2021 Silly Season

[S griffin]

Well Vettel need to do a better job than he is now if he is going to Aston, otherwise it’s going to look foolish him replacing the solid Checo

[peebee2]

Originally Posted by broadrun96

Remember, he only put up a small amount of the money needed, he's the face of the investment group.

Minority ‘small part’ as in 99%.

[Nikki Katz]

If Haas are still about next year then I think that Perez could be quite good for them. And yes it's a shame that Perez would likely be dropping to the back of the grid, but that's life really. I'd be very surprised to see Red Bull interested, they usually just use their own driver pool. Alfa Romeo are I suppose a possibility, but it seems a bit more like that's being used as a Ferrari junior team now.

[S griffin]

To be fair to Checo he’s proven to be a safe pair of hands. That’s why he’s still in F1 after all this time. While it would be a blow to lose his current seat, he should slot in elsewhere no problem, providing no outside influences get in the way, like money or politics

[broadrun96]

Originally Posted by peebee2

Minority ‘small part’ as in 99%.

His group did, he personally did not put up 99%. Two of the other members have much more money in then he has, he is the face of their investment group for this and Aston Martin. And was installed at Aston Martin as part of that deal. Which allowed him to extend the team sponsor deal AFTER getting the vote of the remaining Aston shareholders. He doesn't personally own either one.

[chunterer]

Checo was the one who effectively instrumented the process that saved the team! Surely he is well enough entrenched to carry favour there??
It would be madness to replace him with Vettel. I'm not sure Seb is even suitable atm anyway!

I hope Checo isn't seriously considering Haas in their current situation!

Trouble is where else would he go?

Doubt he's bothered about Formula E, or sportscars.

Could the Slims finally take the plunge and buy a team? Haas with more investment might be a good idea.

[crmalcolm]

Sainz is not at Ferrari yet, and he's already having to answer questions about poor performance.

Sainz not worried by Ferrari slump ahead of 2021 move

In the current tables, the closest challenger to Mercedes is Lando, McLaren are second in the Constructor Standings (Ferrari fifth), and both fastest laps so far have gone to McLaren. Is Sainz following his fellow Spaniard in leaving/joining teams at the wrong time?

[chunterer]

It surely must be of some concern but recent history tells us that the reds will always be ahead of McLaren.
McLaren are still progressing but are a customer team, however there is still a sneaking suspicion among many that they may become more than that if the plug gets pulled on Brackley, and Stuttgart throw their weight behind 2 quasi works customers.... Namely the papaya lot and Aston/RP.

Sainz has a 2 year deal I think? If Ferrari are average, i'm sure those in the know will still notice his performances.

[S griffin]

Of course the problem is Norris is currently outracing Sainz, but then again, Ferrari probably signed Sainz as a solid backup to Leclerc, so I don’t think it really matters to them

[gert]

Originally Posted by S griffin

Of course the problem is Norris is currently outracing Sainz, but then again, Ferrari probably signed Sainz as a solid backup to Leclerc, so I don’t think it really matters to them

'outracing' is a tad exaggerated I think.

At Austria #1 the difference between them was 4.5 seconds. They were fightig for position a few laps from the end, so it could just as easily have been the other way around.
At Austria #2, the difference was 26" but Sainz made an extra stop to get the fastest lap.

So, both rounds to Norris indeed, but outracing ... no.

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by S griffin

Of course the problem is Norris is currently outracing Sainz,

A problem for who - and in what sense?

[S griffin]

Have you not considered it’s just my opinion? That’s all it is

[broadrun96]

Originally Posted by S griffin

Of course the problem is Norris is currently outPLacing Sainz, but then again, Ferrari probably signed Sainz as a solid backup to Leclerc, so I don’t think it really matters to them

Think that's more accurate. And it's only a problem for those who read the tabloids for who great a driver is by points only.

[S griffin]

It’s usually the end result that matters to the team too though.

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by S griffin

Have you not considered it’s just my opinion? That’s all it is

That's fine - it's just that you said 'Of course the problem', and I was wondering who that was a problem for because it wasn't obvious to me.

Just trying to understand the point you made about there being a problem.

[chillibowl]

i dont know, it is Ferrari and they receive an ridiculous amount of attention from the Italian Press (and F1 press in general)...to the point where a few seasons ago they basically chose to not respond to the media at all.

announcing Seb's departure before the season even started has already been destabilizing imo. if there is even a hint that they made the wrong choice or signed the wrong replacement im sure the press will have a field day with it and that directly impacts the team no?

at the least, they are all going to have to answer the same annoying questions over and over again.

[Richard C]

Ouch! Grosjean questioning future of Haas F1 in 2021. Steiner says Grosjean should be more worried about his future than that of Haas F1!

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/15...uture-not-haas

Richard

[BertMk2]

Originally Posted by Richard Casto

Ouch! Grosjean questioning future of Haas F1 in 2021. Steiner says Grosjean should be more worried about his future than that of Haas F1!

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/15...uture-not-haas

Richard

I really, really hope they're filming 'Drive to Survive' at the moment

Originally Posted by Gunter Steiner

I think the ****ing elephant is in his ****ing room, not in our ****ing room.

I'm still ****ing confident that we will be here. So I think the ****ing elephant needs to go out of the ****ing room, and into Romain's ****ing room. He can **** off.

[broadrun96]

Ah Gunther, using that as punctuation like a man from New Jersey

[S griffin]

It would be a real shame to lose Haas, but then it would be a shame to lose any team at this time. It’s important that F1 doesn’t let that happen. It’ll be hard to attract any other teams at this time

[chunterer]

Originally Posted by Richard Casto

Ouch! Grosjean questioning future of Haas F1 in 2021. Steiner says Grosjean should be more worried about his future than that of Haas F1!

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/15...uture-not-haas

Richard

Indeed, Romain has surely reached the end of his F1 career now?

I see a scenario whereby poor old Checo ousted by bs politics at Racing Point, energises the Slims to invest heavily in Haas (or even buy it) instantly giving their man the tools to compete with the team that shunned him.

Stranger things have happened!

[Theunser]

In the round-up of the Hungarian Grand Prix Máté Újvári, a hungarian journalist reported that Robert Shwartzman might replace Daniil Kvyat at Alpha Tauri.
Seems unrealistic to me, even though Helmut Marko is praising Shwartzman.

[E.B]

Originally Posted by Theunser

In the round-up of the Hungarian Grand Prix Máté Újvári, a hungarian journalist reported that Robert Shwartzman might replace Daniil Kvyat at Alpha Tauri.
Seems unrealistic to me, even though Helmut Marko is praising Shwartzman.

Does Shwartzman even have the required points for a super-licence?

[EastonNeston]

The Haas team already has a financial input from the Slim's, as Pietro Fittipaldi is backed by Claro.

[E.B]

Originally Posted by E.B

Does Shwartzman even have the required points for a super-licence?

Forgot to mention that AFAIK he is also a contracted driver within the Ferrari academy.