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  • ^^ I'll believe it when I see a press release.  Didn't Williams literally announce a closer partnership with Merc last month? 


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  • Fretwired said:
    Williams to ditch Mercedes and become junior Alpine team to develop drivers - what will this mean for Russell?


    Hmmm, can't see it myself. Don't Williams have an engine deal with Merc until 2025? And haven't they recently signed an agreement to use their gearboxes too?

    Plus surely Alpine would have to cough up some serious cash to replace the funding from the pay driver Williams normally have? 

    I'll believe it when I see it.

    In other, more exciting news - Ferrari returning to Le Mans and WEC with a brand new full prototype challenger for the first time since 1973!

    Ferrari to contest Le Mans outright with 2023 Hypercar programme | WEC News | Autosport 
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  • ColsCols Frets: 6953
    ^^ I'll believe it when I see a press release.  Didn't Williams literally announce a closer partnership with Merc last month? 
    I think they’re buying their transmission from Merc now, which Sir Frank wouldn’t have stood for when he was in charge.  

    Once you’ve gone down that path of surrendering manufacturing capability, I guess it’s a small step to switch and get the whole power unit and gearbox from another manufacturer like Renault.

    Pretty sure this is Russell’s last year in Williams anyway.
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  • chillidoggychillidoggy Frets: 17136
    Williams' new owners will do what they think is best for the team, now the old guard has gone.

    I suspect Russell's future is assured.


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  • BrioBrio Frets: 1789
    No mention of where this report came from.
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  • TimmyOTimmyO Frets: 7349
    Fretwired said:
    Williams to ditch Mercedes and become junior Alpine team to develop drivers - what will this mean for Russell?


    Consider the source. For example I no longer click on Drivetribe links - there are some proper click bait bullshitters out there for every genre and F1 isn’t immune 
    Red ones are better. 
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  • TimmyOTimmyO Frets: 7349
    Brio said:
    No mention of where this report came from.
    It is actually linked - a foreign language site so it didn’t help me lol 
    Red ones are better. 
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  • stickyfiddlestickyfiddle Frets: 26743
    Merc renders. Alpine later, Aston and Hass tomorrow.

    I like that they've gone for a clean stripe of the Petronas turqoise instead of the janky fade of previous years, but they've added a silver fade on the engine cover. Bah! 









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  • I like it! They just need to make the turquoise stripes light up on night circuits like Singapore, it'll be like something out of a Tron movie! 


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  • BrioBrio Frets: 1789
    Still keeping that single red Merc star in honour of Lauda. Classy. 
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  • FretwiredFretwired Frets: 24601
    Brio said:
    No mention of where this report came from.

    It's behind a firewall and is in Italian - I have been on the receiving end of the ire of the mods for republishing such articles. The shorthand states (as per PlanetF1's plagiarism):

    There were reports from Motorsport.com earlier in February that stated that after discussions with Alfa Romeo broke down, contact had been made with Williams regarding such a partnership.

    Italian publication La Gazzetta Dello Sport has now claimed that, with CEO Luca de Meo believing it necessary, a deal has been reached between the two parties.

    “The ambitions are great and it is very clear to De Meo, as well as to anyone who understands motorsport, that as long as Alpine is on its own, it will not be able to compete on equal terms with Mercedes, which has three customers (McLaren, Aston Martin, Williams), with Ferrari (Alfa Romeo and Haas) and with Honda (Red Bull and Alpha Tauri),” the paper said.

    Reportedly, the partnership will consist of Alpine supplying Williams with engines from 2022 and in return, the British will become a customer outfit, providing seats for whoever junior drivers Alpine want to promote to the grid.

    Let's see if anything comes of it. I could see it being attractive to Williams - an Alpine junior team rather than being a Mercedes customer. There are those at Williams who think taking a Mercedes gearbox is wrong. Alpine could get benefits from Williams engineering experience. It could be a win/win situation.



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  • stickyfiddlestickyfiddle Frets: 26743
    edited March 2021
    Alpine looks good. Very blue and all the better for it.

    It’s lose-lose for Ocon - if Alonso’s at full strength he’s going to look slow, and if not everyone will assume he’s past it.










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  • not_the_djnot_the_dj Frets: 7306
    I say this every year about at least one team when new liveries are revealed, but that Apline looks like the sort of scheme a toy company use when they do a generic racing car. 

    Fingers crossed for Aston Martin! 

    The AMR GT schemes have been awesome, I really want to see that continued into this new era/ownership. 


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  • stickyfiddlestickyfiddle Frets: 26743
    Yeah, the AM is the most interesting launch - all the PR and merch is a nice metallic BRG sort of vibe, which will be a great colour to add to the grid. 

    Apparently the new DBX is selling well and I've heard mutterings they're talking with ADNOC for a fuel & lubricants deal for the F1 team, so the future looks good. 
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  • stickyfiddlestickyfiddle Frets: 26743
    edited March 2021
    Well that was the most awkward wooden car launch I can remember sitting through, but the car is pretty

    [insert joke about even their pink stripe being exactly the same as the Merc’s teal one here...]
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  • not_the_djnot_the_dj Frets: 7306
    It’ll be interesting to see how it looks in daylight. 

    Not sold on the pink, but of course that’s the sponsors. I suppose they’ve made it as subtle as they can on the car. 

    But yes that was the worse kind of corporate video launch!
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  • stickyfiddlestickyfiddle Frets: 26743
    edited March 2021
    And if anyone was in any doubt as to how likely Mazepin is to get the boot for bad behaviour, here is the US-based team's car literally wearing a Russian flag as a livery...

    It's interesting, as Uralkali's corporate colours are green with red. I wonder if they'll face any sanctions as Mazepin isn't supposed to be racing under a Russian banner. 

    Though I must say it's quite a smart livery. I guess that's easy to do when you have bugger all sponsors, like the Manors of a few years back 




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  • stickyfiddlestickyfiddle Frets: 26743
    I saw lots of comments last night complaining AM's BRG wasn't dark enough, as if every team ran the same BRG colour back in the day, which absolutely wasn't the case. Lotus used a darker, leafier colour and Jaguar used a very dark green for their early Le Mans entries, but AM's have usually raced in that heathery metallic sort of shade in the past. I think they've nailed it.











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  • BrioBrio Frets: 1789
    It's interesting, as Uralkali's corporate colours are green with red. I wonder if they'll face any sanctions as Mazepin isn't supposed to be racing under a Russian banner. 

    Red, white and blue innit? Can’t get more American than that.

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  • not_the_djnot_the_dj Frets: 7306
    Red Blue and White is noticeably different from Red White and Blue. 
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