Silly Season 2016/2017

[George-Jung]

So now i'm reading that Mercedes is eyeing Bottas for just a year interim so they can sign Vettel in 2018??

LOL

I don't think Bottas would want to go for 1 year.

If anything of this is true, I believe it is not Bottas who will be leaving MB after 2017 for Vettel..
It will be Vettel instead of Hamilton, with Hamilton moving to Ferrari..?

[PlatinumZealot]

Alonso to Mercedes!
https://twitter.com/McLarenF1/status/808648340644786177

Alonso to Mercedes confirmed!

[Phil]

If anything of this is true, I believe it is not Bottas who will be leaving MB after 2017 for Vettel..
It will be Vettel instead of Hamilton, with Hamilton moving to Ferrari..?

I think going to Ferrari is a diminishing dream. It might have been once the dream, but I'm unsure it still is. There are drivers that clearly value that kind of thing (e.g. Alonso in 2010 and Vettel in 2015), but would they do it again in hindsight? I'm for example not sure Hamilton would want to go to Ferrari. For what?

And why would Mercedes want to sign Vettel at a substitute of Hamilton? There is no incentive for them, unless Hamilton wants to leave of his own free will, either do pursue other venues or challenges. I'm not sure he'd want that though. I'm quite confident he'll go to the end of his current contract (end of 2018) then depending on prospects either go for more records or quit the sport. If Mercedes is still one of the top teams and the feeling is mutual, why leave?

Now why sign Vettel along side Hamilton? Well for one, I think it would be a heck of a PR stunt. They'd combine the two most successful F1 drivers and have them going head to head. Most fans with a bit of technical insight might be more interested to see a repeat of Alonso vs Hamilton, but for most people and casual people, Vettel on paper and statistically is the more successful one. Mercedes would care more about the PR that would cause, than the F1 fans outthere who believe Alonso to be still among the greatest F1 talents.

There is also the point; If all cars were equal and only the drivers would be the differentiating factor between either winning or losing, it would be beneficial for a team to have the two best drivers than to have best and the 2nd best (or vice-versa) driving for another team against you.

[Gerhardsa]

Dunno if I would sign Vettel when guys like Ric, Ves will probably be available close to or at those dates.

[dans79]

I think going to Ferrari is a diminishing dream. It might have been once the dream, but I'm unsure it still is.

I have to agree, Ferrari has looked mediocre since the clamp down on testing in 2008.

[Manoah2u]

As for the Vettel rumours heading to Mercedes in 2018; hell no.
Vettel is not the 'stay in F1' kind of guy. He's had his run with RedBull. He has enough money and fame. He could close the book of F1 and still come out if it fine,
a lot better than Rosberg at that. He tried with Ferrari but it didn't work, just as Alonso couldn't. It won't be his error, it's just not meant to happen.
He'll call it quits and do something else.

Going for Mercedes isn't a smart move; Merc is probably on the way 'down' regarding their current dominance, just like RedBull lost it's dominance after 2013.
He's bound to not get where he wants to be and start whining again and destroy his career.

He's not going to get where he wants to be with Ferrari either way as he already had that with Ferrari. THAT was the schumacher treatment and recipe. What's happening
at Ferrari right now isn't. Meanwhile, the biggest reason he had so much success @ RB was greatly due to Adrian Newey and the team 'daring' stuff like blown diffusers,
flexible wings and so, with the risk of these things failing or getting busted by FIA. Ferrari isn't doing that. They are essentially nothing but a midfield team with extremely big budget.

You could look at it like Sauber investing hundreds of millions of dollars a year. Yes, you'll move forward naturally. But to become WDC is a different story.

[ME4ME]

quote..

I do think Vettel will go to Mercedes in 2018. It's the perfect fit. A stable less emotional team, doing a steady job without major weaknesses. I even think he has it in him to beat Hamilton to the championship if the car is up to it in 2018. Obviously, some stars will have to align.

[Sebi80]

Robert Kubica F1 2017 Coming soon.

[GPR-A duplicate2]

I do think Vettel will go to Mercedes in 2018. It's the perfect fit. A stable less emotional team, doing a steady job without major weaknesses. I even think he has it in him to beat Hamilton to the championship if the car is up to it in 2018. Obviously, some stars will have to align.

Just like the stars aligned to Rosberg this year.

I actually don't understand what stakes are in favor of Vettel that say, he would beat Lewis. Lewis has driven "less than championship winning" cars and has still managed to score poles and wins and so far, no team mate has ever managed to outscore him with respect to poles and wins in a season, except for 2014 in poles (that too he got mechanical issues in qualifying, still undeniable that he was beaten on poles). Other than 2011 and 2016, none of his team mates have managed to beat him to points. While 2011 was the worst psychological year for him (all his own mistakes), 2016 is all about reliability failures that costed him the season. For Vettel though, he has 2014 and 2016 to show that he is a good driver only when there is no reliable competition inside the team and when the cars are absolutely perfect. If a new bee like Ricciardo can out pace him in 2014 and in 2016, it is the oldest driver on the grid who made him look second rate, definitely hard to understands his stakes against Lewis. I liked Vettel a lot for all that he did with Red Bull, but in difficult circumstances he hasn't been up to the mark.

It is difficult to imagine if anyone on the grid, except for Alonso, can do the kind of consistent job of putting Lewis under pressure, keeping calm and get on with doing his job, like Nico has done. I strongly believe, Vettel is the one from the "top of line" drivers, who would crack under pressure.

I do believe, if Mercedes continues to be the top team for 2017, we can definitely expect Vettel jumping in Mercedes for 2018.

[Gerhardsa]

I read over in the MP4-32 thread that FA tried the new 2017 McLaren on the simulator and expected better.

I have no way of confirming if this info is legit though, but if so...seems like he "made" another silly career decision not to really push hard for the Merc seat.

Such a waist

[bauc]

I read over in the MP4-32 thread that FA tried the new 2017 McLaren on the simulator and expected better.

I have no way of confirming if this info is legit though, but if so...seems like he "made" another silly career decision not to really push hard for the Merc seat.

Such a waist

Yeah right, just after he gave the speech infront of the hole MTC how he believes in the project ect. Total winterseason bullshit in my opinion.

[zac510]

I can't believe that nobody has suggested that Mercedes put Lewis Hamilton in Nico Rosberg's vacated seat. Then he'll get a more reliable car!

[jonas_linder]

I can't believe that nobody has suggested that Mercedes put Lewis Hamilton in Nico Rosberg's vacated seat. Then he'll get a more reliable car!

Haha, thank you, laugh of the morning =D>

[J.No]

I can't believe that nobody has suggested that Mercedes put Lewis Hamilton in Nico Rosberg's vacated seat. Then he'll get a more reliable car!

That is absolute gold! =D>

[Manoah2u]

Take Inoue please.