Silly season 2021-2022-2023

[DChemTech]

Rumour has it that De Vries has signed somewhere. After becoming the MB-FE champion that surely can only be at Mercedes. Also would ensure a warm welcome for the team at Zandvoort next year

[adrianjordan]

Assuming it was Valtteri's choice tells me he isn't confident Mercedes have a championship winning car next season and it wouldn't surprise me given that they can't afford in terms of resources to bring many upgrades to this years car compared to Red Bull.

I don't follow your logic there. The reason Merc aren't bringing as many upgrades as RBR is that they have switched more of their focus to next year. There is a cost cap in place, therefore teams are, more than ever before, having to juggle where they put their attention.

[Manoah2u]

I lost my appetite for Bottas as a result of the "To Whom it May Concern" addresses when he occasionally won a race. Completely juvenile.

Bring on the next victim, I mean, teammate.

Yes, exactly that, and then he has been subpar on the material given to him.

He did not impress @ Williams and so he won't impress @ Alfa either.
Kimi for example is a far, far faster and more complete driver and even Kimi didn't get much done there,
true that he probably had different motivation though.

I do think Bottas will do better @ Alfa compared to Mercedes due to the lack of pressure,
but i still think he won't do much better than what he ever achieved @ Williams.

Anyway, 100% Russell @ Mercedes but we all knew that. Very happy with that.

Now the big question remains:

Who will sit next to Bottas @ Alfa, and whom will sit next to Latifi @ Williams?

In theory, Schumacher is contracted @ Haas - but he is a Ferrari driver and the seat next to Bottas @ Alfa is supposedly a Ferrari seat, so that transfer might still happen.

There are ever growing rumours that De Vries has a contract for 2022, which is interesting.
Two dutchmen in F1 is interesting, and especially with the current 'orange vibe' that is very marketable,
and though i don't believe de Vries is Russell/Verstappen etc. material, we could be surprised in the end.
I remember when he was a little boy overjoyed that Mclaren picked up on him.

The thing is, de Vries is a Mercedes driver. So quite frankly, i do not see him @ Alfa when there's already a Bottas there. That would mean Alfa Romeo-Ferrari houses TWO Mercedes drivers.
If that happens though, then there is going to happen more - it can't stay Alfa-Ferrari right?

So it would stand to reason that the most logical place for a de Vries seat would be Williams.

The thing that topples my mind however is that there are signs Albon is a very serious contender there,
and that's something i don't really understand either way. It's said that Wolff himself wants Albon to break all ties with RedBull for him to sign with Williams.

Now that is what confuses me. Toto does have a huge share in Williams iirc, but afaik he has no saying in general what happens @ Williams - except for a deal where Mercedes brings engines to Williams and Williams opens up a seat - which is what happened with Russell.

SO, if de Vries supposedly has a serious seat for 2022 - whom is a merc driver, and Albon is NOT - then how can there be talks of Albon @ Williams and not de Vries?

Which - oddly enough - would imply that de Vries somehow indeed will end up @ Alfa Romeo. Again, something i cannot grasp, especially concidering i would be inclined to think Ferrari would put Mick Schumacher @ Alfa over de Vries, but that obviously leaves a seat @ Haas open.

It seems either way that Giovanazzi is not going to be participating @ Alfa for the 2022 season.

[Manoah2u]

So will the lineup be this?

Mercedes
Hamilton
Russell

Red Bull
Verstappen
Perez

Mclaren
Norris
Ricciardo

Ferrari
Sainz
LeClerc

Aston Martin
Vettel
Stroll

Alpine
Alonso
Ocon

Alpha Tauri
Gasly
Tsunoda

Williams
Latifi
Albon

Alfa Romeo
Bottas
De Vries

Haas
Schumacher
Mazepain

or will we see

Williams
Latifi
De Vries

Alfa Romeo
Bottas
Schumacher

Haas
Ilott
Mazepain

And is Albon only to be signed as a reserve driver?

[Big Tea]

I lost my appetite for Bottas as a result of the "To Whom it May Concern" addresses when he occasionally won a race. Completely juvenile.

Bring on the next victim, I mean, teammate.

Yes, exactly that, and then he has been subpar on the material given to him.

He did not impress @ Williams and so he won't impress @ Alfa either.
Kimi for example is a far, far faster and more complete driver and even Kimi didn't get much done there,
true that he probably had different motivation though.

I do think Bottas will do better @ Alfa compared to Mercedes due to the lack of pressure,
but i still think he won't do much better than what he ever achieved @ Williams.

Anyway, 100% Russell @ Mercedes but we all knew that. Very happy with that.

Now the big question remains:

Who will sit next to Bottas @ Alfa, and whom will sit next to Latifi @ Williams?

In theory, Schumacher is contracted @ Haas - but he is a Ferrari driver and the seat next to Bottas @ Alfa is supposedly a Ferrari seat, so that transfer might still happen.

There are ever growing rumours that De Vries has a contract for 2022, which is interesting.
Two dutchmen in F1 is interesting, and especially with the current 'orange vibe' that is very marketable,
and though i don't believe de Vries is Russell/Verstappen etc. material, we could be surprised in the end.
I remember when he was a little boy overjoyed that Mclaren picked up on him.

The thing is, de Vries is a Mercedes driver. So quite frankly, i do not see him @ Alfa when there's already a Bottas there. That would mean Alfa Romeo-Ferrari houses TWO Mercedes drivers.
If that happens though, then there is going to happen more - it can't stay Alfa-Ferrari right?

So it would stand to reason that the most logical place for a de Vries seat would be Williams.

The thing that topples my mind however is that there are signs Albon is a very serious contender there,
and that's something i don't really understand either way. It's said that Wolff himself wants Albon to break all ties with RedBull for him to sign with Williams.

Now that is what confuses me. Toto does have a huge share in Williams iirc, but afaik he has no saying in general what happens @ Williams - except for a deal where Mercedes brings engines to Williams and Williams opens up a seat - which is what happened with Russell.

SO, if de Vries supposedly has a serious seat for 2022 - whom is a merc driver, and Albon is NOT - then how can there be talks of Albon @ Williams and not de Vries?

Which - oddly enough - would imply that de Vries somehow indeed will end up @ Alfa Romeo. Again, something i cannot grasp, especially concidering i would be inclined to think Ferrari would put Mick Schumacher @ Alfa over de Vries, but that obviously leaves a seat @ Haas open.

It seems either way that Giovanazzi is not going to be participating @ Alfa for the 2022 season.

Am I the only one who thinks Schumacher is not going to make it?
So far I have seen little to put him above any of the others, sometimes including Mazipin

[ThumbsUp]

Rumour has it that De Vries has signed somewhere. After becoming the MB-FE champion that surely can only be at Mercedes. Also would ensure a warm welcome for the team at Zandvoort next year

The Rumour would be, that he signed at Alfa next to Bottas, and I read (a rumour of course) somewhere that Alfa might get Mercedes engines as well. Because there are then 2 Mercedes drivers.

[Big Tea]

So will the lineup be this?

Mercedes
Hamilton
Russell

Red Bull
Verstappen
Perez

Mclaren
Sainz
Ricciardo

Ferrari
Sainz
LeClerc

Aston Martin
Vettel
Stroll

Alpine
Alonso
Ocon

Alpha Tauri
Gasly
Tsunoda

Williams
Latifi
Albon

Alfa Romeo
Bottas
De Vries

Haas
Schumacher
Mazepain

or will we see

Williams
Latifi
De Vries

Alfa Romeo
Bottas
Schumacher

Haas
Ilott
Mazepain

And is Albon only to be signed as a reserve driver?

Sainz is going to be buzzzzzy

[Manoah2u]

Schumacher will stay simply due to marketability.

Haas right now doesn't provide any of that unfortunately but it's assumed the car will be better next season.
After that, if he goes to Alfa, he'll be usable as a brand there, and if he turns out to be decent he might get to Ferrari.

I would say whatever the situation, Schumacher is bound to be in F1 for another 4 years.

[Manoah2u]

So will the lineup be this?

Mercedes
Hamilton
Russell

Red Bull
Verstappen
Perez

Mclaren
Sainz
Ricciardo

Ferrari
Sainz
LeClerc

Aston Martin
Vettel
Stroll

Alpine
Alonso
Ocon

Alpha Tauri
Gasly
Tsunoda

Williams
Latifi
Albon

Alfa Romeo
Bottas
De Vries

Haas
Schumacher
Mazepain

or will we see

Williams
Latifi
De Vries

Alfa Romeo
Bottas
Schumacher

Haas
Ilott
Mazepain

And is Albon only to be signed as a reserve driver?

Sainz is going to be buzzzzzy

LOL how did that happen. Kaltenborn moment right there.
obiously i meant Norris @ mclaren

[Big Tea]

So will the lineup be this?

Sainz is going to be buzzzzzy

LOL how did that happen.

obiously i meant Norris @ mclaren

Ah, spoilsport, I wanted to see that

[Manoah2u]

Rumour has it that De Vries has signed somewhere. After becoming the MB-FE champion that surely can only be at Mercedes. Also would ensure a warm welcome for the team at Zandvoort next year

The Rumour would be, that he signed at Alfa next to Bottas, and I read (a rumour of course) somewhere that Alfa might get Mercedes engines as well. Because there are then 2 Mercedes drivers.

Would Williams then get Ferrari engines?

Alfa Romeo Williams F1 team - Ferrari

Sauber - Mercedes? wuuuuut

[Big Tea]

Rumour has it that De Vries has signed somewhere. After becoming the MB-FE champion that surely can only be at Mercedes. Also would ensure a warm welcome for the team at Zandvoort next year

The Rumour would be, that he signed at Alfa next to Bottas, and I read (a rumour of course) somewhere that Alfa might get Mercedes engines as well. Because there are then 2 Mercedes drivers.

Would Williams then get Ferrari engines?

Alfa Romeo Williams F1 team - Ferrari

Sauber - Mercedes? wuuuuut

It may not be such a bad call, if they can take all the other bits with it.
Williams and Merc are feeding at different tables this year, and although the power of the engine has been useful (alright then, it has given them all their points) it is probably making them bypass some problem areas just to get points.

Now they have a hold on next years pay out it may be worth a side step and reset. If Ferrari give them cash and discounts it could be a good move, especally if the tales of the engine improvements are true

[wesley123]

Rumour has it that De Vries has signed somewhere. After becoming the MB-FE champion that surely can only be at Mercedes. Also would ensure a warm welcome for the team at Zandvoort next year

The Rumour would be, that he signed at Alfa next to Bottas, and I read (a rumour of course) somewhere that Alfa might get Mercedes engines as well. Because there are then 2 Mercedes drivers.

De Vries at Williams seems more likely imo. Largely because he'll take the place of a Mercedes junior. Also, afaik Alfa Romeo is still a multi year deal for Sauber, which means that them taking Mercedes engines is highly unlikely, not even mentioning the fact that they'll then supply half the field.

So unless Williams is taking Ferrari or Renault engines, (and why would they ever do that?) that is very unlikely to be happening.

But then again, I'm more often wrong than not.

[Manoah2u]

The Rumour would be, that he signed at Alfa next to Bottas, and I read (a rumour of course) somewhere that Alfa might get Mercedes engines as well. Because there are then 2 Mercedes drivers.

Would Williams then get Ferrari engines?

Alfa Romeo Williams F1 team - Ferrari

Sauber - Mercedes? wuuuuut

It may not be such a bad call, if they can take all the other bits with it.
Williams and Merc are feeding at different tables this year, and although the power of the engine has been useful (alright then, it has given them all their points) it is probably making them bypass some problem areas just to get points.

Now the have a hold on next years pay out it may be worth a side step and reset. If Ferrari give them cash and discounts it could be a good move, especally if the tales of the engine improvements are true

Sooooo......Mick to Williams?

[Big Tea]

Would Williams then get Ferrari engines?

Alfa Romeo Williams F1 team - Ferrari

Sauber - Mercedes? wuuuuut

It may not be such a bad call, if they can take all the other bits with it.
Williams and Merc are feeding at different tables this year, and although the power of the engine has been useful (alright then, it has given them all their points) it is probably making them bypass some problem areas just to get points.

Now the have a hold on next years pay out it may be worth a side step and reset. If Ferrari give them cash and discounts it could be a good move, especally if the tales of the engine improvements are true

Sooooo......Mick to Williams?

TBH, as I said above, I think Latifi would demolish him. Too soon to tell really, but I see Latifi as quite a good driver.

Also, as you said, the name is stil useful to Ferrari