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

[Jolle]

So how about the return of Vergne to Redbull? Imo he was right up there with Ricciardo & Kvyat and he is much more experienced and complete now.

Only who will keep VER if he would be Verstappen’s teammate

Up there with Kvyat I agree. But Ricciardo? He's a level or 2 higher than the pair IMO.

As for VER lol, I'd guess Vergne would end up VRN. But I'd rather see VEG

In 2013-15 they were all comparable. Ricciardo has grown at Redbull, but so has Vergne in Formula E

Formula E is a nice serie to watch.... but not really a cutting edge racing series. It's even slower than F3, with rock hard tires on bumpy tracks.

[Wouter]

Who will end up in F1 next year?

[wickedz50]

Who will end up in F1 next year?

Honestly if I was Ferrari/FIAT CEO, I will like to start both of them in F1 2021. Ferrari has good influence on HAAS and ALFA team and in their long term interest they should start developing both these drivers who are highly talented and promising.

As a F1 follower I can only wish, hope for the best.

[Just_a_fan]

Who will end up in F1 next year?

Schuie Jnr is going to have to do something stupid not to get in to F1. On name alone he'll be given a chance in a race seat. That and he has a few Euros behind him from Michael's very successful career. The two together means he likely end up with at least a season in a car. Unless he does something stupid.

[DChemTech]

Albon seat at RB is confirmed. I don't see any changes least 2021 and 2022. If RB+Honda(Honda yet to confirm his presence in F1 beyond 2021) going to stay beyond 2021 then Max + Albon till 2022.

If Honda failed to deliver in 2022 after rule change, then Max will look for out side. Max will not waste his time in RB beyond 2022.

Albon RB seat confirmed? Do you have some backup for that statement?

I don't have any concrete information however it seems he is doing second fiddle to Max. If you put Gassly again, he won't do that. Keyvat already gone for next year. He won't be in RB and replaced by Honda person.

So, I don't think Albon will lose his seat for next two years.

Well, "you don't think" is quite something different than "seat confirmed", isn't it?
Albon's performance is far from satisfactory, unfortunately, and his seat is far from confirmed. Now, RB is not very apt of recruiting drivers from outside normally, but that does not mean that option is fully of the table, given the current situation.

[Manoah2u]

Honestly if I was Ferrari/FIAT CEO, I will like to start both of them in F1 2021. Ferrari has good influence on HAAS and ALFA team and in their long term interest they should start developing both these drivers who are highly talented and promising.

As a F1 follower I can only wish, hope for the best.

There were three guys testing btw.

No, Ferrari actually doesn't have 'that' much influence on HAAS,
there's a reason why Giovanazzi is @ Alfa and not at Haas, who has been running with Grosjean and Magnussen 'forever' by now. Meanwhile, it seems ever so clear that Perez will sign with HAAS for 2021, I think he'll be replacing Magnussen. Steiner has been wanting to get rid of Romain for a while but Gene wants to stay loyal, though that offcourse always also has a finite lifespan. He'll surely bring BWT and Carlos Slim money, so that'll do Haas a lot of good.

Again, nothing even remotely indicating Ferrari has even the slightest influence on driver selection.
It's something HAAS themselves actually mentioned, so honestly, i don't have any idea how you made up Ferrari has good influence on Haas.

As for Alfa, yes, that's a whole different story alltogether.

I think it's pretty much guaranteed that Mick is going to race in F1 next season, and it's logical they'll want him alongside an experienced driver, and since Raikkonen is the most experienced and wants a new contract, that's pretty much decided.

Shwartzman isn't some next prodigee (dont get me wrong, Mick isn't showing his father's magic yet either), and though not impossible, i don't see him @ Haas for 2021 UNLESS Alpha Tauri ditches Kvyat in favour of Tsunoda, and the higher-ups will push for a Russian in the field.

Mick needs to keep the hype rolling, the other guys not so much, they can wait, and it's in their interest to wait.
After all, what good would it do them to enter 2021 with the last season of current F1 'design', versus 2022 when the cars will be more of the same, and will bring a bit more similarity to F2 cars than 2021 will. After all, they'll have to adapt to F1 cars and then ditch everything they've learned to start over in 2022.

I would concider it still wise for Mick to wait, but then again, his train needs to keep moving and it's in his interest to 'shine' in 2021 and build the team around himself, so he can work on the 2022 car with the team and demand a 2023 seat @ Ferrari. IF he's any good.

Shwartzman, Iliott and Tsunoda all have different 'career paths' and will be much better off to start in 2022.
After all, if they 'underperform' in 2021, that is weighed out much more than in 2022, as 2022 will be a fresh start for everyone. Also, they might fare better in 2022 style F1 cars anyway, so why risk getting in the deep in 2021 when you can comfortably sign up to be a test driver in F1 in 2021 and race in F2, and then be a race driver in F1 for 2022?

I also seriously doubt Alfa would put in two rookies in the team for 2021, so it's either one or the other, and again, Mick is the most likely to gain a seat. For 2022, despite the fact that experienced drivers have a benefit, Mick will no longer be a 'rookie' per se, and they're probably much more open for getting fe. Shwartzman in.

[Big Tea]

Honestly if I was Ferrari/FIAT CEO, I will like to start both of them in F1 2021. Ferrari has good influence on HAAS and ALFA team and in their long term interest they should start developing both these drivers who are highly talented and promising.

As a F1 follower I can only wish, hope for the best.

There were three guys testing btw.

No, Ferrari actually doesn't have 'that' much influence on HAAS,
there's a reason why Giovanazzi is @ Alfa and not at Haas, who has been running with Grosjean and Magnussen 'forever' by now. Meanwhile, it seems ever so clear that Perez will sign with HAAS for 2021, I think he'll be replacing Magnussen. Steiner has been wanting to get rid of Romain for a while but Gene wants to stay loyal, though that offcourse always also has a finite lifespan. He'll surely bring BWT and Carlos Slim money, so that'll do Haas a lot of good.

Again, nothing even remotely indicating Ferrari has even the slightest influence on driver selection.
It's something HAAS themselves actually mentioned, so honestly, i don't have any idea how you made up Ferrari has good influence on Haas.

As for Alfa, yes, that's a whole different story alltogether.

I think it's pretty much guaranteed that Mick is going to race in F1 next season, and it's logical they'll want him alongside an experienced driver, and since Raikkonen is the most experienced and wants a new contract, that's pretty much decided.

Shwartzman isn't some next prodigee (dont get me wrong, Mick isn't showing his father's magic yet either), and though not impossible, i don't see him @ Haas for 2021 UNLESS Alpha Tauri ditches Kvyat in favour of Tsunoda, and the higher-ups will push for a Russian in the field.

Mick needs to keep the hype rolling, the other guys not so much, they can wait, and it's in their interest to wait.
After all, what good would it do them to enter 2021 with the last season of current F1 'design', versus 2022 when the cars will be more of the same, and will bring a bit more similarity to F2 cars than 2021 will. After all, they'll have to adapt to F1 cars and then ditch everything they've learned to start over in 2022.

I would concider it still wise for Mick to wait, but then again, his train needs to keep moving and it's in his interest to 'shine' in 2021 and build the team around himself, so he can work on the 2022 car with the team and demand a 2023 seat @ Ferrari. IF he's any good.

Shwartzman, Iliott and Tsunoda all have different 'career paths' and will be much better off to start in 2022.
After all, if they 'underperform' in 2021, that is weighed out much more than in 2022, as 2022 will be a fresh start for everyone. Also, they might fare better in 2022 style F1 cars anyway, so why risk getting in the deep in 2021 when you can comfortably sign up to be a test driver in F1 in 2021 and race in F2, and then be a race driver in F1 for 2022?

I also seriously doubt Alfa would put in two rookies in the team for 2021, so it's either one or the other, and again, Mick is the most likely to gain a seat. For 2022, despite the fact that experienced drivers have a benefit, Mick will no longer be a 'rookie' per se, and they're probably much more open for getting fe. Shwartzman in.

What is the ruling in F2? is it that they can not race in the series after they win the championship?

[nacho]

Albon is so far behind Verstappen (for whatever reason) I can't remember when a top team had such a big gap between drivers.

[SAEED]

Honestly if I was Ferrari/FIAT CEO, I will like to start both of them in F1 2021. Ferrari has good influence on HAAS and ALFA team and in their long term interest they should start developing both these drivers who are highly talented and promising.

As a F1 follower I can only wish, hope for the best.

There were three guys testing btw.

No, Ferrari actually doesn't have 'that' much influence on HAAS,
there's a reason why Giovanazzi is @ Alfa and not at Haas, who has been running with Grosjean and Magnussen 'forever' by now. Meanwhile, it seems ever so clear that Perez will sign with HAAS for 2021, I think he'll be replacing Magnussen. Steiner has been wanting to get rid of Romain for a while but Gene wants to stay loyal, though that offcourse always also has a finite lifespan. He'll surely bring BWT and Carlos Slim money, so that'll do Haas a lot of good.

Again, nothing even remotely indicating Ferrari has even the slightest influence on driver selection.
It's something HAAS themselves actually mentioned, so honestly, i don't have any idea how you made up Ferrari has good influence on Haas.

As for Alfa, yes, that's a whole different story alltogether.

I think it's pretty much guaranteed that Mick is going to race in F1 next season, and it's logical they'll want him alongside an experienced driver, and since Raikkonen is the most experienced and wants a new contract, that's pretty much decided.

Shwartzman isn't some next prodigee (dont get me wrong, Mick isn't showing his father's magic yet either), and though not impossible, i don't see him @ Haas for 2021 UNLESS Alpha Tauri ditches Kvyat in favour of Tsunoda, and the higher-ups will push for a Russian in the field.

Mick needs to keep the hype rolling, the other guys not so much, they can wait, and it's in their interest to wait.
After all, what good would it do them to enter 2021 with the last season of current F1 'design', versus 2022 when the cars will be more of the same, and will bring a bit more similarity to F2 cars than 2021 will. After all, they'll have to adapt to F1 cars and then ditch everything they've learned to start over in 2022.

I would concider it still wise for Mick to wait, but then again, his train needs to keep moving and it's in his interest to 'shine' in 2021 and build the team around himself, so he can work on the 2022 car with the team and demand a 2023 seat @ Ferrari. IF he's any good.

Shwartzman, Iliott and Tsunoda all have different 'career paths' and will be much better off to start in 2022.
After all, if they 'underperform' in 2021, that is weighed out much more than in 2022, as 2022 will be a fresh start for everyone. Also, they might fare better in 2022 style F1 cars anyway, so why risk getting in the deep in 2021 when you can comfortably sign up to be a test driver in F1 in 2021 and race in F2, and then be a race driver in F1 for 2022?

I also seriously doubt Alfa would put in two rookies in the team for 2021, so it's either one or the other, and again, Mick is the most likely to gain a seat. For 2022, despite the fact that experienced drivers have a benefit, Mick will no longer be a 'rookie' per se, and they're probably much more open for getting fe. Shwartzman in.

You have to factor in the possibility that drivers getting promoted to F2 from F3 might outshine them, not to mention some drivers who will be in their second year in F2.

[DChemTech]

Albon is so far behind Verstappen (for whatever reason) I can't remember when a top team had such a big gap between drivers.

Schumacher and Verstappen at Benneton? (but, they allegedly had quite different material to work with...)

[Jolle]

Raikkonen - Badoer?

[nacho]

Badoer was a replacement for a few GPs so wouldn't count that. I was thinking of Raikkonen - Alonso but I think even that was closer.

[Manoah2u]

LeClerc - Vettel right now?

[Sawtooth-spike]

LeClerc - Vettel right now?

This is True. The Gap is Similar, the unknowns are Similar (Are they racing with the same kit). I guess the Difference are, the ferrari is a donkey which is not close to the top of the grid and We know Vettel is leaving, where as people think Alex might be.

But Alex should be closer to Max on 1 lap pace. We have yet to have a race where redbull have 2 cars to fight the Merc.

[JordanMugen]

Meanwhile, it seems ever so clear that Perez will sign with HAAS for 2021, I think he'll be replacing Magnussen.

In that case, should Red Bull Racing pounce on Magnussen given his status as a consistent and well-regarded talent?

Albon is so far behind Verstappen (for whatever reason) I can't remember when a top team had such a big gap between drivers.

Why didn't RBR just sign Alonso when Alonso was available? That would have almost certainly fixed the problem of the second Red Bull being too far behind Verstappen. An inexplicable oversight by Red Bull Racing - Honda.

Alonso still has every possibility to rejoin Button in Honda company man ranks... no door is ever closed.