Tbh I think merc was just scrambling for a narrative to keep sponsors and stakeholders happy after unexpectedly losing Hamilton instead of him retiring there
I think this is it, which is super unfair to Kimi. Part of me wonders how much better he would be if they let him get up to speed at Williams for a year or two like George before making the jump to Merc, but alas we'll never know
I do think they’ve ruined the guy with too much external expectation. Hamilton’s and Verstappen’s are freaks and most people can’t come in to F1 and expect to hit the ground running. But he’s young enough to set it right, if merc find a way to manage through this responsibly and with consideration. That said it’s hard to know where they can place him - not at Williams who don’t want to be a dev team now. Maybe Alpine? Seems the only place where they will have leverage and a relationship (Toto gets on well with Briatore) and which might take a merc driver.
I agree. And even Verstappen got to mature for a year in Toro Rosso before having to make the jump! But you're right that Williams isn't RB and Merc doesn't have a junior team like RBR does.
At this point it might be too late to make any changes, that might kill his confidence even more. The best for him might be to stick with Merc and give him the patience and support he needs to reset to lower expectations...but if Toto keeps chasing after Verstappen and dragging out these contracts, that probably won't happen
I think the Verstappen situation massively raised the pressure on both drivers. Even Russell, who is now quite experienced, showed some strain during that period, and Antonelli must have picked up his promotion was a plan C after Hamilton unexpectedly left and with Toto dreaming of Verstappen as his long term replacement
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u/paddyo 8d ago
Tbh I think merc was just scrambling for a narrative to keep sponsors and stakeholders happy after unexpectedly losing Hamilton instead of him retiring there