Silly Season 2020/2021 (starting with silliness in 2019)

[waynes]

Get Kimi back in that Ferrari

Seb to Alfa. Kimi to Ferrari

[Just_a_fan]

Teams are always good when there is a fast young driver coupled with an experienced driver. It need not have to be an Alonso, but few wouldn't want to see him again.

You think Alonso would put up with Leclerc being faster than him (assuming he is)? Alonso would be playing every trick in the book to beat him and the result would be Brazil 2019 every race. If Alonso was quicker than Leclerc, do you think that would play out well too? Neither would take being the slower man.

Better to get in a young guy guy who is told, in no uncertain terms, to support Leclerc and be there to pick up points. An Alex Albon type who is quick enough and smart enough to understand that getting in the seat is one thing, staying in it is another. You go to Ferrari, you score points, you get some podiums, maybe even a win or two if things work out for you. That sets you up in future talks. And you're a Ferrari driver so you get adulation that you'd never get being a driver for any other team.

There are plenty of young drivers who are quick but know, deep down, that they're never going to win the title. That's who you want in the second seat. They'd be grateful for the seat, wouldn't rock the boat.

[raymondu999]

If he stays in F1, I think he might switch with Sainz. Carlos has the perfect character and drive craft to support Leclerc the way Barrichello and Massa supported their teammates. Plus, Brown’s restructure of McLaren could use a WC again in his car.

Carlos likes it at McLaren - and I don’t think the environment at Ferrari appeals to him. Just a guess tho. Completely 0 supporting evidence.

About McLaren - current team principal (or whatever McLaren calls it I cant rmeember) Andreas Seidl - wasnt he Vettel’s race engineer before?

[Manoah2u]

So......Seb gonna retire from F1 alltogether? If not, it's Mclaren, Renault or perhaps Mercedes.
If he goes to Mclaren, i think there's agood chance Sainz is going to drive for Ferrari. But, that would be a Massa or Barrichello role i'd think. Dunno if Sainz really is open to that.
If he goes to Renault, then Ricciardo is leaving, and could be driving for Ferrari. Sounds actually pretty good to me in all aspects!
If he goes to Mercedes, then Hamilton is definately going to Ferrari, as Bottas simply isn't cut for anything else but in the position where he is now. Bottas to Mclaren tops, Ferrari, never.

Then again, even if he goes to either Mclaren or Renault, that means a seat @ Ferrari opens up and Hamilton still could get that seat, and we'd be seeing either Norris @ Mercedes or Ricciardo @ Mercedes instead.

Thing is, it's no secret Hamilton has a certain interest in Ferrari. There have been talks, and recently that has only been fired up more and more.

This might be Hamilton's last - and best - chance to go to Ferrari (regardless that Hamilton is the best driver on the grid, arguably).
Vettel is confirmed to leave, so 2021 has a seat open, and Hamilton afaik doesn't have a contract as of 2021 yet.

If Hamilton really wants to go there 'no matter what',
then he is rather forced to go right now (unless this is the plan all along).

Just think about it, any driver Ferrari signs now alongside LeClerc is going to be in the long haul.
Leclerc is there untill 2023 the least. Ricciardo, or Sainz, if they get signed, that is going to be another 2 or3 season deal for sure.
If either of them signs, then door closed @ Ferrari atleast untill the start of the 2024 season.

that's 3 more F1 racing seasons, and Hamilton is not getting younger, and has claimed he has more desires in life.
His objective right now is to get 7 titles, it could happen this season, perhaps next. After that, i'm sure he wants to actually beat Michael,
and thus go for his 8th title. There's no guarantee that Mercedes will be the team to get that title with, nor is there certainty Mercedes is going to stay,
Ferrari staying is just about the most certain thing in F1.
If Hamilton does NOT sign with Ferrari, then he must make that 8th title with Mercedes, and though offcourse that is not unlikely either,
let's concider that if he does NOT manage to grab that 8th title by 2023, then I think both his motivation aswell as his market 'interest' will not be as strong
by then as it is now.

I predict Hamilton will sign with Ferrari at the end of the 2020 F1 season.
If not Hamilton, then i will be disappointed unless it's Daniel Ricciardo.

My feelings for the 2021 grid:

Ferrari 1. Hamilton
Ferrari 2. LeClerc
Mercedes 1. Ricciardo
Mercedes 2. Bottas
Renault 1. Vettel
Renault 2. Ocon
RedBull 1. Verstappen
RedBull 2. Albon
Mclaren 1. Norris
Mclaren 2. Sainz
Alpha Tauri 1. Kvyat
Alpha Tauri 2. Sette Camara
Alfa Romeo 1. Perez
Alfa Romeo 2. Kubica
Haas 1. Raikkonen
Haas 2. Fittipaldi
Aston Martin 1. Russell
Aston Martin 2. Stroll
Williams 1. Latifi
Williams 2. Nissany

The only biggest change i'd say is this list would be open to is that Hamilton stays at Mercedes, and Ricciardo goes to Ferrari.

Vettel to replace Ricciardo @ Renault. Gasly gets the boot by Marko and has nowhere to go, so they put in their next 'youngster' Sergio Sette Camara.
Kubica is always going to end up in a race seat for 2021 @ Alfa Romeo, and I think Raikkonen makes the switch to Haas, which provides Haas with a very
experienced and valuable driver in an environment that will not be bad at all for the aging driver. Perez returns to Ferrari power to replace Kimi and bring in
his sponsors after selling his stake in RP/AM. This opens Perez' seat at RP/AM and is gladly taken by George Russell, who has more potential then just staying
at backmarker Williams, and since AM has Mercedes power, this is an easy deal. Latifi and his money stay at Williams, and Nassany's money is gladly taken in
at Williams now that their discount with Merc power is lost due to losing Russell. They probably will arrange some deal since Mercedes wants Russell @ RP/AM,
so it's not that painful at all in the end. Haas was sufficiently fed up with Grosjean and Magnussen, so they gladly took Raikkonen aboard, the first real talant and
valuable experience they're gonna get, and Fittipaldi is the next 'young gun' to come into the F1 world, so gladly taken aboard too.
Drivers we lose and will not miss in the 2021 F1 grid : Gasly, Grosjean, Giovanazzi, Magnussen.

[TNTHead]

Yes! Finally something to talk about.

My initial feeling is that Vettel quits, odd are high for either RIC or HAM for the ferrari seat 2021. I wonder how the combination LEC / HAM would work out. That might be as nuclear as VET / LEC

[SiLo]

No way Hamilton goes to Ferrari, if this year does get some racing and enough races for a title, he's likely to win again and then surely he would want to stick with Mercedes to go for number 8?

[nzjrs]

Joe Saward has always said Hulk to Ferrari as #2 made a lot of sense. I hope that will be the case.

[toraabe]

Riccardo to Ferrari, Vettel to Renault..
Why I think Renault can be a nice surprise in 2022..

[GPR-A]

Teams are always good when there is a fast young driver coupled with an experienced driver. It need not have to be an Alonso, but few wouldn't want to see him again.

You think Alonso would put up with Leclerc being faster than him (assuming he is)? Alonso would be playing every trick in the book to beat him and the result would be Brazil 2019 every race. If Alonso was quicker than Leclerc, do you think that would play out well too? Neither would take being the slower man.

Are you serious? When was the last time Alonso had a coming together? Even while fighting with Lewis in 2007, he didn't. Despite spending most of his last years in mid to back of the field, he was faultless while there was always a carnage. He thoroughly outperformed Stoffel in 2018, who was a GP2 champion, just like Leclerc. Alonso was always head and shoulders above Vettel in terms of wheel to wheel racing. So saying that there would Brazil 2019 in every race, is completely off of the mark.

Better to get in a young guy guy who is told, in no uncertain terms, to support Leclerc and be there to pick up points. An Alex Albon type who is quick enough and smart enough to understand that getting in the seat is one thing, staying in it is another. You go to Ferrari, you score points, you get some podiums, maybe even a win or two if things work out for you. That sets you up in future talks. And you're a Ferrari driver so you get adulation that you'd never get being a driver for any other team.

There are plenty of young drivers who are quick but know, deep down, that they're never going to win the title. That's who you want in the second seat. They'd be grateful for the seat, wouldn't rock the boat.

Ferrari need to be careful in putting all their eggs in Leclerc's basket as he is still not a completely proven quantity and then blindly go for a subservient driver, which might fire back spectacularly. They need to have right option, not just a compatible option. As things proved in 2017 and 2018, a driver of Lewis or Alonso's calibre would have most likely won the championships in that Ferrari. But then Vettel couldn't and they Kimi playing the No. 2 role, wasn't upto the mark either.

[wesley123]

So......Seb gonna retire from F1 alltogether? If not, it's Mclaren, Renault or perhaps Mercedes.
If he goes to Mclaren, i think there's agood chance Sainz is going to drive for Ferrari. But, that would be a Massa or Barrichello role i'd think. Dunno if Sainz really is open to that.
If he goes to Renault, then Ricciardo is leaving, and could be driving for Ferrari. Sounds actually pretty good to me in all aspects!
If he goes to Mercedes, then Hamilton is definately going to Ferrari, as Bottas simply isn't cut for anything else but in the position where he is now. Bottas to Mclaren tops, Ferrari, never.

Then again, even if he goes to either Mclaren or Renault, that means a seat @ Ferrari opens up and Hamilton still could get that seat, and we'd be seeing either Norris @ Mercedes or Ricciardo @ Mercedes instead.

Thing is, it's no secret Hamilton has a certain interest in Ferrari. There have been talks, and recently that has only been fired up more and more.

This might be Hamilton's last - and best - chance to go to Ferrari (regardless that Hamilton is the best driver on the grid, arguably).
Vettel is confirmed to leave, so 2021 has a seat open, and Hamilton afaik doesn't have a contract as of 2021 yet.

If Hamilton really wants to go there 'no matter what',
then he is rather forced to go right now (unless this is the plan all along).

Just think about it, any driver Ferrari signs now alongside LeClerc is going to be in the long haul.
Leclerc is there untill 2023 the least. Ricciardo, or Sainz, if they get signed, that is going to be another 2 or3 season deal for sure.
If either of them signs, then door closed @ Ferrari atleast untill the start of the 2024 season.

that's 3 more F1 racing seasons, and Hamilton is not getting younger, and has claimed he has more desires in life.
His objective right now is to get 7 titles, it could happen this season, perhaps next. After that, i'm sure he wants to actually beat Michael,
and thus go for his 8th title. There's no guarantee that Mercedes will be the team to get that title with, nor is there certainty Mercedes is going to stay,
Ferrari staying is just about the most certain thing in F1.
If Hamilton does NOT sign with Ferrari, then he must make that 8th title with Mercedes, and though offcourse that is not unlikely either,
let's concider that if he does NOT manage to grab that 8th title by 2023, then I think both his motivation aswell as his market 'interest' will not be as strong
by then as it is now.

I predict Hamilton will sign with Ferrari at the end of the 2020 F1 season.
If not Hamilton, then i will be disappointed unless it's Daniel Ricciardo.

My feelings for the 2021 grid:

Ferrari 1. Hamilton
Ferrari 2. LeClerc
Mercedes 1. Ricciardo
Mercedes 2. Bottas
Renault 1. Vettel
Renault 2. Ocon
RedBull 1. Verstappen
RedBull 2. Albon
Mclaren 1. Norris
Mclaren 2. Sainz
Alpha Tauri 1. Kvyat
Alpha Tauri 2. Sette Camara
Alfa Romeo 1. Perez
Alfa Romeo 2. Kubica
Haas 1. Raikkonen
Haas 2. Fittipaldi
Aston Martin 1. Russell
Aston Martin 2. Stroll
Williams 1. Latifi
Williams 2. Nissany

The only biggest change i'd say is this list would be open to is that Hamilton stays at Mercedes, and Ricciardo goes to Ferrari.

Vettel to replace Ricciardo @ Renault. Gasly gets the boot by Marko and has nowhere to go, so they put in their next 'youngster' Sergio Sette Camara.
Kubica is always going to end up in a race seat for 2021 @ Alfa Romeo, and I think Raikkonen makes the switch to Haas, which provides Haas with a very
experienced and valuable driver in an environment that will not be bad at all for the aging driver. Perez returns to Ferrari power to replace Kimi and bring in
his sponsors after selling his stake in RP/AM. This opens Perez' seat at RP/AM and is gladly taken by George Russell, who has more potential then just staying
at backmarker Williams, and since AM has Mercedes power, this is an easy deal. Latifi and his money stay at Williams, and Nassany's money is gladly taken in
at Williams now that their discount with Merc power is lost due to losing Russell. They probably will arrange some deal since Mercedes wants Russell @ RP/AM,
so it's not that painful at all in the end. Haas was sufficiently fed up with Grosjean and Magnussen, so they gladly took Raikkonen aboard, the first real talant and
valuable experience they're gonna get, and Fittipaldi is the next 'young gun' to come into the F1 world, so gladly taken aboard too.
Drivers we lose and will not miss in the 2021 F1 grid : Gasly, Grosjean, Giovanazzi, Magnussen.

If Hamilton's seat opens up there is very little chance that it won't get filled by Russell.

[Just_a_fan]

Are you serious? When was the last time Alonso had a coming together? Even while fighting with Lewis in 2007, he didn't. Despite spending most of his last years in mid to back of the field, he was faultless while there was always a carnage. He thoroughly outperformed Stoffel in 2018, who was a GP2 champion, just like Leclerc. Alonso was always head and shoulders above Vettel in terms of wheel to wheel racing. So saying that there would Brazil 2019 in every race, is completely off of the mark.

Ferrari need to be careful in putting all their eggs in Leclerc's basket as he is still not a completely proven quantity and then blindly go for a subservient driver, which might fire back spectacularly. They need to have right option, not just a compatible option. As things proved in 2017 and 2018, a driver of Lewis or Alonso's calibre would have most likely won the championships in that Ferrari. But then Vettel couldn't and they Kimi playing the No. 2 role, wasn't upto the mark either.

I'm not saying that Alonso would be crashing in to Leclerc. I'm saying that the pressure would be applied on Leclerc and that's when things can go wrong. A bit of a squeeze on a guy who doesn't want to back off - doesn't see why he should, doesn't see the "long game", whatever the reason - results in crashes. Alonso is a hard racer, we all know that. I think Leclerc would try to play hard back at him. That's not going to end well, is it? Think about Monza when Leclerc pushed Hamilton on to the grass in the braking zone in to the second chicane. Hamilton yielded because he knew it was only a single battle in a long war. I'm not sure Leclerc would have if the places were reversed. He's trying to prove himself and that's where mistakes are made. In that situation, you get Brazil 2019.

They've got Leclerc under contract for a while now. They can put a "good enough" driver next to him for a year or even two and see how he develops. If it doesn't work out then they can move on. Putting another top bull in the other car won't make their lives easier, it'll make them more difficult. I think if they give Leclerc some room to breath for a season or two, he'll deliver, just as Max is at Red Bull without the pressure of a team mate who is on his gearbox like Ricciardo was. Max has looked happier, calmer and definitely quicker since he didn't have to look over his shoulder at his team mate. Leclerc will likely be the same. There aren't many drivers that can deliver when they're under consistent pressure from their team mate.

[Just_a_fan]

Still waiting for someone to explain why Hamilton would go to Ferrari. He doesn't speak Italian, they have a "young gun" that is their future, they aren't known for making great calls race after race, they are known for politics. Winning another title or two at Mercedes would be his desire. He's a Mercedes man through and through. He's been with them in one form or another for his whole career.

[DChemTech]

Joe Saward has always said Hulk to Ferrari as #2 made a lot of sense. I hope that will be the case.

Yes, i would love to see hulk back. He can be a solid, Barrichello-style second driver. Or otherwise checo would finally deserve a decent car. His FI days surely showed him to be quick and capable of grabbing the stage if opportunities arise.

[Just_a_fan]

Wouldn't it be funny if, assuming the season actually runs this year, Vettel ended up winning a fifth title after all and then announced his retirement. That would be a real "f**k you" to Ferrari and everyone else.

[Gothrek]

This tire formula? 3/4 of his titles were in this same tire formula no?

Never know though. If you had said mid-2012 that Hamilton would go to Mercedes, a lot of people would have said that was stupid too.

Indeed, but he has never liked them.