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Author Topic: Should Russell bow to Wolff's view to race Merc cars differently to rest?  (Read 1575 times)

Offline John S

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  • Max for 3rd title! - to see more Toto apoplexy.
Hell no is my view!  >:(

Just where does Toto get off with this crazy idea that the car in front is not a competitor like any other.  :DntKnw:

Sure teams can expect their own 2 pilots to perhaps play nice, but when drivers from differing teams are expected to defer to either their engine supplier, manager or future employer then it's going to far.  :nono:

Then we get to the question of should a driver go for a risky overtake in F1? - Well at Imola, with few to no chances to get past, when an opportunity presents itself it's absolutely got to be taken. Look at others bottled up for most of race behind one or more others.
Would Senna, Mansel or Michael, even in their early days, have thought twice about going for the gap? 

Well, what does anyone else think?

« Last Edit: April 26, 2021, 05:27:00 PM by John S »


Racing is Life - everything else is just....waiting. (Steve McQueen)

Online Jericoke

I agree that it's wrong.  If you want Williams to at like a 'B' team, then at least pay them to act like a 'B' team, don't bully their drivers.

It is a little different with Russell and Wolf, as Wolf is Russell's manager, so they have a professional relationship.  It's not just a matter of Wolf having a prize that Russell wants, but also having a direct hand in Russell's future career at ANY team.

If I was Russell, I'd find new management, and see about taking Perez's place at RBR.

Offline Scott

The ethical questions are huge.  Personally I can’t stand that a Team Principal can also be a driver manager.  Time for new rules, you shouldn’t be able to play both sides of the field.  And why not share the wealth?  Does Toto really need a part time job?
The Honey Badger doesn't give a...

Offline cosworth151

I wonder what the reaction would be if it was Max instead of George who made that move.
“You can search the world over for the finer things, but you won't find a match for the American road and the creatures that live on it.”
― Bob Dylan

Offline Alianora La Canta

If this is not a misinterpretation (which, as I cannot access The Race's content, I instinctively think is the most likely thing), Toto needs to step careful. This is inter-team collusion (the regulations consider drivers to be part of their team's entries), which by tradition is a breach of Article 151c (the "disrepute to motorsports" rule). It may not have had a penalty issued since 1997 (where McLaren and Williams were fined for it), but talking about this sort of thing in public is a good way to invite it happening again. (No, paying Williams to be a B-team would not help from a regulatory standpoint).

Toto is entitled to expect George to play as nicely as anyone else up or down the grid. No more and no less. I can imagine why he's angry at George being involved in both his drivers having mishaps in the space of 30 seconds, but this approach will only make things worse.

The question for Russell is not whether a driver should take a risky move (short of detail, the answer must be "yes" as the alternative is not to join the grid in the first place), but whether to take that specific risky move. If Valtteri had interpreted conditions the same way as George, I think the move would have worked. However, Valtteri didn't know George had a reason to avoid that specific puddle (he appeared to think all of it was bad and by moving a bit to the right, he was doing his rival the favour of hinting he should tuck in behind and spare his - i.e. George's - race). That's why it went haywire.

Both were partially correct in their analysis, both would benefit from improving their racecraft - and neither will do so if it's all hidden in the smoke haze of a team leader breaking the rules as an alternative to helping fix the problem.
Percussus resurgio
@lacanta (Twitter)
http://alianoralacanta.tumblr.com (Blog/Tumblr)

Offline Willy

No No No. This is a textbook case of Conflict Of interest and should not be allowed. I know this is not the 1st situation where this has occurred but it should be quashed now and forever.
No chance Wolff can be totally objective in any situation where his drivers are concerned, either as drivers or as clients.
I'm sure he has stated more than once that he can be but that is just not possible.

Russell needs a new manager.
I quite like what Jeri said....go after the Perez seat at RBR.
Last year's short stint in the Merc showed Russell has the talent so give him the car before he hits his Best Before date.

Offline Alianora La Canta

I was with you until you said "Perez seat at RBR". That's the biggest poisoned chalice in motorsport. Only Verstappen is likely to get the atmosphere and attention from Marko and Horner needed to challenge for a title, regular wins or a consistent career, which is what George should aim to get.

George should keep his options open and select a good non-title-fighting seat, with the eventual aim of landing a McLaren seat.
Percussus resurgio
@lacanta (Twitter)
http://alianoralacanta.tumblr.com (Blog/Tumblr)

Online Jericoke

I was with you until you said "Perez seat at RBR". That's the biggest poisoned chalice in motorsport. Only Verstappen is likely to get the atmosphere and attention from Marko and Horner needed to challenge for a title, regular wins or a consistent career, which is what George should aim to get.

George should keep his options open and select a good non-title-fighting seat, with the eventual aim of landing a McLaren seat.

Remember when Vettel was the Golden Boy, and drove #1 Webber out of the sport?  Or when Ricciardo outperformed Vettel and drove him out of the team?  Or When Verstappen out performed Ricciardo who left because he wasn't going to get support?

If someone better than Max lines up in the second Red Bull, how long do you think Max will be seen as 'untouchable'?  Russell isn't a 'pretty good' racer like Kvyat, Gasly, Albon or even Perez. He went into the deep end with Mercedes and showed winning form right away.  With the premise that Russell doesn't want to work with Wolf, what other team should Russell aim for?  Ferrari?  McLaren?

Offline Scott

I know this isn’t really about Perez, but I want to see him keep the seat for at least the first two seasons.  He’s got the fire, as we’ve seen on plenty of occasions, he’s just not had the car.  Give him 3 or 4 races to figure out how it drives and I think he’ll be nipping on Max’s heels.
The Honey Badger doesn't give a...

Offline Monty

I can't say I agree with a lot of this. Wolff has 'managed' Russell into F1. When Russell joined Williams there was (should have been) a good chance of success - they had recruited a new Technical Director, they had Mercedes power and the team were strong. What nobody had realised (although I had warned  ;)) was that Paddy Lowe was useless and had designed them a dog of a car! Now I am sure Wolff will manage Russell into a Mercedes seat. Why on earth would Russell look anywhere else? OK, if the Mercedes seat doesn't happen then Wolff (as personal manager) has a bigger problem but I think it is fair to say that he could influence Russell into another Mercedes powered seat somewhere, so still a good outcome for George compared to a lot of other talented youngsters.

 


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