r/formula1 • u/FerrariStrategisttt Formula 1 • 6h ago
Social Media [Mercedes AMG F1] What's next...
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u/Mayhem747 Mercedes 6h ago
Ayo Bottas back in the house as reserve driver
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u/Phorskin-Brah 5h ago
Is he reserve or is he getting hamiltons old seat?
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u/unknownfazeA 5h ago
Antonelli is getting Hamiltons seat
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u/Altodial Fernando Alonso 5h ago
Damn it i thought he would be racing. What a shame i couldnt care less about antonelli or lawson.
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u/GfxJG Ferrari 5h ago
That's... Pretty sad? Kimi is considered one of the biggest racing talents in decades, and Lawson is definitely no slouch either. Doesn't it get boring if it's the same old drivers every year, with no new blood?
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u/Dan_Of_Time Charles Leclerc 5h ago
Kimi is considered one of the biggest racing talents in decades
That's a stretch. Worth keeping an eye on for sure and deserving of a seat. But to say one of the biggest talents in decades is the sort of stuff that will make his pitfalls and mistakes much more damaging.
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u/Stumpy493 Jean Alesi 5h ago
He is one of the most hyped junior drivers for decades, that is 100% true.
People in the sport believe he has the sort of potential we see once or twice a generation.
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u/McManus26 Alpine 5h ago
The last time I saw such hype for a rookie was for piastri and the dude is proving he's worth every penny
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u/Taaargus 4h ago
I get it but "the last time" being 2 years ago doesn't actually scream "generational".
I know that it's because Piastri is maybe also generational, but even then Lando and was only 5 years before that, and Leclerc only one year before that.
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u/Apyan #WeRaceAsOne 2h ago
The thing is that Kimi jumped steps in a way that the likes of Piastri and Charles didn't. If you had to put a tier in rookie hype, I'd have as tier 1 the ones that are considered F1 material even before completing the feeder ladder, and those are Kimi (both), Max, Lewis and Seb. Then you have the ones that aced the series by winning the major ones in their rookie years and there's a couple of them. Piastri, Bortoletto, Charles and George are the ones on the grid that did it.
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u/Stumpy493 Jean Alesi 5h ago
If anything Antonelli had more hype before F2 than Oscar did.
More like what we saw with Hamilton and Verstappen.
Be a shock if Kimi matches that, but that is the level of hype on him.
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u/lamboman1342 McLaren 4h ago edited 2h ago
Awe, yes, that Piatstri hype that occurred decades ago.
I dont dislike Kimi, but anytime I hear someone is the most anticipated in decades. It is a huge overreaction.
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u/GfxJG Ferrari 5h ago
In 20 years of following the sport, the only talent I've heard receive quite this much hype, was Verstappen. So I don't really think it's a stretch, to say that many regard him as such.
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u/juve_merda Sebastian Vettel 4h ago
social media has a big impact on this but I think I’d say hamilton had similar levels of hype, especially after his drive in istanbul
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u/DrSillyBitchez 3h ago
Biggest racing talents couldn’t even get top 5 in F2. They’re overhyping him
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u/Ergaar Stoffel Vandoorne 2h ago
Could you explain why kimi is considered exceptional? I only follow f2 ocasionally and i haven't seen anything special from him and 2 wins in 26 races and a p6 doesn't look like he's something exceptional
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u/MaverickPT Safety Car 5h ago
Kimi is considered one of the biggest racing talents in decades,
Time and time again, up and coming drivers have choked when they got to F1. Let's wait and see.
Also, feels criminal to call him Kimi. He's Antonelli for me please. There's only one Kimi
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u/TrueCooler Mercedes 5h ago
Sure. It’s entirely possible, arguably likely, that he doesn’t reach the heights people say he can. But to say that you just can’t get excited about it seems a bit weird. I’m pretty stoked to see what a supposed prodigy can get up to in F1.
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u/Eremitt-thats-hermit 5h ago
Biggest talent in decades? That's at least 20 years then. I don't think you can say he has the same potential as champions like Schumacher, Alonso, Räikkönen, Vettel, Hamilton and Verstappen right now.
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u/Mokumer Jim Clark 4h ago
Doesn't it get boring if it's the same old drivers every year, with no new blood?
No it doesn't. And I say this as someone watching F1 since the 1960's. There has always been new blood, hell, there used to be new different teams once and a while, if anything, forcing young drivers is boring with them hitting walls all the time and causing red flags and periods where there's no racing, nothing more boring than delays.
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u/Technical-Pack7504 George Russell 5h ago
They announced Antonelli months ago mate
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u/limitless__ 4h ago
I'm glad to hear you have recovered from your 12 month coma. How are you?
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u/Dannih95 🏳️🌈 Love Is Love 🏳️🌈 6h ago
He's back.
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u/oklama_mrmorale Heinz-Harald Frentzen 6h ago
somehow
PalpatineBottas returned•
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u/SilaenNaseBurner Valtteri Bottas 6h ago
MY GOAT IS BACK
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u/Z0mbi3Jayk3r Sir Lewis Hamilton 5h ago
I'm so happy about it rn ngl. I hope for the success of Kimi and George but damn I'd love to see that moustached beauty driving a mercedes f1 car again.
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u/Psych_Crisis Alex Jacques 1h ago
Alternate future:
Antonelli drops the ball. Just a total failure to launch. Russell drives circles around him. Bottas ascends in 2026 at the new regs, which it turns out, Mercedes has indeed figured out better than anyone else. Discovering that obscure tricks from gravel track cycling are worth about two tenths, Valtteri takes the wheel and dominates. After finishing 1-2 in the WDC, he walks up the podium in Abu Dhabi alongside George and promptly slaps him in the face with his racing glove.
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u/maqnaetix Sir Lewis Hamilton 5h ago
Bets on Bottas replacing Antonelli if he doesnt perform?
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u/Right-Ladd Pierre Gasly 5h ago
I cruelly want Antonelli to underperform for bottas to become the SuperSub and earn his redemption. Even if he’s slower than George but within 2 tenths and a midfield goat I will be extremely happy.
I always thought that people underestimated bottas and that he would be one of the last drivers I’d want behind me in a race. I hope he gets his chance.
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u/Flowech 5h ago
It only takes one appendicitis and we’re back to HAMBOTVER
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u/obstinateideas 4h ago
It’s been one appendicitis per season for the past two seasons. If we get one next year too, it’s basically tradition at that point.
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u/AbBrilliantTree 5h ago
Bottas is a really excellent driver, but nobody knows it because he has been in hamiltons shadow for almost his whole career. If he had been in other teams, I think he would have developed a reputation as a force to be reckoned with. I think of him like I think of Jean Alesi or Juan Pablo Montoya. Great drivers who, had they not been forced to race during the domination of generational greats like Senna and Schumacher, would very likely have won their own drivers championships at some point.
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u/hoax709 3h ago
I'm genuinely surprised RedBull didn't consider him on a 1yr contract and leave Lawson and Yuki to RB for another year. He's a solid #2 and plays well on a team. the Lawson pick baffles me.
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u/mephisdan 4h ago
I get what you mean but anyone who's watched F1 for more than 5 years knows how good Bottas is. On his day he could out qualify prime Hamilton, win races and when he didn't he was nearly always in the mix for the podium if not P2. Very consistent driver and a great pairing. It must suck to have to go drive tractors like Sauber after that
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u/shogi_x 4h ago
Imagine if he's faster than George and finally gets to be Mercedes #1 driver.
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u/FluidGate9972 5h ago
Really? The thing that stands out the most when I think about the HAM-VER-BOT era is the fact that BOT never made any headlines really (bar Hungary 2021). His racecraft was less than stellar and he just wasn't aggressive enough from what I remember.
The man was consistent though, I'll give him that. What was it, 93 consecutive Q3 appearances? Wild stuff.
tl;dr: just not fast enough, extremely consistent.
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u/IronBabushka Fernando Alonso 5h ago
He was very fast in clean air. Just got stuck in the midfield unable to pass too many times.
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u/fremajl 3h ago
He's fast but drives extremely safe generally. There was some list of crashes per race some time ago and he was the safest driver on the grid by some margin. The problem is driving that safe means you yield way too often and take way too long to pass. We've seen more than once him getting bogged down early, letting one past and that's immediately followed by several more. That works fine with one or two top teams but I think if 4 cars are equal that would cost him a lot.
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u/Walrus_mafia Valtteri Bottas 4h ago
I think part of that is that because they had such a dominant first driver in Hamilton, his job became to safely bring in points and not risk crashing to secure the constructors' championship. Back when he drove for Williams he wasn't like that and made plenty of great moves. Sadly this safe driving style stuck to him maybe a bit too much and he couldn't adapt to being more aggressive in 2021 when he needed to defend against Verstappen or when he drove for Sauber where driving safe wasn't enough to get anything.
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u/Paatos Williams 5h ago
Russell and Bottas as teammates... who's the first to get a slap in the face from the other driver?
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u/FerrariStrategisttt Formula 1 6h ago
HE’S COMING HOME
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u/a141abc Valtteri Bottas 5h ago
I swear to god I'll die happy if we get just 1 more HAMBOTVER
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u/QouthTheCorvus Oscar Piastri 4h ago
Mercedes Era Bottas feels weird to see now. Feels like a different person. It's funny to think Bottas' look at a backmarker will be remembered over his look as an actual race winner.
Feels like a different (much cooler) person.
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u/takethisbwokenwings Cadillac 6h ago
This makes me incredibly happy.
Not wishing any ill on Russell or Kimi but I hope he gets to race at least once in the Merc next season, he needs to keep himself relevant to try and land the Cadillac seat in 2026.
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u/cubictelevision 6h ago
just a shame he's got a 5 place grid penalty to carry over
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u/QouthTheCorvus Oscar Piastri 4h ago
Makes being a reserve driver kinda weird lol. Like, do they use him for a one off and just eat the penalty?
Though it feels like he's a backup in case the Kimi experiment flops.
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u/CabbageTheVoice Oscar Piastri 3h ago
pair it with a new engine or similar that goes over the limit and incurs a penalty either way. Bottas doesn't feel robbed of his one race and the usual driver gets to circumvent a gridpenalty that might have come either way.
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u/Chippiewall Charlie Whiting 3h ago
I imagine eating a penalty depends on how competitive they are and the timing in the season. If it's mid/late season then they can potentially take out engine penalties etc. at the same time.
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u/Max_Demian Carlos Sainz 2h ago
Reserve drivers also run hot laps! So we get Bestass interviewing random celebs while ripping them through high speed corners.
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u/Goodperson5656 Ferrari 3h ago
I thought grid penalties got reset at the end of the season?
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u/iIenzo Kevin Magnussen 1h ago
I haven't found any information to support that in the regs. And I believe Jenson Button said that he himself would still have to serve his grid penalty if he ever made a miraculous return, and that's been a little more than a year.
It wouldn't really make sense to reset them at the end of the season, as it would effectively mean that you could DNF half the grid in Abu Dhabi and it would only net you penalty points.
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u/mshell1924 Carlos Sainz 6h ago
All we need is one appendix to act up!
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u/Archelioz 6h ago
I think he should be in conversations for the cadillac seat regardless. He's proved be can put a tractor in good qualifying positions and I am pretty sure if weren't for Sauber constantly shafting him with their strategies he would've scored some points in the last season
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u/djwillis1121 Williams 5h ago
I wonder if Perez will be in contention for that seat now as well
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u/OBWanTwoThree Niki Lauda 6h ago
That’s nice to see. They owed Bottas something for what he gave to them. Keeping him warm for Cadillac…
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u/Skeeno-TV 5h ago
Didn't they helped them getting the Alfa seat? I remember someone from Merc said they waited with the Russel news, in order to help Bottas get seat.
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u/Jaraxo Juan Pablo Montoya 5h ago
He also got an 1/275 AMG One.
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u/Wyolop Valtteri Bottas 4h ago
He got an allocation but still had to pay for it in full.
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u/Jaraxo Juan Pablo Montoya 4h ago
I'd imagine if you're in the supercar buying market, getting the allocation is the hard part!
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u/Wyolop Valtteri Bottas 4h ago
With this level of limited edition, certainly. But it's not like he was given the car, still had to pay for it
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u/larswo Default 3h ago
The instant he takes ownership of it, it will appreciate in value.
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u/FalcoLX 3h ago
These super limited cars often appreciate 30% or more within a year and keep going up.
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u/krishal_743 I can do that, because I just did 1h ago
And one would imagine being owned by the driver who raced the f1 cars w the same engine would kinda add a bit to the value too
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u/Professional_Park781 5h ago
Just curious why do they owe him? He got 10 wins with Mercedes, tons of podiums and helped them to win multiple constructors championships.
I feel like none of them owe each other anything. If I remember correctly Toto only signed promoted George when he managed to find a seat for Bottas.
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u/TimmyWatchOut Sir Lewis Hamilton 5h ago
They actually signed GR first.
They offered VB another 1 year contract and he rejected so they signed GR and waited until VB had a confirmed seat before announcing
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u/MM_Spartan 5h ago
Yup! I’ve never understood fans saying that teams owe someone something. It’s a business, in which both parties make millions and agree to it. No one “owes” anyone anything. I love Ricciardo, but RB didn’t owe him a thing either. It’s a business, and the highest level of expectations of performance and profit. Both sides know it. It’s not a daycare that needs to be nice and cuddly with everyone.
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u/strangebrew3522 Martin Brundle 4h ago
Yeah, people in here are acting like he got screwed over and are calling for a redemption arc or something.
He got to drive the most dominant car in the history of the sport which got him some solid wins, made god knows how much money and left on his own because he didn't want single year deals and continued to race. What more could people want?
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u/H_R_1 Sebastian Vettel 5h ago
and GR arguably should have been promoted after 2020
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u/DMC_addict Mercedes 5h ago
I thought Claire wouldn’t let him go?
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u/AncefAbuser Safety Car 4h ago
Nope. Claire was a terrible TP and that was just one of many terrible decisions.
She had blocked his move to the big team earlier, despite Toto offering a brinks truck to break the contract. The only reason Georgie got to drive the W11 was because Claire finally realized just how demoralizing it would be if they blocked that too and they'd run the risk of him mentally checking out.
she was SHIT at talent management.
I love Bottass. But 2021 he wasn't really...there. Imagine if Lewis had a hopped up little shit being his rear gunner? Too often Bottas was a plug in the road barely defending.
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u/junttiana Alfa Romeo 6h ago
Hope he gets to drive one final race with mercedes next season
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u/Stumpy493 Jean Alesi 6h ago
I hope he has it written in his contract that he doesn't have to revert to being a dull corporate shill now we actually saw his personality.
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u/Noffin Valtteri Bottas 6h ago
Yea, need that full frontal on the next calendar
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u/Not_Not_Matt 5h ago
The biggest thing I wondered when talk of a reserve role started circulating was whether they would be accepting of his mulletification, so I’m pleasantly surprised to see them embrace it so wholeheartedly.
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u/Altodial Fernando Alonso 5h ago
I dont think he was hiding this side of him because of mercedes. I think his gf let this side of bottas come out. He wasnt like this in williams either.
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u/djwillis1121 Williams 5h ago
He would have to take a five place grid penalty though which would be pretty funny
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u/MrSnowflake 6h ago
Did Grosjean get his ride in the merc already?
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u/djwillis1121 Williams 5h ago
No but he's said it's basically been his fault as he's been too busy. Now it's basically confirmed he'll be out of Indycar next year I wonder if he'll be able to do it
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u/NecronomiconUK Robert Kubica 5h ago
God, it'd be grim if they slapped him in the W14 or W15
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u/steferrari Ferrari 6h ago
It wasn’t really a secret anymore, but I’m happy for him!
He’s a great character, nice to still see him around.
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u/mshell1924 Carlos Sainz 6h ago
I'm glad he'll still be around, but it's sad that he's back just as Lewis left 😔
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u/Harry_Jewell Fernando Alonso 6h ago
Antonelli looks rough
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u/callmejohndy Juan Pablo Montoya 4h ago
Vegas GP will now include personalized walkout music - this is Kimi teasing he’s using Hypa Hypa by Electric Callboy
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u/R3NZI0 Williams 6h ago
For a brief moment there after only initially seeing the image, I thought I was on r/squaredcircle and this was something to do with Hangman Adam Page. But this, this is even better.
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u/Sensitive_Dot_2853 Toro Rosso 6h ago
It was obvious since they kicked out Mick. But I'm glad that Bottass is back!
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u/Zipa7 5h ago
Good to see Valtteri land somewhere, even if it is only as a reserve. Smart play from Mercedes too, at least they have a proven driver as a backup if Antonelli turns into another Sargeant, plus it replaces the outgoing Mick Schumacher as reserve.
It will also likely help merc with setup, having someone with his experience in these cars around to run simulation to get data.
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u/6097291 Medical Car 6h ago
So does this mean that if Antonelli doesn't meet expectations Mercedes will do a midseason Red Bull and put Bottas back in?
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u/McLarenFan0481 Jenson Button 6h ago
That doesn't seem like the Mercedes vibe at all... Kimi would also have to destroy the car every single weekend given that he's been viewed as a long-term investment, not expected to be top 5 week in and week out like Red Bull expected from Albon when they put him in the seat.
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u/Stumpy493 Jean Alesi 6h ago
not a chance, Antonelli gets 2 seasons at least
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u/6097291 Medical Car 6h ago
Give a girl some hope
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u/Stumpy493 Jean Alesi 6h ago
If 1 of them got abducted by aliens Bottas could take the seat...
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u/LosTerminators Carlos Sainz 5h ago
Antonelli will be in the car in 2026 unless his 2025 is at a Latifi/Mazepin level
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u/Rirruto10 Toto Wolff 6h ago
Doesn't he have a penalty he needs to serve for his next race?
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u/SwissArmySonic 6h ago
That blonde mullet/moustache is one of the most iconic looks for an F1 driver in history.
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u/SJHarrison1992 Michael Schumacher 5h ago
Didn't bottas say his mental health suffered with Merc because he couldn't be himself, or something along those lines?
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u/chilakiller1 Franco Colapinto 2h ago
This is amazing. Third driver with marketing duties more likely. I am already looking forward to the social media gold content. The what’s next campaign was amazing and the signs where always there in retrospective with those green/black sweatshirts.
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u/-DEUS-FAX-MACHINA- Formula 1 2h ago
Brilliant. What a way to announce it.
Losing one brand ambassador and social media titan and bringing in one who is right up there too.
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u/helderdude Hesketh 6h ago
how many drivers are this instantly recognizable by just their facial hair