Silly Season 2020/2021 (starting with silliness in 2019)

[falonso81]

If Ferrari does not consider Vettel for 2021, then the only viable option for them is Daniel. As a Ferrari supporter i would be delighted if he gets paired with Leclerc, making them the strongest line-up of the 2021 grid. Assuming Ferrari builds a good car we could be in for a titanic battle for the championship between those two.

[Unf]

Ricciardo + Leclerc seems to be same "bomb" duo like Ric + Verstappen. It would work if Daniel will agree to be 2nd driver.

[Just_a_fan]

If Ferrari does not consider Vettel for 2021, then the only viable option for them is Daniel. As a Ferrari supporter i would be delighted if he gets paired with Leclerc, making them the strongest line-up of the 2021 grid. Assuming Ferrari builds a good car we could be in for a titanic battle for the championship between those two.

Titanic intra-team battles are only good if the car is very good compared to the rest of the field. If the opposition is close, then the battle in the team is a bad thing. You need drivers that compliment each other, not fight each other. Rosberg wouldn't have been the champion in 2016 if Ferrari had been as good as Mercedes, for example. See 2007 as another example.

[NathanOlder]

Surely if Mercedes cant get Lewis to agree a 2 or 3yr deal, then they must sign Daniel for 2021. Bottas is great at what Bottas does, but he's not a team leader or Championship contender when you need the driver to make the difference against a strong Max, Seb or Charles.

If Lewis stays for 1yr or 2 longer. Him and Daniel seem to get on very well, so 2 years as team mates should be fine. Then Russell replaces Hamilton, and Ricciardo leads the team until Russell performs better.

Worst case scenario for Merc

Lewis leaves after a change of heart and retires. Seb has also retired due to beig beaten badly by Leclerc. By that point, Ferrari have already signed Ricciardo to partner Leclerc. Mercedes have no choice but to keep Bottas , and pair him with Russell. So with this in mind, MErcedes have to sign Ricciardo for 2021. The only bad point in this would be Bottas possibly ending up at Ferrari with Leclerc.

[raymondu999]

So that's RBR and Ferrari set with their future bets then. That's 2 out of the (current) top 3 teams settled on their star driver; which leaves Merc. Out of the current drivers on the grid, I think probably Vettel (he's still a great driver when the car can be suited to his liking, IMO) or Hamilton are the only ones that could carry the mantle. With a 3rd outside shot of maybe Ricciardo. Surely; Merc would only be considering (unless something massive happens next year which shakes up the driver grid) only these 3 for their future star driver?

I'm not saying they'll move from Hamilton; if Hamilton doesnt retire I dont see Merc wanting a change either. But contractually they aren't secured yet.

[izzy]

it's such a strong message about Charles at Ferrari, who fits in the other car? If Seb makes more mistakes in the first half of the year i think they will dump him/he'll retire. I mean anyone has to coexist with Charles don't they. That's what it means, 5 years. Coexist, not touch, score good points reliably, and obey ze team orders. Maybe Seb can do that, but maybe not.

If not, then who? Ric won't go there to be No2 which is that message, that's why he left Red Bull. If they're quick they could bag Valtteri perhaps? I would! Gio isn't looking really special and he's young too and two young drivers is likely to be trouble. Lewis? Going completely the other way and making Charles his apprentice for a year or two? Exciting but unlikely, with Charles not looking like apprentice material at all. So, a big open question, for me

[NathanOlder]

it's such a strong message about Charles at Ferrari, who fits in the other car? If Seb makes more mistakes in the first half of the year i think they will dump him/he'll retire. I mean anyone has to coexist with Charles don't they. That's what it means, 5 years. Coexist, not touch, score good points reliably, and obey ze team orders. Maybe Seb can do that, but maybe not.

If not, then who? Ric won't go there to be No2 which is that message, that's why he left Red Bull. If they're quick they could bag Valtteri perhaps? I would! Gio isn't looking really special and he's young too and two young drivers is likely to be trouble. Lewis? Going completely the other way and making Charles his apprentice for a year or two? Exciting but unlikely, with Charles not looking like apprentice material at all. So, a big open question, for me

Why can't Ricciardo go to Ferrari and be equal? Charles won't block that, he just doesn't want to be number 2. Vettel would be the only person wanting a number 2 next to himself.

Charles and Ricciardo would make a great team. And Mercedes should fear that partnership.

[izzy]

Why can't Ricciardo go to Ferrari and be equal? Charles won't block that, he just doesn't want to be number 2. Vettel would be the only person wanting a number 2 next to himself.

Charles and Ricciardo would make a great team. And Mercedes should fear that partnership.

well yes Charles would back himself i expect, and Ric too as far as performance goes, it's just how Ric sees the team policy. Luca di Montezemolo has just been going on about needing a No1/2 structure and that's what both their rivals have at RBR and Mercedes, and pretty much all last year Ferrari were demonstrating what a problem it is trying to run two No1's, while the others were demonstrating the opposite!

Now Ferrari have given Charles this huge contract so what does it look like, to Danny? i agree they'd be a great pair performance wise, i just think Ric would be thinking it's another RBR-type situation with a favourite son that'd be the other guy, again. Of course he needs to believe Renault can improve, i suppose, otherwise true he might just bite that bullet

[selvam_e2002]

It won't work like that in F1. Please have a look at 2007. If you keep two alpha even with race winning car you will share point between two drivers and the 3rd place driver can win championship. It happened in 2007 with Mclaren.

F1 tams can say we won't have No 1 and 2 but internally they have that.

Even in 2021 after rule change, personally I don't believe Ferrari can challenge for F1 WDC and WCC. Note that the engine are same and Mercedes having Superior engine for V6 era.

If F1 changes and come up with different rule for 2025 including engine change then may be other teams having an opportunity to win. still then Mercedes will win.

To improve future technology in F1 car, they have to lift the cost cutting and budget restriction. Then you will see real motor science.

[PlatinumZealot]

I'm pretty confident Mclaren will be a better bet than Renault. Mercedes engine and a good base at Mclaren which has restructured and accepted their previous claims they had best aero and didn't want to change that in the end saw the light and changed, for the good.

Renault is stubborn thanks to Abiteboul, and as long as he doesn't get replaced, there will be no progress, even if for some wonder their engine becomes/is the best of the field.

I don't understand the baseless Abiteboul hate. Objectively, he has worked very hard to get Renault back into F1, and it not his fault that Renault doesn't want to provide the required funding to be a true top team. He has done a lot of work to upgrade the Viry facilities. It certainly disappointing that people hate this man just because of his demeanor on television.

[Jambier]

I'm pretty confident Mclaren will be a better bet than Renault. Mercedes engine and a good base at Mclaren which has restructured and accepted their previous claims they had best aero and didn't want to change that in the end saw the light and changed, for the good.

Renault is stubborn thanks to Abiteboul, and as long as he doesn't get replaced, there will be no progress, even if for some wonder their engine becomes/is the best of the field.

I don't understand the baseless Abiteboul hate. Objectively, he has worked very hard to get Renault back into F1, and it not his fault that Renault doesn't want to provide the required funding to be a true top team. He has done a lot of work to upgrade the Viry facilities. It certainly disappointing that people hate this man just because of his demeanor on television.

I agree with this, even if Cyril is sometime really irritating, even for a French like me.

[Jambier]

Why can't Ricciardo go to Ferrari and be equal? Charles won't block that, he just doesn't want to be number 2. Vettel would be the only person wanting a number 2 next to himself.

Charles and Ricciardo would make a great team. And Mercedes should fear that partnership.

well yes Charles would back himself i expect, and Ric too as far as performance goes, it's just how Ric sees the team policy. Luca di Montezemolo has just been going on about needing a No1/2 structure and that's what both their rivals have at RBR and Mercedes, and pretty much all last year Ferrari were demonstrating what a problem it is trying to run two No1's, while the others were demonstrating the opposite!

Now Ferrari have given Charles this huge contract so what does it look like, to Danny? i agree they'd be a great pair performance wise, i just think Ric would be thinking it's another RBR-type situation with a favourite son that'd be the other guy, again. Of course he needs to believe Renault can improve, i suppose, otherwise true he might just bite that bullet

I'm a big fan of Ricciardo.... but unfortunately, I think he put himself in a "win with Renault or nothing" situation

- Mercedes: Duo is perfect, why change ? I think for 2021 they can test Russel
- Ferrari: Leclerc is the future, but am I the only one to think that Bottas would be perfect alongside Leclerc ?
I mean, if Lewis still beats him, trying to win somewhere else is not a bad idea, and driving for Ferrari is good for him.
For Ferrari, it means having a very respectful guy, and I think people forget it, but he his quick, make no mistakes, his only problem really is to be compared with Hamilton....
But once again, I think Bottas is the perfect solution
- Then there is Red Bull: Verstappen is their future... then who? I hope they'll keep ALB for 2021 as well if he performs in 2020, it could be a good duo.

[izzy]

am I the only one to think that Bottas would be perfect alongside Leclerc ?

no not at all, i've posted that same thought! Top wingmen are just as rare as the superstars, I can't understand why he's been on all these 1-year contracts when George and Esteban aren't ready and Ferrari might grab him as you say

[falonso81]

Bottas is a great No2. Any team in need of a No2 should have him top of that list. Still i want Ricciardo in that 2nd Ferrari seat.
On a side note, many people do not know the amount of development work and input Seb does for the team. Charles has a lot to learn in that aspect.

[Just_a_fan]

- Ferrari: Leclerc is the future, but am I the only one to think that Bottas would be perfect alongside Leclerc ?
I mean, if Lewis still beats him, trying to win somewhere else is not a bad idea, and driving for Ferrari is good for him.
For Ferrari, it means having a very respectful guy, and I think people forget it, but he his quick, make no mistakes, his only problem really is to be compared with Hamilton....

The thing is, being beaten by "a great" is one thing and no one will look at him and say "that guy's rubbish, we won't sign him". Go to Ferrari and get beaten by Leclerc? That'd be the end of his title prospects as his only route from there would be midfield teams. If he goes anywhere else, he would need to dominate his team mate. Anything else and it's "game over man, game over"...