[Driver] 2019 F1 Silly Season

[S griffin]

Well he’s still older than Gasly and Verstappen

[Aysedasi]

I don't see that his age matters that much, being a little older than Gasly or Verstappen is largely immaterial. For me, it's about talent/ability and I never expected him to be given the chance to come back in from the cold....

[BertMk2]

Originally Posted by Aysedasi

For me, it's about talent/ability and I never expected him to be given the chance to come back in from the cold....

Also I'm surprised he's agreed to it - they didn't exactly part on good terms. It's very much a case of swallowing pride on both sides really isn't it?

[Aysedasi]

Well, I guess he wasn't going to get back in with anyone else? Surely?

[Jimmy Magnusson]

I wonder who will be in the other car. For RBR it could be a sensible yardstick since Kvyat is someone who they'd be fairly familiar with. Russell / Ocon? Why bother if they're still Mercedes drivers - mission statement for TR should be to develop guys for the main team. Ocon/Russell/Gio ain't that if they still belong to someone else. For me it boils down to:


Stoffel
Wehrlein
Albon

Anyone I'm missing?

[karting]

Originally Posted by Jimmy Magnusson

I wonder who will be in the other car. For RBR it could be a sensible yardstick since Kvyat is someone who they'd be fairly familiar with. Russell / Ocon? Why bother if they're still Mercedes drivers - mission statement for TR should be to develop guys for the main team. Ocon/Russell/Gio ain't that if they still belong to someone else. For me it boils down to:


Stoffel
Wehrlein
Albon

Anyone I'm missing?

For me it should be Wehrlein, I always felt he was under rated at Manor.

[S griffin]

Would so love to see Wehrlein back

[F1Guy]

Originally Posted by F1Guy

Leclerc going to Ferrari is a surprise as Ferrari don't usually take on fresh talent. I think Ferrari are trying to send Vettel a message. Maybe Ferrari are thinking that having a much liked and fast young gun on the other side of the garage may finally put a rocket up Vettel's butt. And if Vettel does not win the championship this year, or next year, I can see Ferrari putting all their efforts behind Leclerc instead. Vettel becomes number two driver. Maybe Leclerc is the man to finally bring a drivers championship to Maranello since 2007. I get the feeling Ferrari are starting to lose hope with Mr Hot Head.

An interesting read on motorsportweek.com published a couple of days ago, about the very thing I was posting on above. Marchionne's plan was to replace Raikkonen with Leclerc, but was it because Marchionne was starting to lose faith in Raikkonen, or Vettel?

https://www.motorsportweek.com/news/id/19891

[wnut]

Originally Posted by F1Guy

An interesting read on motorsportweek.com published a couple of days ago, about the very thing I was posting on above. Marchionne's plan was to replace Raikkonen with Leclerc, but was it because Marchionne was starting to lose faith in Raikkonen, or Vettel?

https://www.motorsportweek.com/news/id/19891

Looks like the old Chinese curse, "may you live in interesting times" is about to be visited on Seb, and possibly Ferrari.

Should do wonders for their performance. NOT!

[GTRMagic]

Russell To Williams?

George not John, although they could probably uses John’s technical prowess right about now too

[BertMk2]

Originally Posted by GTRMagic

Russell To Williams?

That's an odd one - he's a Mercedes junior driver - so if you're going to take one of those why not take Ocon?

[S griffin]

Russell is beating Norris, so they probably think if Norris is in F1, why not Russell too?

[steve_r]

If Sauber are going with Giov' and Kimi, will that mean that Ericsson will take his money to Williams then?

[chillibowl]

Originally Posted by BertMk2

That's an odd one - he's a Mercedes junior driver - so if you're going to take one of those why not take Ocon?

nationality?

[thunderbolt]

Daniil Kvyat
STR Renault
2014 10 points
Red Bull Racing Renault
2015 107 points

2016
Red Bull Racing Renault 21 points
Toro Rosso Ferrari 7 points

he had his shot

Toto Wolff dose not have the balls to replace Bottas with Ocon

[djinvicta]

Originally Posted by BertMk2

That's an odd one - he's a Mercedes junior driver - so if you're going to take one of those why not take Ocon?

Because I reckon Ocon may replace Bottas for next year.

[lukej]

If only Merc hadn’t guaranteed Bottas a seat, I’d have been putting him on retainer and turning the screws on Williams to become the Merc feeder team by sending Bottas back to a Williams for 2018.

The way I see it, they can afford to offer it as a 2 driver deal only if there’s some external funding to fill the sizeable hole in Williams’ budget. This would be covered by Bottas taking his Wihurri money which Merc really don’t need, and then they can sweeten the deal on George with engines and gearboxes.

Positives? Williams would get two Merc drivers, one a superstar in the making junior and the other proven to be fast/capable of being the elder statesman. Valtteri could be the main developer of the car, he already has a relationship with the team and a long term deal to drag Williams forward might prolong his stay in F1. Oh and it would put Ocon in at Merc so we don’t lose him from the grid!

Luke

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by djinvicta

Because I reckon Ocon may replace Bottas for next year.

Doesn't Toto Wolff manage Ocon because he was questioned before Sunday's race by Mark Webber about Ocon's future and Woolf wasn't giving anything away?

[S griffin]

I somehow doubt there is a plan to replace Bottas with Ocon, but you never know

[BSchneiderFan]

Bottas has a contract in place for 2019, no?

[lukej]

Originally Posted by BSchneiderFan

Bottas has a contract in place for 2019, no?

He does indeed, and I expect Mercedes will honour it.

Luke

[E.B]

Originally Posted by bjohnsonsmith

Doesn't Toto Wolff manage Ocon because he was questioned before Sunday's race by Mark Webber about Ocon's future and Woolf wasn't giving anything away?

AFAIK Ocon is managed by Mercedes as opposed to directly by Wolff. As an aside Toto Wolff was part manager of Bottas (with others, including Hakkinen) in the days prior to Bottas joining Mercedes. When he replaced Nico at Merc Wolff dropped the management link with Bottas.

Along with two-time champion Mika Hakkinen and driver manager Didier Coton, Wolff invested in Bottas' career at an early stage, but said Monday's announcement meant he would no longer be involved in the Finn's personal affairs.

"It would be a conflict of interest to be involved in the management of a driver and equally being his boss and running the team," he told Sky Sports. "It's something we agreed a long time ago that there wouldn't be a driver that I'm looking after driving in any Mercedes racing car. And that's what's happening."

http://www.espn.com/f1/story/_/id/18...anagement-team

[BSchneiderFan]

Mercedes, IF they continue in Formula 1 beyond their current commitment, need a replacement for Hamilton when he calls it quits - but that could be five, six, seven years away. Lewis seems to be enjoying his driving more than ever, and if he wins a fifth title this year, his mind will surely turn to the possibility of matching or exceeding Schumacher’s stats. So the next Hamilton might still be in karts or F4 or something, though Ocon and Russell might still come into play. Bottas, well; Mercedes must decide if they want a back-up driver, which he is, albeit a very good one, or someone who might push Hamilton to greater performance. If that’s possible. There’s also the issue of whether they want a German driver, which at the moment probably means tempting Vettel across when his Ferrari contract expires, or else signing up Schumacher Jr.

[wnut]

Originally Posted by BSchneiderFan

Bottas has a contract in place for 2019, no?

Could not believe that Merc gave him a contract for 2019, he was and is probably the most under performing driver on the grid.

Toto deserves a good kick in the butt for this signing.

[BSchneiderFan]

Do you honestly believe that Bottas is doing a worse job than Vandoorne, Hartley, Ericsson or Sirotkin? That would, I think, put you in a small minority.