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

[tpeman]

Why not Kvyat or Gasly? Especially Kvyat, who has worked with Ferrari before and they seemed to have a good relationship. He can be a solid number 2 driver, did pretty good in Red Bull in 2015 imo, extremely fast on a good day and he isn't afraid to try daring moves.

[TimmTurbo]

Does anyone really think that Hamilton would sign a contract with Ferrari?

He has the #1 Status from the first race at Merc at least since bottas signed up.
He had the best car on the grid since almost a decade
He does not want to have such a young and strong team mate as LeClerc would be.
He knows that driving for Ferrari is a different animal in regards to PR, Team Organization, emotions etc...

He would be absolutely stupid to jump on a dead horse....... And i think he is rather smart in that respect

[Nonserviam85]

You forgot Wehrlein who is vastly underrated and already un the Ferrari stable as a sim driver. His exploits in FE have been impressive and his drives in F1 equally impressive. He is clearly better than GIO to me.

Wehrlein is not considered highly in Maranello, his SIM work was sub par. Kvyat on the other hand has a lot of support.

[nacho]

Has no one said that Kimi will go back?

[ENGINE TUNER]

You forgot Wehrlein who is vastly underrated and already un the Ferrari stable as a sim driver. His exploits in FE have been impressive and his drives in F1 equally impressive. He is clearly better than GIO to me.

Wehrlein is not considered highly in Maranello, his SIM work was sub par. Kvyat on the other hand has a lot of support.

Kvyat shouldn't even be on the F1 grid, constant stream of misinformation regarding Wehrlein, the kid is talented. What is your source for Ferrari's low consideration of Wehrlein?

[nacho]

Didn't the Ferrari contract have some special clauses like that they need to have a world champion in their car?

[GPR-A]

Ferrari's best/most probable options:

No 1 : Daniel Ricciardo --> The best option right now...in his primes and quiet capable of winning without making mistakes like Vettel
No 2: Carlos Sainz --> Not too young not too old...not too fast not too slow...maybe a good No 2 driver against Leclerc...maybe challenging sometimes! But if i was Sainz i wouldn't go in Leclerc's team when Mclaren is my team already...no need to leave!
No 3: Fernando Alonso --> If the two drivers above don't end up in a Ferrari then this should be Ferrari's back up plan let's say! Get Alonso in there for 1-2 seasons until a good replacement comes up (although i don't see any better replacement than Danny Ric)! A Leclerc-Alonso team would surely give the constructors title to Ferrari without the need for the fastest car in the field...a car as fast as Mercedes like 2017-2018 would be ok!
No 4: Ferrari are total idiots and for some reason i think this is the driver they'll choose : Antonio Giovinazzi --> I can't see how Antonio can end up in this car when there are so many drivers out there much better than him! But we are talking about Ferrari here...they are looking for a clear No 2 from their driver pool maybe and i don't see anyone else fitting that bill!

Notable mentions:
No 1: Valterri Bottas --> He has shown that he can be a capable No 2 driver...so that would be a much better option than Giovinazzi! Many would say he is Ferrari's No 1 option...but i don't think he would want to leave Mercedes right now and that's why i put him in the notable options! He is No 2 in a Mercedes but at least he has the chance to win every now and then...i don't think he'll have that chance in a Ferrari...we know how Ferrari works with No 2 drivers when they have a clear No 1!
If he manages to land in a Ferrari seat in 2021 then it'll be Mercedes with a vacant seat...and this is a totally different discussion!

No 2: Nico Hulkenberg --> Many have suggested he could be a good No 2 for Ferrari...but with all the above options i can't see why Hulk will be back in F1 in a Ferrari...maybe in an another team if Vettel retires altogether!

My personal best option: Daniel Ricciardo --> He has proven his speed time and time again and he is the only other driver apart from Leclerc to have beaten Vettel in the same car fair and square! He has also said many times he wants to be in a Ferrari and he likes Italians...this would be the perfect fit both for his career and Ferrari itself! If i was Ricciardo i would say to Ferrari...just sign me...i don't care about the money (something like Senna said to Williams about 1993)!

Formula 1's best option: Fernando Alonso --> Who else would bring back so many fans to the sport? No one...he is so loved by the fans and everyone wants to see him back...i want to see him back too! But to be honest i don't see him being any quicker than Leclerc...he's past his prime and he is out for 2 years alreardy!

Summed up pretty much what I feel. I have said Ricciardo would be the best match with Leclerc, long back when there were rumors were going on about Hamilton moving to Ferrari.
viewtopic.php?p=848381#p848381

[GPR-A]

Didn't the Ferrari contract have some special clauses like that they need to have a world champion in their car?

There are numerous instances where they did not have one. Most recent one is 2007. A year when Kimi won WDC. Neither Massa nor Kimi contested as Champions, but for championship.

[jumpingfish]

Didn't the Ferrari contract have some special clauses like that they need to have a world champion in their car?

There are numerous instances where they did not have one. Most recent one is 2007. A year when Kimi won WDC. Neither Massa nor Kimi contested as Champions, but for championship.

I think the requirement to have a champion in a team is not 100% mandatory. Something like the Mission Winnow logos when Ferrari removed them from the car due to a ban on tobacco advertising in some of the grand prix.

[Just_a_fan]

You forgot Wehrlein who is vastly underrated and already un the Ferrari stable as a sim driver. His exploits in FE have been impressive and his drives in F1 equally impressive. He is clearly better than GIO to me.

Wehrlein comes with an attitude problem it seems. Unless his dropping from F1 has made him reconsider himself. If his sense of entitlement is still there, I'd expect to see issues in the team.

[ENGINE TUNER]

You forgot Wehrlein who is vastly underrated and already un the Ferrari stable as a sim driver. His exploits in FE have been impressive and his drives in F1 equally impressive. He is clearly better than GIO to me.

Wehrlein comes with an attitude problem it seems. Unless his dropping from F1 has made him reconsider himself. If his sense of entitlement is still there, I'd expect to see issues in the team.

More unsubstantiated claims, his team principals and Toto say otherwise.

[adrianjordan]

Didn't the Ferrari contract have some special clauses like that they need to have a world champion in their car?

Won't be a problem if Leclerc wins this season

[adrianjordan]

Personally I think Seb is looking at options outside of F1. He's a 4 times WDC, so I doubt he'd want to go to a midfield team. That leaves Mercedes (not gonna happen while Lewis is there) or RB (similarly, not going to happen while Max is there).

Mclaren may be an option, but does he want to go somewhere to build a team into a championship contender at this stage in his career? Does he see himself doing what Schumacher did at Mercedes? Maybe, but I don't see it myself. I also think Mclaren are happy with Carlos and Lando. They've been very open that they're not likely to win any titles for a few years, so why would they want to rock the boat?

Renault? Maybe, but as with Mclaren, it would have to be a long game sort of move.

I just don't see anywhere else for Seb to go. I think he has seen how much the likes of Jenson are enjoying racing in a range of formulas, whilst still being able to enjoy family life, and might be looking for that himself.


So who replaces him at Ferrari?

My bet is Daniel. He's been linked with Ferrari before and has Italian heritage. He is an affable person who won't rock the boat and is good for sponsor events. He's as fast as pretty much anyone else and I think, after 2 years in the midfield, will have the sort of hunger that we saw at Monaco in 2018. I think he desperately wants to prove that he has what it takes and I can't actually think of anyone who would have more hunger to succeed.

Hamilton won't go there, why would he leave the best team of the grid? A team that he has built around him. He has been very vocal about not leaving Mercedes recently and I suspect knew what was happening with Seb.

Sainz? Whilst I think he would be a good fit there, do we really think Carlos Snr would let him go to a team where he'd be number 2 driver?

Bottas? Possibly, very much a side step for him though.

Who else? Ocon? Maybe. I think anyone else is a long shot.

[Scorpaguy]

Ham has zero reasons to leave Merc...unless they do not race this season. A year off is going to leave a lot of folks rusty, restless, and at least a year older. Still, I think he stays long enough to shepherd Russell.

Ferrari...safe money is Ric or Danil. If they race this year and Lec does well...Danil. If they race this year and Lec faulters...Ric.

[Unf]

If Ferrari think about Team Championschips they need at least as good 2nd driver as Bottas is. Even better, just cause Ferrari's car is worse than Merc. Do you think Sainz is way better than Bottas? Don't thnik so. Racciardo for sure.