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Originally Posted by TrapezeArtist
I predicted a little while back that Vettel would retire at the end of this season, and Monza hasn't done anything to change my mind  . He is only prepared to be a No 1. That's what he thought he had (well, officially it's what he did have) at Ferrari at the beginning of this year, but Leclerc's skills and his own mistakes have determined otherwise. He left Red Bull because he felt threatened by Riciardo so he's unlikely to return there alongside Verstappen (unless his pension pot is not sufficiently full yet). He's not a Kimi; he won't go to a lesser team for the fun of it. |
A few points:
- 2020 I don't expect Red Bull to be the lesser team. Honda will be up there and the chassis will most like be fully competitive again after 2019 aero rule change set back.
- The situation at Ferrari with Leclerc is only going to get worse. If he can't get his head around not being No1 all the time there is no place for him to be successful from 2020.
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So Ferrari need another driver for 2020. On the face of it Riciardo would be a good choice but he is generally thought to have left Red Bull because Verstappen was putting him in the shadows. Why would he want to go up alongside Leclerc? ItIsI is doing fantastic things this year but he is still inexperienced (measured by F1 races started) so it may be too early to bring in another inexperienced driver underneath him. Raikkonen has been prepared to be a No 2 before and he would be a safe (and popular) pair of hands.
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Ricciardo was giving Verstappen a very decent run for his money and I consider Verstappen still a notch above Leclerc. Kimi would be a good 2nd next to Leclerc, but he seems to enjoy the more relaxed environment at Sauber.
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What will Red Bull do? It's early days but Albon is looking OK. If he can keep it up and get rid of the odd lacklustre moment, he will make an excellent 2020 No 2 and the problem is solved.
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In my book Albon isn't looking okay at all. It may have been sour grapes from Kvyat at Spa, but he was right, that wasn't at all that impressive. At Monza finishing behind both Renault's when Verstappen was doing Leclerc laptimes doesn't make him look good either. He need to up his game if he wants to be that 2nd driver Red Bull needs for 2020.
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If not, Red Bull will be scratching around to find someone while Toro Rosso will be trying to fit three drivers into two seats. I would quite like to see the Hulk get the seat if they push Albon back out, but he may not be prepared to wait until the end of the year for a decision. At least, not if another opportunity like Haas is open to him.
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Marko has been quite negative about Hulkenberg. In fact he has ruled him out considering him not sufficiently better than their current options.