Silly Season 2017/2018

[fenix4life]

Palmer gets the boot for Kubica.
Sainz and Kyviat both get the boot. Two new faces there.
Massa retires for good and somebody new shows up at Williams.
The rest stays the same.

I would say Palmer replaced by Sainz

[PlatinumZealot]

Doubt it, Perez has already shown conclusively he can't handle the pressure of driving for a top team back in the Maclaren Mercedes days.

The pressure at McLaren was one factor, but also how he was treated was another. I think he has learned from that and is a much stronger driver and is now strong leader. I can see Perez leading Ferrari in the future.

Yeah, I don't think so. Not while there are guys like Ricciardo and Verstappen in the Paddock for the next 8-12 years. Certainly at least one of them are destined to be the Ferrari main man soon, and for the foreseeable future, heck, maybe even both of them. Doubt Perez would be able to compete with either of them in the same car. He would just become Rubens 2.0 in my opinion

I think Perez can beat Max and Daniel if paired with them. I really do. No one could not do any better than what he has done in the Force india so far. I can't expect anymore. Put him in the Ferrari and he will give Vettel problems!

[ringo]

Bottas will slide into the next ferrari seat. Vettel is an easier driver to beat than Hamilton, and Ferrari will be more likely to give Bottas a long term deal than Mercedes will.
Bottas also has the wins under his belt, and i believe that ferrari only selects winning drivers with the exception of drivers who have driven with ferrari power for years (Massa pre 2006).
Bottas ticks all the boxes to be a good and reliable ferrari driver. He will be the one that's had enough uncertainty from mercedes.
After he jumps ship, Alonso will poke his head into the mercedes shop and at that time Hamilton's confidence will be high enough, and his boredom will be such that he would relish fighting alonso for another title.

With all that said, Bottas has the key to the 2018 driver Market; not Alonso.

[djos]

I think Perez can beat Max and Daniel if paired with them. I really do. No one could not do any better than what he has done in the Force india so far. I can't expect anymore. Put him in the Ferrari and he will give Vettel problems!

I needed a good laugh, thanks PZ! =D>

[Gerhardsa]

The pressure at McLaren was one factor, but also how he was treated was another. I think he has learned from that and is a much stronger driver and is now strong leader. I can see Perez leading Ferrari in the future.

Yeah, I don't think so. Not while there are guys like Ricciardo and Verstappen in the Paddock for the next 8-12 years. Certainly at least one of them are destined to be the Ferrari main man soon, and for the foreseeable future, heck, maybe even both of them. Doubt Perez would be able to compete with either of them in the same car. He would just become Rubens 2.0 in my opinion

I think Perez can beat Max and Daniel if paired with them. I really do. No one could not do any better than what he has done in the Force india so far. I can't expect anymore. Put him in the Ferrari and he will give Vettel problems!

We can agree to disagree then.
I don't think he is at the same level as either of them, or Alonso, or Hamilton, or Vettel....even Bottas will whipe the floor with him in my opinion.
He is a solid driver, but he is not going to bother any of the above mentioned guys over a season.

[Vasconia]

Palmer gets the boot for Kubica.
Sainz and Kyviat both get the boot. Two new faces there.
Massa retires for good and somebody new shows up at Williams.
The rest stays the same.

I would say Palmer replaced by Sainz

Recent rumours suggest that Palmer will be replaced by Kubika in Spa. I think it would be too early so I have my doubts.

[Vladimir]

For Palmer it's too late without any question.

[djos]

For Palmer it's too late without any question.

Yeah, he needs a miracle run from now on just to be considered by any team.

[Gerhardsa]

For Palmer it's too late without any question.

Yeah, he needs a miracle run from now on just to be considered by any team.

Even with that miracle, he wont be able to keep Kubica out. Its game over for Palmer.

[djos]

For Palmer it's too late without any question.

Yeah, he needs a miracle run from now on just to be considered by any team.

Even with that miracle, he wont be able to keep Kubica out. Its game over for Palmer.

Thb I don't see Kubica coming back either, there's young fast French talent they'd rather have in the car imo.

[Vasconia]

Yeah, he needs a miracle run from now on just to be considered by any team.

Even with that miracle, he wont be able to keep Kubica out. Its game over for Palmer.

Thb I don't see Kubica coming back either, there's young fast French talent they'd rather have in the car imo.

Renault seems to disagree with you.

[Jolle]

Its a funny silly season with the hottest contracts running out of sync.

end of this year: Vettel and Alonso
end of next year: Ricciardo, Verstappen and Hamilton.

Vettel and Alonso are not drivers who like stiff competition within their team aka a number one status and that makes pairing them with one of the above difficult or even impossible. On the other had the only real leverage they have against their teams are each others seats or Renault. The teams on the other hand want their options open for when the RedBull drivers are free...

Consider this: Vettel to McLaren, Alonso to Renault and non of the top drivers available for the vacant Ferrari seat.... it has happend before!

[Phil]

http://www.auto-motor-und-sport.de/form ... 07300.html

Apparently to this article by AMuS, ...

- Max Verstappen is contracted to RedBull till end of 2018, with option end of 2019
- Dan Ricciardo is contracted to RedBull till end of 2018
- Sainz was contracted to RedBull till end of 2017, but in Baku RB took the option to extend it till end 2019

- Sainz was interested in Ferrari, but now wants to go to Renault (hence the criticism in the last post conference)
- Horner said Sainz could be bought, but there are no current offers for him ...
- ... RB invests heavily into the career of these drivers. Thanks to them, Sainz is a F1 pilot. The investment is rumoured to be at least 8 million.

- It would cost Renaut a lot of money to take Palmer out of the cockpit. Apparently, the contract is "watertight" says Palmers dad.

- Kvyat is out of contact after this year
- Apparently, the Telegraph is hinting that there may be a pre-contract for Verstappen at Ferrari for 2019
- Horner says Verstappen is not for sale and couldn't be afforded ...
- ... same applies to Ricciardo. He's free for 2019, but RB will soon start talks over his extension.

[iotar__]

http://www.auto-motor-und-sport.de/form ... 07300.html

Whether this batch of Red Bull informercial is true or made up:
- Sainz lost interest in Ferrari and wants to go Renault, how did that happen ?
- Adding Verstappen to Vettel won't change much against Hamilton/Bottas. They'd be adding another driver not quick enough over one lap on top of other flaws. Whatever, it's not like they care anyway. This season is and will be the ultimate proof.

Kubica - one of those: not interested until it happens, they didn't address biggest obstacle: cockpit movement restrictions. Only slightly interesting if it happens. F1's sporting drive and competitiveness is dead, teams' driver management laughable with consequences to quality.

[Manoah2u]

Verstappen is a definate upgrade compared to Kimi.
Kimi is not the same kimi as in 2007. He's shown brilliance and speed, no discussion there.
Him slicing through eau rouge in spa in almost superhuman abilities still stands grafted in my mind.

But he is not on that level anymore somehow. Perhaps it's motivation, perhaps age, perhaps family, who knows.
He does okay, but Ferrari can't cope with okay any longer. Just look how far back they sink in the WCC compared to Merc.

Sure, he showed some good stuff in Monaco and the race before that. I think ferrari shafted him there, but nevertheless,
Vettel is far more consistant in performing compared to Kimi nowadays.

And mind you, i think Kimi is a better driver than Vettel, actually. So as for me, that can only mean he's not motivated to go
as far as he used to. Verstappen is, so therefor, he'll be an upgrade.