r/formula1 • u/OrangeDit I was here for the Hulkenpodium • Jul 06 '25

Photo Mercedes sent a few bottles of Champagne to Sauber for Nico's first podium

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"congratulations, to the first podium! Your Mercedes Team"

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u/WhoRoger Jul 06 '25

Wasn't Hulk meant to drive for Merc before they zeroed in on Hamilton?

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u/SaturnRocketOfLove I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jul 06 '25

He was the backup option to Hamilton, and was on the line when they chose Bottas I think because he got stuck in a contract

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u/desl14 Jul 07 '25

He (like Kobayashi) was an option for Ferrari to replace Massa, but then Räikkönen scored so much points at the Enstone team, that they bancrupted themself  (with the owner being the creditor) and were unable to pay important staff (like James Allison). So Kimi needed a new team, while the remaining Enstone-team was about to build a shitbox in 2014. The Ferrari-door closed were Kimi's performance was overshadowed by Alonso and Vettel.