what he's got.

I want to like Verstappen, but he doesn't need me to like him. He's a good driver and has the personality he needs to perform well. So I can enjoy his races, and watching him develop.

Super excited that Alonso is coming back. I'm a little bummed to see how some of the younger up-and-comers struggled here in the last few races. And there are always more hungry young drivers just looking for their DRS zones. There are sure to be a few other interesting moves in the off-season, so we'll see what else is to come.
 
I really hope Ferrari gets it together and gets Leclerc into a good car in 2022. He’s been pretty impressive dragging the current shitbox into places it shouldn’t be. I think Verstappen vs Leclerc would make for a hell of a rivalry.
 
I'm a little bummed to see how some of the younger up-and-comers struggled here in the last few races. And there are always more hungry young drivers just looking for their DRS zones. There are sure to be a few other interesting moves in the off-season, so we'll see what else is to come.

The younger drivers -- Landos, Russell etc I think they are a reflection of the new crop of kids -- talented but less individualistic and more concerned about being friends. That social media generation of being concerned about liked or at least not wanting to upset your peers.

The generation of that collection of alpha males in F1 I think I over, for now. You watch that group of Hunt, Lauda, coming back from a firey crash etc I think will just be ghosts in our memory.
It is so expensive to get into F1 now -- the trials & tribulation of go-karting to F4 and then up. Not many can afford to do it or persist at it.

Lando comes from a rich family. Lance Stroll -- talented but not F1 level but his dad...

There are only a few who will not have any serious financial backing -- the likes of Russell, Ocon etc are few and far in between.

Lewis will be the last of them, self-made World Champion. (Versteppan's dad was a former F1 racer and will not be sort of a dollar or two.)

His story will be appreciated more in the later years and may even overlap's Schumi's.
 
Yep! I try to bear that in mind when I get a little bored with the Mercedes 1-2 punches.

And it's a shame, too, because those with less financial backing but strong abilities are not given a lot of time to grow and develop.

I'd like to see Ricciardo do well again, too - - though I don't miss seeing him drink from his shoe on the podium. Blech.
 
It’s too bad Nico retired. Hamilton wouldn’t have near as many if he didn’t.
 
Ricciardo will make a massive jump next year. I really think Mercedes power makes McLaren able to put pressure on Red Bull. I also think it’s possible Red Bull backs up due to engine performance. Can’t see Honda pouring R&D into something they’re ditching.
 
The younger drivers -- Landos, Russell etc I think they are a reflection of the new crop of kids -- talented but less individualistic and more concerned about being friends. That social media generation of being concerned about liked or at least not wanting to upset your peers.

The generation of that collection of alpha males in F1 I think I over, for now. You watch that group of Hunt, Lauda, coming back from a firey crash etc I think will just be ghosts in our memory.
It is so expensive to get into F1 now -- the trials & tribulation of go-karting to F4 and then up. Not many can afford to do it or persist at it.

Lando comes from a rich family. Lance Stroll -- talented but not F1 level but his dad...

There are only a few who will not have any serious financial backing -- the likes of Russell, Ocon etc are few and far in between.

Lewis will be the last of them, self-made World Champion. (Versteppan's dad was a former F1 racer and will not be sort of a dollar or two.)

His story will be appreciated more in the later years and may even overlap's Schumi's.

Russell is a future world champ. The only reason they re-signed Bottas was because they knew George would be a thorn in Lewis’ side getting these records.
 
Russell is a future world champ. The only reason they re-signed Bottas was because they knew George would be a thorn in Lewis’ side getting these records.

I like Russell. He has that steely-eyed look. But that bunch of kids coming up, the Gen Zs... they don't have that singular focus to go for the kill. You can see it whenever they Gen Z kids/drivers get together.

I think if they brought Russell over too early, he may have been like Albon or Gasley in Red Bull vis a vis Verstappen. The 2nd drivers all seem to wilt.

Anyway, I see Verstapphan as the most logical successor to Lewis. RB is slowly chipping away at Mercedes.

Mercedes will either bring Verstapphan over to Merc or they will groom Russell to compete.

I think it was good for Russell to go to Williams -- losing so often will give him a better appreciation of winning ie hunger later in his career -- after winning quite easily in the lower divisions.
 
I think Max is a Red Buller for life. Russell and Leclerc are the long term options for Merc and Ferrari. I salivate at the prospect of those 3 battling for different teams. Hopefully Renault keeps their upward trend. I just don’t know about Alonso though. Losing Ricciardo really hurts Renault.
 
I think Max is a Red Buller for life. Russell and Leclerc are the long term options for Merc and Ferrari. I salivate at the prospect of those 3 battling for different teams. Hopefully Renault keeps their upward trend. I just don’t know about Alonso though. Losing Ricciardo really hurts Renault.

Perez to alpine/Renault?
 
Russell is a future world champ. The only reason they re-signed Bottas was because they knew George would be a thorn in Lewis’ side getting these records.

Your boy made a rookie mistake and spun off during the SC. I am sure he was in tears as he was in the points. Certainly pissed off at himself.

Verstappen had a shock -- back right tire suddenly blew up when he was in 2nd place!
 
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Even in slow-mo, that Verstappen blow out and subsequent slide through the gravel looked darn fast. Am watching on a slight delay, and just saw Russell and subsequent SC. Dang. SkyRadio commenters: "Character building." Or something like that.

I wasn't sure that this would be a good racetrack for them to come back to - even with the changes, Imola is still quite worrying.
 
I wasn't sure that this would be a good racetrack for them to come back to - even with the changes, Imola is still quite worrying.

Very! Way too narrow for these wider cars.

I wish they would run the Nordschleife @ Nürburgring for F1 in this unusual season -- just once. It would be epic.
 
Yeah...George pulled a Roberto Guerrero. 🤦🏼‍♂️

Blah race today. Bottas is just the perfect Mercedes #2 guy. Just fast enough in that car to give Max fits but not even in Lewis’ zip code. Today has to be the nail for Albon. He really hampers RBR. Either Sergio or Hulk will help immensely.
 
Yeah...George pulled a Roberto Guerrero. 🤦🏼‍♂️

Blah race today. Bottas is just the perfect Mercedes #2 guy. Just fast enough in that car to give Max fits but not even in Lewis’ zip code. Today has to be the nail for Albon. He really hampers RBR. Either Sergio or Hulk will help immensely.

Albon is broken. Thats why RB needs a Perez who wont wilt. But whether RB has the budget to have two big drivers may be the stumbling block.
 
Albon sealed his fate today, if it wasn’t already sealed. And Russell...damn man, are you afraid of a couple of points?

And Hamilton drank from Riccardo’s shoe.
 
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A very sombre interview by Lewis. None of that youthful exuberance left.

It's like he knows the end is coming. Toto leaving and he too can see the end of his F1 journey coming.



Can you imagine coming into the Merc team back in 2013 and your job is to replace Michael Schumacher?!! Two co-drivers have failed to compete with bloody Verstappen!
I don't think many have appreciated the task at hand for Lewis back then.
 
He wasn’t replacing Schumacher the legend...he was replacing the washed up version. If I remember Nico pretty well kicked his tail at Merc. I kinda hope Lewis goes out on top after next year. He pretty much has another title guaranteed. Then in ‘22 they turn it over to George and he rides off in the sunset.
 
Hamilton should get his 8th title and his 100th win next season. And a look at the 2022 situation which could finally shake things up a bit. I could see him leaving after 2021, especially if Toto is gone, as everyone believes.

But he's not leaving this year, regardless of what nonsense he's spouting right now.
 
Hamilton should get his 8th title and his 100th win next season. And a look at the 2022 situation which could finally shake things up a bit. I could see him leaving after 2021, especially if Toto is gone, as everyone believes.

But he's not leaving this year, regardless of what nonsense he's spouting right now.

Toto is leaving after this season isn't he? Or at least take a remote role.

Maybe Lewis wants a high level of commitment from Merc to ensure financial and technical excellence -- may be written into the clause of his contract to ensure he has that going into 2021 and 2022.
It will be a privilege to witness history, the 8th or maybe 9th -- and one I don't think will ever be broken in our lifetime.

The body language and the attitude in that interview I think is quite telling. He is just very zen about life now.
 
I don't think it's 100% official that Toto is leaving, but there is certainly strong speculation. There is talk of him taking a role with Aston Martin. And that could be part of the Hamilton talk. He may be waiting for Toto to make a commitment one way or another before he decides. He's already indicated he's not that enthusiastic about staying at Merc without Toto.

But, I think he'll stay through 2021. The existing regs run through '21 and there's another title sitting on a platter along with 100 GP wins. He's not walking away after this season. This latest talk is just Hamilton being a drama queen.
 
Toto has told Sky Germany that he'll be back at Merc 100% for 2021. That means that it's only a matter of time until Hamilton signs as well.

 
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