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They’re all crying about races being boring. (Maybe at the front). So rather than Lewis slowing himself for the others to catch up, it will be soon time for valteri to hang up his silver boots.

Who should take his spot?

This poll needs Alonso.

For entertainment that would be the one.

mikeyg123 wrote:This poll needs Alonso.

For entertainment that would be the one.

The poll needs Russell too for very practical reasons.

Out of the current field i'd like to see Verstappen, Vettel, Leclerc and Riccardo. I voted for Verstappen as everyone says he's in the same league as Hamilton, that would be a powder keg waiting to go off.

I honestly feel though even Verstappen would come off second best.

Yet again I can't get involved with things that won't happen but only in things that have a better chance of happening, for 2020 the seat is between Bottas and Ocon.

However for 2021 there are many more options with Vettel, Verstappen and Ricciardo all being out of contract, all these drivers are better than Bottas/Ocon so I would like to see one of those 3 paired with Hamilton, hopefully at that time Hamilton will be a 7 time WDC.

The only other drivers that would be as good are Leclerc and Alonso, however Leclerc is under contract at Ferrari while Alonso is not desired by any of the top teams which has nothing to do with his ability as such.

Some of these options are a joke, surely?

MistaVega23 wrote:Some of these options are a joke, surely?

No. I do believe Hartley is as good as Bottas!

Vettel would lose badly to him. He just can't stop making mistakes, and lost to LH last year. That leaves us with Verstappen. Now that is a fight I would pay good money to watch. He is the only driver on the grid who I think can match LH or even beat him. Others I am sure cannot.

The poll options are hilarious!

I think Bottas has shown once again that he is so far off the pace of Hamilton that, when we see Hamilton at his peak, any danger of another team coming within tenths of the Mercedes will mean Bottas could easily finish fourth. Mercedes need someone that will provide them with more than solid points when, or if, they get a real challenge up front. I've never been a fan of Bottas, and never thought he deserved the seat in the first place.

Who I'd like to see is Alonso, for so many reasons. Who I think Mercedes should get would be someone like Ocon or Hulkenberg. At least, with them, if they prove to be great, Mercedes will keep them. If they prove to be as off the pace as Bottas is, well, let's face it, Mercedes will probably win next year and they can change drivers for the next season again when there's more potential for change.

due to the circumstances at the moment, i see no need for them to replace bottas. I can understand others may want to. But the poll says who "should" replace Bottas. I take that as the only realistic options. Because I don't think he is anywhere near bad enough that another team should get rid of one of their drivers. I think that as Bottas is clearly very strong to begin with at the start of each season and i think a bit more so this year. Hamilton has just also IMO had a better start too. That plays a big part in the teams results even if Bottas's form drops a bit later on. I doubt Ocon would be as strong as Bottas started the last 3 seasons to begin with. And he is the only sensible and realistic option other than Bottas. Russle just hasn't had long enough in F1 yet and Bottas has way more experience. hamilton and Bottas get on really well and never have clashes together at this team.

This thread just seems a bit harsh on Bottas. Why is there not one for Gasly? He is looking terrible. The points difference between him and Verstappen is larger than Bottas and Hamilton. Also factor in that as mercedes have a the best car overall, they are almoast always getting podiums or wins. So this won't hel the gap between Bottas and Hamilton when Hamilton does better. But the points Red Bull are capable of getting are split by a lot less, and yes gasly still has a bigger gap off his team mate than Bottas does off Hamilton. Gasly is the driver who i think should be replaced - and i think also is far more likely than being the case for Bottas. I think it is very likely Bottas will keep his seat. So on this pole, i have gone for no one.

pokerman wrote:Yet again I can't get involved with things that won't happen but only in things that have a better chance of happening, for 2020 the seat is between Bottas and Ocon.

However for 2021 there are many more options with Vettel, Verstappen and Ricciardo all being out of contract, all these drivers are better than Bottas/Ocon so I would like to see one of those 3 paired with Hamilton, hopefully at that time Hamilton will be a 7 time WDC.

The only other drivers that would be as good are Leclerc and Alonso, however Leclerc is under contract at Ferrari while Alonso is not desired by any of the top teams which has nothing to do with his ability as such.

I don't know if I am taking in what you are saying wrong, but do you actually mean that you think Leclerc is as good as Hamilton? If it is that, then it is a bit too early to suggest this. I can understand Alonso could well be though. But Leclerc is overall quite obviously looking worse than Vettel, who has not had a perfect start. So far this season including Leclerc mistakes, I can barely say he's been better than Bottas. Many think he has potential, but this is only what we think. Vettel has outqualified him 6 - 2 and we have only seen Leclerc against Vettel for a small amount of time. The rest of it was against Ericsson which doesn't prove much.

Basically, I think Leclerc has shown about as much promise as Bottas did in 2014 in the first stages. A few mistakes, but signs of being very quick. Bottas's few glimpses of this are not very consistent. But then I don't think Leclerc has been very consistent this year and he's made several mistakes, 2 of which were pretty big and costly.

I was contemplating making a similar thread myself. I think there are only three actual options, which are Ocon, Russell and Verstappen, and the reality is that only one of those is a real option.

Russell, I'd include his name simply because he is the next one in line after Ocon within the Mercedes system. I can't imagine they would drop Bottas and replace him with George rather than Esteban, though. I mean he'd have to have done something absurdly special between now and the end of the season to make that happen, and I can't see this year's Williams ever being even close to good enough to really give him the chance to do so.

The wild card is Verstappen. IF (and that's a big if) Mercedes are still looking at him as their ideal long-term replacement for Lewis, and IF (another big if) Max is available and they decide to drop Bottas, do they pass him up? A Hamilton/Verstappen partnership would be fantastic for us neutrals, but would it be more of a headache than Mercedes want given the bitter aftertaste of Hamilton and Rosberg. I'd argue Max is even more combustable than Nico was. At the same time if you pass him up now, who's to say he's available should Lewis decide to retire/go drive the red cars at the end of 2020? I can't imagine it's an option anyway. Which brings us to...

Ocon is the only realistic choice. That Mercedes have kept him around, lurking in the garage rather than cutting him loose so he can continue his career elsewhere says it all. If Bottas is to be dropped then I would be 98% sure that Esteban is the guy who gets the seat. And as an aside, I think the driver market will be pretty stagnant until Mercedes have made their decision and free up either Bottas or Ocon. Any team that's looking at replacing a driver is going to hold off that decision until they know what's happening at Mercedes.

As for who I would want to see replace Bottas, one word: Alonso. Alonso/Hamilton is the pairing I'd want to see above any in 2020. But it'll never happen.

Perez would be a better choice than Bottas. He had a bright start to his career until he fell out of favour at McLaren for not being a team player and basically being number 2, when he was pretty close to Button. He has been at the same team far too long.

They need someone good to settle in before Lewis leaves for Ferrari after next season!

Asphalt_World wrote:They need someone good to settle in before Lewis leaves for Ferrari after next season!

I would love to see Hamilton replace Vettel at Ferrari in 2020 so he can get a good challenge and not coast around in a Mercedes. I want it sooo much to happen.

mikeyg123 wrote:This poll needs Alonso.

For entertainment that would be the one.

Gah. Literally the first thing that popped into my head when I saw the thread.

If nothing Else the Merc Drama might be worth it.

Although I don't think Kimi can sneak a WDC victory in during the fued.

ReservoirDog wrote:

Asphalt_World wrote:They need someone good to settle in before Lewis leaves for Ferrari after next season!

I would love to see Hamilton replace Vettel at Ferrari in 2020 so he can get a good challenge and not coast around in a Mercedes. I want it sooo much to happen.

I want Hamilton to go to Williams and return the Glory Days back before heading off into the sunset.

ReservoirDog wrote:

Asphalt_World wrote:They need someone good to settle in before Lewis leaves for Ferrari after next season!

I would love to see Hamilton replace Vettel at Ferrari in 2020 so he can get a good challenge and not coast around in a Mercedes. I want it sooo much to happen.

I think if and when he does go to Ferrari the outcome will be the same. He'll win the title and fans will blame the car for whoever doesn't.

My dream scenario would be Hamilton replacing Vettel at Ferrari, Verstappen stepping into the Merc, and perhaps Vettel 'going home' to Red Bull. If all 3 teams had equal-ish cars.... well, what a year that could end up being. You get the old guard against the new generation, Vettel freed from the pressure of Ferrari, Hamilton stepping into that cooker with the ambition of overtaking Schumacher's title haul in the very same team he won loads in, and Verstappen hopefully getting the environment that has allowed Lewis to climb to ever greater heights in his career.

Pity it wont ever happen ._.

I voted ocon but it's interesting that russell has done all the tests.

mikeyg123 wrote:This poll needs Alonso.

For entertainment that would be the one.

Actually It did then my phone died when I was posting it and I had to resubmit, and I forgot alonoso the second time round.

sandman1347 wrote:

ReservoirDog wrote:

Asphalt_World wrote:They need someone good to settle in before Lewis leaves for Ferrari after next season!

I would love to see Hamilton replace Vettel at Ferrari in 2020 so he can get a good challenge and not coast around in a Mercedes. I want it sooo much to happen.

I think if and when he does go to Ferrari the outcome will be the same. He'll win the title and fans will blame the car for whoever doesn't.

I don't think Hamilton could win the title in this year's Ferrari.

I voted for Verstappen, but that's just out of interest. They don't have any reason to replace Bottas - he's doing the job they need.

Exediron wrote:

sandman1347 wrote:

ReservoirDog wrote:

Asphalt_World wrote:They need someone good to settle in before Lewis leaves for Ferrari after next season!

I would love to see Hamilton replace Vettel at Ferrari in 2020 so he can get a good challenge and not coast around in a Mercedes. I want it sooo much to happen.

I think if and when he does go to Ferrari the outcome will be the same. He'll win the title and fans will blame the car for whoever doesn't.

I don't think Hamilton could win the title in this year's Ferrari.

I voted for Verstappen, but that's just out of interest. They don't have any reason to replace Bottas - he's doing the job they need.

I was more thinking of 2017 and 2018. As for this year's car; I mostly agree but think if you put Hamilton in the car, you might be surprised by the results. I think if you had even Verstappen or Alonso to drive for them, we might see things quite differently right now.

sandman1347 wrote:

Exediron wrote:

sandman1347 wrote:

ReservoirDog wrote:

Asphalt_World wrote:They need someone good to settle in before Lewis leaves for Ferrari after next season!

I would love to see Hamilton replace Vettel at Ferrari in 2020 so he can get a good challenge and not coast around in a Mercedes. I want it sooo much to happen.

I think if and when he does go to Ferrari the outcome will be the same. He'll win the title and fans will blame the car for whoever doesn't.

I don't think Hamilton could win the title in this year's Ferrari.

I voted for Verstappen, but that's just out of interest. They don't have any reason to replace Bottas - he's doing the job they need.

I was more thinking of 2017 and 2018. As for this year's car; I mostly agree but think if you put Hamilton in the car, you might be surprised by the results. I think if you had even Verstappen or Alonso to drive for them, we might see things quite differently right now.

Hamilton in a Ferrari and two Bottas level drivers in a Merc and the championship would be on. Ferrari would probably need to stop making the operational F*ck ups as well though.

Edit - Without Hamilton nobody would be suggesting the Merc was the best car in Canada or had dominant race pace in France for example. A driver can make a massive difference to fast we perceive a car to be.

mikeyg123 wrote:

sandman1347 wrote:

Exediron wrote: I don't think Hamilton could win the title in this year's Ferrari.

I voted for Verstappen, but that's just out of interest. They don't have any reason to replace Bottas - he's doing the job they need.

I was more thinking of 2017 and 2018. As for this year's car; I mostly agree but think if you put Hamilton in the car, you might be surprised by the results. I think if you had even Verstappen or Alonso to drive for them, we might see things quite differently right now.

Hamilton in a Ferrari and two Bottas level drivers in a Merc and the championship would be on. Ferrari would probably need to stop making the operational F*ck ups as well though.

Edit - Without Hamilton nobody would be suggesting the Merc was the best car in Canada or had dominant race pace in France for example. A driver can make a massive difference to fast we perceive a car to be.

All true. I think there are quite a few people who feel that Ferrari have yet to really maximize their package during an entire race weekend. I think that they have punched below their weight a bit. The Mercedes is the best car but I think the performance of the drivers and the pit wall has also been superior and that makes the car look even better than it is.

sandman1347 wrote:

Exediron wrote:

sandman1347 wrote:

ReservoirDog wrote:

Asphalt_World wrote:They need someone good to settle in before Lewis leaves for Ferrari after next season!

I would love to see Hamilton replace Vettel at Ferrari in 2020 so he can get a good challenge and not coast around in a Mercedes. I want it sooo much to happen.

I think if and when he does go to Ferrari the outcome will be the same. He'll win the title and fans will blame the car for whoever doesn't.

I don't think Hamilton could win the title in this year's Ferrari.

I voted for Verstappen, but that's just out of interest. They don't have any reason to replace Bottas - he's doing the job they need.

I was more thinking of 2017 and 2018. As for this year's car; I mostly agree but think if you put Hamilton in the car, you might be surprised by the results. I think if you had even Verstappen or Alonso to drive for them, we might see things quite differently right now.

I think Hamilton, Verstappen or Alonso are probably a good 2 tenths quicker than Vettel, and make less mistakes. I think Hamilton in the Mercedes would still be leading the championship over Alonso or Max in the Ferrari, pretty comfortably at that.

Without going over it race-by-race, my feeling is that Hamilton in the Ferrari and Vettel in the Mercedes would be closer, but Merc would probably still be the car and operation to beat. Although it's hard to measure how much differently Ferrari might run with Hamilton in the team, which is an X factor.

Exediron wrote: I think Hamilton, Verstappen or Alonso are probably a good 2 tenths quicker than Vettel, and make less mistakes. I think Hamilton in the Mercedes would still be leading the championship over Alonso or Max in the Ferrari, pretty comfortably at that.

Without going over it race-by-race, my feeling is that Hamilton in the Ferrari and Vettel in the Mercedes would be closer, but Merc would probably still be the car and operation to beat. Although it's hard to measure how much differently Ferrari might run with Hamilton in the team, which is an X factor.

Honestly, it's not so much about the relative speed. When you are teammates you share data so faster teammates will generally lead to getting more out of the car. Mostly I think it's the ability to find solutions and drive around problems that separate certain drivers.

Of course avoiding mistakes is a big piece of the puzzle as well. I 100% agree with you there. Both Charles and Sebastian have already made a few significant ones and Hamilton, again, has not. Other than the penalty in the pit lane in Monaco, Max has been mistake free for the most part as well this year and Alonso at his best very rarely makes errors. Vettel has been error-prone. It's not harsh or unreasonable to say that at this point and Charles has followed his example. They have both also had some abysmal qualifying performances and race stints and just generally not been particularly consistent.

My main feeling is that there are probably some drivers who would do better with regards to consistently getting the maximum from the car and Hamilton is certainly among them.

TheGiantHogweed wrote:

pokerman wrote:Yet again I can't get involved with things that won't happen but only in things that have a better chance of happening, for 2020 the seat is between Bottas and Ocon.

However for 2021 there are many more options with Vettel, Verstappen and Ricciardo all being out of contract, all these drivers are better than Bottas/Ocon so I would like to see one of those 3 paired with Hamilton, hopefully at that time Hamilton will be a 7 time WDC.

The only other drivers that would be as good are Leclerc and Alonso, however Leclerc is under contract at Ferrari while Alonso is not desired by any of the top teams which has nothing to do with his ability as such.

I don't know if I am taking in what you are saying wrong, but do you actually mean that you think Leclerc is as good as Hamilton? If it is that, then it is a bit too early to suggest this. I can understand Alonso could well be though. But Leclerc is overall quite obviously looking worse than Vettel, who has not had a perfect start. So far this season including Leclerc mistakes, I can barely say he's been better than Bottas. Many think he has potential, but this is only what we think. Vettel has outqualified him 6 - 2 and we have only seen Leclerc against Vettel for a small amount of time. The rest of it was against Ericsson which doesn't prove much.

Basically, I think Leclerc has shown about as much promise as Bottas did in 2014 in the first stages. A few mistakes, but signs of being very quick. Bottas's few glimpses of this are not very consistent. But then I don't think Leclerc has been very consistent this year and he's made several mistakes, 2 of which were pretty big and costly.

No I'm just saying he's probably better than Bottas also taking into account it's only his second season in F1.

pendulumeffect wrote:Perez would be a better choice than Bottas. He had a bright start to his career until he fell out of favour at McLaren for not being a team player and basically being number 2, when he was pretty close to Button. He has been at the same team far too long.

Perez I would say is not a strong qualifier, his race pace may be good in the midfield but nothing special at the pointy end of the grid.

ReservoirDog wrote:

Asphalt_World wrote:They need someone good to settle in before Lewis leaves for Ferrari after next season!

I would love to see Hamilton replace Vettel at Ferrari in 2020 so he can get a good challenge and not coast around in a Mercedes. I want it sooo much to happen.

After next season being 2021 when he's out of contract, I can't see him leaving Mercedes.

Good_Year wrote:

ReservoirDog wrote:

Asphalt_World wrote:They need someone good to settle in before Lewis leaves for Ferrari after next season!

I would love to see Hamilton replace Vettel at Ferrari in 2020 so he can get a good challenge and not coast around in a Mercedes. I want it sooo much to happen.

I want Hamilton to go to Williams and return the Glory Days back before heading off into the sunset.

Hey guess it’s the only way your boy can win

pokerman wrote:

pendulumeffect wrote:Perez would be a better choice than Bottas. He had a bright start to his career until he fell out of favour at McLaren for not being a team player and basically being number 2, when he was pretty close to Button. He has been at the same team far too long.

Perez I would say is not a strong qualifier, his race pace may be good in the midfield but nothing special at the pointy end of the grid.

But his style of driving in similar to Verstappen's or Ricciardo's - Fiesty. No doubt he's good on tyres & strategy but he also dares to take risks & goes for gaps. A very recent example was Canada when he went on the inside of Albon into turn 1 on the 1st lap because there was a gap.

His best year no doubt was 2012 where he managed a couple of 2nd places.

Alienturnedhuman wrote: The thread says who *should* replace him. The answer to that is no one. Mercedes have the perfect team at the moment, they are winning, they have the best driver and the their second driver is fast enough to get the silver without causing serious problems for their lead one.

However, the poll asks who do I want to replace him. Well that would be Verstappen. The best driver of the next generation against the best driver of the outgoing one. It would be Schumacher Vs Senna in the same car.

this, all of this is true

I would like to see Verstappen just for Hamilton to cut his career short as I am convinced the peaks of Hamilton are just unreachable for anybody on the grid.

And HAM surely drive at his best when the pressure in ON.
He may not be consistent here and there but when he is on it, you are in for a good beating plus he certainly crashes less or make contacts or mistakes than VER/RIC/(insert a name).

There is a reason the management of Verstappen didn't grab the Mercedes seat when it was available. They would prefer Lewis to retire than to face him in his team.

Oh and Mercedes has always managed the "performance" of their drivers when they had a dominant car but that will be for another future thread.

pokerman wrote:

TheGiantHogweed wrote:

pokerman wrote:Yet again I can't get involved with things that won't happen but only in things that have a better chance of happening, for 2020 the seat is between Bottas and Ocon.

However for 2021 there are many more options with Vettel, Verstappen and Ricciardo all being out of contract, all these drivers are better than Bottas/Ocon so I would like to see one of those 3 paired with Hamilton, hopefully at that time Hamilton will be a 7 time WDC.

The only other drivers that would be as good are Leclerc and Alonso, however Leclerc is under contract at Ferrari while Alonso is not desired by any of the top teams which has nothing to do with his ability as such.

I don't know if I am taking in what you are saying wrong, but do you actually mean that you think Leclerc is as good as Hamilton? If it is that, then it is a bit too early to suggest this. I can understand Alonso could well be though. But Leclerc is overall quite obviously looking worse than Vettel, who has not had a perfect start. So far this season including Leclerc mistakes, I can barely say he's been better than Bottas. Many think he has potential, but this is only what we think. Vettel has outqualified him 6 - 2 and we have only seen Leclerc against Vettel for a small amount of time. The rest of it was against Ericsson which doesn't prove much.

Basically, I think Leclerc has shown about as much promise as Bottas did in 2014 in the first stages. A few mistakes, but signs of being very quick. Bottas's few glimpses of this are not very consistent. But then I don't think Leclerc has been very consistent this year and he's made several mistakes, 2 of which were pretty big and costly.

No I'm just saying he's probably better than Bottas also taking into account it's only his second season in F1.

Ok, fair enough. I mentioned 2014 for Bottas as that was his 2nd season too and i personally think he showed about as much potential as Leclerc at his current stage now. And Bottas didn't show as much as some expected from then on. I'm just saying that it is a bit early to be judged really IMO.

Currently tied between nobody, Verstappen and Alonso.

For sentimental reasons, I'd pick Alonso. Verstappen has shown great maturity this year (is he THAT good or is Gasly THAT bad?) so having either one of them alongside Lewis would make race weekends way more interesting than they are at the moment.

We know Bottas can beat Hamilton on his day. But so did Button and Rosberg. Play the long game and Lewis shines through every time. We know Alonso can do it. Verstappen is still in the unknown camp for me.

Nobody should if I'm in charge of Mercedes, things literally couldn't be any sweeter. Anyone should if I'm a fan of anyone outside Mercedes or just of F1 in general. When the seasons being talked about along with the likes of 2002 you know it's bad.

Max would be my "fan" choice followed by Alonso but they'll never happen because of the fear of it causing havoc. Realistic choice is Ocon or maybe Hulk.

Best compromise between those safe or risky options would be Dan but when they didn't phone him last year we pretty much know what way they are leaning so it'll be Bottas remaining or Ocon or maybe Hulk as an outside German bet if Ocon goes to Renault.

I put Alonso for the fun of it and now I'm seeing he's first choice!!!

Never honestly expected it

I would have chosen Alonso but Hamilton Alonso has already been done, I forgot who won. My vote goes with Danny Ric aside from being a top bloke, I reckon he is going alright and will get more out of that Renault as it is.