[Driver] 2018 F1 silly season.

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by chunterer

Honda wouldn't be making the car, the people they inherited at STR would.

So the reverse of the Brawn GP situation?

[peebee2]

Originally Posted by chunterer

Honda wouldn't be making the car, the people they inherited at STR would.
They could do a helluva lot worse than James Key at the helm....

Nice idea but much of the work comes out of MK in reality.

[chunterer]

Originally Posted by peebee2

Nice idea but much of the work comes out of MK in reality.

It does but the car is Key's design. Red Bull must be doing a lot of production stuf though, yes.

If Red Bull 'sell' STR to Honda the Japanese could at least provide and fund a UK base with some input from Faenza. I suspect a lot of Faenza seniors wouldn't mind coming back to blighty either.

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by GTRMagic

McLaren Alfa Romeo?

Take note of the source... and who owns it...

Even though they split, there are still a lot of links between Ferrari and Alfa Romeo. Having declined to supply to McLaren, would Ferrari allow an Alfa to be put in the back.
Only this week Ferrari have been 'testing' the Alfa with their F1 drivers....

https://www.facebook.com/Alfa.Romeo....9324036995596/

[Richard C]

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/s...-honda-951146/

Dominoes starting to fall. Can we expect a series of announcements soon?

Richard

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by Richard Casto

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/s...-honda-951146/

Dominoes starting to fall. Can we expect a series of announcements soon?

Richard

'Although the provisional deal is for 2018, sources have suggested that Sainz could join Renault as early as this year’s Malaysian Grand Prix if the outfit elects not to continue with Jolyon Palmer.'

Where does that leave Kubica? Could he go into a Williams in place of Massa for 2018 (if he is on the grid)?

It seems like there is a lot more than engine changes going to happen for 2018, and suggestion is that they might all be announced before Sepang?

[F1Guy]

If the rumours are true, a lot to digest in the coming days.

Sainz, Renault, Honda, Toro Rosso, McLaren, Red Bull and Alonso are all expected to make announcements regarding their 2018 plans.

Thinking aloud.. but, are things about to change as most everyone is expecting, or remain as they are?
Will Alonso stay in F1, even if McLaren are Renault powered?
Is Sainz going to Renault, or is he on his way to McLaren if Alonso leaves?

What of Palmer? Kvyat?

[p-matt]

The way I see it:

McLaren will take Toro Rosso's Renault engine supply - will that be enough to keep Alonso? The fact he removed references to McLaren and Honda from social media may be telling.

Toro Rosso to Honda, with a lineup of Kvyat and Gasly. Matsushita needs to finish 3rd in F2 this year to get the superlicence points and I don't see that happening.

Sainz to Renault as a result of the STR engine swap. I can't see that Sainz would want to take the risk of his career stagnating with Honda power.

Force India will probably retain their drivers, but I wonder if Perez will have a look at Williams given the repeated clashes with Ocon. If so, maybe Wehrlein could find salvation at Force India.

Williams - Stroll is a lock. They have the option of Massa but I get the feeling the Stroll's want a better benchmark than him for Lance. Williams have been quite ambitious and punchy, going for Alonso. They don't have many options given the limitations of the Martini deal, and nobody seems to want to go there. I'd say Kubica to Williams would fit all round.

Sauber - Leclerc is a lock. Depends on the influence of Ericsson's backers or Ferrari as to whether he's joined by Ericsson or Giovinazzi. The rumours that they might be called Sauber Alfa Romeo might lean more towards the latter.

[mceci1]

Anyone able to explain what the hell is going on with the whole Sainz-Renualt-Toro Rosso-McLaren-Honda thing.

I have seen information saying that Sainz is headed to Renault; where did the confirmation come from, haven't seen a thing from, Sainz, Toro Rosso, Renault or Red Bull.

The second thing, how the hell does Sainz secure a deal with McLaren and Renault when Sainz and Honda have absolutely no connections.

The third issue I see in the article I have found, is that he could replace for Malaysia according to speedcafe. How ridiculous, no he couldn't. Do journalists understand the word CONTRACT.

If you ask me its all a big media mess up brothel or an attention seek from F1. Nothing seems to be making sense in this saga

[F1Guy]

Did McLaren pay STR/RB the reported $8M to get Sainz released from his RB contract?

[mceci1]

Originally Posted by F1Guy

Did McLaren pay STR/RB the reported $8M to get Sainz released from his RB contract?

I am as confused as you now. I thought he was with Toro Rosso under contract for 2018, yet speedcafe has said he is at Renault and now McLaren has been thrown in by them too just to make it look worse

[F1Guy]

And what of Kubica now? Kubica at Williams? Highly unlikely. I think Ferrari should grab him. Not for the factory team, but put him in a Sauber seat for next year. The PR alone would be worth it. Plus, he would probably do better than Ericsson any day of the week. Kubica had a contract with Ferrari when he had his accident. They owe it to him. C'mon Ferrari, do us all a favour for once and get Kubica in a Sauber seat!

[peebee2]

Originally Posted by mceci1

I am as confused as you now. I thought he was with Toro Rosso under contract for 2018, yet speedcafe has said he is at Renault and now McLaren has been thrown in by them too just to make it look worse

No, Abuteboul wants Sainz at his team and insisted McLaren paid the STR release fee Red Bull demanded to make up for what STR need to pay Renault to exit their contract together.

[chunterer]

Originally Posted by peebee2

No, Abuteboul wants Sainz at his team and insisted McLaren paid the STR release fee Red Bull demanded to make up for what STR need to pay Renault to exit their contract together.

That does seem logical. So what now for Checo, at least one respected hack was adamant the seat was his?

[mceci1]

Originally Posted by peebee2

No, Abuteboul wants Sainz at his team and insisted McLaren paid the STR release fee Red Bull demanded to make up for what STR need to pay Renault to exit their contract together.

So its a lose for Toro Rosso, win for McLaren and win for Renault.

Or more likely all the ingredient for a big legal battle. I am a McLaren fan, but at the end of the day they signed with Honda, Honda are very unlikely to let them go, and neither should they. McLaren has some of the best facilities and winning material, if Honda pull one off through the off season we could see a change. Also, if I were Honda as a company, I would have pushed for the assistance package. Yes Mercedes and Ferrari did their veto, but I would have played their game and said we wont join then, or even now, threaten to withdraw. F1 and liberty want Honda, so if they say we want an assistance package like the FIA wanted to do in 2015, then it may help them. Mercedes and Ferrari have complained and threatened to quit (to get what they think will benefit them) for how long and still haven't left yet, why would this change anything

[mceci1]

Originally Posted by F1Guy

And what of Kubica now? Kubica at Williams? Highly unlikely. I think Ferrari should grab him. Not for the factory team, but put him in a Sauber seat for next year. The PR alone would be worth it. Plus, he would probably do better than Ericsson any day of the week. Kubica had a contract with Ferrari when he had his accident. They owe it to him. C'mon Ferrari, do us all a favour for once and get Kubica in a Sauber seat!

Too old realistically, there are more young guns waiting for a seat, why would a big team waste money on someone who may not even perform. Harsh but reality I suppose

[champcarman]

Maybe a couple of extra cars on the grid in 2018?

Or a Team changing brands?

[mceci1]

Originally Posted by champcarman

Maybe a couple of extra cars on the grid in 2018?

Or a Team changing brands?

Would be cool to see more makes, wont happen until 2021 though logically

[S griffin]

So Sainz gets the Renault seat he deserves, McLaren get Renault engines, Honda stay in F1 with STR and Gasly finally gets the F1 chance he deserves. Everyone's a winner

[GTRMagic]

Originally Posted by S griffin

So Sainz gets the Renault seat he deserves, McLaren get Renault engines, Honda stay in F1 with STR and Gasly finally gets the F1 chance he deserves. Everyone's a winner

...except Jolyon Palmer..

[ScotsBrutesFan]

OK so trying to make sense of the speculation ahead of any official announcement that will trigger it all off.

Power Units:
Honda -> STR
Renault -> McLaren

Drivers:
Sainz -> Renault
Hukenberg = Renault

Alonso = McLaren Renault
Vandoorne = McLaren Renault

Kvyat = ?? STR Honda (rest of season then what?)
Gasly ??? STR Honda
Matsushita ??? STR Honda (doesn't have points for super licence yet)

Palmer ??? Third driver somewhere/Formula E/Sportscars

What other seats could become available

Williams:
Massa: seems to have found happiness again in F1, but are his performances up to giving him another years contract?
Stroll: Noises about Daddy Stroll taking his cheque book elsewhere but the options appear to have dried up...besides does he really want to move to something without that Merc PU in the back?

Kubica ?? Back in F1 is a fairytale we'd all like to see, but I personally don't believe he is or could be season fit.
DiResta (contracted to Mercedes) ?? 1 race at extremely short notice
Hun: Qualified 19th with out any seat time in Free Practice, Classified 18th after team retired car with 10 laps to go.
I'd love to see it but doubt he has the financial backing in order to top up whatever agreement Mercedes already have in place, to secure a full time seat.

Sauber:
Ericsson divides opinion as to whether he is good enough, but given it's his backers who apparently are the new owners/major stakeholders, it's hard to see him get the push.
Wehrlein: Billed as future star that has failed to sparkle. With contract for latest engines from Ferrari it'll likely be one of their young drivers taking his seat.

Leclerc-> Sauber Ferrari ... Doing well in F2 but others have struggled to make the Jump in recent years
Giovinazzi ??? 2 full weekends this season on a few days notice.
Aus: Quallified 16th, finished 12th of 13
Chn: Crashed in Q1 after setting time for 15th and Q2 (started 18th after penalties), In the Race crashed on the S/F straight in drying conditions whilst on slicks.
Was this enough to keep him ahead of Leclerc?

Feel free to comment or correct with sources where I have missed something.

[mceci1]

I highly doubt we will see anything change with Renault, McLaren, or Toro Rosso. Sainz is under contract with Toro Rosso, as is Kyvat, Honda did the deal with McLaren, they wont want to start again with a new team. Renault may replace Palmer, but it would be wrong to do so given their cars

[peebee2]

Originally Posted by mceci1

I highly doubt we will see anything change with Renault, McLaren, or Toro Rosso.

I'm sure you know best...

McLaren want rid of Honda.
Red Bull want rid of Renault.
Red Bull want sponsorship.
Red Bull quite happy to see the back of Sainz.
Renault want to replace Palmer.
Renault happy to get cash from McLaren.

[S griffin]

Originally Posted by GTRMagic

...except Jolyon Palmer..

True, let just hope he has a good end to the season

[F1Guy]

Originally Posted by GTRMagic

...except Jolyon Palmer..

But he's been talking to Frank and Claire. So maybe it's not all over for Palmer.