HTW Extra Heat: Russell And Hamilton Could Implode At Mercedes

Posted on October 19, 2023 | by Dre Harrison Well, this is new! Welcome to Hot Takes Wednesday: Extra Heat ????️ As you may know, Dre hosts a show on the WTF1 Podcast called Hot Takes Wednesday. In this show, we take your spiciest F1 takes, and we rate them on a scale of 1 to 5 – one being that we strongly disagree and five that we strongly agree.  On this week’s show, Dre and the brilliant FP1Will, F1 YouTuber and stand-up comedian, sat down to discuss your takes. If you want to listen to it in full, the embed is down below, and don’t forget we’re where all good Podcasts are available (Apple, Spotify, Google, you know the deal). In a new series here on the WTF1 website, we’re going to take a handful of the takes from the show and get the whole team to weigh in on your spiciest F1 opinions! ???? Take #1: If Lawrence Stroll were a serious team principal, he’d call Red Bull today and ask what it would cost to get Yuki in his team for next year  Dre: I agree that if Aston Martin want to be a serious contender, then at some point they need a quality second driver. Lance Stroll is the team’s biggest weakness but is Yuki Tsunoda that much better? I think his 2023 has been solid, but Ricciardo and Lawson’s immediate success by comparison, as well as De Vries’ failed tenure have all dulled Yuki’s shine. Aston should probably be aiming higher, despite the easy future Honda/Yuki affiliation. Rating: 3 Charley: I’m all for Aston Martin needing a driver that can consistently bring home the points and not necessarily keep up with Fernando Alonso, but at the very least perform. But my heart still says that Lance Stroll is better than what we have seen of him this season, and I think let’s give him at least another season to prove that. If not, then I hear there’s a Hypercar programme that needs a driver. Rating: 2 Hannah: Does Aston Martin need to replace Stroll to properly challenge the top teams? Sure. But I’m not completely convinced yet that Tsunoda would be the driver for them. I think that Tsunoda has shown that he deserves to be in Formula 1, and I think he has stepped up his game in this 2023 season, but I don’t think he has outshone his AlphaTauri teammates Ricciardo and Lawson, which I think he will need to do to move up from AlphaTauri. Rating: 2 Take #2: The current situation with the drivers at Mercedes is a pressure cooker and if they get a truly competitive car, it’s the worst-case scenario and could go bang! Dre: Hard to disagree here. When Rosberg and Hamilton became teammates in 2013, the former close friends started off fine, but the moment a title was on the line in 2014, that relationship deteriorated fast. It’s the nature of hiring two #1 drivers, and George Russell has proven he can match Hamilton at his best. If Mercs develop another contending car, we’ll see how friendly that team stays. Rating: 4 Charley: Mercedes will go bang? What about Twitter! If this happens, hereby accept my letter of resignation for the former bird app. Unfortunately, I agree. We definitely aren’t there yet, but their Qatar clash felt like it had been simmering for quite some time. The moment there’s a truly competitive car underneath them, all hell breaks loose. Rating: 4  Hannah: I would love to say that Lewis and George know better than to risk battling each other hard, but it’s tricky to say that, when we know what’s happened in the past with Mercedes teammates… *ahem* 2016. When George first joined Mercedes, I knew he would be good but I didn’t expect him to be so equal to Lewis in both qualifying and the race! Instead of having a first and second driver, Mercedes have two drivers both capable of beating the other which is good points wise, but it will be interesting to see how team orders come into play during a season where Mercedes are at the top again. I suspect it could get feisty! Rating: 3 Take #3: If Haas don’t improve, they need to remove Guenther as Team Principal. They need a leader, not a show pony for DTS” Dre: Don’t let the DTS fame fool you, Haas IS Guenther’s team in all but name, and he plays an integral role in everything they do. As much as it is a results-driven business, replacing him would be changing everything about how that team operates. Like sacking Sir Alex Ferguson from Man United, minus the trophies. I think Haas’ issues are lack of resources to compete with the big teams, and not necessarily the management. Rating: 2 Charley: Guenther Steiner is an integral part of the team, I don’t think their lack of performance has anything to do with him in particular, and I generally think the team operate well. Cash is king, and without the big bucks, you’re not going to pull out the kinds of results that bigger teams have. Haas have had their plenty share of setbacks over the past few years, throwing out your main man isn’t going to solve things. Rating: 1  Hannah: I agree with Dre and Charley. I think that Haas have shown glimmers of hope towards the end of last season and the star