The F1 thread

Fretwired

fretmeister said:

I still think Bottas could be dumped before the end of the season if his poor form continues. Don't teams have a performance-related break clause in their contracts?

Yes and no.

They will have to pay him until the end of the season no matter what. But they don't have to let him drive the car. No team ever says "you get to drive all the races this year"

There have been several court attempts over the years to force a team to let a driver actually race and the driver has always lost - the driver is an employee and must comply with reasonable instructions. And getting paid a cool 500,000 ish for not risking your life for a particular race is reasonable.

Interesting - I didn't know that - thanks.

stickyfiddle

Cols said:

Wasn’t there an incident a few years ago at Melbourne, when Sauber got their cars impounded after reneging on a promise to give the unloved Giedo Van Der Garde a race seat? 

Yeah, I can’t remember the drivers involved but they hired 3. The difference there was that all 3 were pay drivers who I’m guessing all had contracts saying how many races (and possibly which specific ones) they would drive. The excuse was they needed the advance payments from all those sponsors to avoid the team going under but it wasn’t a good look

TimmyO

Dropping a driver mid season would be a Not Very Mercedes thing to do. I'd bet against it. 

thumpingrug

TimmyO said:

Dropping a driver mid season would be a Not Very Mercedes thing to do. I'd bet against it. 

Toto won't like the idea of losing the constructors championship.  I cant see him willingly watching it slip away just because its "not a very Mercedes thing to do", he's more likely to take decisive action.  Bottas's performance has been shockingly poor and it provides the excuse Toto needs.

Cols

Williams aren’t ruling out a mid-season driver swap.  The feeling of the statement is “Make it worth my while Toto, and you can have George in exchange for Bottas any time you like”.

https://www.planetf1.com/news/williams-george-russell-valtteri-bottas-swap/

chillidoggy

thumpingrug said:

TimmyO said:

Dropping a driver mid season would be a Not Very Mercedes thing to do. I'd bet against it. 

Toto won't like the idea of losing the constructors championship.  I cant see him willingly watching it slip away just because its "not a very Mercedes thing to do", he's more likely to take decisive action.  Bottas's performance has been shockingly poor and it provides the excuse Toto needs.

I think it’s more likely to be a decision the Merc board of directors will make, and Toto will have to Toto the party line

skullfunkerry

chillidoggy said:

thumpingrug said:

TimmyO said:

Dropping a driver mid season would be a Not Very Mercedes thing to do. I'd bet against it. 

Toto won't like the idea of losing the constructors championship.  I cant see him willingly watching it slip away just because its "not a very Mercedes thing to do", he's more likely to take decisive action.  Bottas's performance has been shockingly poor and it provides the excuse Toto needs.

I think it’s more likely to be a decision the Merc board of directors will make, and Toto will have to Toto the party line

I read on Joe Saward's blog (which is pretty much the source I trust the most in F1) that there could be cause for large celebrations around Silverstone weekend...

Cols

chillidoggy said:

thumpingrug said:

TimmyO said:

Dropping a driver mid season would be a Not Very Mercedes thing to do. I'd bet against it. 

Toto won't like the idea of losing the constructors championship.  I cant see him willingly watching it slip away just because its "not a very Mercedes thing to do", he's more likely to take decisive action.  Bottas's performance has been shockingly poor and it provides the excuse Toto needs.

I think it’s more likely to be a decision the Merc board of directors will make, and Toto will have to Toto the party line

Also sponsors.  They’re personality-driven, and  I’d be surprised if they don’t have requirements for certain drivers.  Words would certainly be exchanged if, for example, they booted the media magnet Hamilton mid-season.

Sponsors might be happy with Bottas, despite his spotty performance on track.  

Dontgiveupyourdayjob

Ocon confirmed for the next few years at Alpine:

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.breaking-esteban-ocon-signs-bumper-three-year-contract-extension-with-alpine.5nWR2pWD1COJzdyB73g8NM.html?dclid=CN23xcS4nPECFWiCUAYdyusIPQ

Good for him, well deserved I think after a really strong start to the season. Means there's one less seat for Bottas to potentially end up in next year if/when he gets punted by Mercedes.

stickyfiddle

Good for Esteban - he's looked very good this season so far. No point playing musical chairs with a reg change unless Merc or RB offer you a seat

Cols

One door closed for the unfortunate Gasly then.

stickyfiddle

I see Pirelli have absolved RB and AM from blame for the tyre failures, and also confined no evidence of debris causing damage prior to the crashes. They've noted that the tyres were at lower than expected pressures at high speed, despite being at correct pressures when cold. That seems to be a roundabout way of saying "our sums were wrong", but the media don't seem to be reporting it so overtly that way. 

I don't feel a need for a tyre war but I'd love to get Michelin back...

Dontgiveupyourdayjob

Good start to the weekend from Bottas and Merc. Maybe they're getting back to form after having a crappy couple of races?

stickyfiddle

Yeah, most likely their car just doesn't work so well on street circuits. Which makes sense as far as prioritisation goes as there's only ever 2 or 3 of those in a season, and even Singapore is less "streety" than the others.  

Similarly Mclaren are looking quick again and Ferrari & AM are a bit further down the grid again. 

Cols

Merc are complaining about the sausage kerbs on the exit of S de la Verrerie.

“They’re too aggressive,” Mercedes said. “They’ve damaged our car. They’ve caused tens of thousands of pounds worth of damage, just for going two or three foot wide.”

You’d get a bit more than a damaged front wing for running two or three feet wide at Monaco or Baku.  It’s a part of the track you’re not meant to drive onto - just don’t go there.

DesVegas

The track looks slippy

stickyfiddle

Cols said:

Merc are complaining about the sausage kerbs on the exit of S de la Verrerie.

“They’re too aggressive,” Mercedes said. “They’ve damaged our car. They’ve caused tens of thousands of pounds worth of damage, just for going two or three foot wide.”

You’d get a bit more than a damaged front wing for running two or three feet wide at Monaco or Baku.  It’s a part of the track you’re not meant to drive onto - just don’t go there.

My thoughts exactly. If I were Massi my response would be to suggest a wall there instead! It's the same for everyone... suck it up!

stickyfiddle

And looks like Masi made effectively that point towards the end of the session on the radio with RB. The Sky guys are suggesting its disproportionate for the potential time gain but I really don't give a shit. 

Fretwired

stickyfiddle said:

Cols said:

Merc are complaining about the sausage kerbs on the exit of S de la Verrerie.

“They’re too aggressive,” Mercedes said. “They’ve damaged our car. They’ve caused tens of thousands of pounds worth of damage, just for going two or three foot wide.”

You’d get a bit more than a damaged front wing for running two or three feet wide at Monaco or Baku.  It’s a part of the track you’re not meant to drive onto - just don’t go there.

My thoughts exactly. If I were Massi my response would be to suggest a wall there instead! It's the same for everyone... suck it up!

I agree with the guys from Sky. Do what they did at the Red Bull Ring and run the kerbs parallel with the track. They will slow you down and rattle the driver's teeth but won't damage the car. The budget cap means some midfield teams could run out of parts.

Cols

Scattered thunderstorms forecast for Sunday.  Might not be the standard Paul Ricard snoozefest.