Silly Season 2018/2019

[zeph]

I think Kimi will still be at Ferrari next year.

He's struggled the last few seasons, but Ferrari have stuck with him. I don't see why this would change now.

Indeed. Plus, to me Raikkonen sometimes looks like the stronger driver this year.

all i see is lots of Wins for a Ricciardo to Ferrari transfer. hence why i believe it will certainly happen, and Kimi surely will be 'the fall guy'.

I doubt Vettel would want Ricciardo as his teammate again.

[F1NAC]

I think Kimi will still be at Ferrari next year.

He's struggled the last few seasons, but Ferrari have stuck with him. I don't see why this would change now.

Indeed. Plus, to me Raikkonen sometimes looks like the stronger driver this year.

Maybe in quali but his race pace isn't that much better(bar Australia). Plus Barcelona I think is his first race this season where he didn't lost his position on the start.

[Manoah2u]

I think Kimi will still be at Ferrari next year.

He's struggled the last few seasons, but Ferrari have stuck with him. I don't see why this would change now.

Indeed. Plus, to me Raikkonen sometimes looks like the stronger driver this year.

all i see is lots of Wins for a Ricciardo to Ferrari transfer. hence why i believe it will certainly happen, and Kimi surely will be 'the fall guy'.

I doubt Vettel would want Ricciardo as his teammate again.

Oh wait i forgot Vettel is the director chairman at Scuderia Ferrari......oh wait, no scratch that, i actually do know that...he isn't

Seb has nothing to want. He has only to bring, and last year, he didn't bring it. Granted, Ferrari didn't bring it with some nasty failures, but apart from that, Vettel should to begin wiht, be happy he's still driving for Ferrari after using his car as a destruction derby vehicle against Hamilton. Aswell as his words against Charlie Whiting. Stuff like that makes it much harder for Ferrari to be/stay on FIA's 'friendside'.

Also, if Kimi doesn't 'bring it' (not saying he doesnt), it's rather simple, no? then Ferrari will replace him with somebody who does, and if Ricciardo is the best one available for that job, they'll hire him, no matter what Vettel thinks, feels, looks, or cares about. He doesn't have to marry him, he doesn't have to sleep with him, there's only 1 thing @ Ferrari that's important and that's Ferrari, not Vettel.

[ESPImperium]

My take on the present drivers market is this:

Mercedes AMG: 44] Hamilton / 77] Bottas
My reasoning here is that the engineers wish lots of continuity, Bottas is consistently picking up podiums and has picked up wins where Hamilton can't and can hold up a Ferrari or two on most days, not them all.

Scuderia Ferrari: 5] Vettel / 3] Riccardo
Ferrari now need something, someone better than Raikkonen, even though Kimi has been largely better, and Im sure that it would give the bolt up Sebs backside. And Daniel will want away from the now toxic Verstappen bubble.

Red Bull-Honda: 55] Verstappen / 10] Gasly
The Sainz Bungee will not be activated, they will go for Gasly in order to give Max a number 2 in effect. This will have an effect on the driver market else where. Also Gasly will be in there for the Honda development.

Renault Sport F1: 27] Hulkenberg / 55} Sainz
Renault will be able to call Sainz their own, and build the team around two great drivers.

McLaren-Renault: 14] Alonso / XX] Norris
Norris may seem like another Stroll, but he is the real deal and Im sure that the McLaren management would like to say he is the next Hamilton.

Haas-Ferrari: 20] Magnussen / 16] Leclerc
Romain is now gone, he was looking like a Kimi replacement at one time, now he needs to leave F1 and concentrate on cookery books. He is too fragile a driver, and its making him a first class first lap nutcase. K-Mag is seeing his stock rise, and im sure that Renault and Ferrari have had a look. Will be an opportunity to look at Leclerc in better machinery.

Force India-Mercedes: 11] Perez / 31] Ocon
Continuity, and the fact the team will keep the Mexican money flowing and the free rear end from Mercedes, who will need Ocon to be ready for when they tire of Bottas.

Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda: 28] Hartley / XX] Matsushita
Hartley will be stay in F1, however he is being used as a stop gap till Red Bull have two F1 capable drivers again as they will bring two newbies in in a heartbeat again. Noru will be here for the Honda board.

Alfa Sauber-Ferrari: 9] Erickson / XX] Giovanazzi
Marcus will stay as his backers own the place, Antonio will get his first year in F1, and to keep the Italian link for Alfa and Ferrari.

Williams-Mercedes: 18] Stroll / XX] Kubica
The engineers will see that they need a driver with experience in F1 machinery, the finance guys won last year, but the engineers will decide that Sirokin is gone, and Kubica will have his comeback. Stroll will continue his development and the €35m a year - 5 year deal will be in year 3. However i see more engineering staff hired.

The FIA i think will also announce that there will be a tender for 2 new teams in F1 for 2021, one to be powered by Renault and one by Honda. This time, they will use non listed parts and also be able to use a test car for the last 6 months of 2020 in order to hit the ground faster and better than any other new team in the past decade or more. These teams will aid Renault and Honda in development of the new F1 2021 engine as Ferrari and Mercedes will be allowed to run a development mule for the same time. These teams will be helped out bu FOM with a new payment structure and a helping hand do develop these development mules. A 12 team grid will be on the horizon.

[zeph]

To me it looks like Raikkonen is having a good season. If he continues to perform like this, why would Ferrari get rid of him?

[hemichromis]

Completely agree with the above with Ricciardo. He'd be perfect in Ferrari.

I was hoping he would end up in Mercedes but Bottas is performing well so I can't see them changing.

[marcus]

Because he is (unfortunately) jinxed driver. I do not know how to say it in other words - completely without any luck!

Also Q3 is not his "forte"

[djos]

Completely agree with the above with Ricciardo. He'd be perfect in Ferrari.

I was hoping he would end up in Mercedes but Bottas is performing well so I can't see them changing.

Yeah in recent races he's been solid which is what you want from a number 2 driver.

[Jolle]

For the Mercedes seats I guess it all depends what Hamilton will do. The pairing of Bottas and Hamilton works for now. If Hamilton extends his contract for another three years (19,20 and 21) they might keep the solid no 2 driver for 19 en 20 and for 21 get a challenger like Verstappen to be able to reign after 2021

[Big Tea]

My take on the present drivers market is this:

Mercedes AMG: 44] Hamilton / 77] Bottas
My reasoning here is that the engineers wish lots of continuity, Bottas is consistently picking up podiums and has picked up wins where Hamilton can't and can hold up a Ferrari or two on most days, not them all.

Scuderia Ferrari: 5] Vettel / 3] Riccardo
Ferrari now need something, someone better than Raikkonen, even though Kimi has been largely better, and Im sure that it would give the bolt up Sebs backside. And Daniel will want away from the now toxic Verstappen bubble.

Red Bull-Honda: 55] Verstappen / 10] Gasly
The Sainz Bungee will not be activated, they will go for Gasly in order to give Max a number 2 in effect. This will have an effect on the driver market else where. Also Gasly will be in there for the Honda development.

Renault Sport F1: 27] Hulkenberg / 55} Sainz
Renault will be able to call Sainz their own, and build the team around two great drivers.

McLaren-Renault: 14] Alonso / XX] Norris
Norris may seem like another Stroll, but he is the real deal and Im sure that the McLaren management would like to say he is the next Hamilton.

Haas-Ferrari: 20] Magnussen / 16] Leclerc
Romain is now gone, he was looking like a Kimi replacement at one time, now he needs to leave F1 and concentrate on cookery books. He is too fragile a driver, and its making him a first class first lap nutcase. K-Mag is seeing his stock rise, and im sure that Renault and Ferrari have had a look. Will be an opportunity to look at Leclerc in better machinery.

Force India-Mercedes: 11] Perez / 31] Ocon
Continuity, and the fact the team will keep the Mexican money flowing and the free rear end from Mercedes, who will need Ocon to be ready for when they tire of Bottas.

Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda: 28] Hartley / XX] Matsushita
Hartley will be stay in F1, however he is being used as a stop gap till Red Bull have two F1 capable drivers again as they will bring two newbies in in a heartbeat again. Noru will be here for the Honda board.

Alfa Sauber-Ferrari: 9] Erickson / XX] Giovanazzi
Marcus will stay as his backers own the place, Antonio will get his first year in F1, and to keep the Italian link for Alfa and Ferrari.

Williams-Mercedes: 18] Stroll / XX] Kubica
The engineers will see that they need a driver with experience in F1 machinery, the finance guys won last year, but the engineers will decide that Sirokin is gone, and Kubica will have his comeback. Stroll will continue his development and the €35m a year - 5 year deal will be in year 3. However i see more engineering staff hired.

The FIA i think will also announce that there will be a tender for 2 new teams in F1 for 2021, one to be powered by Renault and one by Honda. This time, they will use non listed parts and also be able to use a test car for the last 6 months of 2020 in order to hit the ground faster and better than any other new team in the past decade or more. These teams will aid Renault and Honda in development of the new F1 2021 engine as Ferrari and Mercedes will be allowed to run a development mule for the same time. These teams will be helped out bu FOM with a new payment structure and a helping hand do develop these development mules. A 12 team grid will be on the horizon.

Scuderia Ferrari: 5] Vettel / 3] Riccardo

This is the obvious option to all of us (except Kimi fans ) but it seems to be against the grain for Ferrari to have both drivers who see themselves as team leaders. Kimi is a good driver but seems either unlucky or too laid back to push the prime driver too hard. On the other hand, the Ferrari school drivers may be seen as yet ready to step in as Ferrari always seem to like drivers with several years experience. Possible Kimi stays?


Red Bull-Honda: 55] Verstappen / 10] Gasly This would make sense as long as Gasley takes a slightly subservient role to Max as much of the Max Mayhem is inter team as similar cars will want the same place on the track and as we have seen they don't fit. Getting the 'junior driver' home one place behind the team leader who also gets home would hugely increase the points haul over the season while giving the 'junior driver' time and skills at the sharp end.

Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda: 28] Hartley / XX] Matsushita. Matsushita? looking at his record I am unsure he has enough points?
Hartley, I really can not see him staying unless he improves drastically the rest of the season. Then again, who to replace him with? If the HondaSTR partnership starts to look juicy, they may be able to tempt someone in, but it is starting to look like the options are Grosjean or a 'new boy'


Williams-Mercedes: 18] Stroll / XX] Kubica. I can not see Robert getting a full time drive with anyone.
If Sirotkin does not improve, either Roland if he can put a package together (doubtful), or a real left field, Kimi.
Not an obvious choice, but could be a good chip to get sponsorship, and Kimi does not seem to care what he drives, he does it for fun.

[Phil]

Sadly for Daniel Ricciardo, I don't see him wanted by Mercedes or Ferrari enough in a way it could propel his career to another level. Mercedes recently just mentioned that they haven't had talks with any drivers (at least not any outside the Mercedes program) in regards to Bottas seat. Ferrari have a political game to play - they have a driver in Vettel who is doing his part and can win and therefore have considerations to make regards the second seat. Does it make sense to hire a young(er) more hungry driver? Or is it better to stick with a working solution in Kimi, who can challenge Vettel on his best day (but just falls short) and is happy to play second fiddle most of the time?

Bottas is performing very well. Personally, I don't think he has what is required to be a WDC. He certainly has the speed, but IMO he lacks the ruthlessness to get there. Rosberg did, Vettel does, Hamilton does too. Max Verstappen most definitely has too, just as Alonso and many other WDCs before him. But still, Bottas is performing well enough to not part with him.

IMO - Ricciardo will have to stay with RedBull, which might not be such a bad thing. He can race and his stocks will rise if he can consistently beat Max (if).

[NathanOlder]

I see Red Bull being bad for Ricciardo if he doesn't leave soon. The team is/will be moulded fully around Max. Red Bull wont win a title in the next few years so I feel Danny must leave if he wants to win a title. By the time the car is good enough, Max will be firmly No.1 (through Marko, not through beating Ric)

[Phil]

To be honest, I think RedBull might be still good for him. Mercedes would be the best seat I feel for Dan, but it seems Mercedes isn't that interested and has enough promising prospects from their own program. Mercedes need a solid 2nd driver, not a Hamilton replacement (yet). Bottas is that and will continue to grow into a larger role or at least remain a solid consistent point scorer.

Ferrari? Would he do that? Only if he can beat Vettel. If he can't, surely he will fall into the same situation Kimi has dropped - being used as a pawn. At least within RedBull, he can be rest assured that he is allowed to beat his team-mate and will do so, if he delivers. He might even be lucky in that Max might implode every now and then to the point Dan's position within the team will be stronger.

[Manoah2u]

Daniel needs to leave RedBull, it's that simple.

Max is RB's future. Why? he's still rather young, so is able to stay a long time. RB gave him a lot, so he's committed and loyal to RB. He's still in a learning curve. He is super fast, quite popular in the right areas is more of a 'energy drink ambassador that sells' compared to Danny, is on the 'right side' of Marko, i'm sure Jos has made that happen in the right way too, all he needs - and really, what RB needs, is a clear NR1. and a clear NR2 driver - like in the days with Vettel. Their car has not been on par yet, but will become that at certain point. Max will never budge or bend to be NR2 driver to anybody. Danny is too good of a driver to be 'abused' like that. But for RB, their 'philosophy' fits better with Max, even if one would be able to reason and show that Danny could/might be/actually is the better of the 2.
Also, Danny is aging - not in the sense that he hasn't a long bright future in f1, but he's been in the RB camp for quite some time now. his 'growth' potential within RB is more or less really over, and quite frankly, the team / car is holding him back. DR need to be given a WDC winning car. He's completely ready for the WDC battle - max clearly still needs to mature a good lot.

I don't think Mercedes is ready or seriously concidering hiring him , whereas Ferrari surely would, and i think Ferrari simply is the right team for Danny.
He's also a great ambassador for Ferrari, the right 'face' for Ferrari too. Also, he's very hungry for success, whereas Vettel, well let's be honest here;
he already has 4 world titles under his belt. Has won with Ferrari too. Is he really that hungry or driven to beat Hamilton?
Honestly, i don't really see that amount of bloodlust from either Vettel, or Hamilton either for that matter.
I get the feeling for the both is more or less the same; seeing if they can grab this title 'too'. Instead of bloodlust to be the best ever, showing the other that he is 'the biggest gladiator'.

Instead, DannyRic, i personally believe, does have that motivation, that drive, that energy behind him. But RB is draining that energy and not able to give him that except for some 'lucky' wins. which also frustrates him and surely is one of the causes for what happened in Baku. in other words, it's poisoning him. He needs to avoid to be drained from that and become Webber Nr2. Massa nr2, Barichello Nr2.

So realy - Ferrari, is where he needs to go. I'm sure the red would look phenomenal on him too.

Hell, i think he'd do magic @ Ferrari and bring the battle to Hamilton and leaving Seb in his dust. One thing imho he has hugely over Seb, is his braking overtakes. That's just pure art.
He needs Ferrari, Ferrari needs him.

Really, it's a no-brainer.

Frankly, i believe it's already in cans and done for, just waiting for the right moment to actually announce it. They'll probably have some 'demands' from eachother and if both meet it, it's 'automatically' done.

[NathanOlder]

Totally agree with that. And I look forward to it. Obviously I'm a Lewis Fan, but Danny is easily my 2nd fav driver (until Lando arrives) So if anyone takes the title from Lewis, I hope its Danny. I have always disliked Horner and Marko, so I dont want to see Red Bull win another title, So hopefully if anyone beats Lewis, its Danny in a Red Car.