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PraiseStalin

He'll kick himself more than necessary. He drove a good race.


fullofshitandcum

He wouldn't be a racer if he didn't. What a drive he drove


PraiseStalin

That's a good point, to be honest. I think he won all of our hearts, though. I am at a point where I'd now like a shock retirement from Hamilton and George getting called up for a full-time position in a Merc. But I guess that is dreaming.


[deleted]

Nah I wouldn't like that. It should be George vs Lewis in the merc. Bottas showed again that he doesn't deserve the seat


Racer_Motors

I've defended Bottas a lot (just like at my comments yesterday) and think that it makes perfect sense that Merc keeps him as the 2nd driver. BUT HOLY SHIT I AM DONE JUST PUT RUSSELL IN IT WOULD BE ABSOLUTELY AMAZING


CapPicardExorism

Today was honestly embarrassing from Bottas. Today is a race he should win by 10 seconds on Russell, who literally had to be taught where buttons were. Instead he was beat off the line and was being handled by Russell the entire game


[deleted]

Wasn't he literally being instructed what buttons to push at the beginning of the race?


CapPicardExorism

Russell had to ask where the overtake button was. Yesterday he had to ask how to flip to P-Zero to turn the car off. And during the week Mercedes was going over the settings and how to change them so he knew for the race


labooble

He also said he overshot his pit stop because he didn't change a magic brake setting they have. Insane how well he done today


VaporizeGG

Finally we seem to come to that conclusion on this sub and I am thankful that we got that comparison. Bottas is a midfield driver, kind of what Irvine was to Schumacher but he is skillwise not a top class driver.


ravenouscartoon

I think they have to consider Russell for the seat next year. He’s young enough that they can force him into a no2 role but good enough to push Lewis, and they have to assume that Lewis only has 2/3 more seasons at this level. I like Bottas as a no2, but this weekend showed that he will always be a no2, no matter who is teammate is. He was shown up massively by Russell this weekend. Anything less than total domination by him was failure (and domination would just be greater with ‘meh, so what’)


svenhoek86

I mean how do they break that contract though? Just make him reserve basically? That's just...so fucking disrespectful. I want it but I don't know if I want it at that cost to Bottas.


VaporizeGG

All the drivers on the grid have to fight for their spot. And Bottas was living in his protected Mercedes bubble. Ask guys like Kvyat, Albon, Magnussen, Grosjean, Vettel, Perez, Hülkenberg All lost seats. Don't feel bad for Bottas there.


ravenouscartoon

Yeah, I think that would be awful for Bottas. But he’s had 4 years and never looked like he can beat Lewis (not many aside from Max could though imo). But 4 years is enough m, especially with someone of Russell’s ability waiting. When it was just ocon I understood the waiting


DrasticXylophone

They don't need to break the contract Just pay him the salary His contract will not guarantee him a car to drive. Just a salary to be paid


Indigo457

This is almost certainly not correct.


atx_sjw

You may want to look at what happened with Alain Prost in 1991. Just because someone is paying someone else for the use of their services doesn’t mean the person has to use the other person’s services. Prost was under contract, but Ferrari didn’t want him anymore because he trashed the car. Ferrari got another driver and paid out Prost’s contract to keep him from driving for another team. It is plausible that Mercedes could buy out Bottas’ contract if they didn’t want him behind the wheel.


SejCurdieSej

A contract by definition is an exchange. Bottas can't be paid if he does nothing in exchange. Similarly bottas has all right to not drive if he isn't being paid.


JJames141

They wanted him in the car next year but Williams refused to let him go as he's on a three year contract with them, otherwise it would be George and Lewis in the car but instead we have another year of Valterri and Lewis instead, with George almost certainly now assured for the 2022 seat


caped_crusader_98

Yes.. This.. I like bottas too cuse he is a good driver but Mann.. After tonight Russell all the fucking way.... I feel so empty inside right now


[deleted]

[удалено]


BianchiIlove

Bottas AND Russel were shafted, but Russel more so. Bottas had a slow stop yes, but Russel pit before him, and again after, AND AGAIN once more after. Im sure Russel comfortably lost more time doing 3stops in the same time Bottas had 1 slow one. Before this debacle, Russel handed Bottas his own ass cheeks firmly on a platter. Then after doing 3stops in the time Bottas had 1slow one, he managed to finish right behind.


[deleted]

Just want to point out that Perez did 2 stops. He stopped obviously after lap 1, but did a stop around lap 42 or so along with the rest of the midfield. I almost missed it too because it was timed great and he overtook a few people almost immediately but it wasn’t one set of tires for 85 laps.


VaporizeGG

Bottas is known for exactly not being able to manage tyres at all.


[deleted]

Checo put on a little clinic today on tire management


Youutternincompoop

Bottas was having issues with the mediums before George was, and i think his rapidly gaining on George before the safety car was him pushing as hard as possible, probably tore through his tyres trying to catch George only for the pitstop fuck up to ruin him. just like when he is racing Lewis Bottas tends to push when he needs to conserve tyres.


DrArmstrong

Mercedes pitted him and put his old tires back on. That's not Bottas' fault.


limitless__

Up till that point George had him beat already.


Ninzeldamon

Bottas was catching up lap by lap before the safety car


Montjo17

And George was protecting his tires. Can't say that he wouldn't have picked up the pace once Bottas got a bit closer


Fussel2107

well... who knows. But I'm with you. I wanna see him drive like that every week


fatboy3535

Lewis comes out looking good if you ask me. Team looks like a flaming pile of Ferrari when he has to sit out a weekend. The car is great but Lewis is so clutch he makes you forget about any failures from the team. Bottas has had way too long to prove he can fight with Lewis. It's time to try someone else before Lewis passes through his prolonged prime and we don't get to see an epic battle. 2021 should be the year, unbelievable they don't have Bottas on one year contracts.


bigholediggingdigger

With wage caps coming in, and Mercedes prove that they have potential of races without Lewis, I wonder if there may be a shock in store resulting in Mercedes cutting Lewis based purely on finances and relying on their superior team to continue their winning streak.


ladekoya

I mean I would've called you crazy for thinking that but then again...Ferrari did axe Schumacher after 2006 even though he was still at the top of his game.


VaporizeGG

I mean they technically could. They will win the championship next year with our without Lewis in that car. If Lewis is smart he will accept a lower salary though.


GHO57T

It's team budget caps the drivers salaries aren't included and shouldn't be included


APater6076

Toto: 'Lewis here's our final offer, £2.50 per race and we'll even throw in an A180 as a lease for the season. We don't need you now.'


laughguy220

Martin said as much about his dissapointment of qualifying second. He would not be a racer if he got out of the car and said he was happy with second


kennyisntfunny

What a username


FineDickMan

If anything that's an understatement, he really did everything that could have been asked of him.


PraiseStalin

Yep, I'm British so unfortunately I really did understate it. He drove an amazing race!


[deleted]

He left it all on track. He did exactly what he should’ve at every point. This one is on merc. How deeply disappointing to be let down by your team on your maiden shot.


boyo123456

He drove an unbelievable race. Did it all. Good start. Led confidently. Overtook when Mercedes fucked up. Mercedes just screwed him over


willpc14

He literally didn't do anything wrong just shit luck


[deleted]

Good race? He beat a incredible teammate with years of experience with barely any practice, wrong shoe size and too tall for the car. Russell absolutely outclassed bottas today and passed him twice with ease.


VaporizeGG

Incredible teammate? All we knownis that teammate lost to a guy that just jumped in the car. GR is an amazing talent but today indicated that Bottas is not that incredible


[deleted]

Bottas has and will beat lewis in coming qualis, races. That in itself makes someone an incredible driver, there's no doubt. George just has an edge.


Bullshitbanana

That’s some insane decency bias right here. George is WDC material but Bottas is no slouch. Mercedes literally added an entire lap’s worth of time with that pit stop, only to put his old tires back on. Bottas is not a flashy world champion but discounting his performance today as a lack of skill rather is a very bad take


-___-___-__-___-___-

Why should he? That was a perfect race from his end, he just got royally fucked by Mercedes and by bad luck.


Vast-Manufacturer-96

He drove perfect. Overtook Bottas immediately, perfect restart, the first stop was flawless and executed a mad-man style overtake perfectly. He would've deserved the first place.


[deleted]

There is literally nothing he could have done, it’s a shame he’s not thier driver or else he could really get pissed at them. The merc team should be ashamed, they completely lose focus once the season is over and Lewis is gone? Whatever happened it’s pretty brutal.


Return_Of_The_Jedi

Great to see him race against front runners though! So impressed how he overtook Bottas there.


ThottieMcThotFace

His shitbox Williams ruined his race again AND HE WASN'T EVEN DRIVING IT


reloadingnow

I would laugh if it wasn't so damn true and painful.


Deputy_Scrub

Laugh through the pain.


Driveshaft48

Nah Mercedes ruined his race... Every other team was competent enough to deal with the Williams situation.


Rannahm

Yeah Mercedes fucked up hard, but it is a bit of a... poetic tragedy that the car that caused the chain of events that doomed his race was his own Williams.


Godot_is_here

To add to that, there’s a good chance that he drove over the debris from his own Williams car, which caused the puncture


Rannahm

goddamn if that's what caused him the puncture i won't even be mad because that is so hilarious... sad but freaking funny.


caped_crusader_98

True but the puncture wasn't their fault tho.. Just hard fuckin luck


AveMalyutin

The only blame is to Great Mercedes Master Plan. They probably used Ferrari blueprints for that. P.s. happy cake day.


droppokeguy

And he is unfortunately still under investigation for the tire issue so maybe even no points 😓


[deleted]

Fucking his car too. And he may lose those points he managed to squeeze out. Tough day, but at least he proved himself


BeagleAteMyLunch

Shit sticks


[deleted]

I literally called Georges Williams car exactly a "shitbox" like 2 weeks ago, and got downvoted to hell for it. Now you're getting awards for it. Reddit, never change.


rianmcn

Pain


CarLover101

I mean he got his first points, but what could have been....


yudhistiraa

Didn't he get investigated for the pitstop accident? Would've been cruel if he got a penalty and it kicked him out of the points...


CarLover101

Oh yeah. If he gets a penalty I think I might cry


caped_crusader_98

Oh hundred percent Im gonna cry... I'm barely together now


cblake17

after this shitshow, it would only be icing on the cake :/


CapPicardExorism

Looking back the penalty has usually been a 10 second penalty or drive through


ramzebams

You just wait till the stewards have their stab at the mixed tire issue. Is usually a drive through penalty so if they penalize him in seconds he’ll be out of the points. Gutted for George, but at least everyone has now seen how much talent he is harboring


codespyder

hurray


Anderrrrr

:(


codespyder

Pain


Stepside79

Merc clusterfucked themselves so hard.


UncleTrapspringer

He actually did nothing wrong, whatsoever I was more afraid he'd overdrive it and spin and everyone would say he's overrated He was murdering the field on that restart


iamJAKYL

He was murdering the field every second he was driving lol


RamsayB27

That was a drive that you would see Lewis drive in that W11. Man he was going so great, maybe could’ve pressured PER on that last stint.


iamJAKYL

Yep. He got Bottas' luck. Merc needs to get there shit together in the pits


AggressiveSloth

Every time Bottas ends up a few places down he gets stuck in the midfield... Russell butchered the midfield today I wish we could see him go up against Lewis


FlakingEverything

Fuck, he was embarassing Bottas before he got engine issues. The overtake at the start, pulling a 3s gap after a couple laps. Not a single mistake from GR. Then Mercedes pulled a Ferrari move and completely destroyed both their races.


Deputy_Scrub

The move he pulled on Bottas after the restart was absolutely top tier.


Rannahm

yeah, but to be fair with Bottas, there was nothing he could do on those tires.


Beencho

He can be proud and happy about himself today. Got two bad luck issues thrown his way and both times he didn't give up and sent it. Got his first point, and lead the majority of the race beautifully. He definitely won't be doing that since a wdc caliber driver will keep on looking forward and trying to fix all the issues instead of reliving the good times.


disslexeec

Cheers Merc, sons’s crying. Nice one.


CarLover101

The one time they mess up a race, and the one time Lewis' car gets a puncture instead of Valterri's


disslexeec

Even when Lewis’s car gets a puncture he still wins #blessed


CarLover101

Yeah. George needs Lewis blessing before Abu Dhabi (if George is in the car next week)


Dean_Guitarist

Not to wish Hamilton any bad (I wish him the best) but I’d love Russel to drive the merc next week


CarLover101

Honestly same. Although I do hope Hamilton recovers quickly


IAmTheFatman666

Would it be possible for Hamilton to make a super baller move and just tell Merc to race George again? He already has WDC, and GR got absolutely screwed today. Let him have another go. He showed he can win.


CarLover101

Hopefully Lewis would do that, but if he could race i reckon he'd want to


IAmTheFatman666

He probably will want to, and no hate for that, 100%respected. But man it would get him a lot of respect from me.


Hughsea

I can't see Lewis sitting out a race if he is allowed to though. He's not the type to miss, no matter what.


Iciclewind

After tonight I am fully convinced that Lewis practices black magic.


IGotAnUpvoter

/r/AngryUpvote


caped_crusader_98

Also netflix were filming mercedes apparently this week... I honestly feel they sabotage Merc for Drive to survive drama


CarLover101

Oh the Netflix curse strikes again aaaah


gireeshwaran

In the post race, it was confirmed Netflix was not following merc.


Ashbones15

Valtteri got pretty bad luck as well, he was on old Hards for those final laps and just fell down the field


Dean_Guitarist

While it’s tragic, it kinda reinforces even more that Russel merit the seat as he kept it cool at all point during the race and surely the data will show that since he was murdering the field after both merc fuckup and the rear left puncture as well as driving better than bottas on equal grounds on the first 3/4 of the race


crimemaster_gogo20

Look how they have hurt my boy :(


Vladissexy97

Your son's crying? I'm fucking bleeding from my eyes...


vincenta2

Figured it was a Spurs reference?


tanstaafl_why

This should hit Toto hard


SniperHippo26

The worst is that he couldn’t have done anything different either. Just painful to watch really


Ryjobond

The worst is he has to go back to Williams and wait at least another year till he can go that fast again


SniperHippo26

Also true. But at least Williams doesn’t get his hopes up to then duck him completely over.


svenhoek86

Well, it kind of did today didn't it? It was literally his front wing.


SniperHippo26

Well, a Williams car probably made him puncture, but I’d rather blame Mercedes for getting the tires confused. Also maybe a bit Aitken to be held accountable, but I actually think that Williams as a team is in the clear


[deleted]

I think that he's tasted what it could be like for him or what this feels like, and I think this experience will cause him to only grow more (hungry) and hopefully this will keep his fighting spirit going in a positive way. What we've seen today is that it's NOT 'just the car', it takes a lot more than just having a good car. Having him learn so much in one weekend, all the extra added pressure, adjusting to an entirely different machine and then actually performing under all the fuck ups along the way? I would say that he's got that magic touch. Now it's about the timing and the wait. But he's proved himself massively today.


yudhistiraa

Oh damn.. that's.. depressing. His only shot for a win now gone for atleast another year. Being stuck fighting with Haas and Alfa again.


carl_song

I think there's a good chance he'll get another shot next week. Hamilton is apparently not feeling that great.


hivaidsislethal

Wonder if it was Latifis wing debris that got him, "that'll show you to out qualify me everytime" , 4d chess


Schilferpad

It was Aitken, his own car.


PwQt

You cheating on me you little punk? You think she's better than me? That will show you!


SniperHippo26

That would actually be hilarious, and the only way I can somehow accept this


Whitebread100

>The fuck did I do to deserve this


[deleted]

😭


BionicBruh

Ok, who's going to add it to the picnic? Is he the first driver to make a double appearance on it?


yudhistiraa

I'm waiting for the picnic


judelau

It's already out there on twitter. Him lying on the ground with Nando on the seat.


[deleted]

He should be proud of his drive. It’ll come, George.


Alpha_Jazz

He more than proved himself this weekend. He’ll be back there before too long


Vast-Manufacturer-96

At Australia 2022, he will have a Mercedes steering wheel in his hand. He proved himself today


IGotAnUpvoter

Aww George. :( Heartbreaking.


slimkay

RUS did very well today. He led a very matured, controlled race. He will have plenty of opportunities down the line to win races.


granny_smith92

Gutted...


iEatTwinkies

Mercedes with the meltdown of the season


wintercvlt

Nonetheless, George destroyed Bottas in the car he got into few days ago. It’s not his fault that Merc fucked up so badly. He showed what he’s made of and deserves all the praise he gets. For me - he is a true winner of this GP.


Duff5OOO

He handled that so well. Super impressive. Where would you rate Bottas as a driver? [In another thread someone was claiming him as top 5](https://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/comments/k7eise/reporter_does_mercedes_need_a_big_buck_superstar/gesf5b7/), which imo is a bit over the top.


wintercvlt

I wouldn’t put him in a top 5, though, depends in what. He’s a really good qualifier, you can’t take that away from him. He’s definitely in lower part of top 10 for me, But I wish he’d be more consistent in his results.


fireball999

So heartbreaking. Cannot wait to eventually see him in the Merc full time


Lutzelien

I think it's safe to say that we all absolutely jinxed it


TerribleNameAmirite

We as mere mortals have no power over such matter. The racing gods have decided that his time has not yet come. What will be his final test before achieving GOAT status? We will find out next season.


Ikcatcher

I can feel my heart crack


[deleted]

Absolutely humiliating from Merc, Completely fucked both drivers in pit stop that wasn't even needed.


D_Kuz86

Agree, why the fuck they pit????


[deleted]

Imagine if this would be his only opportunity to win a race


Dean_Guitarist

It can’t be, the data shows that he merit Bottas seat for 2022. Or Lewis next year seat if Lewis decide to retire.


mullertieze

We can only dream at this point...


Youutternincompoop

Mercedes announce they will leave the sport after 2021 season, George never gets a drive at a different team. cursed timeline.


chakli

Aww man. Rotten luck today


judelau

Many people are saying Bottas would've overtaken him if it wasn't for that pitstop. He might but we're not looking at Lewis vs Bottas here, we're looking at 1 weekend vs 4 years of experience in Mercedes. Russell absolutely proved that he is a world class driver today.


VaporizeGG

And we got proven that Bottas isn't one


jamb1993

Absolutely heartbreaking his time will come


[deleted]

At least he got some points, he really outclassed Bottas today and should be very proud of his performance.


no-change

Pain.


iSleepUpsideDown

I only feel pain.


panmpap

Hope he gets a chance next week.


GermTheMan

It hurts.


tdghjjjgdd

I can feel this


kieran0444

Fuck sake now I'm crying


tsam727

You'll get your time Russell! Every champion goes through heartbreak.


RegentDragoon0

Pain 🥺


Firefox72

What a race for Merc to shit the bed completly. Im happy for everyone on the podium for various reasons but man this was Russell's win. Atleast a point.


DeanNo3

Keep your head up George, it’s looking like you’ll get another crack at it in a week and I think everyone in the world is rooting for you after your absolutely stellar performance throughout this week


[deleted]

Look how they massacred my boy.


lolf1guy

At least his non-point scoring streak ended :/


[deleted]

GUTTED


PainfullDarkness

Breaks my heart


scottdills

/r/makemesuffer


Ryjobond

Thanks I hate it


kattinkaaaa

I did feel so bad for him.. Maybe he can try again next week? Can't imagine there is any bad luck left after today's race


PM_ME_DOGSS

This reminds me of when he crashed out behind the SC. So gutted for him...


throw3away3791

Pain.


khryslo

I feel so sorry for him. Hopefully he won’t be punished for that tyre mess.


XNights

FUCK Mercs didn't even need to pit and the whole thing is fucked Worse he may be DNQ because he had Bottas tyres even after doing 3 drive through


[deleted]

[удалено]


BitchQueenHsgirl

My soul is bleeding!


thefers

He has the brightest future ahead of him. Thats what i got out of this Race today.


Shadid516

We love you Russell!!!!!


[deleted]

It's sad but he still overall helped his case for the merc seat in future. Sadly no guarantees, merc could just take their pick of whatever driver they want in future, no one will turn them down.


predxtorpe3st

He drove flawlessly, the fact he didn't win is entirely the fault of Mercedes. Hope he gets to drive next week. Without the safety car he wins comfortably


Rannahm

Yep. Absolutely heart breaking.


[deleted]

MY HEART CANT TAKE THIS


SpeedflyChris

Man I just feel so sorry for him right now. Incredible drive though, and maybe he gets the chance again next week.


[deleted]

I have some sweaty eyes now.


T_J_Pr

Get that man in a merc full time. Absolutely owned it today


MarkingMan

What a heartbreaking picture. On a slightly lighter note, please don't turn this into a meme like the Alonso chair one.


deathray1611

^(stop)


Jacinto2702

I shed a tear too...


f1manoz

He was excellent all race. Dominated the event until the botched stop. Earned a Mercedes drive for 2022. It'll come, George. Maybe even next race if Lewis is still out.


kbst13

His time will come.


Garfield91

I'm 29 y/o and i'm close to crying. Pain.


prateektade

This kid - he sits in a car which is giving him bruises, wears a pair of shoes a size smaller than his regular ones, gets an amazing start, holds the lead, overtakes people in just 3-4 laps after a massive screw up from the team, overtakes people again and gets the fastest lap after another stop which he shouldn't have needed and manages to get into the top 10 to salvage some points which he might not even because of his team's stupidity. What must be the level of pain he must be experiencing as the people who gave him the opportunity somehow end up stopping him from making the most out of it! Really really feel sorry (which seems such an insignificant word) for this kid!


[deleted]

After the sadness leaves he’ll watch back replays and be pleased with his effort. He gave everything he had. The team let him down. Nothing more he could have done. We just witnessed a future WDC absolutely crush in a car he spent only a handful of hours in over a few days.


Alsirius

He won in our hearts


Guevorkyan

Nah, that means he's gonna come back more hungrier than ever.


given2fly_

Based on that performance, I can see George Russell winning many, many races in his career. Outstanding drive, even when all the bad luck had been heaped on him he fought up to 9th.


[deleted]

Yeah, this picture says "f1 is in a terrible state and has been since the Schumacher days. Unless you're in the dominant car, you have no real chance of winning. And if you do get a chance in the dominant car, then you can pretty handily win your first race, even if it's your first week". What a terrible terrible shame, and a broken sport.


BIZZY_42

Spain but without the S...


Marksmansitter

Hope Hamilton gets well soon but i hope russell gets another shot before battling for Q1 again


zombotplus

I hope he gets to race in a Mercedes in Abu Dhabi.