The F1 thread

skullfunkerry

Cols said:

For Renault: 

1.  PR value.

2.  A driver who is _always_ quick.  I can’t remember seeing a race weekend where Alonso just phoned it in.

For Alonso:

1.  Not sure.

Possibly just the enjoyment of racing with no pressure...

prowla

The thing is that Alonso wears his heart on his sleeve and if the team isn't up to his standard then he'll start with the negative waves.

PC_Dave

FFS, I wish Alonso would just fuck off. He fucked it, and ruined his chances. He’s like a bad smell that won’t go away

Cols

He has too much history, unfortunately.

Mercedes won’t have him because of Spygate.

Ferrari won’t have him because he pushed like crazy to be released from his contract in 2014.

Red Bull won’t have him because of ‘GP2 engine’ Honda, and because they doggedly refuse to recruit from outside their dreadful Young Drivers programme anyway.

He can’t get a competitive drive in Indycar because of the bad blood with Honda.

Renault is the only door which isn’t firmly closed for him...

sinbaadi

If he was young enough then all the history b.s would be forgotten.
Genuinely one of the best ever, in my opinion.  Rotten luck and Latin temperament are his downfall.  In another universe he got the Mercedes seat instead of Hamilton.

Glad to see him back but he'll definitely be an also-ran.  Not his fault, just F1 is the sport of also-rans.

fretmeister

Fretwired said:

chillidoggy said:

My money's on Alonso going to Renault. Dunno why, but stranger things have happened.

Alonso has signed for Renault. Got next weekend's lottery numbers?

You got a link for this yet?

All I can see is vague legally irrelevant mentions of a "pre-agreement" letter which is nothing more than a promise to think about it.

chillidoggy

Fretwired said:

chillidoggy said:

My money's on Alonso going to Renault. Dunno why, but stranger things have happened.

Alonso has signed for Renault. Got next weekend's lottery numbers?

Ha, ha!

Seriously, that was a wild guess based on Alonso being desperate to climb back into an F1 car and not actually needing the money to do so. Not sure anything has been confirmed, unless I've missed something?

stickyfiddle

Grosjean saying the silly pre-season isn't over yet. I'm guessing he's talking to Renault, then?

Cols

There’s a huge amount of potential movement.  Mercedes, Alfa, Haas, Williams and Alpha Tauri all have both of their drivers out of contract by the end of the year.  Unusually, the Alpha Tauri drivers are probably safest of all; Helmut Marko’s Young Driver Meat Grinder is stalled during lockdown.  With no racing in the lower formulae, there’s no opportunity for those waiting in the wings to qualify for a superlicence.

Red Bull and Renault both have one seat each open; Red Bull seem happy with having an unambitious second driver who doesn’t give Verstappen any trouble, so as long as Albon doesn’t disgrace himself he should be fine.

Honestly, I suspect that Haas, Renault and - sadly - Williams are on very thin ice for being on the grid in 2021.  I expect there’ll be more current F1 drivers than there are seats to go round.

Cols

LeClerc is remaking C’etait un Rendezvous around the streets of Monte Carlo.... with the streets closed off on the morning the Monaco Grand Prix was scheduled.  It’s not the same if you’re actually allowed to do it.

Anyway, here’s the original in all its glory.

https://youtu.be/HgPoiKiMRFQ 

fretmeister

Bottas to Renault?

Seems he could be getting annoyed with the 1 season at a time thing

https://www.planetf1.com/news/valtteri-bottas-renault/

DesVegas

Juicy

not_the_dj

Would love that, assuming Russell gets his seat at Merc.

Cols

The Daimler board are apparently pushing hard for a Vettel/Hamilton lineup next year.  Or, depending on who you listen to, a withdrawal from F1 at the end of the season.

In any case, it’s unsurprising that Bottas is putting his feelers out.  Especially with Ocon and Russell breathing down his neck as well from within the Merc camp.

Boromedic

I think it would be cool to see them both in the same team but can't see it happening tbh, we shall see I suppose. I don't think Lewis would be bothered, I think he's pretty confident he could beat any driver on his day in the same car, Seb would out qualify or beat him sometimes but Lewis would have the upper hand most of the time I reckon. As long as he kept his recently found focus.

stickyfiddle

I think Vettel at Merc depends on 1) whether he really wanted #1 status at Ferrari, and 2) how big his balls are.

Toto would be mad not to take him - it’s marketing gold and Hamilton will probably win. And I don’t think Lewis would be remotely scared - he beat 3 other WDC guys as teammates - Jenson, Fernando and Nico. This would be an opportunity to beat a 4-time champion in the same car. How many drivers get that chance?

I’d love to see it, and for Merc it’s low risk since as soon as either driver quits they bring Russell in and keep winning.

Fretwired

Not sure any of you are on Twitter - Ham doesn't look like he's in a good place. Said during lockdown he seriously started to think about quitting.

Fretwired

stickyfiddle said:

I think Vettel at Merc depends on 1) whether he really wanted #1 status at Ferrari, and 2) how big his balls are.

Toto would be mad not to take him - it’s marketing gold and Hamilton will probably win. And I don’t think Lewis would be remotely scared - he beat 3 other WDC guys as teammates - Jenson, Fernando and Nico. This would be an opportunity to beat a 4-time champion in the same car. How many drivers get that chance?

I’d love to see it, and for Merc it’s low risk since as soon as either driver quits they bring Russell in and keep winning.

It would be cool .. Mercedes will need a bigger budget has Vettel crashes a lot .. :-)

I think the pressure would be on Vettel .. Ham is secure in the team, knows the car and the people. The car is probably built with him in mind. Would Vettel want to be humiliated week in week out?

Fretwired

Ricciardo will have his head in his hands. The guy can't buy any luck .. :-)

Supercar and Formula 1 racing business McLaren has become the first British automaker to unveil coronavirus job cuts after announcing more than a quarter of its workforce will be axed.

The Woking-based company is to slash 1,200 jobs as it reels from the impact of Covid-19. McLaren has been particularly hard hit because the pandemic has halted the Formula 1 racing season, which accounts for a large chunk of its earnings.

A spending cap introduced by Formula 1's ruling body has also contributed to the job losses, the company said.

McLaren said redundancies will be spread across its automotive, racing and technology arms, with back-office and support staff also affected.

The restructuring comes after it emerged that the privately owned business had asked the Government for a £150m loan to help it get through the crisis.

The bailout was turned down, with the business told it had not exhausted all alternative forms of financial support.

Fretwired

Mercedes to leave at the end of 2021 and sell the team? They'd become an engine supplier.

https://www.essentiallysports.com/f1-news-mercedes-ready-to-sell-the-team-at-the-end-of-2021-former-f1-team-principal-makes-a-bold-prediction/