Silly Season 2018/2019

[FrukostScones]

Ferrari:
VET/LEC
Merc:
HAM/Zzz
Rb:
VES/RICh
Renault:
ALO/HUL
McLaren:
RAI/NOR
Findia:
OZON/WEH
Williams:
STRJR/STRSR
Sauber:
ERI/GIO
Tr:
GAS/TIC
Haas:
MAG/SAI

[NathanOlder]

I don't believe Mclaren will rush Lando in, they didn't with Stoffel so I cant see them doing it with Lando. If Lando wins the F2 he will do a year elsewhere or loaned to a smaller team.
Gasly and VanDoorne both had to do a year elsewhere as they won the F2 title and can't stay on.

[Manoah2u]

Raikkonen to Mclaren.

[McHonda]

I don't believe Mclaren will rush Lando in, they didn't with Stoffel so I cant see them doing it with Lando. If Lando wins the F2 he will do a year elsewhere or loaned to a smaller team.
Gasly and VanDoorne both had to do a year elsewhere as they won the F2 title and can't stay on.

They didn't with Stoff because they had Alonso and Button there already. They'll promote him whether he wins F2 or not, or they can lose him to Red Bull, it's their choice.

Then it's about whether Stoff is viewed as viable to lead the team or if they'll want a bigger name but I think they'll stick with Stoff and use the year out of the spotlight that a top driver brings to try and get on top of things team wise.

Lando will bring plenty of attention with the British press as well anyway. I'm sure Alonso will still be tied to the team and creating plenty of column inches both in IndyCar and his opinions on F1 so they won't be short of exposure on that front either.

[Zynerji]

Raikkonen to Mclaren.

He can't win with a top 2 team, why would he go to a bottom 5 team?

STR might just be the place to be in 2019... They are my dark horse pick already.

He will retire, or go back to Rally.

[Phil]

Who says you need to win? Some are happy at doing what they love and earning a lot of money while doing it. Wouldnt you?

[hemichromis]

I struggle to believe Ferrari would put Leclerc in the car rather than Ricciardo.
Ricciardo has behaved very well with an equally quick driver in Verstappen who has gotten a lot more attention in the last two years.
I find it hard to believe he would go to Ferrari and be a problem.
I wonder if Marchionne talk to money was related to Ricciardo's negotiations...

[marmer]

Kimi would be a better choice for a driver at McLaren for where they are right now.

While Alonso might get 100% out of the car that comes at the cost of everything his intensity must take its toll on the team.

Kimi gets 95% stays happy regardless of results plays team game.

And it's also perfect for McLarens driver development. Alonso is too fast to actually compare against vandorne we have no real idea how good he is as alonso is so far ahead Kimi would be closer

Stick Kimi alongside vandorne for a year while Norris has a year at Toro rosso. If vandorne doesn't beat Kimi they know to drop him keep Kimi and promote Norris or the other way around.

[Big Tea]

I struggle to believe Ferrari would put Leclerc in the car rather than Ricciardo.
Ricciardo has behaved very well with an equally quick driver in Verstappen who has gotten a lot more attention in the last two years.
I find it hard to believe he would go to Ferrari and be a problem.
I wonder if Marchionne talk to money was related to Ricciardo's negotiations...

This assumes Ricciardo would go to Ferrari if he was offered the job, which itself upsets apple carts all over the place.
I doubt Ricciardo has any problem going against Seb, but if he looks at Ferrari's past history it is full of drivers being told to pull over or being pitted in situations advantageous to the other car.
Seb is established there now, so most drivers would think twice before partnering him if the perception is true or not.
I think he would be a good match there, but I also think his chances of a championship with Seb in the other car are low

[Just_a_fan]

I struggle to believe Ferrari would put Leclerc in the car rather than Ricciardo.

Leclerc is a Ferrari young driver, he would be quick enough to earn points whilst learning how to work in a top team. Vettel does the headline job for a couple more years then retires, Leclerc already positioned, assuming he turns out to be as good as he appears, to lead the team forward with a new driver in the other car.

Take Ricciardo to Ferrari and he's quick enough to pressure Vettel, perhaps causing issues in the team, and definitely wants to win the title ASAP, not just be an obedient second driver. Leclerc will be happy to play second fiddle as he is young and appears to have a sound head on his shoulders. Leclerc can afford to play a longer game than Ricciardo can.

All seems fairly straight forward really.

[GPR-A duplicate2]

Ricciardo to Ferrari is what Vettel needs to win a championship! Ric isn't going to be a threat, he would be a catalyst.

- This should make Vettel reinvent himself and bring his absolute best, like Lewis did in Mercedes.
- Vettel is definitely faster over a lap and beating Ric in qualifying shouldn't be a problem.
- On a bad day, when Vettel is fighting in the mid pack, Ric should be holding station at the front would restrict the championship contender from taking significant lead, which should help Vettel.
- Ric is being consistently beaten by Max (on incident free days) and Vettel is definitely as good as Max is (or may be a tad better). The key for Vettel is to keep a calm head.
- 2014 was an anomaly and I don't think Ric can beat Vettel in straight fight again.

[Jolle]

Drivers like Vettel, Hamilton and Alonso are at that point in their career that they don’t need to be pushed or motivated by another grade A driver. All three performe best when they are the main focus. For Ferrari or Mercedes their return on investment would be greater with a stable, experienced and not too fast second driver.

Schumachers best years were with Barrichello and Massa, Mansell drove well next to Patrese and Senna loved Berger.

Ferrari would be mad challenging Vettel at this point.

[dans79]

Leclerc to Ferrari per the BBC.

https://www.bbc.com/sport/formula1/44660670

The 20-year-old has agreed, but not signed, a two-year deal to be Sebastian Vettel's team-mate until 2020, according to a source close to Ferrari.

[Zynerji]

Who says you need to win? Some are happy at doing what they love and earning a lot of money while doing it. Wouldnt you?

Nope. I'm in it to win it, even at a crap salary.

Money isn't real, the mark you make on history is.

[Phil]

Who says you need to win? Some are happy at doing what they love and earning a lot of money while doing it. Wouldnt you?

Nope. I'm in it to win it, even at a crap salary.

Money isn't real, the mark you make on history is.

Too bad not all are created equal. Some are better than others. Few are the very best at what they do. There is a high probability that whatever you do, there’s someone out there better than you at it too. Most likely even in your company. Does that stop you from doing what you do and enjoying it? Making a living from it? Hardly.

Not saying no one has the drive to be the best eventually - just look at Rosberg - but it doesnt mean everyone will get there. Most dont, yet spend years trying and still enjoying what they do and living from it. F1 is a pretty exclusive club regardless if you beat your team-mate or not. So again, why would anyone give that up if they are making millions while doing sonething that special and exclusive?

Besides, everyone with half a brain knows that F1 is a team sport. Being in the right team is just as important in becoming WDC. A better performance measurement is how you are performing against your team mate. Kimi has lost against Alonso and Vettel. There’s a slim chance he will ever win anything while being paired with those. But if he can move to McLaren, perhaps earn more, be a leader and beat your other team there, perhaps that is more lucrative than remaining in a team where that wont be the case.