dan212

And this is I think the secret sauce with Kimi. People see Kimi as a reticent imp, but like Lauda was in his day, Kimi is exceptionally good at communicating with his engineers on setup to get the most out of the car. Vettel enjoyed the fruits of Kimi's Friday testing and tuning.

Ferrari may be investing in its future with Leclerc, but it will be interesting to see how well they handle the absence of Kimi's feedback to the engineers.
Ferrari's loss is Sauber's gain.

Sauber isn't just getting a better driver, the are getting a driver who will help them run a better car and a better team. As long as Kimi has fun with this he will be happy.

Of course... I am a big Kimi fan.

Imola74

Toto also really seems to want a third car per team..interesting. Can you imagine the internal politics if that were to happen? Plus, some teams can barely afford to run two cars as it stands. More cars would be great, but I don't know if thats really the ideal way to expand the grid. Encouraging new teams like somebody from the VW group (Porsche) or BMW making a comeback (won't because of formula e) is the better approach. I'm hopeful that when/if the new 2021 regs rid of the MGU-K (i think?) that it will spark interest in new power unit providers.

fatbillybob

Can you imagine the blocking with a 3rd car? Forget defending your line just get bottas and merc Jr. driver to go 2 wide on every turn while Hammy drives off in the distance. No thanks! I already don't know why I watch F1. Basically it is a 3 car race on a good day with 17 other cars as grid filler. Honestly SpecMiata seems more exciting.

LuigiVampa

This thread begs the questions why Bottas has a seat?

Hammy is in the lead for the WDC and Bottas is behind Kimi in the standings. If Kimi lost his seat why is no one talking about Bottas?

DTMiller

I think it's because he's a great teammate. He does the sacrificial things that will help the team but hurt the driver; his work at Monza is a good example but it isn't the only one. He's willing to come in 4th if it helps Lewis win. Constructors points is one area where 1 + 4 > 2 + 3.

LuigiVampa

Bottas is a true number 2 driver, but that being said, Kimi has more points so he is helping Ferrari more than Bottas is helping Merc!

While Kimi is not a number 2 driver, to the extent Bottas is, he is a good fit with Vettel.

DTMiller

Agreed, but this year Kimi might have a better car than Bottas does. Last year it wasn't close:

BF951

Ferrari has not been making good strategy calls for some time this season and last. I think Leclerc may struggle for success while also being made a sacrificial lamb like Kimi has been.
Sure you can race in the opening stages but you may be expected to also block, give up driving line on the start, take a less than optimal strategy so the other teams cover...yada, yada. It's hard to also get consistent podiums doing all that.

Paul Solk

Singapore really highlighted this question. Finished what, 40+ seconds back from his teammate and couldn't pass a Renault. I'll tell you what, had DR been where VB was behind Hulk I think he would have made a charge on Seb bc Seb's tire dropoff was so severe. I couldn't believe that Bottas on the yellows couldn't make up ANY time on Seb. That was bad...

LuigiVampa

I understand your point but if Hammy is beating Vettel and Kimi than Bottas should be right in there if he was an A-list driver.

Bottas is a solid driver but that's it. He doesn't know how to get his elbows out nor does he ever make a real bold move. You don't feel the same sense of excitement with other drivers because you know he is only going to take a move so far.

Kimi was much more bold. In my opinion Bottas is the driver who should be gone.

DTMiller

I agree with you! I think he has the seat because Mercedes has found a formula that works, Hamilton as the show, Bottas as the support. If Formula 1 wasn't a team sport Bottas having that seat would be criminally negligent. But there aren't many guys good enough to drive an F1 car that will take a backseat. Bottas and Kimi are probably the two. If Bottas had insisted on racing Hamilton at whatever race it was this year where he settled for second after the restart they both could have Verstappened out of the race, as an example.

the_vetman

"Verstappened out"... haha, I like that.

How that little ***** isn't compared more often to Crashtor Maldonado is beyond me. Yes, Crashtor also won an F1 race and was close on 1 or 2 more occasions (e.g. engine blew up while he was running very favorably).

Vettel-ish

Is his website site still working? That was one of the funniest things I have ever seen.

hasmaldonadocrashedtoday.com

Looks like they took it down. Bummer

LuigiVampa

I guess after the Hammy/Rosberg years Merc doesn't have the patience to deal with two number 1 drivers.

Vettel-ish

If you took Rosberg out of that Merc. Is he a #1? I dont know that I have the answer. He was solid. Hard to argue when that car was soooooo good.\

Also the "team" does not care who wins. They want the points. Constructors is all that matters.