So, anyone watch the F1 yesterday?

[vwdan]

Would Hamilton have won as much if he was not driving Merc cars?

I think not - he had the best car for many many years.

How many times has Lewis' team-mate won the championship in all these years?
He very nearly beat Alonso - widely regarded as the best driver pretty much ever - in his very first year. And I think only one other time did his team-mate beat him, barely, and it took so much out of Rosberg he immediately retired because he couldn't face doing it again.

Nah, you see, if you gave ATW the Merc car he'd be breaking lap records and winning championships before breakfast. Probably have time to do a bit of freelance work for MI5, covering for Bond while he's at it before retiring back to Blighty to hand all his money to HMRC personally

[GregRickshaw]

Nobody forced him to lose UK tax residency - he could have easily kept it, like I did, even though I could have moved to low tax place years ago.

I guess I've just got more loyalty to the country which gave me opportunity to become successful, unlike that tax dodging piece of tulip who left as soon as he won it first time.

Moving out of a particular country isn't always about tax dodging, maybe the country he lived in has gone to complete and utter sh** and he has the money to move to a life and country which he prefers?

Is this a reverse immigration rant? Started off talking about Sunday's event and I realise you are deliberately winding and provoking folk for entertainment.

[AtW]

So now Red Bull have the best car, and that's the only reason Max won?

If Red Bulls car keeps winning (by a big margin) for the next 6-7 seasons, then yes, most likely.

[AtW]

Moving out of a particular country isn't always about tax dodging

Almost always not, but not in this case and not in cases anybody getting wealthy and SUDDENLY fecking off from UK to Switzerland (and then Monaco), he was asked point blank in an interview if his move was due to tax and he could not even bring himself to lie it wasn't, it obviously was tax related.

[AtW]

if you gave ATW the Merc car he'd be breaking lap records and winning championships before breakfast.

I'll do my best to break through the performance wall for sure...

[malvolio]

In previous seasons Hamilton was not in the faster car: Ferrari and RB had better ones at various points. Red Bull had the faster car for the first half of this year by some margin, especially after the changes to the rules over the previous winter which disadvantaged cars using Mercedes design approach. The Mercedes has only been significantly quicker than the RB on a few occasions (Brazil being one) but there are other factors in play, it's not all about horsepower and aerodynamics.

But Hamilton is in the best car because he is the best driver (and Russel will be next year for the same reason).

At the close Max was 11 seconds behind and only gaining about 0.4 seconds a lap prior to the safety car intervention despite a significant grip advantage. Had they red flagged it and restarted on level terms for 3 or 4 laps, Hamilton would almost certainly be world champion now.

Anyway, it is done and dusted. What comes next is about the management of F1 races, not the racing. For the fans, that is still of interest.

Next year is a reset. Same power units but totally different aero and tyres. The cars should be a lot closer in race performance which will make things interesting.

[Whorty]

Just like me too, what a shocking coincidence!

Only difference is that I am paying full UK taxes on my world-wide income, and he ain't.

So. He doesn't live in the UK. He chooses to live in a different country of his birth for his own reasons and pay their taxes, as do you. What's the difference? Apart from your jealousy!

[AtW]

So. He doesn't live in the UK. He chooses to live in a different country of his birth for his own reasons and pay their taxes, as do you. What's the difference? Apart from your jealousy!

The difference is that he left primarily due to tax reasons just as he was about to start earning proper money.

[Whorty]

The difference is that he left primarily due to tax reasons just as he was about to start earning proper money.

So what? That's his business, in the same way that you choose to pay less relative tax compared to a nurse in the UK. You can get away with it, so why shouldn't he.

And what's his tax planning got to do with yesterday's race?

[GregRickshaw]

Almost always not, but not in this case and not in cases anybody getting wealthy and SUDDENLY fecking off from UK to Switzerland (and then Monaco), he was asked point blank in an interview if his move was due to tax and he could not even bring himself to lie it wasn't, it obviously was tax related.

Obviously to you but no one else who lives in Lewis's country of birth. The question he perhaps should also have ignored would be "Why the hell would you stay here with all the money you have?" and it's none of anyone's business but his.

Why should he answer that question that again is his business certainly none of yours. Oh and what sort of timeframe should he announce to you at how quickly they should exit the country to avoid your suspicion.

One more question is what does his tax situation have to do with his ability to be a champion in his sport or related to some rather questionable marshalling/track management?