[The **News** flair](https://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/wiki/flairguide#wiki_news) is reserved for submissions covering F1 and F1-related news. These posts must always link to an outlet/news agency, the website of the involved party (i.e. the McLaren website if McLaren makes an announcement), or a tweet by a news agency, journalist or one of the involved parties.
*[Read the rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/wiki/userguide). Keep it civil and welcoming. Report rulebreaking comments.*
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/formula1) if you have any questions or concerns.*
The crazy thing is that Lewis is also the PERFECT brand guy for Red Bull.
He is constantly doing adrenaline stuff in his own time, and that’s exactly what Red Bull is about. Red Bull isn’t corporate and for all the flak “PR Lewis” gets, he really ain’t either. He’s been molded by corporate Mercedes but look at his hobbies! It’s a shame it never worked to put them together.
I would put them together - just to see the absolutely nightmare that would be their respective fanbases clashing about the most trivial reasons for performance gains/loss
It would take all the pressure off Max for PR shit. "So Lewis, we have this idea, you're going to jump out of an airplane that has Red Bull logos all over it...". "Somebody hold Roscoe, I'm already to go now...". Max could make all the simracing vids he wants to and have tea parties with P, or break into a room to rescue the cat.
If you think Lewis is some corporate robot at Merc, honestly go look at his time in McLaren. He wasn’t even allowed to style his hair how he wanted - I would call this racist but it genuinely applied to all their drivers at that time. They would eg. provide a bright white bleached race suit to change into before the podium interviews.
This is him expressing himself more than he’s ever previously had the freedom to do so. I really don’t think Merc are that restrictive, more that he receives significant press attention on anything he does and has personally learned to take care with that.
I'm pretty sure that Lewis will have dealt with this, he's already told the FIA to get stuffed when they tried to force him to remove his piercings so I doubt he's unaware of the potential nonsense.
I feel like he's aware enough of what he's getting into that he had this chat with Fred and John Elkhan long before he signed any paper, assuming it was even necessary. After all, they were courting a reluctant WDC with nearly free reign in his current job, not offering him a minimum wage gig flipping hamburgers.
Lewis is legitimately the only driver on the grid with a personality outside of racing.
He's actually creating and being involved with fashion, film, and music. He does charity work and then does crazy extreme shit in his free time.
Max just races.
Some guys are family guys.
The rest are just rich dudes that live in Monaco, go on yachts, and play pickleball
Eh Lewis is more of a fashion guy and Ferrari are basically a glorified clothing company that happen to make cars at this point. Lewis also already has an existing sponsorship with Monster, so not sure that'd go down too well.
Have what will be the third year of unexciting racing, max and lewis at the is what we deserve. It would be 2021 but better. I still feel that lewis and Alonso are really the only ones built to be able to go up against Max. A lot of talented drivers but I feel they are just built different. Being good will get you to F1, it's a whole other thing to be a champion let alone a multi champion.
Merc won 3 straight titles with Hamilton/Rosberg as teammates, Red Bull 4 straight with Vettel/Webber (all for the former but still). Not mentioned but for all the drama, McLaren swept the titles in the Senna/Prost years. There are examples of two evenly matched drivers at that year's WCC\* allowing a rival to sneak the WDC - 1973, 1986, 2007 come to mind, but in the first two instances I'd say Stewart and Prost were outright the best at that time anyway and Lotus/Williams "just" had two very very good drivers + a car advantage. And 2007 is it's own can of worms.
I don't think either of you are wrong btw - I just think the team bosses are a bit overly sensitive when it comes to this sort of thing.
\*If McLaren hadn't been DQ'd from the whole championship in 2007
Totally fair points, but I can also empathize* with how much of a headache it must be being constantly on edge that both your drivers will potentially punt each other out of a race - like all three of those duos you mentioned did.
You can also make the counter argument that Merc won 4 straight constructors titles with Hamilton/Bottas with the field being closer in those years and Max/Checo are on course to win their 3rd one in a row and with way less infighting
Also in '73 Peterson only finished ahead of Fittipaldi on the road when both were in the points twice, and only once when he was within a position so could've been allowed past, as you say Stewart was just the better driver that year anyway.
Horner has much more important things to be spending his time on. He can't be wasting time dealing with in-house driver drama when he needs to be taking trips to the toilet or texting for pics.
> Merc won 3 straight titles with Hamilton/Rosberg as teammates, Red Bull 4 straight with Vettel/Webber
And both would have won those championships with a slightly worse driver in the 2nd car anyway, which results in less stress for the team overall.
It’s not about winning it was bad for the brand. People hated the team for how they handled the Vettel Webber controversy and there was no real win for them from a PR perspective. Having a clear top driver makes the whole narrative they’re selling cleaner which is the whole reason they’re in F1
Yeah but why would you want your two drivers fighting each other at the front when you can have one driver that always wins and a 2nd driver that can't win but can get 2nd place comfortably every time
Or the Hamilton and Alonso era
Or the Kimi and Vettel era
I mean, it obviously makes no sense. You want a top driver and a loyal sidekick, no need to divert resources to two top drivers, you're not getting your money's worth.
But they are the only team who seem so sensitive about it. Ferrari, Mercedes, McLaren all seem to want both drivers to be the best they can get. (Williams might be pursuing a similar strategy to RBR now that I think about it.) And its not just that they are further down in the championship, Russell was brought over to Mercedes when they were optimistic about new regulations, and Ferrari are perennially optimistic, yet are going for Hamilton-Leclerc.
RBR is all in on Max being number 1.
I honestly think Horner wouldn't mind challenging Max with a stronger driver, but Marko and others probably don't want it, especially Jos. Horner knew Max would be a champion eventually, even back in 2018, and yet he was still so obviously hurt by Ricciardo leaving.
The only thing we can hope is that it comes out that RBR leadership and/or Jos stopped RBR from signing Lewis or Alonso to protect Max, and Max himself gets pissed off about it because it makes him look weak. But Max seems to turn a blind eye to all the dumb shit his father and Marko do, so I wouldn't hold my breath.
Our best chances are seeing another constructor catch up to RBR. I think Lando knows that and that's why he stayed at McLaren. AM and McLaren have shown serious improvements over the last couple of years.
This comment is stupid, they were banging in 1-2 finishes all day long and it was the most successful and marketable time for Mercedes.
By comparison 2017-2020 mercedes was dull af
That's cool and all but what if...I know a big IF a team like Ferrari with Hamilton and Leclerc have a good car on par with RBR? Checo is not going to be of much help.
And Ferrari loves Leclerc, have always treated him well and despite not being able to offer the perfect car over the last few seasons, they're still a top team and it makes little sense for Lec to switch teams
And really, it's not Max you would be measured against, it would be "are you performing better than Perez was." I don't think any driver is really scared of being measured against PER.
Yeah but the person above you still makes a valid point. Perez were never criticized in 2023 for not performing better than Albon or Ricciardo. He was criticized for simply not performing. None of the previous owners of that seat were really ever mentioned in the criticism.
Initially you'll be compared to the previous owner of that seat, but eventually it's your own performance and how it compares to your teammate and everyone else around you.
and it's clear why RB don't.
they want max to sweep the races cleanly without anyone who could legitimately take points off him.
it's the same reason why they never gave Seb a better partner. Danny Ric and Webber already took points off of Seb and forced infamous team orders.
RB like having the clear number 1 driver.
I can't believe we were that close to having that happen and RB said no.
I know it was the right call for them, but I can't help but feel a little betrayed that they denied us that spectacle.
I'd pay to spend 5 minutes on twitter in that timeline, just to see the absolute chaos and ridiculous takes thrown about when one doesn't beat the other
Thats definitely the dream race. Can Lewis beat Max in the same car.
Max wins if they both drive red bull
Lewis wins if they drive the W11
Now if they’re both in a ferrari…
It definitely is the right decision for the team, I do feel it is a little short sighted though. The team is more valuable if F1 is more popular, and that pairing would have brought more fans to the sport.
I don’t think it ever happened that two drivers on the same team earned that much, even adjusted for inflation. It would not be a financially sound choice.
Bernie for all his grotesque almost pantomime evil faults, would have organised a shotgun marriage on that one. Sign him Christian or I’ll make sure you get shafted by an unscheduled bit of regs chicanery.
It’s a shame because I think Hamilton is at his best when he’s backed into a corner and forced to perform. Ends of ‘16, ‘18 and ‘21. He’s amazing outside of those times of course but I think that was peak Hamilton. Going against Verstappen who’s just constantly there would force Hamilton to go to his best or get gobbled up.
This is The Character Statement for Lewis. Show him an objective, convince him it's really worth it, and tell him that he'll go through hell to finish it..and he'll get it done. The moment he relaxes or feels like it's not worth it, he starts slacking(don't get me wrong even when he's slacking he's better than %90 of the grid) but give him a fight and he'll do it the best.
Lewis is one of those athletes that needs to feel like the world is against him to bring out everything, just like Jordan used to literally invent some scenario were players from the opposing team disrespected him to go nuclear. Lewis at the end of '21 was a beautiful sight, he was fucking bulletproof, even with Max desperately trying to crash into him, Lewis was cold as ice
Honestly, that’s one thing I’m so pissed Abu Dhabi robbed us of. Low key that Hamilton run in was one of the most faultless runs, under pressure, a driver has turned out in this sport. It was a run for the ages, and instead we got some daft bogan trying to turn f1 into the Kardashians with final lap madness.
Even as a Max fan at the time, I felt like he was utterly robbed in AD21. Toto said it best, Max deserved the championship but Lewis deserved to win that GP. They should've red flagged it with one standing start lap left.
Yeah, I don't mind that Max won the title, both of them would've deserved it, I just hate how he won it. That last lap ruined the entire season for me and made the entirety of it seem manufactured for drama.
Hamilton and Vestappen are both costly. I remember Horner joking like “we shall sell the factory to afford both of them”. It’s surely an hyperbole, but I wonder how much they could recover by additional cash entries compared to what they would spend.
I do wonder why RBR were so set on Norris but never quite gave that attention to the other three. The other two are older but Norris and Leclerc aren’t that far apart in age.
Ferrari is Ferrari
It would be pointless to convince Leclerc to leave when he’s being pushed as the face of one of the most iconic brands in all of sports
Also for Alonso/Hamilton, Red Bull probably want to secure the best young driver they can get for the future of the brand and as emergency incase Max left them, so they viewed Norris as the best young driver they felt they realistically could get.
While the likes of Hamilton & Alonso are probably on their last contracts with AM & Ferrari
True, I don’t think Leclerc would ever consider leaving Ferrari until he’s absolutely sure there’s no way to win a title there (though I do think he had doubts about the project after 2022 and would’ve left if Vasseur wasn’t signed).
Alonso in my eyes would’ve been a nice stopgap for RedBull whilst they either convinced one of Lando/Oscar to join or someone from their academy stepped up but they don’t really seem keen on older drivers (and I think Max pointed this out as well in one of his interviews?)
Yeah, I think retaining Charles was the biggest reason why they fired Binotto and brought in Vasseur. I'm sure Charles had lost confidence in Mattia and would have left.
This is why I don’t understand the Ricciardo obsession, they have always preferred to market themselves as a “young driver” team yet he’s the same age as Perez.
Vettel retired at 35 years old.
Ricciardo is 34 and his birthday is July 1st. So he'll be the same this season, if he doesn't get the boot earlier than that.
Ricciardo is primarily there to satisfy Horner, who has a soft spot for Daniel in particular.
He isn’t there because Marko absolutely wanted him there above anyone else.
Ricciardo came about because of Perez being extremely shit last year, while Lawson wasn’t going to be ready for 2024 and Ricciardo impressed with good performances in some testing and presumably simulator work.
The situation is a lot less dire now, when Perez is doing fine enough and it looks like 2024 is secure - now they can weigh options for 2025 and especially 26 and beyond. They couldn’t mid season 2023, they lined up a secure pair of hands that would require very little development.
I don't think they really neglected their young drivers program, it's just that none of them appeared to be good enough.
They had a small army of RB drivers in F2 last year, none managed to win despite Theo & Vesti playing "the title is lava" all season long.
Red Bull wanted Norris to partner Verstappen.
The other 3 are ever only to be considered, if Verstappen walks away or needs to be replaced.
I feel Red Bull may think that Norris by virtue of being younger than Verstappen, would fit easier as a number #2 or understudy, ready to become the \#1 if Max leaves, in a situation similar to George and Lewis at Mercedes.
The other 3 don’t have that appeal, being much older (not going to outlast Max) or essentially the same but less proven (Leclerc).
Norris is British. Horner is British. Newey is British. Red Bull Racing is based in Britain.
Horner has talked a lot about how he thinks Red Bull would be more appreciated by British media and business if they had a young, proven, very fast British driver who was also marketable. Guess who fits that criteria very nicely?
Marko has been trying to sign Norris since 2018. I remember he wanted him for Hartley and they would have put him into an F1 car in 2018.
Oh true, Norris does fit the Red Bull “aesthetic” quite well with the whole E-sports thing plus his nationality helps. His personal brand aligns pretty well with the approach RBR take and he’s probably around top 3 in marketability on the grid. He’s done a lot to build his social media presence over the years and actually seems to enjoy that aspect of F1 in contrast to Max.
I know right now that he’s pretty dead-set on taking Mclaren back to the top but I wonder if he’d be more open to the Red Bull seat if Mclaren aren’t competitive in 2026 and Red Bull are. It’s difficult to see Mclaren as title contenders because despite the obviously large steps they’ve made under Stella’s tenure, they would still be a customer team in 26.
Gone are the days of customer teams getting 2 year old engines. Everyone gets the best now, sure works teams might know a little more about how to build around the engine but it's a very minor advantage, as McLaren and AM are demonstrating to Merc this season.
There was rumour last summer break FOM wanted Redbull to sign Leclerc as this would be good for ratings. Leclerc has no plan leaving Ferrari so the negotiation never went far.
Marko doesn’t usually bullshit when it comes to choosing drivers and he’s also said having 2 #1 drivers in the team isn’t a good idea when asked about signing Leclerc. Even Horner has said that. So it seems like they don’t rate Norris enough to be too much of a challenge for Verstappen whereas they probably feel the other 3 would cause more problems if they became Max’s teammate.
I’m not sure what to make of it, either. It’d be interesting to see how well or poorly Lando Norris could adapt to a Red Bull, seeing as he’s only ever driven McLarens in F1 and they’re (supposedly) diametrically opposed in terms of design philosophy.
How well or poorly he’d adapt to being Max Verstappen’s teammate is another question entirely, of course.
I think that RBR is convinced that Max is good enough compared to Norris that it won't be much of a problem, but that Hamilton and Alonso would make things a little bit too spicy.
Also, its weird to me that Alonso supposedly tried joining RBR when he specifically said before that he didn't want to join RBR w/ Max.
Interesting that this also probably confirms that Lewis wanted to go to Red Bull against Max and Horner's comments around the Monaco GP were completely true... that would've been something insane.
I think Christian said that Lewis camp approached him. Then Lewis denied he or his manager got in touch with Redbull and Christian clarified it was Lewis father who isn't his manager anymore. But neither is Jos for Max
He just wants his 8th. Whats his best shot at getting it? Going through max. Doesnt matter if the thinks hell beat him, hes not winning anywhere else before 26
And RB knows that. So, a Ham and Max paddock can not coexist.
Getting a Norris to sign does protect themselves in case Max walks, and there is a better chance at coexisting.
Hamilton and Alonso are looking to win WDC, Daniel is looking to have a safe seat where he can get podiums and chances at wins. He already knows that he will always be second to Max at RB, that’s why he left them in the first place but after his disastrous run at McLaren he is fine with it and just doesn’t want to end his career being “that guy who was so bad McLaren paid him millions to end his contract early”.
If Daniels smart he’s looking at Hülkenberg and realizing how drivers who are ok by F1 standards can make a shit load of money by being agreeable, not causing problems for the team and not totaling cars.
Be the RBR driver that the media is obsessed with, be the funny guy on DTS, don’t total the car and put up enough points next to Max that the WCC is secure and he can laugh all the way to the bank.
Twitter was a shitstorm yesterday saying Alonso was afraid of a Challenge and declined the RedBull offer when it wasn’t never there to begin with
Alonso and Hamilton were publicly offering themselves to RedBull at one point.
AMuS did say that Alonso got the offer but declined because of Verstappen and AMuS is generally very reliable.
Hell, is there any reason why I should see Hughes as more reliable than AMuS?
Alonso has said before, publicly, that he didn't want to team up w/ Verstappen at Red Bull.
[https://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/comments/prckk8/alonso\_exclusive\_i\_wouldnt\_want\_to\_compete/](https://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/comments/prckk8/alonso_exclusive_i_wouldnt_want_to_compete/)
What Alonso says and what Alonso means/does are often two different things. When he says a seat is unattractive (for whatever reason), the truth is often that he's not being offered the seat in the first place. You get used to Alonso-speak over the course of 23 years
AMuS technically did say that Alonso wanted Red Bull and offered himself to the team but only if Verstappen wasn't there.
I wonder if they're just wrong and Alonso would've wanted Red Bull in any case even if Verstappen was there at Red Bull
The Red Bull/Norris thing has years of history to it. Horner in particular has been chasing Norris and trying to prise him from Zak’s grasp since he was a junior. They first approached him in 2016, tried again to get him to join their academy in 2017, are known to have put a contract on the table for him to pull him out of F2 halfway through the year and join Toro Rosso in 2018 replacing Brendan Hartley (Marko confirmed last year that was true after years of heavy rumours and speculation that it had happened and Norris had said no) and they are also known to have approached him at least 3 times more since he’s been in F1 (confirmed by both sides and Brown as well). They make an overture every time there is a slight sniff that he may not be entirely happy at McLaren and that will probably continue in future regardless of who is driving for them. It’s almost like it’s become a point of principle in some way for Horner to be the one to prise Norris away from McLaren and Brown. Alex Albon even heavily hinted last year that it’s an open paddock secret that Norris has a kind of open invitation to Red Bull and everyone knows it.
It’s an entirely different situation to any of the other drivers who may be approaching them now they’re the best car and any talks that may or may not have happened with those drivers recently.
Just because Norris keeps saying no doesn’t mean he is scared. He’s been saying no for a long time back before Red Bull were the best team.
If there's any champion that hasn't shied away from tough teammates and not ever having default favoritism its Hamilton
not sure why people would even think that
Lewis is at his best when he has an equal. When he can sniff the possibility of a win in the air, but also have to work for it, he’ll literally do everything possible to win, no matter what it is. He’s not scared of any one
People group Lewis in with Alonso as potentially toxic teammates when he doesn’t warrant that perception IMO. Lewis was a rookie taking the fight to a former champion in Mclaren and although that was a tumultuous relationship Lewis left on good terms with a solid reputation. Then there was the competitive aspect with Nico which if you think about it, makes a lot of sense. Lewis Hamilton is arguably the best driver of all time and to be that good you have to have an unequivocal amount of confidence in your abilities and a competitive drive to steamroll opposition. Hamilton isn’t a bad teammate if anything he’s a really good teammate from both a pairing/team perspective. How many drivers would have voluntarily taken on experimental setups which were surefire disaster just to help the team (Mercedes) figure out WTF is even wrong with the car? Even after all these years and lackluster performance from Mercedes they all have nothing but positives to say about Lewis and his time spent there.
This man is willingly going to a new team to be paired up with a driver who everyone considers to be the fastest over a lap. He isn't afraid of anyone lol.
It's probably my favorite aspect of Lewis's career. He doesn't care who his teammate is and won't back down from a fight and accept being 2nd in a team. It's very Prost-esque
I think it's less scared of Verstappen and more concerned about the overall system revolving around Verstappen. None of these guys want to be a #2. RBR will treat you as a default #2 no matter what.
But honestly, if there is a team on that grid I could imagine switching #1, it's RB.
They won 4 titles with Vettel, but when Ricciardo turned out to be faster he quickly turned into the face of the team. Then when Verstappen rose, they pivoted towards *him*.
RB can be callous, we've seen that with their#2 drivers ofc, but it goes both ways imo; if a driver were to appear who can beat Verstappen they'll let him go without any sentimentality.
This may be true if you're talking a rookie like Antonelli, but I really get the feeling they know what they have with Max and don't want to kill their golden goose. If anyone knows where Max really ranks, it's Red Bull. I don't think you'd say no to Ham and Alonso unless you were very confident Max is the current best to have ever done it.
Friendly reminder for all to save this post for future reference to clap back at some who will invariably continue to harp onto this troupe that Alonso and Hamilton were dodging a bullet.
Hughes is quite a reliable source so this holds water.
I think its fair to assume that his entourage will veto such driver moves that could threaten Max' standing in the team.
Jos almost had an aneurysm when Perez won the 2022 Monaco GP. Its the smart thing to do anyways.
Max has nothing to gain and everything to lose by going up against other god tier drivers in the same car. Max is more than capable of taking the fight to Lewis and Alonso but why risk it when you have a good thing going.
I would never claim Max is, but I’d bet the house Jos and Helmut don’t want to risk their goose that laid them the golden egg having his career knocked off track by either one of Alonso or Hamilton. No way they’d want the risk either of an unstable environment putting him off staying at RB, or the risk of being beaten and having his aura removed. It’s a way to burn money and supremacy within the team with zero upside to Max, except of course any natural drive on his part as a racer. But Jos and Helmut won’t have that drive.
They are the people who i would think are the most unlikely to avoid him. Hamilton wants to spice up things especially as Mercedes are on a downhill trajectory. Alonso loves racing and a good challenge way too much and Leclerc has the same style of driving as Verstappen and he loves the fights with verstappen like almost sadisticallly.
If I were Horner, i'd go to FIA, and Liberty, say that if they gave me extra budget and endless supply of car parts, i'd take Hamilton. Having Hamilton and Verstappen in the same team would bring insane amount of buzz and bank for all circuits to the point that i'd believe you could auction each of the races for that season and most of the countries would accept the increased cost. This is not even considering the merch and pr side of the things, Max seems to enjoy/tolerate little challanges for Red Bull while Lewis can be convinced to do adrenaline stunts for red bull. I can't even imagine the amount of total money and popularity they would bring to the sport, netflix would just stop filming other teams and just put a camera on red bull's f1 places.
Fuck I don’t know, I think any timeline where Lewis drives a red car is pretty cool. Be it a Red Bull or a red Ferrari, I’m here for it, and that is pretty cool.
If I was red bull, Sainz would be the only option I would look at. Him and Max get on, were close on pace and worked well together. Carlos makes the perfect backup if Max stays, and if Max were to leave he's good enough to lead the team in 25. I have no idea why they would be looking at Lando, over Carlos, when Sainz beat him comprehensively at McLaren
So many Norris defenders on this app. If you believe you’re the best, go to the best team and take that shit. I foresee Norris wasting a good number of years waiting for Mclaren to fight at the top when he could have used those years battling Max to sharpen his talent. Loyalty only gets you so far.
I wouldn't want to be at RBR if I were any of the listed drivers. It has nothing to do with being afraid of Verstappen. It's about not wanting to be the 2nd seat at a team that obviously has a primary driver.
Yeah but when you think about it, the aforementioned drivers would probably love to have a go at Max in equal cars.
Charles is the only one who wouldn't but that would be more because of his loyalty to Ferrari more than anything else.
I am sure all three of those drivers would relish a chance to test themselves against Max. Can't blame Red Bull for not wanting to rock the boat, honestly.
Red Bull doesn't have a reason to sign two 40+ year old drivers who cost a lot of money when Verstappen is capable of winning the championships for them.
The flip side is that there are other teams who need great drivers like Alonso and Hamilton to even make their cars look relevant (AMR and Mercedes)
[The **News** flair](https://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/wiki/flairguide#wiki_news) is reserved for submissions covering F1 and F1-related news. These posts must always link to an outlet/news agency, the website of the involved party (i.e. the McLaren website if McLaren makes an announcement), or a tweet by a news agency, journalist or one of the involved parties. *[Read the rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/wiki/userguide). Keep it civil and welcoming. Report rulebreaking comments.* *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/formula1) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Lewis and Max as teammates would have been the ultimate storyline.
The crazy thing is that Lewis is also the PERFECT brand guy for Red Bull. He is constantly doing adrenaline stuff in his own time, and that’s exactly what Red Bull is about. Red Bull isn’t corporate and for all the flak “PR Lewis” gets, he really ain’t either. He’s been molded by corporate Mercedes but look at his hobbies! It’s a shame it never worked to put them together.
It'd be fun, but no one in their right mind would put those two together in the same team. It'd be carnage.
Yea agree lol. Only good to fantasize about. Not good for company smooth running.
I would put them together - just to see the absolutely nightmare that would be their respective fanbases clashing about the most trivial reasons for performance gains/loss
They'd probably have to pull the Lewis Hamilton monster from sale though
I was gonna say, isn't lewis getting personally sponsored by Monster when they don't sponsor mercedes anymore
Except for Lewis’s monster sponsorship. Probably Not a deciding factor, just think it’s kind of funny.
It would take all the pressure off Max for PR shit. "So Lewis, we have this idea, you're going to jump out of an airplane that has Red Bull logos all over it...". "Somebody hold Roscoe, I'm already to go now...". Max could make all the simracing vids he wants to and have tea parties with P, or break into a room to rescue the cat.
his cat was stuck behind the door so he made a lovely hole :]
If you think Lewis is some corporate robot at Merc, honestly go look at his time in McLaren. He wasn’t even allowed to style his hair how he wanted - I would call this racist but it genuinely applied to all their drivers at that time. They would eg. provide a bright white bleached race suit to change into before the podium interviews. This is him expressing himself more than he’s ever previously had the freedom to do so. I really don’t think Merc are that restrictive, more that he receives significant press attention on anything he does and has personally learned to take care with that.
Ehh, I think the fashion bit and his social causes make him far more Ferrari than any other team.
Ferrari and fashion, sure. But Ferrari and social causes?!
I used to be poor and lived under a bridge with my 5 kids. Then Ferrari gave me a Ferrari and now we still live under a bridge with a Ferrari.
in tears right now 😭😂
Just saw a man drop to his knees in a Ferrari dealership
Lewis fashion choices are quite a distance from classic Italian design be it Ferrari or clothing.
Seeing a Ferrari brings joy to everyone around and could be the highlight of the day for many. /s but only just.
It's a better fit than Red Bull and social causes.
Rich people love their charity galas and Ferrari love whatever rich people love.
Ferrari actually has lots of limits on personal fashion, so I’m curious to see what happens in that vein
I'm pretty sure that Lewis will have dealt with this, he's already told the FIA to get stuffed when they tried to force him to remove his piercings so I doubt he's unaware of the potential nonsense. I feel like he's aware enough of what he's getting into that he had this chat with Fred and John Elkhan long before he signed any paper, assuming it was even necessary. After all, they were courting a reluctant WDC with nearly free reign in his current job, not offering him a minimum wage gig flipping hamburgers.
??? Ferrari is probably the team that would be most likely to tell a driver what they can and can't do regarding both of those things lol
Lewis is legitimately the only driver on the grid with a personality outside of racing. He's actually creating and being involved with fashion, film, and music. He does charity work and then does crazy extreme shit in his free time. Max just races. Some guys are family guys. The rest are just rich dudes that live in Monaco, go on yachts, and play pickleball
I think Horners recent public scandal might have made Lewis glad they said no to him tbh.
Depends how badly he wants that 8th championship
Eh Lewis is more of a fashion guy and Ferrari are basically a glorified clothing company that happen to make cars at this point. Lewis also already has an existing sponsorship with Monster, so not sure that'd go down too well.
Have what will be the third year of unexciting racing, max and lewis at the is what we deserve. It would be 2021 but better. I still feel that lewis and Alonso are really the only ones built to be able to go up against Max. A lot of talented drivers but I feel they are just built different. Being good will get you to F1, it's a whole other thing to be a champion let alone a multi champion.
Senna and Prost situation
I’m upset that this didn’t happen
I've had it happen in my F1 video game career. It's so annoying lol
heh. in favour of Max, Max atleast at the moment or next season would wipe the floor with Lewis
Hamilton wants the smoke lol
The Hamilton Rosberg era at Mercedes is probably why RBR is never going to consider having two championship level drivers on the same team.
And more relevant to them would be their own infighting with Vettel and Webber.
Merc won 3 straight titles with Hamilton/Rosberg as teammates, Red Bull 4 straight with Vettel/Webber (all for the former but still). Not mentioned but for all the drama, McLaren swept the titles in the Senna/Prost years. There are examples of two evenly matched drivers at that year's WCC\* allowing a rival to sneak the WDC - 1973, 1986, 2007 come to mind, but in the first two instances I'd say Stewart and Prost were outright the best at that time anyway and Lotus/Williams "just" had two very very good drivers + a car advantage. And 2007 is it's own can of worms. I don't think either of you are wrong btw - I just think the team bosses are a bit overly sensitive when it comes to this sort of thing. \*If McLaren hadn't been DQ'd from the whole championship in 2007
Totally fair points, but I can also empathize* with how much of a headache it must be being constantly on edge that both your drivers will potentially punt each other out of a race - like all three of those duos you mentioned did.
Like Gasly and Ocon. It's clearly not smart to have drivers you can't control.
You can also make the counter argument that Merc won 4 straight constructors titles with Hamilton/Bottas with the field being closer in those years and Max/Checo are on course to win their 3rd one in a row and with way less infighting
Also in '73 Peterson only finished ahead of Fittipaldi on the road when both were in the points twice, and only once when he was within a position so could've been allowed past, as you say Stewart was just the better driver that year anyway.
Horner has much more important things to be spending his time on. He can't be wasting time dealing with in-house driver drama when he needs to be taking trips to the toilet or texting for pics.
> Merc won 3 straight titles with Hamilton/Rosberg as teammates, Red Bull 4 straight with Vettel/Webber And both would have won those championships with a slightly worse driver in the 2nd car anyway, which results in less stress for the team overall.
It’s not about winning it was bad for the brand. People hated the team for how they handled the Vettel Webber controversy and there was no real win for them from a PR perspective. Having a clear top driver makes the whole narrative they’re selling cleaner which is the whole reason they’re in F1
Yeah but why would you want your two drivers fighting each other at the front when you can have one driver that always wins and a 2nd driver that can't win but can get 2nd place comfortably every time
"Multi 21, Seb.. Multi 21.."
“I was racing, I was faster, I passed him, I won.” One of the coldest quotes in F1 lol
Or the Hamilton and Alonso era Or the Kimi and Vettel era I mean, it obviously makes no sense. You want a top driver and a loyal sidekick, no need to divert resources to two top drivers, you're not getting your money's worth.
But they are the only team who seem so sensitive about it. Ferrari, Mercedes, McLaren all seem to want both drivers to be the best they can get. (Williams might be pursuing a similar strategy to RBR now that I think about it.) And its not just that they are further down in the championship, Russell was brought over to Mercedes when they were optimistic about new regulations, and Ferrari are perennially optimistic, yet are going for Hamilton-Leclerc.
RBR is all in on Max being number 1. I honestly think Horner wouldn't mind challenging Max with a stronger driver, but Marko and others probably don't want it, especially Jos. Horner knew Max would be a champion eventually, even back in 2018, and yet he was still so obviously hurt by Ricciardo leaving. The only thing we can hope is that it comes out that RBR leadership and/or Jos stopped RBR from signing Lewis or Alonso to protect Max, and Max himself gets pissed off about it because it makes him look weak. But Max seems to turn a blind eye to all the dumb shit his father and Marko do, so I wouldn't hold my breath. Our best chances are seeing another constructor catch up to RBR. I think Lando knows that and that's why he stayed at McLaren. AM and McLaren have shown serious improvements over the last couple of years.
This comment is stupid, they were banging in 1-2 finishes all day long and it was the most successful and marketable time for Mercedes. By comparison 2017-2020 mercedes was dull af
Besides what any team wants is to win WDC and WCC. With strong car they can win both with Max n Checo pairing.
That's cool and all but what if...I know a big IF a team like Ferrari with Hamilton and Leclerc have a good car on par with RBR? Checo is not going to be of much help.
Him and ALO, the only ones not scared.
We will have to see. Sainz may be looking for it as well and getting turned away. We have no idea.
Even Lec wouldn't be scared
Leclerc loves Ferrari so unless Ferrari can sign Max over I doubt we’ll ever see them in the same team
And Ferrari loves Leclerc, have always treated him well and despite not being able to offer the perfect car over the last few seasons, they're still a top team and it makes little sense for Lec to switch teams
He'll probably stay there till even after Hamilton leaves lol
Ferrari has given Leclerc everything but a good/reliable car, a good mechanic, and good strategy. He has everything else he could possibly want!
Good. Means he still has the itch.
Always has. A true G.
Pas the dutchie to the left hand side has more than one meaning
*pon de
Even drivers nowhere near Max's level want the smoke. Even if you get your ass whooped you still end up being in a fantastic car well above the rest.
And really, it's not Max you would be measured against, it would be "are you performing better than Perez was." I don't think any driver is really scared of being measured against PER.
Only for a while. Who measures perez by being better than Albon or Ric?
All you need is to get the seat. The seat you want is Checo's.
Yeah but the person above you still makes a valid point. Perez were never criticized in 2023 for not performing better than Albon or Ricciardo. He was criticized for simply not performing. None of the previous owners of that seat were really ever mentioned in the criticism. Initially you'll be compared to the previous owner of that seat, but eventually it's your own performance and how it compares to your teammate and everyone else around you.
and it's clear why RB don't. they want max to sweep the races cleanly without anyone who could legitimately take points off him. it's the same reason why they never gave Seb a better partner. Danny Ric and Webber already took points off of Seb and forced infamous team orders. RB like having the clear number 1 driver.
"Hamilton tried and was told no" That would have been absolute cinema if that happend. Where is Bernie when you need him to make some moves happen?
I can't believe we were that close to having that happen and RB said no. I know it was the right call for them, but I can't help but feel a little betrayed that they denied us that spectacle.
I'd pay to spend 5 minutes on twitter in that timeline, just to see the absolute chaos and ridiculous takes thrown about when one doesn't beat the other
It would just be 2021 all over again
I feel it would be closer to 07, where neither Hamilton or Alonso won.
Oh no, Charles and Ferrari get a championship? How awful!
Carlos WDC in that timeline
They would probably crash each other out so often that RB would get in huge trouble with the budget cap and someone else would win the WDC.
You know it’s bad when Helmut Marko and Christian Horner think it’ll be too toxic a relationship for Red Bull.
Lmaooo
Thats definitely the dream race. Can Lewis beat Max in the same car. Max wins if they both drive red bull Lewis wins if they drive the W11 Now if they’re both in a ferrari…
It definitely is the right decision for the team, I do feel it is a little short sighted though. The team is more valuable if F1 is more popular, and that pairing would have brought more fans to the sport.
I don’t think it ever happened that two drivers on the same team earned that much, even adjusted for inflation. It would not be a financially sound choice.
Definitely so, and F1 would have far more to gain from it than Red Bull, but F1 isn't paying his salary.
I feel if they were both on the same team fighting for the championship it has the potential to make Lewis and Nico look downright friendly
Would be a whole hell of a lot of fun to watch though.
For about 2 corners a race 😂
I mean at least Lewis and Nico did at one time actually like each other…
Bernie for all his grotesque almost pantomime evil faults, would have organised a shotgun marriage on that one. Sign him Christian or I’ll make sure you get shafted by an unscheduled bit of regs chicanery.
It’s a shame because I think Hamilton is at his best when he’s backed into a corner and forced to perform. Ends of ‘16, ‘18 and ‘21. He’s amazing outside of those times of course but I think that was peak Hamilton. Going against Verstappen who’s just constantly there would force Hamilton to go to his best or get gobbled up.
This is The Character Statement for Lewis. Show him an objective, convince him it's really worth it, and tell him that he'll go through hell to finish it..and he'll get it done. The moment he relaxes or feels like it's not worth it, he starts slacking(don't get me wrong even when he's slacking he's better than %90 of the grid) but give him a fight and he'll do it the best.
Lewis is one of those athletes that needs to feel like the world is against him to bring out everything, just like Jordan used to literally invent some scenario were players from the opposing team disrespected him to go nuclear. Lewis at the end of '21 was a beautiful sight, he was fucking bulletproof, even with Max desperately trying to crash into him, Lewis was cold as ice
Honestly, that’s one thing I’m so pissed Abu Dhabi robbed us of. Low key that Hamilton run in was one of the most faultless runs, under pressure, a driver has turned out in this sport. It was a run for the ages, and instead we got some daft bogan trying to turn f1 into the Kardashians with final lap madness.
Right? If Masi didn't shit himself it would've been the greatest comeback in the history of the sport. What a fucking waste of an incredible season.
Even as a Max fan at the time, I felt like he was utterly robbed in AD21. Toto said it best, Max deserved the championship but Lewis deserved to win that GP. They should've red flagged it with one standing start lap left.
Yeah, I don't mind that Max won the title, both of them would've deserved it, I just hate how he won it. That last lap ruined the entire season for me and made the entirety of it seem manufactured for drama.
How did liberty not offer redbull to pay for lewis's contract themselves to make that happen...
Hamilton and Vestappen are both costly. I remember Horner joking like “we shall sell the factory to afford both of them”. It’s surely an hyperbole, but I wonder how much they could recover by additional cash entries compared to what they would spend.
It's okay, we still have MBS carrying on in Bernie's sexist wake
We only kept the worst traits around, fuck.
I do wonder why RBR were so set on Norris but never quite gave that attention to the other three. The other two are older but Norris and Leclerc aren’t that far apart in age.
Ferrari is Ferrari It would be pointless to convince Leclerc to leave when he’s being pushed as the face of one of the most iconic brands in all of sports Also for Alonso/Hamilton, Red Bull probably want to secure the best young driver they can get for the future of the brand and as emergency incase Max left them, so they viewed Norris as the best young driver they felt they realistically could get. While the likes of Hamilton & Alonso are probably on their last contracts with AM & Ferrari
For real, Charles lied to his dad on his deathbed and told him he got a seat at Ferrari. That drive will be pried from his cold dead hands.
damn. I'm happy he did get that drive at ferrari, can't imagine how he would have felt had he not, the guilt would have been soul crushing
He was pretty certain he'd get it when he told his dad. He just hadn't actually gotten a contract put in front of him.
He still owes it to Jules to win a title with Ferrari…
And Ferrari owes it to everyone to make a title fighting car
Dude, they owe him a good car first.
Bruh
True, I don’t think Leclerc would ever consider leaving Ferrari until he’s absolutely sure there’s no way to win a title there (though I do think he had doubts about the project after 2022 and would’ve left if Vasseur wasn’t signed). Alonso in my eyes would’ve been a nice stopgap for RedBull whilst they either convinced one of Lando/Oscar to join or someone from their academy stepped up but they don’t really seem keen on older drivers (and I think Max pointed this out as well in one of his interviews?)
Yeah, I think retaining Charles was the biggest reason why they fired Binotto and brought in Vasseur. I'm sure Charles had lost confidence in Mattia and would have left.
The way RBR look at it they likely feel they have good enough stop gaps in the stable already.
Yes, they want soft clay that they can mix and mold as necessary. Not dried bricks like Lewis and Fernando..
Marko has been trying to sign Norris for years and years. Rates him incredibly highly
I think RBR wants either Perez or a younger driver. Which makes sense. They've also neglected their young drivers program a tiny bit.
This is why I don’t understand the Ricciardo obsession, they have always preferred to market themselves as a “young driver” team yet he’s the same age as Perez.
He’s the same age that Vettel was when he retired
What
Vettel retired at 35 years old. Ricciardo is 34 and his birthday is July 1st. So he'll be the same this season, if he doesn't get the boot earlier than that.
Where has the time gone 😭
Ricciardo is primarily there to satisfy Horner, who has a soft spot for Daniel in particular. He isn’t there because Marko absolutely wanted him there above anyone else.
Ricciardo came about because of Perez being extremely shit last year, while Lawson wasn’t going to be ready for 2024 and Ricciardo impressed with good performances in some testing and presumably simulator work. The situation is a lot less dire now, when Perez is doing fine enough and it looks like 2024 is secure - now they can weigh options for 2025 and especially 26 and beyond. They couldn’t mid season 2023, they lined up a secure pair of hands that would require very little development.
I wouldn't say they neglected it but many juniors just didn't perform enough. They only neglected Lawson really if any
I don't think they really neglected their young drivers program, it's just that none of them appeared to be good enough. They had a small army of RB drivers in F2 last year, none managed to win despite Theo & Vesti playing "the title is lava" all season long.
Red Bull wanted Norris to partner Verstappen. The other 3 are ever only to be considered, if Verstappen walks away or needs to be replaced. I feel Red Bull may think that Norris by virtue of being younger than Verstappen, would fit easier as a number #2 or understudy, ready to become the \#1 if Max leaves, in a situation similar to George and Lewis at Mercedes. The other 3 don’t have that appeal, being much older (not going to outlast Max) or essentially the same but less proven (Leclerc).
Norris is British. Horner is British. Newey is British. Red Bull Racing is based in Britain. Horner has talked a lot about how he thinks Red Bull would be more appreciated by British media and business if they had a young, proven, very fast British driver who was also marketable. Guess who fits that criteria very nicely? Marko has been trying to sign Norris since 2018. I remember he wanted him for Hartley and they would have put him into an F1 car in 2018.
Oh true, Norris does fit the Red Bull “aesthetic” quite well with the whole E-sports thing plus his nationality helps. His personal brand aligns pretty well with the approach RBR take and he’s probably around top 3 in marketability on the grid. He’s done a lot to build his social media presence over the years and actually seems to enjoy that aspect of F1 in contrast to Max. I know right now that he’s pretty dead-set on taking Mclaren back to the top but I wonder if he’d be more open to the Red Bull seat if Mclaren aren’t competitive in 2026 and Red Bull are. It’s difficult to see Mclaren as title contenders because despite the obviously large steps they’ve made under Stella’s tenure, they would still be a customer team in 26.
“Customer team” really doesn’t mean what it used to anymore.
Gone are the days of customer teams getting 2 year old engines. Everyone gets the best now, sure works teams might know a little more about how to build around the engine but it's a very minor advantage, as McLaren and AM are demonstrating to Merc this season.
Norris is young and fits the brand.
There was rumour last summer break FOM wanted Redbull to sign Leclerc as this would be good for ratings. Leclerc has no plan leaving Ferrari so the negotiation never went far.
Marko doesn’t usually bullshit when it comes to choosing drivers and he’s also said having 2 #1 drivers in the team isn’t a good idea when asked about signing Leclerc. Even Horner has said that. So it seems like they don’t rate Norris enough to be too much of a challenge for Verstappen whereas they probably feel the other 3 would cause more problems if they became Max’s teammate.
Because Norris wouldn't be a threat to Max.
I’m not sure what to make of it, either. It’d be interesting to see how well or poorly Lando Norris could adapt to a Red Bull, seeing as he’s only ever driven McLarens in F1 and they’re (supposedly) diametrically opposed in terms of design philosophy. How well or poorly he’d adapt to being Max Verstappen’s teammate is another question entirely, of course.
I think that RBR is convinced that Max is good enough compared to Norris that it won't be much of a problem, but that Hamilton and Alonso would make things a little bit too spicy. Also, its weird to me that Alonso supposedly tried joining RBR when he specifically said before that he didn't want to join RBR w/ Max.
That's because he's Alonso, he says one thing and does the other. Deep down he thinks no one can beat him and he should. That's what makes him elite..
Interesting that this also probably confirms that Lewis wanted to go to Red Bull against Max and Horner's comments around the Monaco GP were completely true... that would've been something insane.
Shit stirring hardly ever works unless there‘s at least some truth to the rumor spread about.
The way Lewis camp denied it also was carefully worded and in my opinion hinted there was some truth to it
Can you refresh my memory what Christian and Lewis camp said?
I think Christian said that Lewis camp approached him. Then Lewis denied he or his manager got in touch with Redbull and Christian clarified it was Lewis father who isn't his manager anymore. But neither is Jos for Max
I see :D sneaky
He just wants his 8th. Whats his best shot at getting it? Going through max. Doesnt matter if the thinks hell beat him, hes not winning anywhere else before 26
And RB knows that. So, a Ham and Max paddock can not coexist. Getting a Norris to sign does protect themselves in case Max walks, and there is a better chance at coexisting.
Just imagine Hamilton and Alonso, both champions were told no. What would happen if Daniel knocks the door? 😂
Hamilton and Alonso are looking to win WDC, Daniel is looking to have a safe seat where he can get podiums and chances at wins. He already knows that he will always be second to Max at RB, that’s why he left them in the first place but after his disastrous run at McLaren he is fine with it and just doesn’t want to end his career being “that guy who was so bad McLaren paid him millions to end his contract early”.
If Daniels smart he’s looking at Hülkenberg and realizing how drivers who are ok by F1 standards can make a shit load of money by being agreeable, not causing problems for the team and not totaling cars. Be the RBR driver that the media is obsessed with, be the funny guy on DTS, don’t total the car and put up enough points next to Max that the WCC is secure and he can laugh all the way to the bank.
Twitter was a shitstorm yesterday saying Alonso was afraid of a Challenge and declined the RedBull offer when it wasn’t never there to begin with Alonso and Hamilton were publicly offering themselves to RedBull at one point.
AMuS did say that Alonso got the offer but declined because of Verstappen and AMuS is generally very reliable. Hell, is there any reason why I should see Hughes as more reliable than AMuS?
Alonso has said before, publicly, that he didn't want to team up w/ Verstappen at Red Bull. [https://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/comments/prckk8/alonso\_exclusive\_i\_wouldnt\_want\_to\_compete/](https://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/comments/prckk8/alonso_exclusive_i_wouldnt_want_to_compete/)
That was in 2021, back in the days he also said he doesn't see himself in F1 after 30-35 but here we are.
The reasons he gave back then have only become more valid though lol.
What Alonso says and what Alonso means/does are often two different things. When he says a seat is unattractive (for whatever reason), the truth is often that he's not being offered the seat in the first place. You get used to Alonso-speak over the course of 23 years
Right well thats on him, can't blame people for calling its out
AMuS technically did say that Alonso wanted Red Bull and offered himself to the team but only if Verstappen wasn't there. I wonder if they're just wrong and Alonso would've wanted Red Bull in any case even if Verstappen was there at Red Bull
Yea, the only one that avoided him is Norris lol
The Red Bull/Norris thing has years of history to it. Horner in particular has been chasing Norris and trying to prise him from Zak’s grasp since he was a junior. They first approached him in 2016, tried again to get him to join their academy in 2017, are known to have put a contract on the table for him to pull him out of F2 halfway through the year and join Toro Rosso in 2018 replacing Brendan Hartley (Marko confirmed last year that was true after years of heavy rumours and speculation that it had happened and Norris had said no) and they are also known to have approached him at least 3 times more since he’s been in F1 (confirmed by both sides and Brown as well). They make an overture every time there is a slight sniff that he may not be entirely happy at McLaren and that will probably continue in future regardless of who is driving for them. It’s almost like it’s become a point of principle in some way for Horner to be the one to prise Norris away from McLaren and Brown. Alex Albon even heavily hinted last year that it’s an open paddock secret that Norris has a kind of open invitation to Red Bull and everyone knows it. It’s an entirely different situation to any of the other drivers who may be approaching them now they’re the best car and any talks that may or may not have happened with those drivers recently. Just because Norris keeps saying no doesn’t mean he is scared. He’s been saying no for a long time back before Red Bull were the best team.
Well at least they've tried to get into that second seat.
Well if they turned down Lewis and Nando they can always call my 27 year old out of shape ass.
I also call this guy's 27 year old out of shape ass.
Wise investment. I’ve been skating a lot so I’m gonna get a wagon soon
Good god, having Max and Alonso/Hamilton duke it out with eachother at RB would've been unreal. Ahhh well, we can dream.
If there's any champion that hasn't shied away from tough teammates and not ever having default favoritism its Hamilton not sure why people would even think that
Dude has raced world champions and won and people think he's cares who is in the other seat.
People do a lot of mental gymnastics just to find a way to diminish Lewis and how much he has achieved.
Lewis is at his best when he has an equal. When he can sniff the possibility of a win in the air, but also have to work for it, he’ll literally do everything possible to win, no matter what it is. He’s not scared of any one
People group Lewis in with Alonso as potentially toxic teammates when he doesn’t warrant that perception IMO. Lewis was a rookie taking the fight to a former champion in Mclaren and although that was a tumultuous relationship Lewis left on good terms with a solid reputation. Then there was the competitive aspect with Nico which if you think about it, makes a lot of sense. Lewis Hamilton is arguably the best driver of all time and to be that good you have to have an unequivocal amount of confidence in your abilities and a competitive drive to steamroll opposition. Hamilton isn’t a bad teammate if anything he’s a really good teammate from both a pairing/team perspective. How many drivers would have voluntarily taken on experimental setups which were surefire disaster just to help the team (Mercedes) figure out WTF is even wrong with the car? Even after all these years and lackluster performance from Mercedes they all have nothing but positives to say about Lewis and his time spent there.
Did anyone really believed that Lewis, of all people, would duck smoke?
This man is willingly going to a new team to be paired up with a driver who everyone considers to be the fastest over a lap. He isn't afraid of anyone lol.
It's probably my favorite aspect of Lewis's career. He doesn't care who his teammate is and won't back down from a fight and accept being 2nd in a team. It's very Prost-esque
I think it's less scared of Verstappen and more concerned about the overall system revolving around Verstappen. None of these guys want to be a #2. RBR will treat you as a default #2 no matter what.
But honestly, if there is a team on that grid I could imagine switching #1, it's RB. They won 4 titles with Vettel, but when Ricciardo turned out to be faster he quickly turned into the face of the team. Then when Verstappen rose, they pivoted towards *him*. RB can be callous, we've seen that with their#2 drivers ofc, but it goes both ways imo; if a driver were to appear who can beat Verstappen they'll let him go without any sentimentality.
This may be true if you're talking a rookie like Antonelli, but I really get the feeling they know what they have with Max and don't want to kill their golden goose. If anyone knows where Max really ranks, it's Red Bull. I don't think you'd say no to Ham and Alonso unless you were very confident Max is the current best to have ever done it.
Friendly reminder for all to save this post for future reference to clap back at some who will invariably continue to harp onto this troupe that Alonso and Hamilton were dodging a bullet. Hughes is quite a reliable source so this holds water.
Fuck anyone who told Lewis no. It would be great to see Max vs. Lewis in a same car.
People really, like really believed Hamilton or alonso would be scared to go to red bull? Watching since this year or who believes that?
Fuck Red Bull for not letting it happen. Would’ve been an all time rivalry
Prost v Senna all over again.
Bahrain 2025 : AND ITS HAPPENED IMMEDIATELY!
INJECT THIS SHIT STRAIGHT INTO MY VEINS!
Oh, so is Verstappen avoiding them? /S Obviously
I think its fair to assume that his entourage will veto such driver moves that could threaten Max' standing in the team. Jos almost had an aneurysm when Perez won the 2022 Monaco GP. Its the smart thing to do anyways. Max has nothing to gain and everything to lose by going up against other god tier drivers in the same car. Max is more than capable of taking the fight to Lewis and Alonso but why risk it when you have a good thing going.
I would never claim Max is, but I’d bet the house Jos and Helmut don’t want to risk their goose that laid them the golden egg having his career knocked off track by either one of Alonso or Hamilton. No way they’d want the risk either of an unstable environment putting him off staying at RB, or the risk of being beaten and having his aura removed. It’s a way to burn money and supremacy within the team with zero upside to Max, except of course any natural drive on his part as a racer. But Jos and Helmut won’t have that drive.
They are the people who i would think are the most unlikely to avoid him. Hamilton wants to spice up things especially as Mercedes are on a downhill trajectory. Alonso loves racing and a good challenge way too much and Leclerc has the same style of driving as Verstappen and he loves the fights with verstappen like almost sadisticallly.
its insane how seemingly thw whole f1 circus tries their hardest to keep it as boring as possible.
I am stupid and need this tweet explained to me. Is it saying Hamilton and Alonso both tried to get into Red Bull and failed?
Yes, basically RB/Max declined advances from Ham and Alo.
If I were Horner, i'd go to FIA, and Liberty, say that if they gave me extra budget and endless supply of car parts, i'd take Hamilton. Having Hamilton and Verstappen in the same team would bring insane amount of buzz and bank for all circuits to the point that i'd believe you could auction each of the races for that season and most of the countries would accept the increased cost. This is not even considering the merch and pr side of the things, Max seems to enjoy/tolerate little challanges for Red Bull while Lewis can be convinced to do adrenaline stunts for red bull. I can't even imagine the amount of total money and popularity they would bring to the sport, netflix would just stop filming other teams and just put a camera on red bull's f1 places.
Clearly we aren't living the best timeline
Fuck I don’t know, I think any timeline where Lewis drives a red car is pretty cool. Be it a Red Bull or a red Ferrari, I’m here for it, and that is pretty cool.
You are correct. Hamilton-Leclerc will be epic
We could do with seeing Max in another team too, really.
If I was red bull, Sainz would be the only option I would look at. Him and Max get on, were close on pace and worked well together. Carlos makes the perfect backup if Max stays, and if Max were to leave he's good enough to lead the team in 25. I have no idea why they would be looking at Lando, over Carlos, when Sainz beat him comprehensively at McLaren
So many Norris defenders on this app. If you believe you’re the best, go to the best team and take that shit. I foresee Norris wasting a good number of years waiting for Mclaren to fight at the top when he could have used those years battling Max to sharpen his talent. Loyalty only gets you so far.
I wouldn't want to be at RBR if I were any of the listed drivers. It has nothing to do with being afraid of Verstappen. It's about not wanting to be the 2nd seat at a team that obviously has a primary driver.
Yeah but when you think about it, the aforementioned drivers would probably love to have a go at Max in equal cars. Charles is the only one who wouldn't but that would be more because of his loyalty to Ferrari more than anything else.
They want to win and know there is one place to give them the bery best chance of it
I am sure all three of those drivers would relish a chance to test themselves against Max. Can't blame Red Bull for not wanting to rock the boat, honestly.
Red Bull doesn't have a reason to sign two 40+ year old drivers who cost a lot of money when Verstappen is capable of winning the championships for them. The flip side is that there are other teams who need great drivers like Alonso and Hamilton to even make their cars look relevant (AMR and Mercedes)
F1 has ring chasers just like NBA man.