Scuderia Toro Rosso has announced that Alexander Albon will drive for the team in the 2019 Formula 1 season, alongside Daniil Kvyat. The 22-year-old British/Thai finished third in the Formula 2 Championship this year, having been in the running for overall victory until the final race.
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So when do we think Mercedes will start making some noises about Bottas & Ocon.
If Toto said something along the lines of the 2 races in Germany and Hungary are big races for Bottas' future, then those 2 races went really bad for Valterri.
Toto wants 3 things...WDC, WCC, and no problems. Ham gets him the first and keeping Bot thru this year gets him the others. As for next year, I am unsure of Ocon...I would not rule out Russell if he continues to excel (with Ocon getting a lesser seat somewhere).
Ocon didn't even beat Perez in 2017-2018...how on earth is he a candidate for such a seat??
Bottas is doing alright...no dramas, no Gasly-pace difference to Hamilton!! Ocon on the other hand hasn't proved anything in his 2 years of racing except for proving he can collide with his teammate every now and then...even with the leader of a GP when one lap down!
The only other option for this seat must be Verstappen! If Verstappen is on offer they MUST get him...then Red Bull will be nowhere even with a great car and Mercedes will have another great driver after Hamilton retires!!
Imagine Kyvat and Gasly in the Red Bull...Mclaren would have been battling for 3rd in the WCC!!
"The only rule is there are no rules" - Aristotle Onassis
Mercedes must have 1 eye on the future though, Ocon for 2020, if he's poor then Russell for 2021.
If they keep Bottas next year they lose Ocon, and Russell can then go in for 2021, but by doing that, they pass up the chance to put Ocon in and see what he's capable of in a front running car.
Bottas is not the future of Mercedes, that's a fact, and neither is Hamilton at 34. Mercedes will surely want to see what Ocon is capable of before they evaluate Russell in 2021.
I see an ideal situation of Ocon and Russell being team mates after Lewis leaves.
Ocon did well up against Perez. Perez is no slouch, he has to be in the top 10 drivers on the grid.
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So when do we think Mercedes will start making some noises about Bottas & Ocon.
If Toto said something along the lines of the 2 races in Germany and Hungary are big races for Bottas' future, then those 2 races went really bad for Valterri.
Toto wants 3 things...WDC, WCC, and no problems. Ham gets him the first and keeping Bot thru this year gets him the others. As for next year, I am unsure of Ocon...I would not rule out Russell if he continues to excel (with Ocon getting a lesser seat somewhere).
Russel needs a teammate 10 years younger than Kubica and with two fully functioning arms. Mercedes cannot be sure about Russel yet. He should stay at Williams and face Ocon, or send Bottas back to Williams and pump some Mercedes tech into williams to bring them up the grid.
Ocon didn't even beat Perez in 2017-2018...how on earth is he a candidate for such a seat??
Bottas is doing alright...no dramas, no Gasly-pace difference to Hamilton!! Ocon on the other hand hasn't proved anything in his 2 years of racing except for proving he can collide with his teammate every now and then...even with the leader of a GP when one lap down!
The only other option for this seat must be Verstappen! If Verstappen is on offer they MUST get him...then Red Bull will be nowhere even with a great car and Mercedes will have another great driver after Hamilton retires!!
Imagine Kyvat and Gasly in the Red Bull...Mclaren would have been battling for 3rd in the WCC!!
Not quite. Ocon was very impressive with race pace and maturity. Verstappen is ok where he is in his redbull kingdom.
I beleive once he leaves redbull and doesn't have horner and marko at his back he will be flustered and start throwing tows out the pram like he did last year in Brasil when he pushed Ocon.
Redbull will be running at the front next year, don't worry about Max, he will be fine. He just needs to control Albon.
Ocon didn't even beat Perez in 2017-2018...how on earth is he a candidate for such a seat??
Bottas is doing alright...no dramas, no Gasly-pace difference to Hamilton!! Ocon on the other hand hasn't proved anything in his 2 years of racing except for proving he can collide with his teammate every now and then...even with the leader of a GP when one lap down!
The only other option for this seat must be Verstappen! If Verstappen is on offer they MUST get him...then Red Bull will be nowhere even with a great car and Mercedes will have another great driver after Hamilton retires!!
Imagine Kyvat and Gasly in the Red Bull...Mclaren would have been battling for 3rd in the WCC!!
Not quite. Ocon was very impressive with race pace and maturity. Verstappen is ok where he is in his redbull kingdom.
I beleive once he leaves redbull and doesn't have horner and marko at his back he will be flustered and start throwing tows out the pram like he did last year in Brasil when he pushed Ocon.
Redbull will be running at the front next year, don't worry about Max, he will be fine. He just needs to control Albon.
Limiting it to pace only - no, he was not. No highlights to speak of and seldom quicker than Perez (I'm going for 80-20 but I'll of course accept the precise number if anyone bothers ).
The difference when he was slower was not small either, no shame in that, Perez is top in that regard but there's no justification for top seat candidacy there.
I find it interesting how many people have a negative recollection of Ocon. My memory of the battles with Perez goes differently indeed. I remember Perez giving no quarter in combat and at best equal share of responsibility in collisions. I remember thinking more often than not it was more Perez fault than the other way around. I also remember rookie (ish) Ocon winning the qualy battle and finishing ahead more often than not but losing out on points because Perez got a lucky podium.
Actually not terribly different than Stroll v Perez this year although much less drastic. Is Stroll better than Perez because he's leading on points? certainly not.
Ocon didn't even beat Perez in 2017-2018...how on earth is he a candidate for such a seat??
Bottas is doing alright...no dramas, no Gasly-pace difference to Hamilton!! Ocon on the other hand hasn't proved anything in his 2 years of racing except for proving he can collide with his teammate every now and then...even with the leader of a GP when one lap down!
The only other option for this seat must be Verstappen! If Verstappen is on offer they MUST get him...then Red Bull will be nowhere even with a great car and Mercedes will have another great driver after Hamilton retires!!
Imagine Kyvat and Gasly in the Red Bull...Mclaren would have been battling for 3rd in the WCC!!
thank you, somebody with a level head.
i would only exclude Verstappen for Merc as there is no reason for him anymore to go there. he even stated himself he is happy.
"Explain the ending to F1 in football terms"
"Hamilton was beating Verstappen 7-0, then the ref decided F%$& rules, next goal wins
while also sending off 4 Hamilton players to make it more interesting"
The problem Mercedes has is not knowing when Hamilton is going to retire. They won't throw him out so have to for him to decide. If Hamilton has told Toto "I'll go at the end of 2020", for example, then Bottas stayed with Russel told to hold on another year. If Hamilton says "maybe I'll go at the end of 2021" the Toto has a much more difficult job.
If you are more fortunate than others, build a larger table not a taller fence.
Again, i think there is a very big chance Ricciardo is going to end up at Mercedes.
Yes, that depends on Hamilton, but the big question mark is will Hammy play it safe and stay with Mercedes,
or will he go out on a limb and go to Ferrari? If he goes to Ferrari, done deal. Ricciardo @ Mercedes. not a doubt in my mind.
If he stays, then i think the deal at Ferrari is just as similar, Ricciardo at Ferrari.
Either way it will be exciting, but gotta say, this sounds pretty hot to me:
Verstappen in a RBR-Honda versus
Hamilton in a Scuderia Ferrari versus
Ricciardo in a AMG Mercedes
and in the mix we have
LeClerc in the Scuderia Ferrari
Bottas or Russell in the AMG Mercedes
Albon in the RBR Honda.
the more exciting combo would be Ferrari, as neither LeClerc or Ricciardo will play a 'support dog role'.
"Explain the ending to F1 in football terms"
"Hamilton was beating Verstappen 7-0, then the ref decided F%$& rules, next goal wins
while also sending off 4 Hamilton players to make it more interesting"
I don't see Hamilton going to Ferrari. He won't want to spend a year or two getting the team around him (and learning Italian too) at this stage in his career. I reckon he'll do 2020 and he'll retire. He's aiming for 7 titles and 92 or more wins. That'll do for him, I reckon. That puts him equal top on titles, top on wins, way top on poles. Over to you youngsters...
If you are more fortunate than others, build a larger table not a taller fence.
I don't see Hamilton going to Ferrari. He won't want to spend a year or two getting the team around him (and learning Italian too) at this stage in his career. I reckon he'll do 2020 and he'll retire. He's aiming for 7 titles and 92 or more wins. That'll do for him, I reckon. That puts him equal top on titles, top on wins, way top on poles. Over to you youngsters...
Also, his outside lifestyle would not appeal to Ferrari and he probably knows it.
When arguing with a fool, be sure the other person is not doing the same thing.
Also, his outside lifestyle would not appeal to Ferrari and he probably knows it.
Which is funny as it's the thing that helps him be the driver he is. McLaren wanted him in to be a "good boy" and it didn't work there either. I think Mercedes allowing him to be himself has paid massively.
If you are more fortunate than others, build a larger table not a taller fence.
This Greek site is claiming some nice rumors...don't know where they got them from but i'm Greek so i can translate some things for you:
-Mercedes wants Verstappen in 2020 and is ready to give him 30 million euros, but Verstappen can't get out of his contract right now because he is in the top 3 in the standings!
-Red Bull is talking with Vettel in case Verstappen leaves...Vettel is not happy at Ferrari it seems and Ferrari is ok with him leaving!
-Bottas will be replaced by Ocon if Verstappen doesn't join Mercedes in 2020
-Hulkenberg will be driving for Haas next year
-Nicolas Lattifi will get Kubica's seat next year and will bring 30 million euros of backing to the team!!
Again i don't know where they got these rumors from...but they look spicy!
"The only rule is there are no rules" - Aristotle Onassis
There were rumors beforehand that Vettel would make a return to Milton Keynes. With Albon now in RBR I don’t think that storyline is in the picture anymore; thoughts?
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