planetf1.com

Pretty simple question, really: out of the teams we would expect to be able to fight for the title next year (so Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull) if you could pick two of their drivers to be fighting for the title in 2020, which would it be and why? It's entirely up to you whether this is purely the battle you think would produce the best on-track action, or whether you take into consideration the one you think might become the most explosive off the track as well as on it.

(And before anyone says it, yes, I know we would all love three or more of them to be fighting for the title. I'm just curious which two of the current frontrunners we most want to see lock horns over a full season)

Best Mercedes driver v best Ferrari driver. Max wont challenge for the title in a Red Bull.

Hamilton Vs Verstappen would be the best battle. It's also one that has a best before date that is fast approaching.

mikeyg123 wrote:Hamilton Vs Verstappen would be the best battle. It's also one that has a best before date that is fast approaching.

You expect only decline henceforth from Ham-man?

Invade wrote:

mikeyg123 wrote:Hamilton Vs Verstappen would be the best battle. It's also one that has a best before date that is fast approaching.

You expect only decline henceforth from Ham-man?

I think give it a few years and if Verstappen and Hamilton clash we won't know for sure if Verstappen is facing prime Hamilton. A bit like Alonso V Schumacher in 2006.

The 2 best drivers, Hamilton and Verstappen.

pokerman wrote:The 2 best drivers, Hamilton and Verstappen.

This.

It would be interesting to see how Hamilton changes his approach to racing Verstappen when he is in a title fight with him. Currently he gives Max a very wide berth because he has little to gain and much to lose championship-wise from racing him. As we saw when he was up against Rosberg, he is not prepared to be bullied off track by a genuine title rival and would rather collide than back down.

Hamilton and Verstappen. Leclerc and Verstappen can follow that.

j man wrote:

pokerman wrote:The 2 best drivers, Hamilton and Verstappen.

This.

It would be interesting to see how Hamilton changes his approach to racing Verstappen when he is in a title fight with him. Currently he gives Max a very wide berth because he has little to gain and much to lose championship-wise from racing him. As we saw when he was up against Rosberg, he is not prepared to be bullied off track by a genuine title rival and would rather collide than back down.

The Redbull was no more than a tenth and half quicker, and Hamilton having to push results in mistake.

mikeyg123 wrote:

Invade wrote:

mikeyg123 wrote:Hamilton Vs Verstappen would be the best battle. It's also one that has a best before date that is fast approaching.

You expect only decline henceforth from Ham-man?

I think give it a few years and if Verstappen and Hamilton clash we won't know for sure if Verstappen is facing prime Hamilton. A bit like Alonso V Schumacher in 2006.

Yeah we're almost there to be honest. I agree that Hamilton vs. Verstappen is what we want to see. I'm curious as to your thoughts on Max passing on the Mercedes drive.

Option or Prime wrote:Best Mercedes driver v best Ferrari driver. Max wont challenge for the title in a Red Bull.

Think you are going to be wrong there. Honda making great strides and RB always have a good chassis. Got a sneaky feeling for Max next year

sandman1347 wrote:

mikeyg123 wrote:

Invade wrote:

mikeyg123 wrote:Hamilton Vs Verstappen would be the best battle. It's also one that has a best before date that is fast approaching.

You expect only decline henceforth from Ham-man?

I think give it a few years and if Verstappen and Hamilton clash we won't know for sure if Verstappen is facing prime Hamilton. A bit like Alonso V Schumacher in 2006.

Yeah we're almost there to be honest. I agree that Hamilton vs. Verstappen is what we want to see. I'm curious as to your thoughts on Max passing on the Mercedes drive.

If we did get Hamilton vs Verstappen next year, I'd predict that fanboys of the losing driver will either argue that Max lost because he isn't yet at his best, or Lewis lost because he's no longer at his best

Hamilton vs Verstappen is the one I most want to see as well for pretty much the same reasons. Peak Lewis vs Max entering his prime? One of the all-time best vs a driver who could one day be in that group? Yes please. I also think it would get pretty tetchy as I'm not sure Lewis respects Max as much as he does someone like Seb? 'Respects' might be the wrong word. Perhaps it is better to say he speaks less respectfully towards/about Max than he does Seb? Anyway, I feel like he'd take shots at Max verbally and Max will fire back, and if they had contact on-track then the fallout would be significant.

After that, give me years of Verstappen vs Leclerc, please.

Voted Hamilton-Verstappen. Would have much prefered to have a choice of a three way battle. I would have voted Hamilton-Verstappen-Leclerc.

As to Hamilton approaching his best by date, I have seen no diminishment in Lewis racecraft. The cars are certainly closer than they were a few years ago. Still Lewis is still learning and improving his driving. Anyone wanting to beat him will need a superior car or failing that, massive talent.

Leclerc and Verstappen. But really, so long as there is a fight that's between two different teams, I'll be happy.

Jenson's Understeer wrote:

sandman1347 wrote:

mikeyg123 wrote:

Invade wrote:

mikeyg123 wrote:Hamilton Vs Verstappen would be the best battle. It's also one that has a best before date that is fast approaching.

You expect only decline henceforth from Ham-man?

I think give it a few years and if Verstappen and Hamilton clash we won't know for sure if Verstappen is facing prime Hamilton. A bit like Alonso V Schumacher in 2006.

Yeah we're almost there to be honest. I agree that Hamilton vs. Verstappen is what we want to see. I'm curious as to your thoughts on Max passing on the Mercedes drive.

If we did get Hamilton vs Verstappen next year, I'd predict that fanboys of the losing driver will either argue that Max lost because he isn't yet at his best, or Lewis lost because he's no longer at his best

Hamilton vs Verstappen is the one I most want to see as well for pretty much the same reasons. Peak Lewis vs Max entering his prime? One of the all-time best vs a driver who could one day be in that group? Yes please. I also think it would get pretty tetchy as I'm not sure Lewis respects Max as much as he does someone like Seb? 'Respects' might be the wrong word. Perhaps it is better to say he speaks less respectfully towards/about Max than he does Seb? Anyway, I feel like he'd take shots at Max verbally and Max will fire back, and if they had contact on-track then the fallout would be significant.

After that, give me years of Verstappen vs Leclerc, please.

Because they are on different teams, if it happens next year the losing fanboys will simply blame it on the car. No need to re-invent the wheel.

sandman1347 wrote:

Jenson's Understeer wrote:

sandman1347 wrote:

mikeyg123 wrote:
I think give it a few years and if Verstappen and Hamilton clash we won't know for sure if Verstappen is facing prime Hamilton. A bit like Alonso V Schumacher in 2006.

Yeah we're almost there to be honest. I agree that Hamilton vs. Verstappen is what we want to see. I'm curious as to your thoughts on Max passing on the Mercedes drive.

If we did get Hamilton vs Verstappen next year, I'd predict that fanboys of the losing driver will either argue that Max lost because he isn't yet at his best, or Lewis lost because he's no longer at his best

Hamilton vs Verstappen is the one I most want to see as well for pretty much the same reasons. Peak Lewis vs Max entering his prime? One of the all-time best vs a driver who could one day be in that group? Yes please. I also think it would get pretty tetchy as I'm not sure Lewis respects Max as much as he does someone like Seb? 'Respects' might be the wrong word. Perhaps it is better to say he speaks less respectfully towards/about Max than he does Seb? Anyway, I feel like he'd take shots at Max verbally and Max will fire back, and if they had contact on-track then the fallout would be significant.

After that, give me years of Verstappen vs Leclerc, please.

Because they are on different teams, if it happens next year the losing fanboys will simply blame it on the car. No need to re-invent the wheel.

....but, but, but,, Hamilton has had the best car since 2013. It's a widely believed fact!

Whoever voted for Bottas vs. Leclerc... explain yourself

Jenson's Understeer wrote:Whoever voted for Bottas vs. Leclerc... explain yourself

Went for Leclerc vs. Verstappen, the future of the sport.

Jenson's Understeer wrote:Whoever voted for Bottas vs. Leclerc... explain yourself

a) Bottas fan who also likes Leclerc
b) Leclerc fan who wants to watch Charles stuff the stat sheet

Exediron wrote:

Jenson's Understeer wrote:Whoever voted for Bottas vs. Leclerc... explain yourself

a) Bottas fan who also likes Leclerc
b) Leclerc fan who wants to watch Charles stuff the stat sheet

Yeah I don't get why that's such an outrageous wish. I for sure wouldn't mind it even though it's not what I voted.

Rockie wrote:

j man wrote:

pokerman wrote:The 2 best drivers, Hamilton and Verstappen.

This.

It would be interesting to see how Hamilton changes his approach to racing Verstappen when he is in a title fight with him. Currently he gives Max a very wide berth because he has little to gain and much to lose championship-wise from racing him. As we saw when he was up against Rosberg, he is not prepared to be bullied off track by a genuine title rival and would rather collide than back down.

The Redbull was no more than a tenth and half quicker, and Hamilton having to push results in mistake.

The mistakes of his team you mean.

Covalent wrote:Went for Leclerc vs. Verstappen, the future of the sport.

Presently a mismatch, Verstappen is beating him in a slower car.

pokerman wrote:

Covalent wrote:Went for Leclerc vs. Verstappen, the future of the sport.

Presently a mismatch, Verstappen is beating him in a slower car.

Verstappen vs Leclerc, like Hamilton-Vettel or Schumacher-Hakkinen before, might be one of those rivalries where one driver is just plain better and everyone can see it.

Not that there’s anything wrong with being a Vettel/Hakkinen level driver.

KingVoid wrote:

pokerman wrote:

Covalent wrote:Went for Leclerc vs. Verstappen, the future of the sport.

Presently a mismatch, Verstappen is beating him in a slower car.

Verstappen vs Leclerc, like Hamilton-Vettel or Schumacher-Hakkinen before, might be one of those rivalries where one driver is just plain better and everyone can see it.

Not that there’s anything wrong with being a Vettel/Hakkinen level driver.

So I can't want to see Leclerc vs. Verstappen because the Schumacher Häkkinen battle was so bad?

Covalent wrote:

Exediron wrote:

Jenson's Understeer wrote:Whoever voted for Bottas vs. Leclerc... explain yourself

a) Bottas fan who also likes Leclerc
b) Leclerc fan who wants to watch Charles stuff the stat sheet

Yeah I don't get why that's such an outrageous wish. I for sure wouldn't mind it even though it's not what I voted.

I'm not saying it was outrageous, but when you've got options like Hamilton vs Verstappen/Leclerc and Leclerc vs Verstappen, Bottas vs Leclerc is a little out there (a point borne out by the fact that it has 1 of 35 votes). I was curious as to the reasoning behind that vote. It could be as simple as, like Exediron suggested, it being someone who is more of a fan of those two drivers than the other four options.

Some quite interesting choices. I would have thought the obvious first driver to pick would be Hamilton. Surely you would want your man to have a chance to beat the current and 6 x WDC on his way to a title?
I would have thought most would want to see someone take his crown in battle, rather than Hamilton eventually retire undefeated as he never got a car to compete after 2019.
Or alternatively just grab the popcorn and watch a season long Vettel/Leclerc Ferrari firework show?

shoot999 wrote:Some quite interesting choices. I would have thought the obvious first driver to pick would be Hamilton. Surely you would want your man to have a chance to beat the current and 6 x WDC on his way to a title?
I would have thought most would want to see someone take his crown in battle, rather than Hamilton eventually retire undefeated as he never got a car to compete after 2019.
Or alternatively just grab the popcorn and watch a season long Vettel/Leclerc Ferrari firework show?

Well Hamilton is in over 60% of the voting, so it is the obvious choice. Just not by a landslide and I think it is maybe because there is a hint of saturation with him and people may want to see something new. I voted for Leclerc vs Max myself as I see them to be in a long rivalry in the future.

Hard to choose just 2 but I'd go for Ricciardo and Verstappen. In terms of poll options Leclerc and Verstappen.

Two teams that haven't really had a title capable car since 2012/13 and a new team at the top in Renault.

Black_Flag_11 wrote:Hard to choose just 2 but I'd go for Ricciardo and Verstappen. In terms of poll options Leclerc and Verstappen.

Two teams that haven't really had a title capable car since 2012/13 and a new team at the top in Renault.

Sorry but apparently you can't wish for a pair that excludes Hamilton.

Covalent wrote:

Black_Flag_11 wrote:Hard to choose just 2 but I'd go for Ricciardo and Verstappen. In terms of poll options Leclerc and Verstappen.

Two teams that haven't really had a title capable car since 2012/13 and a new team at the top in Renault.

Sorry but apparently you can't wish for a pair that excludes Hamilton.

Except for:

Bottas and Vettel
Bottas and Leclerc
Bottas and Verstappen
Bottas and Albon
Vettel and Leclerc
Vettel and Verstappen
Vettel and Albon
Leclerc and Verstappen
Leclerc and Albon
Verstappen and Albon

Why do you mention Hamilton in almost all your posts

FormulaFun wrote:

Covalent wrote:

Black_Flag_11 wrote:Hard to choose just 2 but I'd go for Ricciardo and Verstappen. In terms of poll options Leclerc and Verstappen.

Two teams that haven't really had a title capable car since 2012/13 and a new team at the top in Renault.

Sorry but apparently you can't wish for a pair that excludes Hamilton.

Except for:

Bottas and Vettel
Bottas and Leclerc
Bottas and Verstappen
Bottas and Albon
Vettel and Leclerc
Vettel and Verstappen
Vettel and Albon
Leclerc and Verstappen
Leclerc and Albon
Verstappen and Albon

Why do you mention Hamilton in almost all your posts

If if that were true (which it isn't, BTW), what business is it of yours whom I write about? Besides, pot kettle black and all that.

Covalent wrote:

KingVoid wrote:

pokerman wrote:

Covalent wrote:Went for Leclerc vs. Verstappen, the future of the sport.

Presently a mismatch, Verstappen is beating him in a slower car.

Verstappen vs Leclerc, like Hamilton-Vettel or Schumacher-Hakkinen before, might be one of those rivalries where one driver is just plain better and everyone can see it.

Not that there’s anything wrong with being a Vettel/Hakkinen level driver.

So I can't want to see Leclerc vs. Verstappen because the Schumacher Häkkinen battle was so bad?

It only worked whilst Hakkinen was in the better car, once McLaren couldn't provide that Hakkinen lost interest and retired.

We could say Hill and Schumacher was a great rivalry but it only worked whilst Hill was in a much better car.

Presently the greater challenge for Verstappen is Hamilton but you would much rather see the lesser challenge of Leclerc, even today Verstappen has said that it's much more challenging to beat Hamilton than any other driver.

Jenson's Understeer wrote:

Covalent wrote:

Exediron wrote:

Jenson's Understeer wrote:Whoever voted for Bottas vs. Leclerc... explain yourself

a) Bottas fan who also likes Leclerc
b) Leclerc fan who wants to watch Charles stuff the stat sheet

Yeah I don't get why that's such an outrageous wish. I for sure wouldn't mind it even though it's not what I voted.

I'm not saying it was outrageous, but when you've got options like Hamilton vs Verstappen/Leclerc and Leclerc vs Verstappen, Bottas vs Leclerc is a little out there (a point borne out by the fact that it has 1 of 35 votes). I was curious as to the reasoning behind that vote. It could be as simple as, like Exediron suggested, it being someone who is more of a fan of those two drivers than the other four options.

This has to be seen as the case because otherwise why would you want to exclude better drivers from the WDC challenge?

shoot999 wrote:Some quite interesting choices. I would have thought the obvious first driver to pick would be Hamilton. Surely you would want your man to have a chance to beat the current and 6 x WDC on his way to a title?
I would have thought most would want to see someone take his crown in battle, rather than Hamilton eventually retire undefeated as he never got a car to compete after 2019.
Or alternatively just grab the popcorn and watch a season long Vettel/Leclerc Ferrari firework show?

Indeed, wasn't Alonso's greatest achievement beating Schumacher in 2006?

Siao7 wrote:

shoot999 wrote:Some quite interesting choices. I would have thought the obvious first driver to pick would be Hamilton. Surely you would want your man to have a chance to beat the current and 6 x WDC on his way to a title?
I would have thought most would want to see someone take his crown in battle, rather than Hamilton eventually retire undefeated as he never got a car to compete after 2019.
Or alternatively just grab the popcorn and watch a season long Vettel/Leclerc Ferrari firework show?

Well Hamilton is in over 60% of the voting, so it is the obvious choice. Just not by a landslide and I think it is maybe because there is a hint of saturation with him and people may want to see something new. I voted for Leclerc vs Max myself as I see them to be in a long rivalry in the future.

Indeed some people simply want to see Hamilton in a bad car it seems?

For me personally… As many guys as possible!

While I have drivers I fancy more than others, I don't care who is in the fight for the title so long as it's hard fought closely contested.
2007 was a season where 4 drivers were in the mix and there were fireworks between & within teams and the entire season was exciting from start to finish.
2008 was also a great season. 2012 was also really good and we saw a hard fought battle with the Maldonator winning in Spain to everyone's surprise, but
EVERYONE was elated for both Williams and his amazing performance.

A true fan of the sport wants these types of close seasons regardless if their favorite guys are in the fight or not. That is just icing on the cake.
I'd love to see a more competitive Haas in 2020 so we can see Grosjean and Magnussen duking it out between themselves while doing exceedingly well further towards the front. I'd also like to see Sauber come fighting out of the gates and Toro Rosso finally turn the the corner to being consistently good fighting at the front, and Williams to not be so dismal again.

F1 MERCENARY wrote:For me personally… As many guys as possible!

While I have drivers I fancy more than others, I don't care who is in the fight for the title so long as it's hard fought closely contested.
2007 was a season where 4 drivers were in the mix and there were fireworks between & within teams and the entire season was exciting from start to finish.
2008 was also a great season. 2012 was also really good and we saw a hard fought battle with the Maldonator winning in Spain to everyone's surprise, but
EVERYONE was elated for both Williams and his amazing performance.

A true fan of the sport wants these types of close seasons regardless if their favorite guys are in the fight or not. That is just icing on the cake.
I'd love to see a more competitive Haas in 2020 so we can see Grosjean and Magnussen duking it out between themselves while doing exceedingly well further towards the front. I'd also like to see Sauber come fighting out of the gates and Toro Rosso finally turn the the corner to being consistently good fighting at the front, and Williams to not be so dismal again.

I think most would want more in the pot, but that's not the choice. Although teammates, we have had plenty of the two man fights lately, so not too exciting a prospect. And certainly since the summer we have had a preview of what 2020 could bring with more in the mix. So yes, the more the merrier.