Horner's comments on Hamilton, why make them?

[truefan72]

http://en.espnf1.com/mclaren/motorsport/story/43264.html

I find this very interesting

Asked whether Red Bull could handle a Vettel-Hamilton combination, Horner said: "You would certainly envisage it being quite a busy partnership, but you can never rule it out. From my perspective you always want to have the best two drivers."

What does Horner's comments say about Webber's Role in the team?

[CNR]

if it was to happen it would be in 2013

more likely this is just to unsettle the golden boy
Vettel will be better then you

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/motorsport/formulaone/lewishamilton/8381953/Formula-One-2011-team-principal-Christian-Horner-hints-at-McLaren-driver-Lewis-Hamilton-joining-Red-Bull.html

It is not the first time Horner has encouraged talk of a move for Hamilton. Last month he said he could understand why people might link McLaren’s golden boy with a move to his team.

[Tazio]

http://en.espnf1.com/mclaren/motorsport/story/43264.html

I find this very interesting

Asked whether Red Bull could handle a Vettel-Hamilton combination, Horner said: "You would certainly envisage it being quite a busy partnership, but you can never rule it out. From my perspective you always want to have the best two drivers."

What does Horner's comments say about Webber's Role in the team?
I think Horner answered a question in a very general and vague way. He admitted The Boss is a great driver.
He knows that in MW he has a guy that doesn't let things that far in the future bother him.
Red Bull went out on a limb about having equal treatment to his drivers.
We all have eyes I think that the job is Marks to lose.
And judging from last year he is holding up his end of the deal.
Plus McLaren have not run a single lap in anger this season.
I don't believe he has given up on the team.
Show me a link that says "Hamilton signs deal to drive for Red Bull"
Then I will consider it
.

[woody2goody]

It does seem a little bit unnecessary though. Although we all know what RBR think of Webber, they want him to be a dutiful number 2, which he will never (and shouldn't have to) be.

Hamilton joining Red Bull is very unlikely even in the long-term. I think it's more likely for Buemi/Alguersuari to get 'promoted' into a RBR seat.

[Kevincal]

more likely for Buemi/Alguersuari to get 'promoted' into a RBR seat.

seriously!? these guys are mediocre at best.. get kimi in there :)

[Roamy]

Really I doubt Mark gives a Sh!t!! he will drive as hard as he can and let the chips fall where they may. The relieved one is Alonso because he doesn't have to worry about Vettel showing up anytime soon.

[Mark]

http://en.espnf1.com/mclaren/motorsport/story/43264.html

I find this very interesting

Asked whether Red Bull could handle a Vettel-Hamilton combination, Horner said: "You would certainly envisage it being quite a busy partnership, but you can never rule it out. From my perspective you always want to have the best two drivers."

What does Horner's comments say about Webber's Role in the team?

I guess his mistake is actually thinking about it and answering the question here? Supposedly he should have swerved the issue and just said something corporate like "We're concentrating on our current driver line up".

No team owner wants to rule out having a particular driver in his team, and no driver ever wants to say that they are going to drive for a particular team forever, even Hamilton hasn't said that he's going to stay at McLaren forever.

[RS]

more likely for Buemi/Alguersuari to get 'promoted' into a RBR seat.

seriously!? these guys are mediocre at best.. get kimi in there :)

I think Riccardio will soon jump ahead of those two in the pecking order.

[Big Ben]

probably because he was asked.

I think MW already knows his position in the team.

[Big Ben]

Maybe he's more subtle than one would think and he's having a dig at their closest rival :laugh:

[fandango]

Everyone has to be the best they can, and if a comment like this makes anyone feel the pressure more, be they Hamilton, McLaren or Webber, then they can't hack it in F1. But all of those mentioned have shown they CAN hack it in F1.

If Hamilton got slower McLaren would dump rightly him, so he's got to be considering leaving them, considering their recent record with their cars.

[wedge]

Horner is getting the hang of this Team Principle malarkey

[UltimateDanGTR]

Me think he's trying to unsettle Mclaren and possibly Lewis himself.

Whilst I am a fan of his targets, You can't blame him.

[DexDexter]

Me think he's trying to unsettle Mclaren and possibly Lewis himself.

Whilst I am a fan of his targets, You can't blame him.

Nonsense, he is just stating the obvious: Lewis doesn't want to drive an uncompetitive car. The reason these team principals make all sorts of comments is simple: Somebody asks them all the time.

[Tazio]

Nonsense, he is just stating the obvious: Lewis doesn't want to drive an uncompetitive car. The reason these team principals make all sorts of comments is simple: Somebody asks them all the time.
winner

[truefan72]

I guess his mistake is actually thinking about it and answering the question here? Supposedly he should have swerved the issue and just said something corporate like "We're concentrating on our current driver line up".

No team owner wants to rule out having a particular driver in his team, and no driver ever wants to say that they are going to drive for a particular team forever, even Hamilton hasn't said that he's going to stay at McLaren forever.

there is nothing wrong in answering the question, but you have to parse your words carefully and temper them in light of your current lineup. He did neither and pretty much undermined one of his drivers. This cannot be good for team morale nor bode well for a tension free atmosphere in the team. IMO Webber is no borrowed time and I can see LH making the switch if Mclaren continues this way and RBR continues to be dominant. But my main issue with the interview is not about Hamilton, but about the continued way in which RBR seem to be dismissive of webber. I am not a huge webber fan, but do recognize that right now, either driver could win any racer on any given sunday and that is not a bad thing to have. If LH comes to the team I doubt that the team dynamics would be any different and given the current circumstances at RBR it is clear that SVis the favorite son and will continue to receive all the necessary favoritism

[Tumbo]

there is nothing wrong in answering the question, but you have to parse your words carefully and temper them in light of your current lineup. He did neither and pretty much undermined one of his drivers.

Remember that MW has only signed up for 1 more yr, even he has said that how competitive he is will determine whether the continues after this yr..............given there is no chance of Hamilton jumping ship mid-season don't see how Horner is undermining anyone???

[markabilly]

What else could he say instead of "You would certainly envisage it being quite a busy partnership, but you can never rule it out. From my perspective you always want to have the best two drivers."???
well????

How about: "You kidding?? I could not even handle Webber and Vettel..........look at what happened with Ron Dennis and he is twice the manager i am...."

Duh......



Never know, in two years he might be lucky to just have Webber and some other austrian.....on the other hand, would hamilton go where he absolutely will not be the favorite son of the bosses. Lewis probably can not speak German worth a toot

[jens]

Hamilton would be quite a sweet signing for Red Bull. Excellent representative of their youth-oriented brand. And alongside Vettel he would do a lot of good in increasing the popularity of RBR. As long as they can afford the salary (then they would have two "star drivers" on high retainers), I think RB would happily sign Hamilton if such opportunity arose.

[RJL25]

While Webber seems to have made up with Vettel and the management of RBR and they are all happy families again, I think all concerned probably realise thats its best for all concerned for Mark to move on next season. RBR want one of the Torro Rosso drivers to step up (which will actually end up being Ricciardo) and Webber I think is quite happy to move on.

With Kubica potentially out of the equation for a 2012 Ferrari drive, you can bet that Webber will be trying to angle for that seat as much as possible for 2012, he is one of the few guys in pit lane who gets on with Alonso, and is of a strong enough character to be able to put up with Fernando's ****... Think about it, who else would Ferrari be looking too for 2012? Massa has proven he isn't up to it, someone will have to be drafted in to the team......

[jens]

Massa has proven he isn't up to it, someone will have to be drafted in to the team......

A bit dangerous to talk like that right before the start of the season. First let's wait a little bit, what is going to happen. ;)

Besides - Ferrari doesn't have a habit of hiring 35-y-o guys as full-time drivers. Usually Ferrari hires drivers with long-term perspective and is interested that this guy has many competitive years left in him.

I don't see, why should Red Bull definetely hire someone from STR or their own driver programme. Alguersuari or Buemi has to raise their game significantly for that. And Ricciardo isn't proven enough for such step yet, what if he flops in late-11 if he promoted in STR as race driver?

RBR has in the past shown their willingness to hire drivers outside their system (DC and Webber case in point) and 2012 might see third such example.

[pino]

A bit dangerous to talk like that right before the start of the season. First let's wait a little bit, what is going to happen. ;)

Besides - Ferrari doesn't have a habit of hiring 35-y-o guys as full-time drivers. Usually Ferrari hires drivers with long-term perspective and is interested that this guy has many competitive years left in him.



Sorry about the off-topic (season hasn't started yet) ;) but once again I agree with jens, Massa'a career isn't over and I am sure he will show that this year :D

[DexDexter]

While Webber seems to have made up with Vettel and the management of RBR and they are all happy families again, I think all concerned probably realise thats its best for all concerned for Mark to move on next season. RBR want one of the Torro Rosso drivers to step up (which will actually end up being Ricciardo) and Webber I think is quite happy to move on.

With Kubica potentially out of the equation for a 2012 Ferrari drive, you can bet that Webber will be trying to angle for that seat as much as possible for 2012, he is one of the few guys in pit lane who gets on with Alonso, and is of a strong enough character to be able to put up with Fernando's ****... Think about it, who else would Ferrari be looking too for 2012? Massa has proven he isn't up to it, someone will have to be drafted in to the team......

How has Massa proven he is not up to it, I mean he was the World Champion for few seconds in 2008? He had a bad season last year after his near fatal accident. IMO the jury is still out on the guy.

[Tazio]

How has Massa proven he is not up to it, I mean he was the World Champion for few seconds in 2008? He had a bad season last year after his near fatal accident. IMO the jury is still out on the guy.A few people will be surprised at how fast FM is this season, Mike as well.


he is one of the few guys in pit lane who gets on with Alonso, and is of a strong enough character to be able to put up with Fernando's ****... Think about it, who else would Ferrari be looking too for 2012? Massa has proven he isn't up to it, someone will have to be drafted in to the team......
Nonsense, These guys are Pro's

[truefan72]

While Webber seems to have made up with Vettel and the management of RBR and they are all happy families again, I think all concerned probably realise thats its best for all concerned for Mark to move on next season. RBR want one of the Torro Rosso drivers to step up (which will actually end up being Ricciardo) and Webber I think is quite happy to move on.

With Kubica potentially out of the equation for a 2012 Ferrari drive, you can bet that Webber will be trying to angle for that seat as much as possible for 2012, he is one of the few guys in pit lane who gets on with Alonso, and is of a strong enough character to be able to put up with Fernando's ****... Think about it, who else would Ferrari be looking too for 2012? Massa has proven he isn't up to it, someone will have to be drafted in to the team......

i would enjoy Webber at Ferrari for the moment when the team/Alonso demands he move over and Webber does not yield

[ArrowsFA1]

How has Massa proven he is not up to it, I mean he was the World Champion for few seconds in 2008? He had a bad season last year after his near fatal accident. IMO the jury is still out on the guy.
Felipe may have driven a great race in Brazil '08 but at no time was he WDC even for a split second. He just had more points than everyone else for a few seconds until the rest of the field crossed the line and collected their points.

If the jury is still out with Massa having been in F1 since 2002 then that suggests that he is too inconsistent to convince people that he can reach the heights on 2008 more than once.

[truefan72]

Felipe may have driven a great race in Brazil '08 but at no time was he WDC even for a split second. He just had more points than everyone else for a few seconds until the rest of the field crossed the line and collected their points.

If the jury is still out with Massa having been in F1 since 2002 then that suggests that he is too inconsistent to convince people that he can reach the heights on 2008 more than once.

and to be honest, he stole the Belgian GP, and punted LH in japan both of which really should have settled the WDC fight a long time before that. Not to mention that he had some rather unspectacular drives that year as well. Massa is a nice guy and a decent driver in a really good car. He is a classic front runner who drives away with the race in some clean air and if he takes the lead from the start. In every other circumstance he has shown to be rather average. I do like his guile though but to me Germany 2010 permanently ruined him IMO.

Ferrari are like a hot girl who for a while is interested in you and by her mere presence in life elevates your social status and gives you some moments of sheer bliss. but eventually she will tie of yo and look for the next guy that gets her excited. And before you know it you are out the door or relegated to occasional status with nary a recognition of all you did for them. Ferrari have broken up with massa, he just doesn't know it, even if all his friends and folks in general can see it.

[DexDexter]

Felipe may have driven a great race in Brazil '08 but at no time was he WDC even for a split second. He just had more points than everyone else for a few seconds until the rest of the field crossed the line and collected their points.

If the jury is still out with Massa having been in F1 since 2002 then that suggests that he is too inconsistent to convince people that he can reach the heights on 2008 more than once.

The jury is still out because we don't know whether he is the same man as before the accident. Inconsistent, yes, but good enough to mount a serious championship challenge and without Timo Glock being extra careful, a WDC.

[jens]

DexDexter has a fair point about Massa. We also must not forget that over the last 5-6 years we have had lots of rule changes and drivers have had to adapt to a lot of very different types of cars. Some have managed to adapt well every year, others have found some sets of car configurations more likable than others. It remains to be seen, whether Massa can hit the sweetspot again with F150 like he did not only in 2008, but also in 2009 and a large part of 2007.

[markabilly]

seems Hamilton has announced that winning one or two WDCs is meaningless......so maybe he feels the "newey draft"

[Mia 01]

seems Hamilton has announced that winning one or two WDCs is meaningless......so maybe he feels the "newey draft"

For sure, but I´m not so sure Adrian feels the Hamilton draft.

[Garry Walker]

Felipe may have driven a great race in Brazil '08 but at no time was he WDC even for a split second. He just had more points than everyone else for a few seconds until the rest of the field crossed the line and collected their points.

If the jury is still out with Massa having been in F1 since 2002 then that suggests that he is too inconsistent to convince people that he can reach the heights on 2008 more than once.

I think that Massa was effected by what happened at hungary and has not been the same guy since. Sure, doctors can say that everything appears ok in his brain, but brain injuries are complicated things.


and to be honest, he stole the Belgian GP, and punted LH in japan both of which really should have settled the WDC fight a long time before that. Not to mention that he had some rather unspectacular drives that year as well. Massa is a nice guy and a decent driver in a really good car. He is a classic front runner who drives away with the race in some clean air and if he takes the lead from the start. In every other circumstance he has shown to be rather average. I do like his guile though but to me Germany 2010 permanently ruined him IMO.

He also had some pretty bad luck in 2008.

[Retro Formula 1]

I don't think the injury is still affecting him. I think he has a glass jaw and Alonso has caught him a right Haymaker.

Charming man that has had a few superb drives but a bit over rated.

[Tazio]

I don't think the injury is still affecting him. I think he has a glass jaw and Alonso has caught him a right Haymaker.

Charming man that has had a few superb drives but a bit over rated.This is true, however I agree with Gary, not necessarily about the injury but he should have won in 2008. Added to a little bad luck is he stunk the place out so badly he was the butt of many jokes until they reached Spain. That's when Mike got into his grill. After Spain he was a freakin' monster. As much as a lot of members don't want to admit it, Fred was just that much better than FM last season. This is a new season, I look to Massa to be much more competitive, and the only driver that the new reg's will really help is Mike who is quite famous for his rapid in and out laps.IMHO

[Mia 01]

Dislike! DR Marko?

[markabilly]

the better question is why does Horner say this in public after the qualiying for Austrialia

"I don't understand the difference in time between Vettel and Webber. There is nothing in the data to indicate a problem"

well I do, and it has nothing to do with who is the "better" driver, but who is favored