TBK-Light.com

_________________
Check out the Touring Car Driver Database! (if you'd be so kind)
Motorsport playlists on YouTube

Been sick in bed for 2 days, missed much?

Makes sense for Lewis, Vettel went from dominant and hated at red bull to being loved unreservedly despite throwing away championships with his own mistakes (on top of the mandatory ferrari mistakes of course)

Also doesn't give me much hope for 24 though, Lewis has seemingly sat in this year's car/done sim work and thought "fuck this, not gonna happen" and decided to end his career in style
If he is even somewhat compettitive at his age in the red team, he'll cement his legendary status forever (as if he still has anything to prove) and put away the "it's just the car" idiots who'll have no leg to stand on

I doubt he'll get a championship out of it but a few wins here and there, why not

Also I got the impression over the last year he was not happy with Mercedes development path and not feeling listened to by the team, so now is the time to make the jump, if any

I'm sure we can all go back to 2012 posts and find plenty of "what a shit move, this'll never work, Merc will never win anything" posts, so lets just see how this one plays out, shall we?

_________________
RIP Birmingham Wheels: here's some of the crash videos I recorded when it was there:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIaKIE ... 5t9d5PvoHA

Twitter:

http://www.twitter.com/paulhadsley

Biggest shock driver news since Schumacher came back I reckon

_________________
"An idea whose time has come cannot be stopped by any army or any government"


3x TBKL rFactor Hillclimb champion

Unless he gets destroyed by Charles, who's undoubtedly going to have a lot of favor/support within Ferrari being their #1 poster boy.

So, you gotta wonder what impression the simulator gave Lewis of the 2024 car that he decided to trigger the escape clause and go to Ferrari.

Mercedes is trying hard to convice everybody that they have found the solution in the aero department and can be competetive after 2 years with these formula rules but something doesnt add up with Hamiltons departure.

Niki Lauda leaving Ferrari in the 70's mid race weekend

_________________
Follow me on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/135625678@N06/

Wasn´t that Brabham?

Yep and it was one of the worst driver moves ever

_________________
Follow me on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/135625678@N06/

George was half a second a lap faster with the improvements meant to help Lewis

Ya, hence why I said since

_________________
"An idea whose time has come cannot be stopped by any army or any government"


3x TBKL rFactor Hillclimb champion

I was sure he wouldn't leave McLaren, and I was even more sure he wouldn't leave Mercedes, I was wrong.

To be honest I think getting away from Mercedes and that fucking psychopath Toto Wolff can only be a good thing for Hamilton.

Ferrari really need to make the most of this, the last time they had a driver of this calibre was Alonso and I think he was flattering the team in those years. If the Ferrari is even half decent I think Hamilton can still win races.

I toss and turn between liking him and being neutral on him, but, I just see this as a marketing exercise. He will be 40 for the first race of 2025, I'm aware Raikkonen and Alonso kept going/are still going beyond 40, but they didn't exactly shoot the lights out like they did earlier in their careers. He will be great for the team, he is an awesome driver, he might even challenge LeClerc at times, but, surely Ferrari in the long term should be investing in up and coming drivers for the new car regs in 2026?

His first year, 2025, could also be a real shit show if they do what many teams did and cease car development early and focus on future development, at the cost of short term performance. Red Bull dominate, Ferrari find themselves a real mid team, by years end they'll be struggling to make Q3.

I mean, you can't blame him. One last big contract before he rides off into the sunset. I just don't see this as the smartest move for Ferrari, outside of the squillions they'll make selling LH44 hats for $100 a pop.

This is all complete bullshit. Carlos Sainz is the guy who has the pace and the strength to give the Scuderia an F1 title, when they get their shit together. Leclerc, however fast and likeable he is, will just bottle it when pressured.

So, yeah: Hamilton to Ferrari, feels like a dream. Keeping Charles: bullshit.

I was just thinking about the same thing. At the end of the day, in terms of results, is a 40 y/o Hamilton really going to be better than a 31 y/o Sainz? Especially considering Sainz seemed to be coming into his own last season and seemed to have the mental strength to be able to string together a title run, if Ferrari produce a capable car in 2025. As @

peterohanrahanrahan said could just be a marketing benefit for Ferrari. The time to go after Hamilton would've been a few seasons ago. Feel like they're going to be a tad late to the party.

Mercedes are the one hosed now since I presume Hamilton saw the early wind tunnel results and didn't want to bother doing the same poo third season in a row. They have an entire season of awkward staredowns ahead and we'll see if they give Hamilton the "beta" parts and all that jazz. Also we'll see if Russell can handle the pressure of being #1. There's no place for the "backup OB is the most liked guy on the team" stuff anymore.

_________________
07.04.1968 - Flower of Scotland when will we see your like again?
01.05.1994 - We'll never forget...

Weren't there whispers about Lewis chasing the Red Bull seat at some stage last year? Red Bull definitely made the smarter decision to not chase him back, in my opinion.

Ferrari in my opinion signed the wrong Mercedes driver. George Russell would have been better for their long term (although Russell just signed long term 6 weeks ago).

If Ferrari wanted a fast, marketable driver, they've missed a trick not signing Daniel Ricciardo. Not quite as marketable as Lewis, but probably the next best marketing option on the grid, also a lot younger than Lewis and a proven race winner, with Italian heritage too. Unless DR was already approached and knows sticking with the Red Bull family will get him Perez's seat.

What's funny is that the 2023-2024 silly season was the worst in history (not a single seat change), yet I'm gonna bet there was all this craziness in the background that didn't come to fruition.

What's going to be interesting is all the Hamilton fans who have been anti Ferrari and the Ferrari fans who have been anti Hamilton having to get along (yes, I am in that group )

_________________
"An idea whose time has come cannot be stopped by any army or any government"


3x TBKL rFactor Hillclimb champion