I think anybody changing seats right now is going to be looking at a pay cut. The world economy is kinda timid just now.
I think anybody changing seats right now is going to be looking at a pay cut. The world economy is kinda timid just now.
carczar_84 said:If that happens I could see Danny sliding over to Mclaren since he was close to signing there last year. But that would probably mean the same paycut. Mclaren w/ the merc powerplant next year seems like it might be an attractive combo?
Danny and Lando seem like a hilarious combination.
-Rob
In reply to rob_lewis :
Very true, that could be alot of fun!
Looks like Sainz will get the Ferrari seat: https://www.espn.com/f1/story/_/id/29168923/sainz-set-replace-vettel-ferrari-2021-sources
In reply to Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter) :
Some news outlets are suggesting heavily that Ricciardo will be going to McLaren.
Which takes us down a different rabbit hole- WTF is up at Renault? When you don't perform well enough to keep the top driver you signed longer than one short term deal AND they may head to a rival team that sucked badly in the very recent past. It very much makes you think that the odds of Renault dropping F1 is very real, and we will have 3 engine suppliers.
Add in the current economic situation, which has apparently convinced Fiat to put a hard limit on their team's budget- so much so that it sounds like the actual limit is even lower than it was....
What are the odds that the engine rules get re-opened so that the players that were rumored to be interested in '21 actually come back? IIRC, the big sticking point are the E-boost systems- not sure the full details, but it seems the exhaust energy harvesting is the issue. Outside of that, the rest of the engine is now fairly typical and very much in line with everthing else- take a turbo DI V6, add a Formula E powertrain (1000V battery, motor/generator) and you are done.
Looks like Sainz to Ferrari and Danny Ric to McLaren are both confirmed for 2021.
Vettel seems to be the odd man out. I'm not a big Bottas fan, but he plays a good #2 that Vettel would not. Vettel seems like he would do well to take some time off, spend time with family, tinker with his bikes and maybe come back if things work out that way.
McLaren will have the most entertaining driver duo on the grid.
2021 may be more entertaining then 2020, assuming 2020 racing occurs. I wonder if the contracts will change if no racing happens in 2020. Peter Windsor had a interesting prospective about Vettel, that I never thought about, how towards the end of Redbull he never worked on his week points and that carried onto Ferrari and now he doesn't have a ride or a championship in the Ferrari. I wonder if the week points will be a driving factor of him retiring or trying to get a ride with Renault. I just hope he doesn't pull a Schumi and comes back years later worse. I like Vettal I think it's a shame that he never was able to give a championship to Ferrari, but it was self inflicted. Renault looks like a challenging situation, I presume they will go with the latest GP2 driver academy driver, but I think that Mclaren is a much better team and Ric made the right decision. I wonder if the new partnership with Sainz, might pressure Mercedes to pluck one of the younger drivers and throw Bottas back to Williams.
In reply to trigun7469 :
Everything I hear is that the contract timing is staying, regardless of what happens in 2020. And Sainz's thank you video to McLaren very much leans that way, too.
The McLaren social media feeds will be epic next year. On top of it, I think they will have a car to give RB a run. Should be a lot of fun to watch. I'd love a 4 team series.
trigun7469 said:2021 may be more entertaining then 2020, assuming 2020 racing occurs. I wonder if the contracts will change if no racing happens in 2020. Peter Windsor had a interesting prospective about Vettel, that I never thought about, how towards the end of Redbull he never worked on his week points and that carried onto Ferrari and now he doesn't have a ride or a championship in the Ferrari. I wonder if the week points will be a driving factor of him retiring or trying to get a ride with Renault. I just hope he doesn't pull a Schumi and comes back years later worse. I like Vettal I think it's a shame that he never was able to give a championship to Ferrari, but it was self inflicted. Renault looks like a challenging situation, I presume they will go with the latest GP2 driver academy driver, but I think that Mclaren is a much better team and Ric made the right decision. I wonder if the new partnership with Sainz, might pressure Mercedes to pluck one of the younger drivers and throw Bottas back to Williams.
I agree - Vettel was able to take full advantage of the car that Red Bull gave him, and I've read that his driving style matched the way the aero worked quite well. As soon as the cars changed, he was unable to adapt and his weaknesses became apparent. Going to Ferrari didn't change that. I think the only way he'll get a seat is if a mid-pack team wants the prestige of a multiple world champion. There aren't many of those on the grid these days :)
Hulkenberg would be an obvious option for Renault. He may not have ever finished on the podium, but he put in some solid performances.
Sainz to Ferrari and Riccardio to McLaren are both great moves.
Rumor mill now talks of Alonso to Renault, which would be really really interesting.
Could we see Vettel back at Toro Rosso be Alpha Tauri?
I can't believe anyone would hire Alonso again. The guy is just a PR nightmare even if he has a lot of fans.
I want to see Lando drink milk out of Danny Ric's shoe when he gets his first F1 podium.
In reply to Keith Tanner :
He's never said a harsh word about Renault though and that's the team he won his championships with.
Javelin (Forum Supporter) said:In reply to Keith Tanner :
He's never said a harsh word about Renault though and that's the team he won his championships with.
I suspect those two facts are closely related.
Just because he hasn't complained about Renault YET doesn't mean he wouldn't. He'd definitely be a liability.
I'm with Kieth, Fred is toxic to F1. He may be a great driver, but there are plenty of those around waiting for a chance. He didn't so much burn bridges in F1, he blew the berkeleying things up with MOABs. Now I want to see JPM beat him to the tripple crown, although I do want to see more of him in Indy car where he seems less toxic.
In reply to Adrian_Thompson (Forum Supporter) :
Was he really that toxic? The Honda engine was a total POS and deserved what he said about it. He never knocked his teammate or the engineers. He seemed to be fine at Toyota and in Indy.
Yes, he was toxic. Didn't like being beaten by Hammy so helped throw McLaren under the bus. Was a whinny bitch at Ferrari so they couldn't wait to get rid of him. Went back to McLaren and made publicly embarrassing comments about the company paying his salary when he knows keeping face and honor are of paramount importance in that culture. His 'GP2 engine, GP2 engine' comment over the radio was completely unacceptable and unprofessional. He knew damn well it would get played over and over to rub salt into the wounds of Honda. He has a reputation of being hard to work with. I hope the door hit him really hard on the way out. We don't just want corporate stooges, but you can be different, quirky and endearing like Kimi or Danny Ric without being a tool. HE could have had a longer F1 career if he at least had the maturity of a first grader.
Alonsa is a talented Diva and is a disruption to any team he is part of. He's burned so many bridges, I'm not surprised he can't find a home in Formula 1. I really wanted Ricciardo at Ferrari but Seinz is pretty good, too. Right now I just want to see some live racing.
Whooohoooo Vettel is out. Hopefully he will enjoy his retirement!!!
I am very happy that Sainz will get a top level car....but I seriously think Ferrari is on the way back down to a be a stable third or fourth best team. Hopefully 2021 will allow him to show his skill against Leclerc. Conversely, Ricciardo I think has made a good move. McLaren used to fight for championships and I think they are close to being back there.
Whomever Ocon is partnered with I think this is a huge chance for Ocon to make Renault his team. Whether they get better or not, he will have his best chance to prove he is worth something.
For 2020 and 2021 I hope Albon humbly destroys Verstappen.
Let's see what Leclerc can do with his team. He has a massive opportunity to make it his own.
Advan046 said:Whooohoooo Vettel is out. Hopefully he will enjoy his retirement!!!
I am very happy that Sainz will get a top level car....but I seriously think Ferrari is on the way back down to a be a stable third or fourth best team. Hopefully 2021 will allow him to show his skill against Leclerc. Conversely, Ricciardo I think has made a good move. McLaren used to fight for championships and I think they are close to being back there.
Whomever Ocon is partnered with I think this is a huge chance for Ocon to make Renault his team. Whether they get better or not, he will have his best chance to prove he is worth something.
For 2020 and 2021 I hope Albon humbly destroys Verstappen.
Link for vettel out of f1?
In reply to wvumtnbkr :
He's not. Still in negotiations with multiple teams.
I still say Alonso to Renault, and Vettel will end up at Alpha Tauri the way Raikkonen is at Alfa Romeo.
In reply to wvumtnbkr :
No link just hope!
In reply to Javelin (Forum Supporter) :
Renault needs a known quantity like Alonso. I wish they could find someone else though. Vettel doesn't seem to fit that job. He had a team built around him by redbull and once they stopped propping him up he fell down to his true performance level. Alonso can wring the max out of any car and seems to be slightly better at driving the team. He needs a strong handler in the team. McLaren gave him too much rope.
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