The Sauber F1 Team is pleased to announce that Pascal Wehrlein will complete the team’s driver line-up for the 2017 Formula One World Championship. He will race alongside Swede Marcus Ericsson who continues with the Swiss team.
Paul Di Resta could step in.....if Mercedes let himManoah2u wrote:Outside of that,
IF for some crazy reason BOTTAS would be Rosberg's replacement:
who is going to replace Bottas at williams!?! I think Williams would find themselves in even deeper trouble losing Valterri
Wehrlein?nevill3 wrote:Paul Di Resta could step in.....if Mercedes let himManoah2u wrote:Outside of that,
IF for some crazy reason BOTTAS would be Rosberg's replacement:
who is going to replace Bottas at williams!?! I think Williams would find themselves in even deeper trouble losing Valterri
But that would mean Williams would have two novices in a year when experience will be important.skoop wrote:Wehrlein?nevill3 wrote:Paul Di Resta could step in.....if Mercedes let himManoah2u wrote:Outside of that,
IF for some crazy reason BOTTAS would be Rosberg's replacement:
who is going to replace Bottas at williams!?! I think Williams would find themselves in even deeper trouble losing Valterri
hmm... Jenson Button? Coming out of retirement to rejoin Williams to make it his final season and maybe a true farewell to the sport after the season. It would be cool for Jenson to retire at the team where it all starts, but would he still have the chance to work with McLaren again after his retirement? I know he still works for McLaren now he is retired.Manoah2u wrote:Outside of that,
IF for some crazy reason BOTTAS would be Rosberg's replacement:
who is going to replace Bottas at williams!?! I think Williams would find themselves in even deeper trouble losing Valterri
Jenson if he doesn't mind trundling around in the midfield again lol. or better yet the Maldonated one. Proven race winner remember.Manoah2u wrote:Outside of that,
IF for some crazy reason BOTTAS would be Rosberg's replacement:
who is going to replace Bottas at williams!?! I think Williams would find themselves in even deeper trouble losing Valterri
I agree that nobody hear has any ideas what contracts say - but for sure Alonso has a performance exit clause. Does mclaren/Honda pass Alonso's performance improvement map? I highly doubt the teams position is even close to what Ron Dennis promised.Manoah2u wrote:why on earth do people still hang on to this nonsense?ringo wrote:Alonso is staying with Honda. His contract is air tight. 3 years locked in.
there are already sources out that mention Alonso has a buy-out clause of 23 million pounds.
Is that air tight? no it isn't, it is open for money.
Then, nobody here knows whether Alonso has signed a contract which has a clause that by the end
of the 2nd year the car is not capable of winning, he is free to leave. I am thoroughly sure that clause exists.
Which means that buy-out issue doesnt even need to be 'exploited'.
pre-finally, Mercedes themselves have claimed Alonso is an option. If it was air-tight, there would be no discussion.
finally, and this really is the nail in the coffin,
There was serious discussion of Alonso going to Mercedes before the Rosberg events of late.
Even more; Mercedes literally stated that if either Lewis' or Rosberg' contract discussions came to a halt,
rather; they couldn't work things out - then they would go for Alonso.
which utterly means, that Alonso IS an option, IS available and does NOT have an air-tight contract.
And again, even IF the buyout clause would be existant and neccesary, then Mercedes would pay that amount
and still get proper money back from PR alone. They'd make a buck that Nico could never get them, and a guaranteed
driver that will get you as many WCC points as the car is capable of.
Do i want Alonso in there above anybody else? Hell yeah!
Is Alonso not an option? hell no - he's their very best option to choose from right now.
The ONLY thing possibly preventing Mercedes from engaging into a partnership with Alonso, is the direction and possibilities for the long-term future.
THAT's where a driver like Bottas has more potential - theoretically that is.
Alonso would home in fantastic results and perhaps even a very own WDC for 2 years give or take. After that, i can see Alonso losing interest and simply get 'too much of a veteran' to really continue, whereas Bottas surely has about 4-5 years tops to be accomodated, and 'shaped' into the angle they want him to - making him a handy nr2 driver to Lewis, and by the time Lewis calls it quits with Mercedes, he'll be ready for either a more professional role, or to help their next 'star driver'.
The problem again with Bottas however, is that i don't think bottas fancies or sees himself as a Nr.2 driver.
So if we look at that little pickle again, then you simply once again return for the best solution right now:
Alonso.
Not a single doubt in my mind. Mercedes would have to be crazy not to sign him. It really is their only 'solution' to the really big problem Rosberg has left them with.
Force India would be left with a driver with less than 1 year of formula 1 as their top driver.notsofast wrote:There are enough here who are predicting Wehrlein, Alonso, and Button, etc, so let me go out on a limb and predict Perez. My reasoning is that Perez is a solid driver who can help win the WCC, and although he is under contract, his contract is with a team that uses Mercedes engines, which should be a bit easier to negotiate than some of the other options. Wehrlein can slot into Force India. One-year contracts for both of them, and then we'll see what happens towards the end of the season. (Of course I can be totally wrong, but what fun is it to predict what everyone else is predicting...)
