Domino's are falling, Lewis to Ferrari wasn't much of a secret.organic wrote:Peter Windsor (someone with good connections @ Williams)
"As I understand it, [Albon] has been offered a 3-year contract to start in 2025 [at Red Bull]. So I think you're gonna see him at Red Bull alongside Max Verstappen" [...] "equally, that's as I understand it. it's not 100%; it's probably 90% I think."
From his livestream (about 40seconds in):
Barretto dropping the“I know for a fact that Sainz could have an option at Aston Martin.”
.organic wrote: ↑02 Feb 2024, 21:17Peter Windsor (someone with good connections @ Williams)
"As I understand it, [Albon] has been offered a 3-year contract to start in 2025 [at Red Bull]. So I think you're gonna see him at Red Bull alongside Max Verstappen" [...] "equally, that's as I understand it. it's not 100%; it's probably 90% I think."
From his livestream (about 40seconds in):
Lets hope this is true! 
Stroll to Merc confirmed thenorganic wrote:Also from the F1 nation podcast
Lawrence Barretto:
Barretto dropping the“I know for a fact that Sainz could have an option at Aston Martin.”
Seems like the amr door is not shut for Sainz
What does that say about the alonso-merc situation? Maybe Alonso is seeing Merc as the next gamble
Maybe it means nothing for Alo though. If Alonso is staying then an alonso-Sainz double Spanish lineup would be tantalising if Stroll were to go to Hypercar
Completely agree from Mercedes' POV. But does this make sense for Alonso? Both Lewis and Alonso want to win championships again. Mercedes has fallen from grace, suffered a brain drain and it is rumoured Lewis will bring even more engineers with him to Ferrari. Sure they still remain a big team with a huge budget and they could recover from that, but if Mercedes wasn't able to convince Lewis of all people and made him leave to the nearest competition, a person who has a perfect record of choosing teams at the right moment... I can't see how Toto could give Alonso any proof that their seat will make him win. You would have to rely on Lewis somehow making a mistake and missing big potential which would be very unlikely. I can only see a possibility if AM's competitiveness took a big hit, almost becoming a failure.
The main reason why Alonso left Alpine is because he wasn't willing to fill a stopgap role.
200iq If you think about the steady hands Lance has shown over the years. Especially some of his wet drives...denyall wrote: ↑02 Feb 2024, 23:44Stroll to Merc confirmed thenorganic wrote:Also from the F1 nation podcast
Lawrence Barretto:
Barretto dropping the“I know for a fact that Sainz could have an option at Aston Martin.”
Seems like the amr door is not shut for Sainz
What does that say about the alonso-merc situation? Maybe Alonso is seeing Merc as the next gamble
Maybe it means nothing for Alo though. If Alonso is staying then an alonso-Sainz double Spanish lineup would be tantalising if Stroll were to go to Hypercar
Alonso didn't want to fill a stopgap role (at Alpine!) a couple of seasons ago, now he's closing in on his mid 40s, he'll be 44 in 2025. It's now or never for him, he has been waiting for a title shot for over 10 years, this is the best chance he's going to get. You can't keep kicking the bucket down the road forever. AMR may be an ambitious project, but it's not Mercedes. And let's face it, Lewis' move is more a reflection of his personal ambition to drive at Ferrari, not that Merc is going down the tubes. He probably felt it was a toss-up between the two competitively and chose the team that offered a longer contract and re-ignited some motivation for him on a personal level.KimiRai wrote: ↑03 Feb 2024, 00:49Completely agree from Mercedes' POV. But does this make sense for Alonso? Both Lewis and Alonso want to win championships again. Mercedes has fallen from grace, suffered a brain drain and it is rumoured Lewis will bring even more engineers with him to Ferrari. Sure they still remain a big team with a huge budget and they could recover from that, but if Mercedes wasn't able to convince Lewis of all people and made him leave to the nearest competition, a person who has a perfect record of choosing teams at the right moment... I can't see how Toto could give Alonso any proof that their seat will make him win. You would have to rely on Lewis somehow making a mistake and missing big potential which would be very unlikely. I can only see a possibility if AM's competitiveness took a big hit, almost becoming a failure.
AM may be a couple steps behind in constructors but they are building a very strong technical department (who just recently tried to poach James Allison) and soon works team in the near future. Alonso and his agents will consider the Mercedes option for sure, as he should, but I think he'll choose green, I'd be very surprised if he leaves for Mercedes.
The main reason why Alonso left Alpine is because he wasn't willing to fill a stopgap role.
Ground Effect wrote: ↑03 Feb 2024, 12:38
Mercedes can't sign Max for 2025, can't sign Leclerc, or Lando, or Oscar.... it's unclear if they'll be able to get Fernando. Whichever ever way you look at it, one of Ferrari's major competitors has been weakened significantly.
Alonso is a pragmatist, if he thinks Mercedes can give him a car capable of challenging for
I don't think anything has changed. If anything I would argue he's even more motivated due to finally driving competitive machinery after so many years.
How can you be so sure Mercedes is a better option? From what I could gather in this website plus a couple I know off the top of my head...Cs98 wrote: ↑03 Feb 2024, 00:06It's now or never for him, he has been waiting for a title shot for over 10 years, this is the best chance he's going to get. You can't keep kicking the bucket down the road forever. AMR may be an ambitious project, but it's not Mercedes. And let's face it, Lewis' move is more a reflection of his personal ambition to drive at Ferrari, not that Merc is going down the tubes. He probably felt it was a toss-up between the two competitively and chose the team that offered a longer contract and re-ignited some motivation for him on a personal level.
