Addition to last post: Fernando Alonso could replace Hamilton.
A 2-time world champion, he's since been a champion-level driver without the machinery to match.
His recent move to Aston Martin finally put him back in the frontrunning teams, but he could do one better at Mercedes in 2025.
Overview
Something frustrating I see online is when right-wing topics are discussed by celebrities, the majority of the pushback they get is a rebuttal of their points.
I'm not saying it's always right, but the most pushback they get is about the content of what they've spoken.
With left-wing topics, however, there is a lot of "you may be correct but you should stick to your field".
Here's an acknowledgement and appreciation of wokeness at the top level of motorsport.
Mental Health
Lando Norris was popular on twitch while he was climbing up the junior formulae.
He discussed mental health with his twitch fans regularly, whom he brought with him into F1.
Bottas, Ricciardo, and Perez have also since opened up about their own struggles.
Environmental Consciousness
Sebastian Vettel, 4-time F1 World Champion, recently retired from the sport, and had often made statements about his complicity in F1's emissions.
Formula E is a racing series in its 10th season which has been certified carbon-zero since inception.
They make competing manufacturers focus on electric powertrain efficiency, hoping that these improvements make it to the road.
Discrimination
Lewis Hamilton, the first ever black driver in the sport, is naturally very vocal about discrimination.
The fact that the only black driver in the sport is tied for having won the most championships with Michael Schumacher raises a question in my mind: are sponsors reluctant to support a young black driver unless he shows a lot more potentialns?
And what other demographics are disadvantaged in this way?
W Series
To improve the participation of women in motorsport, a female-only one-make F3-machinery championship was launched, called W Series.
It did away with some of the problems of junior formulae by scrapping entry fees and providing a common pool of engineers to every driver.
Jamie Chadwick won all three seasons before the series imploded, with investors pulling out because of the lack of ROI.
The series, however, was not a complete failure, because all the investors went to...
F1 Academy
When W Series showed signs of failing, Hamilton put some public pressure on F1 to look into what could be done, and F1 Academy was set up.
F1 Academy is a female-only one-make F4-machinery championship, with entry fees being half of that in other F4 series.
The engineers are also provided by big-name teams from junior formulae all over the globe.
F1 Academy's first champion and first runner-up left for FRECA, which is considered the most competitive F4-machinery championship.
My only concern is that they don't follow in the footsteps of Jamie Chadwick - I have heard that when Chadwick raced in FRECA, the team did not provide her with engineers, putting her at a machinery disadvantage.
Women Are Cunning
Red Bull Racing's Head of Strategy Hannah Schmitz and F1 Academy MD Susie Wolff have both faced baseless public criticism for awful things - race-fixing and corruption respectively.
While such allegations should be taken seriously, I also feel that the public tends to disproportionately vilify women.
Christian Horner Allegations
A very recent turn of events is that Red Bull Racing's Team Principal has been accused by an unnamed female staff member of "controlling behaviour".
After an independent barrister hired by Red Bull Gmbh cleared Horner of any wrongdoing, some screenshots incriminating Horner were leaked to the press.
Max Verstappen is rumoured to be unhappy with this situation and considering a move to that Mercedes seat.
I would normally side with the results of an independent investigation, but we need a little more transparency, like the name of the barrister.
Especially when the complainant has also been suspended.