Silly Season 2016/2017

[Manoah2u]

... I am not impressed with Jorda's capabilities but then there are enough drivers in the field that i feel the same about. I would be curious to see what she'd be able to accomplish.

[krisfx]

I'd invest a couple hundred in Carmen Jorda i she'll invest some *cough* personal time *cough* with me. If she does that to the majority of fans, she'll bring a good paydriver cheque lol.
ok nonsense aside,

I am not impressed with Jorda's capabilities but then there are enough drivers in the field that i feel the same about. I would be curious to see what she'd be able to accomplish.

Her pace in GP3 was embarrassing at best. I thought the junior formulae were a way of seeing what a driver might accomplish, which in this case is nothing. She's literally in F1 because she's attractive and probably brings a heap of cash. Completely daft imo.

[Vasconia]

Billionaire daddy bought some rich kid an F1 seat and they pretend he's better than Massa (+dozen of other drivers)? I wonder what GP2 twitter warriors attacking Jorda will say about this. Probably: 'I wish my father was that wealthy' .

Another step towards pure racing, exciting F1. Wasting Manor seat is one thing but 5th best car is a joke.

This is not serious. I am afraid that with Verstappen has begun a dangerous trend of bringing kids to F1. Sadly no one has the talent of Max.

[ScottB]

To be fair, Stroll is F3 champion and has been testing in an old Williams throughout the year. I don't think he should be written off as a 'pay driver' in the strictly derogatory sense, he does seem to have some talent to bring, along with the cash.

He's much more experienced with single seaters than Max was too.

[iotar__]

Billionaire daddy bought some rich kid an F1 seat and they pretend he's better than Massa (+dozen of other drivers)? I wonder what GP2 twitter warriors attacking Jorda will say about this. Probably: 'I wish my father was that wealthy' .

Another step towards pure racing, exciting F1. Wasting Manor seat is one thing but 5th best car is a joke.

This is not serious. I am afraid that with Verstappen has begun a dangerous trend of bringing kids to F1. Sadly no one has the talent of Max.

Talent is not enough, you need proper development. Verstappen after 40 F1 races still is as raw in wheel-to-wheel as ever and while driving top car still doesn't know how to use the brakes (or is brake tested by air). He starts the season with pitstop blunder in Aus and from little acorn 20 races later he does something even worse in USA.

[iotar__]

To be fair, Stroll is F3 champion and has been testing in an old Williams throughout the year. I don't think he should be written off as a 'pay driver' in the strictly derogatory sense, he does seem to have some talent to bring, along with the cash.

He's much more experienced with single seaters than Max was too.

Yes, they're trying to sell Stroll with F3 win but:
- who won last season? Who did he beat? How many seasons? Teams, competition/
- You won F3? Congratulations, you earned at best midfield GP2 seat or WSR (is is still there?), you have 1,5-2 seasons to show what you're worth
- can I have Williams seat? No, daddy will buy you an island or something .

[Manoah2u]

Stroll and Bottas confirmed. No reason to expect Bottas at Renault next year either too i'd say, unless they keep Palmer, though i dont see how keeping him would benefit them over someone like f.e. Nasr - whom surely would not go to Renault for just a 1-year deal.

[ringo]

lol at the above discussion.

Yea so Stroll confirmed. Very interesting times ahead. I kind of like the match up. Billionaire kid in an F-1 seat. He isn't an F1 driver's son, but a canadian fashionista's boy. Lots of marketing opportunities there for Williams.

So it's:

Mercedes: Nico Rosberg / Lewis Hamilton
Red Bull: Daniel Ricciardo / Max Verstappen
Ferrari: Sebastian Vettel / Kimi Räikkönen
Force India: Sergio Pérez / TBC
Williams: Valtteri Bottas / Lance Stroll
McLaren: Fernando Alonso / Stoffel Vandoorne
Toro Rosso: Carlos Sainz Jr. / Daniil Kvyat
Haas: TBC / TBC
Renault: Nico Hülkenberg / TBC
Manor: TBC / TBC
Sauber: TBC / TBC

[godlameroso]

I thought Ocon was switching to FI. Haas will keep Grosjean for another year, Wherlein will stay in Manor, Ericsson is likely to stay at Sauber. Gasly may join Wherlein in Manor, the only seats I can't fill are the other Renault, Haas and Sauber.

[Vasconia]

If Jorda is painfully slow and has no talent to be a F1 driver, why is she there?. The sad and annoying fact for me and of course for every woman is if the team has hired her only because she is pretty. This is the problem with F1 and the society. The acceptance of that a person(more usually a woman) can get a job because of her appearance, when this appearance is not something important for this job.

I would like to think that Lotus hired her because she has talent, the only important aspect. But sadly, I have my doubts.

[Cold Fussion]

If she was there on merit of her skill it would be obvious. There is absolutely nothing in junior formula history to suggest she deserves have anything to do with F1, unless someone truely believes the 28th-30th rank driver in GP3 should be put into F1.

[Manoah2u]

I don't think we should complain, let's face it, F1 used to have serious pit'babes' walking around. I can understand that from feminist corners there would be objection to present women in a certain fashion, but then there's also taking things a bit too far.

What i don't understand is the excessive 'touchy feely' stuff when a woman is spotted, as if it's a bad thing.
If you look at modern music video's and it's lyrics, it's all about having as less fabric on as possible, and talking as dirty and suggestive as possible, and the female
artists are doing it themselves just as much. people eat it up and dig it and it's as popular as can be. Now don't get me wrong, i prefer to actually hear quality music over some
trashy canister tapping sounds that only sell because there are women as good as naked in the vid. You go out on the streets, and you see billboards of women half-naked for some
perfume, lingerie, or whatever it may be, and men likewise.

And then we have f1. There are no female drivers, but there is zero of the appeal of f1 spiced up by actually showing females. All we get are the drivers in their racing overalls (duh) and
team personnel and tv reporters.
We have the grid walk, but if you can spot the girls holding the driver nr's more than 5 seconds you can concider yourself 'lucky'. same goes for the podium celebrations, some girls stand
there like robots clapping and it's 5 seconds at best. I think the feminists should have more attention on them presented as brainless robots (which they arent obviously) instead of actually having 'women promoted'.

I'm not saying that there should be a fast-and-furious bikini-dressed athletic lady waving a green flag at the front of the grid or the back or the grid. I also don't think there should be 10 skimpy half naked women dancing on the podium during the celebrations or interviews.
I'm just saying things are taken too far and people are offended way too easily.

Anyway, i've made my point and thats it.

[WaikeCU]

...to an extent where they even used grid boys holding the driver's numbers in Monaco of all places.

I believe models should be around looking dirty and classy at the same time. That should be F1. I'm not saying they should be butt naked, but a full cleavage, hot pants, etc. should be allowed for example. Perhaps F1 should sign a team of models for the season and at the end of the season, fans can vote who they liked the most, the babe of the season. At least, they won't be there just for standing around and clapping hands. It would be more like a full season long modelling contest.

[edu2703]

A Brazilian F1 journalist of questionable reliability said Nasr received a proposal from Renault. 1 year contract only with no possibility of renovation even if he shows good prformance. He said Bottas signed a pre-contract with Renaut for 2018.

The Brazilian F1 journalists more reliable did not give many details about the Force India meeting that happened yesterday. They said negotiations advanced after the meeting. The official announcement will take place between Wednesday and Friday next week.

The new information is that Petrobras, Brazilian state oil company, which currently sponsors Williams since 2003, is involved in the negotiations and will offer a much larger amount than the $16 million offered by the Banco do Brasil. Will give a boost in negotiations between Nasr and Force India.

Nasr is the favorite to get the seat. If the information about Petrobrás is true, bye bye Ocon in Force India?

[FrukostScones]

A Brazilian F1 journalist of questionable reliability said Nasr received a proposal from Renault. 1 year contract only with no possibility of renovation even if he shows good prformance. He said Bottas signed a pre-contract with Renaut for 2018.

The Brazilian F1 journalists more reliable did not give many details about the Force India meeting that happened yesterday. They said negotiations advanced after the meeting. The official announcement will take place between Wednesday and Friday next week.

The new information is that Petrobras, Brazilian state oil company, which currently sponsors Williams since 2003, is involved in the negotiations and will offer a much larger amount than the $16 million offered by the Banco do Brasil. Will give a boost in negotiations between Nasr and Force India.

Nasr is the favorite to get the seat. If the information about Petrobrás is true, bye bye Ocon in Force India?

So Renault essentially is begging fo rmoney without being able to offer anything reasonable. LOL

If NASR to FINDIA, then maybe Manor full scale Merc- B team with same drivers : )

MAG stays Renault and Haas???