[Rumours] 2022 Silly Season

[broadrun96]

Well guess he's not that much of a MB guy, and to me that article reads that he has the option to return but is not currently signed as an MB guy, connected to us is a very particular turn of phrase to not sound like they have a deal.

Oh, and he's not going to MB as he reupped with the employer who wanted him in the car, MB didn't.

https://racer.com/2021/06/16/alpine-...ct-until-2024/

[Aysedasi]

Originally Posted by GingerPixel

I was joking but it's not that ridiculous is it? .

Er, yes, I believe it is.....

[S griffin]

I can see why Ocon has signed a long term contract with Alpine, despite the possibility of Merc. Having been left on the sidelines before, he doesn’t want to be in that situation again

[Richard C]

Are smaller teams locking in their drivers early to prevent them from moving if there is a top team shakeup later on (i.e. Hamilton retires or something creating a gap in the overall lineup). First Norris, now Ocon? No doubt Russell has a contract offer from Williams just waiting for him to sign. With him saying... can we wait a bit on that?

Richard

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by Richard Casto

Are smaller teams locking in their drivers early to prevent them from moving if there is a top team shakeup later on (i.e. Hamilton retires or something creating a gap in the overall lineup).

The situation with Ocon's management is interesting. I wonder if his manager has negotiated this deal with the knowledge that the Merc seats are already secured by other drivers for the next 2-3 years?

[E.B]

Originally Posted by crmalcolm

The situation with Ocon's management is interesting. I wonder if his manager has negotiated this deal with the knowledge that the Merc seats are already secured by other drivers for the next 2-3 years?

Will the real Toto Wolff please stand up....

[chillibowl]

Originally Posted by crmalcolm

The situation with Ocon's management is interesting. I wonder if his manager has negotiated this deal with the knowledge that the Merc seats are already secured by other drivers for the next 2-3 years?

so hard to say...from the outside i would say there is a lot of uncertainty surrounding Mercs future lineup, does Ham continue, do they really want Bottas, what are Toto's plans, team restructuring with Ineos etc.

but if thats how it looks in the media then the opposite is probably true!

employment wise, these are uncertain times though and both Mclaren and Alpine are on the up and cross fingers that they nail the new rules?

[Richard C]

Originally Posted by crmalcolm

The situation with Ocon's management is interesting. I wonder if his manager has negotiated this deal with the knowledge that the Merc seats are already secured by other drivers for the next 2-3 years?

Very interesting observation!

Richard

[P38 in workshop]

My guess would be that Alpine are seeking to ensure that at least one experienced driver will be in one of their cars next year and beyond.I imagine there is a clause in the contract guaranteeing him payment if Alpine should decide to walk away.

[bathurst77]

russell and lulu in merc for 2022 is a no brainer
That gives russell a season to familiarise himself with the car and team and learn from lewis
end of 2022 lewis will retire and Norris gets a go
russell will be the old hand to show norris the ropes
Then for the few years after that all being well they will have two hotshot young guns pushing each other.

[Adam43]

Hasn’t Norris just signed a two year deal? Was it two years?

[E.B]

Originally Posted by Adam43

Hasn’t Norris just signed a two year deal? Was it two years?

Yes, until end 2023. The way Zak Brown was talking about Lando and his long term future / multi years extension implies (to me) maybe there are ongoing options in place.
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...3XWow1Ryv.html

[bathurst77]

yes but contracts are made to be broken and with merc providing the pu to mclaren. Im sure a phone call from toto to zak would sort that speedhump

[GingerPixel]

I think a lot of that will depend of how competetive the next Mclaren is in relation to the Merc.

[S griffin]

With Norris’ stock getting higher and higher thanks to his great performances this year, it wouldn’t surprise me to see Merc buy him out of his contract

[Hawkwood]

Regarding Ocon’s new Alpine deal, what next for Gasly?
He was rumoured to be aiming for Alpine, and surely with Perez doing well, he won’t be in at Red Bull either.
I couldn’t see him wanting to hang around at Alpha Tauri, but I don’t really see any other options.

[Richard C]

It's a minor thing, but thanks for the thread rename.

Richard

[Adam43]

Originally Posted by bathurst77

yes but contracts are made to be broken and with merc providing the pu to mclaren. Im sure a phone call from toto to zak would sort that speedhump

The ultimate catch all. Yes, but there are more examples of people not moving and stagnation in the driver market than people breaking or being bought out of contracts.

[chunterer]

Originally Posted by Adam43

The ultimate catch all. Yes, but there are more examples of people not moving and stagnation in the driver market than people breaking or being bought out of contracts.

Indeed, other than maybe 1x Merc and 1x Sauber I don't see an awful lot of driver changes until end of '23?

[chillibowl]

So when would you swap Bottas for Russell?

VB making it to the end of the season seems less likely after today.

[peebee2]

Originally Posted by chillibowl

So when would you swap Bottas for Russell?

VB making it to the end of the season seems less likely after today.

Maybe Russell will be ready one day.

[chillibowl]

Maybe one day Bottas will be also.

[Greem]

I think the team screwed Bottas today. He was bang on with his radio call about "why didn't you listen?".

[BTCC frog]

Verstappen got past Hamilton just as easily as he did Bottas. Valtteri is not to blame for Mercedes losing the race today, although I would say he did defend a bit too much against Verstappen which made Max's pass easier. I really hope Mercedes don't ditch Bottas before the end of the season (and don't think they will), although Russell was outstanding today.

[peebee2]

Originally Posted by BTCC frog

Russell was outstanding today.

Really??