2015 Formula 1 silly season thread.

[321Go]

It's about this time of year that the stories begin flushing out. And oh my have they started with some stinkers this year.

Some of the stories floating around are linked below. Some not directly 2015 driver market related, but hey, worth a read if you're looking to waste some time while sitting on the toilet.


McLaren approached Lewis Hamilton

Button could be shown exit at McLaren

Vettel finished at Red Bull

Ferrari moves early to extend Alonso contract

Renault's F1 engine project up for sale


And if I may, I'd like to contribute to the already bad smell in the air. Rumour has it Honda/McLaren has recently signed a 'pre contract' with two of the top ranked drivers currently. But it may not be for 2015.

[Mike Harte]

If I might be so bold, but surely you are just adding fuel to the fire. Most of it is garbage, and the rest is pure speculation. It is highly unlikely that the teams or drivers would have started these "rumours", and are in for a hiding no matter what they reply when a microphone is stuck under their noses for a response. Such as Button in the last few days.

Most of this rubbish is concocted in what passes for a brain by the so called "journalists" who can't think of any thing original or even factual if their lives depend on it.

Take the recent story about Magnusson's appearance at the MDC to address some of those working there, and to thank them from their hard work. The journalist claims that he was given a "standing" ovation when he had finished speaking to the assembled throng.

Wow, I hear you say, that's really impressive! But, is it true though?

Well, knowing a little bit about how these things are done at Woking, which in fact is the same at most of the teams, the answer is a disingenuous yes. What actually happens is that the "audience" are ushered into a large meeting-type room/space, and a small dais is erected for the guest speaker/s. Those invited to be spoken at then usually stand, although a few seats at the front may be provided for the old and infirm.

So, when Magnussen finished speaking, instead of there being absolute silence, those gathered applauded him from an upright position, which is how they had been from the moment that the entered the room.

Did the hack, a more appropriate word, expect the assembled audience to suddenly sit on the floor before commencing to clap or what?

Why can't we just deal with facts, and debate them when they are known. Have people got so little going on in their lives that all they can do is spend their every waking hour speculating, and yes, even developing spreadsheets to show what might or might not happen if driver N breaks wind, but does it the final race of the year right in front of his arch rival driver L causing him to crash out at the last corner.

Blooming heck, a meteor may come down right at the last moment, and Bruce Willis is getting a bit long in the tooth to save the planet now.

[321Go]

[321Go]

I just came across these two articles. THIS one from Will Buxton on his thoughts on the driver market for 2015. And THIS one from Adam Cooper on the Renault F1 engine sale.

What a load of "garbage". Who are these guys?? Bloody "journalists".

[GTRMagic]

Originally Posted by 321Go

I just came across these two articles. THIS one from Will Buxton on his thoughts on the driver market for 2015. And THIS one from Adam Cooper on the Renault F1 engine sale.

What a load of "garbage". Who are these guys?? Bloody "journalists".

Can anyone else see a challenge with 'Red Bull Engines' supplying Lotus & Caterham?

[Born Racer]

Webber to Renault. You heard it here first and last.

[321Go]

Originally Posted by Born Racer

Webber to Renault. You heard it here first and last.

Webbers biggest regret.

[TheNo1F1Fan]

Magnussen might stay at McLaren.

[Articus]

Magnussen should stay at Mclaren. Button should get the axe. Vettel should go to Mclaren.

Vettel has already gotten more than enough at Red Bull. You would think he would be bored and wanting a new 3-4 year challenge. The car isn't to his liking anyway.

[TheNo1F1Fan]

Magnussen and Vettel for McLaren, then

[chillibowl]

that SKY link was incredibly speculative, but i really like the idea of Mclaren courting Hamilton in a bid to get him back.

of course it all depends on how this season plays out but its a little bit extra fuel for the fire.

[Paradise City]

Hamilton is someone who could dislodge Button at McLaren. Dunno if Button is considered "Whitmarsh's man" which means he might be on borrowed time but Dennis does believe losing his boy Hamilton was a mistake.

[Mike Harte]

Originally Posted by Paradise City

Hamilton is someone who could dislodge Button at McLaren. Dunno if Button is considered "Whitmarsh's man" which means he might be on borrowed time but Dennis does believe losing his boy Hamilton was a mistake.

Wrong way round, in my opinion. Dennis feels betrayed by Hamilton after all the support that he gave him over so many years, and he rewards loyalty. Dennis would be very wary of re-hiring Hamilton, because he now knows that Hamilton's only loyalty is to the big bucks.

[Paradise City]

Originally Posted by Mike Harte

Wrong way round, in my opinion. Dennis feels betrayed by Hamilton after all the support that he gave him over so many years, and he rewards loyalty. Dennis would be very wary of re-hiring Hamilton, because he now knows that Hamilton's only loyalty is to the big bucks.

Hamilton's loss will be regarded as Whitmarsh's mistake and about Hamilton himself, Dennis will be philosophical about his joining the works Mercedes outfit instead of just staying with the customer team. Dennis understands the sport and his purported facility to hold grudges is wildly overstated. McLaren has Honda punch now and knows he can now confidently pitch once again for his lost star with his new works supply. I'd be surprised if Hamilton doesn't reappear at McLaren at some point in the future.

[Articus]

Originally Posted by Paradise City

Hamilton is someone who could dislodge Button at McLaren. Dunno if Button is considered "Whitmarsh's man" which means he might be on borrowed time but Dennis does believe losing his boy Hamilton was a mistake.

Hamilton, Vettel, Raikkonen, that would be a crop of drivers I would just love to see wind up back at Mclaren. Being selfish, Hamilton should stick with what he's got a Mclaren. I would love to see Vettel or Raikkonen back at Mclaren. Mclaren despite it's recent trend has a history of building spectacularly fast cars. Raikkonen + Mclaren was dynamite. Hamilton + Mclaren was Dynamite.

It's obvious that Toto Wolf over at Mercedes prefers Rosberg of the 2 drivers. I hope Magnussen doesn't get the Perez treatment.

[Biscuits In A Red Bull]

Christ, people always forget that JB was/is a massive contributor to McLaren both in their prime with Hamilton, and during their recent struggles, and outscored Hamilton in their years together. Whether it is "because Hamilton DNFed" or not, Hamilton DNFed, and Button didn't, so there is already a benefit to having JB. He never gets involved in silly incidents. JB is also a WDC (like it or not, he has more WDCs than Rosberg, and as many as Hamilton), and is still the best low-grip driver on the grid, and probably will be until he retires.

Magnussen is, other than Kvyat, the brightest prospect on the grid in my eyes, and with that line-up, McLaren are not rewarding their drivers' talents with results. JB is a proven winner and at the end of 2011 was the most complete driver on the grid - consistently fast, and not crashing - whilst Magnussen is surely a future champion. Why people think that either should go is bizarre.

Vettel is being outpaced (just) by Ricciardo, who everyone thought would be the clear no.2, and barely got the seat over Vergne, whilst Alonso was matched and frequently beaten by a rookie teammate in 2007, and is the worst team player McLaren could possibly sign (the opposite of "nice guy" JB).

Whilst both Vettel and Alonso are more proven, what have JB and Magnussen done wrong? Also, Button knows Honda, and Magnussen can only get better. McLaren's future can be fixed easily with their current line-up!

[Paradise City]

It's difficult to read McLaren exactly. This is the last year of their Merc tenure, they had a staff sweep out at the start of the year, so it's unsurprising that they aren't plugged in, in terms of form.

There's a dynamic for the team to have an experienced hand and a young gun and that'll protect Button to an extent but if an experienced young gun was to come on the market, Button could well be sidelined.

[Articus]

Does Honda have the advantage of having learned 1 of the secrets of the Mercedes engine?

[wnut]

Originally Posted by Articus

Does Honda have the advantage of having learned 1 of the secrets of the Mercedes engine?

They would be total idiots not to have learned from Mercedes' engines this year and Honda are not idiots!
I believe they delayed their entry precisely because they knew that they would learn a bunch of cheap lessons by entering a year later.

[Born Racer]

Mike - where do you get your information from? You appear well informed.

[Mike Harte]

Originally Posted by Born Racer

Mike - where do you get your information from? You appear well informed.

Let us just say that I knew/know quite a few people from the motor-racing world starting in the early sixties. I still keep in touch with some of them, or those still around, and I have good friends who still work in Formula 1 or elsewhere in motor-racing. I sometimes have to be careful about what I say, because I have no wish to betray any confidences.

I come from an era, and area, where it was sometimes difficult to not trip over budding or established racing stars (including many that went onto or were already in Formula 1), and being callous youths, we didn't care who we went drinking with or out clubbing. And it was second nature for us to make blooming nuisances of ourselves by inviting ourselves into their homes and workshops. This was helped by us being on friendly terms with Gregor Grant's (founder and original editor of Autosport) sons who lived just up the road from me.

But in reality, a lot of what I write is what I would like to believe is just common-sense based on some very limited inside knowledge but with an understanding of how most of the teams operate. I have found many times that if it doesn't make sense, then it won't be true.

I also hate speculation because it's just such a waste of good thinking time, even though it seems to be a "sport" loved by many on here and elsewhere.. My hobby is to take known facts and then use lateral thinking to come up with a definitive potential answer which I will either post as an opinion, or store it away for later use.

However, all that said, please don't take all that I write as gospel, because I have been known to be wrong on many occasions. And as my late wife would have liked me to believe, I was never right, was I dearest?

[321Go]

It's really funny to keep reading these misinformed people continually posting misinformation about Hamilton going to Mercedes for the "big bucks". It's funny because Martin Whitmarsh himself said just after Hamilton was confirmed a AMG, that McLaren, in the end had in fact made Lewis an offer that was higher than Mercedes' final offer. The simple fact is, it was not money that Lewis was seeking. If it was, he'd have stayed at McLaren.

But we still have some highly misinformed people, pretending to be well informed, trying to inform the misinformed, just so they look like they are well informed.

[garcon]

Originally Posted by 321Go

But we still have some highly misinformed people, pretending to be well informed, trying to inform the misinformed, just so they look like they are well informed.

Oh boy, that really is a thing of beauty. Please don't stop. I'm absolutely crying here.

[Moneyseeker]

Originally Posted by garcon

Oh boy, that really is a thing of beauty. Please don't stop. I'm absolutely crying here.

“Reports that say that something hasn't happened are always interesting to me, because as we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns- the ones we don't know we don't know.”

To quote Donald Rumsfeld....

[321Go]

Anyways, amongst all the bulls**t, here's some more rubbish on formula1.com about the McLaren driver line-up.

The fact is, McLaren have just four options.

1. Jenson goes. Or..
2. Kevin goes. Or..
3. They both stay. Or..
4. They both leave.

Nothing to it really.