Silly Season 2016/2017

[scuderiafan]

I've seen many many rumors that Sauber is about to become Alfa Romeo.

From Grand Prix 24/7: http://www.grandprix247.com/2016/04/05/ ... um=twitter

Rumor is that Ferrari want to buy out Sauber and name it after Alfa Romeo to have a sort of Ferrari B Team.

We could be in a bidding war between Ferrari and BMW, if the bottom of Sauber's bucket really is about to drop out.

[ScottB]

I've seen many many rumors that Sauber is about to become Alfa Romeo.

From Grand Prix 24/7: http://www.grandprix247.com/2016/04/05/ ... um=twitter

Rumor is that Ferrari want to buy out Sauber and name it after Alfa Romeo to have a sort of Ferrari B Team.

We could be in a bidding war between Ferrari and BMW, if the bottom of Sauber's bucket really is about to drop out.

Have to say, Ferrari buying Sauber is a puzzling one for me.

They are presumably unlikely to want / need Sauber's facilities, as I would imagine that they will want their new Alfa team to be both as cheap as possible, and, well, Italian! I can't imagine them wanting a Swiss base, so if they did buy Sauber, would they effectively be buying the entry, and any movable assets / staff they want to keep that can be relocated to Italy, with Sauber's base shut down?

I would imagine if BMW emerged wanting to buy and continue to run their team at Hinwil, that'd be the clear choice for Sauber?


Seems simpler for Ferrari to buy STR, given that it's already in Italy, but I guess Red Bull would be looking for a bigger price...

[efuloni]

Another option for Sauber, for what brazilian press is saying, are the swedish investors. The same ones who put Ericsson there. Here there's no word about BMW so far, but all the specialized press is talking about Alfa Romeo and these swedish guys.

Anyway, the three options show that the future is not so dark for the team. Monisha wasnt in Bahrein this weekend. She stayed in Hinwill conducting negociations about the team's future.

[ESPImperium]

One last thing i will add to the Sauber thing, is that Ron Dennis and Arai were looking to get the teams McLaren/Honda support last year, so could Sauber be bought out to become a McLaren/Honda B-Team as well? Great for learning for the new McLaren design guys who need experience and same for the Honda guys as well. Also put Vandoorne in there with someone who is good but carries a wedge of cash like Nasr or Ericsson. Run the team like Haas with all non listed parts coming from the MTC and we will have a great B-Team.

The Ferrari way would be a good option too. Looks like they are wanting to develop the 2015 engine basis as a Alfa Romeo and would be welcomed into the sport. Id prefer BMW somehow, McLaren/Honda next, the Alfa route would be the final option to keep the team on the grid as it look as if the Sauber is going to be the team that will behind Manor this year. If Manor replace Rio with Rossi mid season, the Manor guys will probably have Sauber in their mirrors.

[skoop]

sorry if I missed something, but where is all that BMW talk comming from?

[kooleracer]

Mercedes is holding off on Nico's contract. Does someone think that Mercedes could look to replace Rosberg with Verstappen next season? Rosberg would be de ideal replacement for Kimi, experienced drivers who fast and capable of winning races. Wolff will be looking at the Future and Verstappen is no doubt the future star of F1.

[Xero]

Mercedes is holding off on Nico's contract. Does someone think that Mercedes could look to replace Rosberg with Verstappen next season? Wolff will be looking at the Future and Verstappen is no doubt the future star of F1.

I'd say they're watching Wehrlein more closely, who has been mightily impressive so far this season. Verstappen more likely to end up at Ferrari, if not Red Bull first.

[ME4ME]

Mercedes is holding off on Nico's contract. Does someone think that Mercedes could look to replace Rosberg with Verstappen next season? Rosberg would be de ideal replacement for Kimi, experienced drivers who fast and capable of winning races. Wolff will be looking at the Future and Verstappen is no doubt the future star of F1.

The only reason for holding off on extending Nico's contract is to see how he performs over the first half of the season, as well as his relation and attitude towards Lewis. If everything is OK, then there is no reason to change driver line-up.

I think Ricciardo and Verstappen are both under contract at Red Bull, so that's no option anyway. Bottas isn't showing any sign of being better than Rosberg, and Wehrlein is still in his rookie-season. What i'm wondering is how many years will Mercedes offer Rosberg. The typical 3 year, or play it safe and just commit to a 1 year deal..

[hemichromis]

Verstappen can leave if he is not given a Red Bull seat next year. Red bull get first refusal. Same goes for Sainz.

Ricciardo has some other form of attachment that makes it highly unlikey that he will be able to move elsewhere.

Hamilton/Verstappen at Mercedes would be a firey combination!

[George-Jung]

Verstappen can leave if he is not given a Red Bull seat next year. Red bull get first refusal. Same goes for Sainz.

Ricciardo has some other form of attachment that makes it highly unlikey that he will be able to move elsewhere.

Hamilton/Verstappen at Mercedes would be a firey combination!

Than Hamilton will finely know how Alonso felt..

[Jolle]

Verstappen can leave if he is not given a Red Bull seat next year. Red bull get first refusal. Same goes for Sainz.

Ricciardo has some other form of attachment that makes it highly unlikey that he will be able to move elsewhere.

Hamilton/Verstappen at Mercedes would be a firey combination!

Than Hamilton will finely know how Alonso felt..

I've got Prost-Senna '88 flashbacks here

[Vasconia]

Hahah that would be awesome guys! I expect a total war between both drives, but its not a good choice for the team. Its like to have two Senna in the same team, this cant have a happy ending!

About Sauber I hope they find a solution because its a classic team which should stay in the competition. BMW would be the best choice, but I see it quite unlikely. McLaren is another good option, though not perfect because Sauber would become a B-team which is not the ideal situation for a team with its own characther like Sauber is.

[Vasconia]

About the drivers I expect Kimi and Massa leaving the competition.

Verstappen could go to RB or Ferrari. I would like to see Sainz in RB but I dont expect it, perhaps in 2018?.

Alonso will stay for sure, 2017 is the last chance for him.

[PlatinumZealot]

The silly season has started on many forums and most certainly has started in the F1 paddock. Yes one race has just passed, but I'm just canvassing to see who and what the F1 grid would look like in 2017 with some of the wild stories and not so wild stories that have going around.

So far I'm looking at a 2017 grid like this:
Mercedes AMG: 44] Hamilton / 27] Hulkenberg
Scuderia Ferrari: 05] Vettel / 08] Grosjean
Williams-Mercedes: 77] Bottas / XX] Lynn
Red Bull-Tag Heuer(Renault): 03] Riccardo / 33] Verstappen
Haas-Ferrari: 21] Gutiérrez / 09] Ericsson
Force India-Mercedes: 11] Perez / XX] Ocon
Toro Rosso-Honda: 55] Sainz / XX] Vandoorne
Renault Sport F1: 20] Magnussen / 26] Kyat
McLaren-Honda: 22] Button / 06] Rosberg
BMW Sauber: 12] Nasr / 54] Rossi
Manor MRT-Mercedes: 94] Wehrlein / 30] Palmer

Alonso, Massa, Raikkonen all to leave the sport with a few other drivers around the edges.

As for 2016, rumour has it that if Alonso isn't medically cleared for Bahrain, Vandoorne will make his debut in F1.

I would love to see a thread with all your driver predictions over the years.

[ESPImperium]

The silly season has started on many forums and most certainly has started in the F1 paddock. Yes one race has just passed, but I'm just canvassing to see who and what the F1 grid would look like in 2017 with some of the wild stories and not so wild stories that have going around.

So far I'm looking at a 2017 grid like this:
Mercedes AMG: 44] Hamilton / 27] Hulkenberg
Scuderia Ferrari: 05] Vettel / 08] Grosjean
Williams-Mercedes: 77] Bottas / XX] Lynn
Red Bull-Tag Heuer(Renault): 03] Riccardo / 33] Verstappen
Haas-Ferrari: 21] Gutiérrez / 09] Ericsson
Force India-Mercedes: 11] Perez / XX] Ocon
Toro Rosso-Honda: 55] Sainz / XX] Vandoorne
Renault Sport F1: 20] Magnussen / 26] Kyat
McLaren-Honda: 22] Button / 06] Rosberg
BMW Sauber: 12] Nasr / 54] Rossi
Manor MRT-Mercedes: 94] Wehrlein / 30] Palmer

Alonso, Massa, Raikkonen all to leave the sport with a few other drivers around the edges.

As for 2016, rumour has it that if Alonso isn't medically cleared for Bahrain, Vandoorne will make his debut in F1.

I would love to see a thread with all your driver predictions over the years.

All probably wrong. The crystal ball is a little broken from all the predictions over the years.