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[racechick]

In fairness to Mercedes, they said they wouldn't talk to any other driver while Lewis was fighting for the championship, and they kept to their word. They've also said repeatedly that their preferred option is the current line up. The rest is speculation.

Maybe they're worried Lewis is prevaricating to see how Honda turns out, and if it turns out with massive potential, maybe they're worried Lewis will go back home

Lewis is doing his own contract negotiations this year, maybe he just wants a break first.

Maybe Lewis IS waiting to see how Honda turns out.

Too many maybes, I'm pretty sure Mercedes will be desperate to hang on to Lewis, but they can't look desperate. So they have to talk the talk. ' we have the fastest car, so if Lewis doesn't sign, we can attract the best that's left' sort of message. I don't think there's anything to worry about......yet.

[CookinFlat6]

The fact that Alonso is mentioned indicates the academic nature of this rehashed quote
Who in their right mind really thinks Merc would have an interest in replacing Lewis by paying double what he is on to Honda to buy Alonso out, and then pay the retirement age Alonso even more before he starts getting whipped by the new generation headed by Lewis at a rival giant car firm flush with the cash they just heisted from Merc

I mean please, lets have some sanity here, lewis is obviously holding out from signing or from even negotiating yet, that much is obvious. And that is no big coincidence when his biggest card right niw is his attractiveness as wdc to any team at all who have a product to sell and the money to buy guaranteed marketing results upfront.

Say one of mercs rivals decides to enter f1, poaching lewis would be worth 100 mill to them before he even gets in the car. So why should Lewis commit now for multiple years when he could do so in 7 months time? This will also increase his value.
Its like buying a mobile phone, if you buy one that comes with a 3 year contract its much cheaper than one that has no contract terms and can be used on any network

Merc need Lewis to sign now for as long as poss and as cheap as poss. Lewis wants to stay attractive and see his value rise as long as possible and then get paid the most for the shortest commitment from his side. And in the meantime whats Merc to do? Do exactly what they are doing. Ofcourse they have other options - both are in contracts so lewis is not stupid enough to get upset that they are holding hands with the 'target'

Its like the boy band member who has to oretend he doesnt have a gf so his fans think he has more value to them, and he says things like 'my fave woman is my mom or some unachievable woman'

[sagi58]

...Too many maybes...

One more maybe: there might be more going on behind closed doors that we're not privy to!

And, you're right...

...The rest is speculation...

But, I guess we gotta do something to keep our keyboards busy, until the cars roll out...
in another month...

[Hammer278]

I don't see Merc doing anything wrong....in the end they are a business and any individual is expendable. All this talk is just ongoing 'negotiations'....they gave Lewis the freedom to focus on his WDC in 2014 and they have the freedom to resume negotiations when both parties are ready.

If Merc said something like "If Lewis doesn't sign with us we have no other options" I'd just call them dumb. Which they aren't.

[The Second Coming]

I get all the ifs, ands or buts...I'm not silly. All I'm saying is, I'm not a fan of Mercedes going in public domain to openly talk about their first and second options when discussion with Lewis haven't even begun. I can see someone like Ron Dennis or Flavio doing that but I expected more from Mercedes. Lewis has been heard repeatedly describe Mercedes as his home and wants to stay their long-term so I don't see them believing their is a possibility that he would leave, especially to that developing hornets nest that is McLaren. On Mercedes side, it's one thing to harbor thoughts of a backup plan if Lewis ask for the moon and the stars but keep that stuff in-house. Be respectful of the people involved and the process. That's all I'm saying.

[Hammer278]

Lewis once called McLaren his home as well. Who's to say if things get awry at Mercedes, Lewis would stay and take the sh!t (lets say Nico suddenly gets no.1 status lol) and not leave?

Both stated their intentions, Mercedes said Lewis is their no.1 choice and they are waiting for him....but what's wrong with stating their 2nd n 3rd choices? They have 2 cars, this is a warning for Rosberg as well. If Nico wants to pull tantrums, he'd hear the same sentence in his head. I don't think it's Wolff's way of making Lewis feel bad, he's just name dropping drivers who could potentially race for Mercedes in the future in case of sh!t happens.

[The Second Coming]

Right...

[CookinFlat6]

Merc didn't call a press conference to declare Alonso and Bottas were now targets in case etc

Toto was asked for his plan b by the media when discussing the team plans and was asked if Alonso and Bottas were still the alternatives like he said ages ago (before they got tied up) I.e 'Toto your targets are not available, aren't you panicking in case you know who does you know what?' Toto said before that Merc would go for the best drivers and they still will contract or no contract cos they can - so that's what Toto said

Now, if he had said 'we are talking to Suttil or Koba of Mags' then that would be the time to start up the Nuremburg trials again and hang someone

Till then Lewis is flexing his pecs and savouring this window that every driver dreams of

He doesn't really need the extra dosh from Merc as the commercial freedom he has plus the WDC guarantee a huge income rise, he just wants to be the highest paid driver - the top dog

In fact if Seb was on 50 and Lewis on less than 80, it could actually cheapen Merc
O

[What's Burning?]

You guys have seen Rob Wilson, he's actually a long time racing driver, been around the block in everything from NASCAR to INDY to Le Mans and a bunch of GT series racing. His claim to fame however is as a driver trainer and the fact that he's had his hand on the bulk of F1 drivers on the grid today.

Part of that training was taking each and every driver down a peg or two when they get to him by having them go set a lap time in a street car around a circuit, and then he'd come in and beat their time. No better way to underscore to an impressionable racing driver that you've got something to teach them than by besting them at their own game.

Well, he's mentioned that the only two drivers that he was not able to best were Kimi which matched his time on the first attempt and beat his time on the second attempt, and Lewis who beat his time on the first attempt. For some reason though, he's remained enamored by Kimi while at the same time propagating all of the negative stereotypes we've come to know and love about Lewis. Can't save tires, can't save fuel, doesn't think ahead, isn't capable of understanding the 2014 complexities in the car.

Here's are Rob's gems from the driver pairing comparisons at the beginning of the season last year. First, what he said about the Kimi/Alonso match up and his swooning prediction over Raikkonen's prowess.

[youtube]RXNqxgfA5jQ[/youtube]

Then his prediction on the Rosberg/Hamilton match up, guess who he's picking to have the upper hand.

[youtube]et2LX_i33nk[/youtube]

Well, saw this the other day and Joe Macari made him eat crow right away with no delay.

[youtube]u8VP1ZwSGeU[/youtube]

I can't wait for the 2015 predictions.

[CookinFlat6]

Yeah Rob Wilson is a lame duck of the old school. it doesnt matter what he really thinks of Lewis, his first instinct will always be to appeal to the status quo and say what he feels will appeal to the status quo. Picking on Lewis is the easy option, even the boycotts will understand what he is saying and automatically give him some credibility.

Its so funny listening to these idiots now, but I bet there is still someone who listened to that stuff before and now still thinks lewis is hard on his fuel compared to the cerebrals

[What's Burning?]

Found this floating around, curious if it hints at a whiter livery for the scuderia for the Marlboro man.

http://store.ferrari.com/de_de/scuderia ... -2015.html

[sagi58]

Steven De Groote wrote:">FIA formalises virtual safety car rules

As part of the publication of the 2015 Formula One regulations, the FIA has finalised the details of the new virtual safety car system in an attempt to improve safety while marshals are on track.

The Sporting Regulations stipulate the VSC procedure may be initiated to neutralise a race upon the order of the clerk of the course. It will normally be used when double waved yellow flags are needed on any section of track and competitors or officials may be in danger, but the circumstances are not such as to warrant use of the safety car itself.

"When the order is given to initiate the VSC procedure a message "VSC DEPLOYED" will be displayed on the official messaging system and all FIA light panels will display “VSC”."

Under these conditions, "No car may be driven unnecessarily slowly, erratically or in a manner which could be deemed potentially dangerous to other drivers or any other person at any time whilst the VSC procedure is in use. This will apply whether any such car is being driven on the track, the pit
entry or the pit lane."

No car may enter the pits whilst the VSC procedure is in use unless it is for the purpose of changing tyres.

All competing cars must reduce speed and stay above the minimum time set by the FIA ECU at least once in each marshalling sector (a marshalling sector is defined as the section of track between each of the FIA light panels). All cars must also be above this minimum time when the FIA light panels change to green (see 41.7 below).

Evidently, stewards may impose penalties on any driver who fails to stay above the minimum time as required by the above.

When it is deemed safe to race again, the message "VSC ENDING" will be displayed on the official messaging system and, at any time between 10 and
15 seconds later, “VSC” on the FIA light panels will change to green and drivers may continue racing immediately. After 30 seconds the green lights will be extinguished.

Each lap completed whist the VSC procedure is in use will be counted as a race lap, as with the normal safety car.

[sagi58]

, William Esler and Pete Gill wrote:">FIA scraps double points at F1 finale among a host of rule changes for 2015

Standing restarts won't be used; Virtual Safety Car to be introduced; Safety Car to no longer wait for lapped cars to catch pack; 10-second penalties added to list of driver sanctions; Super Licence age increased to 18 from 2016

...Following successful trials after practice sessions in 2014, a Virtual Safety Car will be introduced next year. “It will normally be used when double-waved yellow flags are needed on any section of track and competitors or officials may be in danger, but the circumstances are not such as to warrant use of the Safety Car itself,” the FIA confirmed.

In another new procedure, the Safety Car will now pit once the last lapped car has passed, rather than waiting for lapped cars to catch the pack.

Following a Safety Car period the races will resume with a normal rolling start behind the leader after the standing starts proposal was rescinded...

...the replacement of an entire power unit will no longer result in a pitlane start in 2015. Instead, penalties will be applied cumulatively for individual components of the power unit. Grid penalties for power unit components will no longer carry over to the following race if the entire penalty cannot be served. Time penalties will be introduced instead, running on a sliding scale depending on the number of penalty places still to be served.

A ten-second stop-and-go penalty, which can be served before a pitstop is carried out, will be introduced in 2015 after a similar five-second stop/go penalty was successfully introduced for 2014. If the penalty is imposed in the final three laps and isn't taken, 30 seconds will be added to the driver's race time.

Any pitstop release during a race deemed to be unsafe will trigger a ten-second stop-and-go penalty, as will three reprimands during the season.

If a team member or any team equipment remain on the grid after the 15-second signal is sounded, the associated car must start from the pitlane.

In a further tweak, instead of entering parc ferme conditions at the start of Practice Three, a car will only be considered to be in parc ferme from the beginning of Qualifying.

If a race is suspended ‘because the circuit is blocked by an accident or because weather or other conditions make it dangerous to continue’, the cars will be instructed to return to the pitlane rather than the grid. ‘The first car to arrive in the pit lane should proceed directly to the pit exit staying in the fast lane, all the other cars should form up in a line behind the first car,’ states the amended regulation.

The minimum weight of the 2015 cars will also be increased slightly to 702kg without fuel, up from the originally planned 701kg. In 2014 the cars had a minimum weight of 691kg.

After two pre-season trips to Bahrain 12 months ago, all three winter tests this year will be take place 'within Europe' - with Jerez and Barcelona chosen. 2014's four in-season tests have been halved, with two two-day in-season meets instead scheduled to start on the Tuesdays after the Spanish and Austrian GPs in May and June respectively. The governing body have also stipulated that 'Each team must allocate at least two of the above days for young driver training tests' with a young driver defined as not having previously participated in two or more GPs.

Teams will also be permitted to run their 2015 cars at two demonstration events during the year.

The FIA have also made revisions to the requirements to obtain a Super Licence which will apply from 2016. The changes will mean drivers must be aged 18 or over and have completed at least two years in junior formulae.

[Hammer278]

In another new procedure, the Safety Car will now pit once the last lapped car has passed, rather than waiting for lapped cars to catch the pack.

DAFAQ?

So what if the last cars (lapped) passes the leader just before the pit entrance, does the SC pit and the leader have to lap those clowns again?

Why do we need the lapped cars to pass anyway? I remember in the 90s (probably always been that way?) its just bad luck if 2nd place has about 3-4 cars in between himself and the leader, but that's racing and the challenge he has to overcome to catch up!

If we want to spice up the racing, then why not just let all lapped cars fall back to where they belong - at the back of the pack.

[1Lemon]

In another new procedure, the Safety Car will now pit once the last lapped car has passed, rather than waiting for lapped cars to catch the pack.

DAFAQ?

So what if the last cars (lapped) passes the leader just before the pit entrance, does the SC pit and the leader have to lap those clowns again?

Why do we need the lapped cars to pass anyway? I remember in the 90s (probably always been that way?) its just bad luck if 2nd place has about 3-4 cars in between himself and the leader, but that's racing and the challenge he has to overcome to catch up!

If we want to spice up the racing, then why not just let all lapped cars fall back to where they belong - at the back of the pack.

The falling back issue is contentious, the FIA wanted it but the top end teams complained that a car is using less fuel and tyres, in effect gets one free lap. I mean this is like Red Bull, Ferrari and Merc complaining that Marussia and Caterham get an advantage...

No the SC doesn't have to pass, basically what happened in 2014/13 was the lapped cars were all going in front of the safety car, then driving to the back of the entire field before the safety car pitted, this was what was causing us to have 2/3 laps of extra SC for no reason as the backmarkers slowly made their way to the back following a lap delta. In 2015 once the last car has passed the SC then it can pit and the race can continue, irrelevant of where they are on track, which should get rid of the 2/3 random laps. Makes a lot of sense but just letting them drop to the back makes more but hey ho.