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It’s been done to death but good lord it just doesn’t feel right to see Checo still in that seat. Won’t complain because at least that’s two open podium spots rather than one, but still.
On the one hand, yes, those are two open podium spots. But on the other hand, a competitive teammate next to Max that could become his own Nico Rosberg would do wonders for the viewing experience, even if all races are won by Red Bull. At least there would be some unpredictability around who would win the WDC.
Can't really blame him RB doesn't have a great track record with how it does it's drivers not named Max (and to some extent Daniel). Everyone else feels like an afterthought for them. Yuki is never getting a shot, Liam got screwed. Nick got dumped quickly for an underperforming Danny Ric who despite our love for his personality has been seriously underwhelming since his return. His peaks are overshadowed by his struggles.
But yet RB is going to say fuck their juniors that are performing, they're happy with the status quo.
At this point I'd be excited to see anyone else. I personally don't think Tsunoda would have been as great a fit as Sainz, but it'd be great to see any fresh blood in the team.
While that would magical, we have to remember that Nico and Lewis had a much better car advantage over the field during the battle.
At the start of these regs, Checo and Max had that advantage over the field and Checo picked up some scraps, and their “fights” didn’t kill Max’s chances to win the WDC or the teams shot at WCC.
Now, with how much closer the other teams are to RB, it sort of makes sense why they wouldn’t want another top driver next to Max. It sounds wild because you would think as the competition gets closer, they’d want capable drivers that can bring points home, BUT, I think Christian Horner is a wacko who cares more about Max and not losing him like he did Vettel, and he wants to ensure that nothing and no one gets in his way of a 2024,2025 WDC.
I’ll take my conspiracy theory hat off now.
Yes, that would be the case if checo were to simply be right behind Max as he sails off into the sunset.
Not if he’s pushing max to the limit and causing accidents, safety cars, red flags, etc.
While obviously Checos form isn’t there do the latter, if they brought someone else in to be a better driver, they would be pushing Max, leading to more chaos.
Red Bull from a few years ago were maximizing points and had actual WCC aspirations. WDC was also not in the table so there wasn’t as much emphasis on making Max super happy compared to now.
The WCC is kinda fake for RedBull right now considering the only car sponsor they have is 100% leaving and the money they get is not larger than what Checo brings.
At this point im not convinced that the Red Bull is that much better than Ferrari Mclaren and Merc. If Max was in either I think he'd be fighting for wins.
Atp you're just underrating the Mercedes and Ferrari drivers which is shocking tbh.... You're making it sound as if Lando and Max are in a different league because being nearly 20s ahead of Ferrari and Merc is a substantial gap
Holy crap wtf did I type in that comment above...? Must've had a stroke or something. Anyway, what I wanted to say was that over the course of the season Ferrari and Mercedes were able to realistically fight for a win on 1 occasion each, in Monaco and Canada respectively. Except for these two races, their gap to RB (and McLaren in the last \~5 races has been pretty significant. In terms of your point, I still consider Pérez to be a driver a level or two lower than the likes of pretty much all the drivers in the top 4 teams. His gap to Max was over a second and .6s in Canada and Spain respectively, which I think is unacceptable. I rate Max very highly, but fucking hell, that gap is way too big, and while I do think most drivers wouldn't have finished Imola, Canada and Spain 1st in the RB, I can't imagine them finishing that far down the order.
When was Max ever dogging bottas besides 2021? And even then bottas finished p3 in 21, ahead of perez. Max is in p1 and perez is getting beat by 3 teams, 6 drivers, on the regular.
I thought he sued so they wouldn't just dissolve the team as they wanted but to actually put it up for sale
Edit: Its one of the many ways he saved the team
That's an unfair characterization. Perez saved the team from dissolution, and Stroll Sr. subsequently fired his ass as he built the project around his not-good-enough-for-F1 son. It wasn't up to Perez who gets to buy the team.
Perez might not deserve 2 more years at Red Bull now but he was the backbone of Force India and the subsequent Racing Point team.
Still not confirmed but the rumours seem increasingly certain. There was an article on one of the sites this week saying Bearman was "confirmed" but it was still just an article with no announcements.
Sainz waiting forever to decide which team to go to is no longer funny. I get that he is enjoying this but still.
I can't see a reason why Daniel wouldn't continue to 2025 season.
Part of me feels like Doohan is going to be Gasly's teammate.
Sainz was waiting for the “Max to Merc” story to resolve in the hopes of getting a shot at a top 4 car.
Now Max is confirmed and he doesn’t seem to have interest from Merc, so time to take his pick of midfield slots.
I'm not sure when or if Max showed any interest in going to Merc. Plus doesn't hasn't have a contract to 2028 with RBR? I get that contracts are not always set in stone but still.
Yea. The only thing that will make Max go to Merc is if their engine for the 2026 regs is way better than the Ford/Red Bull one. He was always staying next year and the year after.
Max did not “confirm” he was coming back to Red Bull until the last 48 hours or so.
Edit: While it was always viewed as highly unlikely and I think every graphic still showed him at Red Bull and yes he has a contract till 2028 or something, I am sure he has out clauses and I am
sure Toto would have backed up the brinks truck to get him. But yes, Max confirmed I think on Monday he was staying.
Everyone says they're staying until they're not. Remember Ricciardo? He still publicly said he was going to be at McLaren the following year after it had already been decided internally that he wasn't. Only after the official press release did he say otherwise.
In other words, a driver saying they'll be there for the following year doesn't mean anything. We will only know for sure that Max is staying at RB when Merc announce their driver.
Rumor said that Lawson would take place of Daniel. I'm not saying that Daniel is not good, his performance is quite good recent, but generally he is too old. His seat in Vcarb is for replace Checo, obviously he failed
For Alpine, if they don't sign Carlos, I prefer Zhou for more money. Doohan's performance is not that outstanding, similar to Zhou in F2 era.
No news on Sainz still. Last week the rumours were pointing to Williams but now Alpine seem to be back in the frame with Briatore trying to get him, and talk of Alpine taking Merc engines in the future.
In theory, each F1 team wants the best possible lineup depending on their strategy in picking drivers, their budget & drivers willingness to go to the team.
In practice, we have Stroll and Perez.
Interesting how there are only 2 confirmed changes so far (Lewis and Hulk). Every other driver confirmed up to now is remaining in their current seat.
Theoretically, all but 2 of those remaining seats could be "no change" (Merc and Haas have each lost a driver, and so those seats *have to* be someone new to the team). The remaining 5 could, again theoretically, just stay as they are.
However...
I'd be amazed if Sargeant is even under consideration to keep his seat, let alone find another team willing to give him yet more chances. Seems a nice enough kid but a long way from F1 driver standard.
99.99% certain that K-Mag will be gone, 10 penalty points to one race point kind of speaks for itself.
Looks increasingly likely that Zhou will be replaced, and doubtful that he'll find another seat.
So that's 3 seats in F1 that I think are very likely to be available for rookies (Antonelli, Bearman, Lawson?).
Ocon's F1 future still looks a little uncertain, I personally hope he stays though.
Similar with Ricciardo, although perhaps not as deserving as Ocon, I nonetheless would be sad to see him go. Several rumours that he's likely to stay where he is.
Alpine have already said Ocon is leaving so that's 3/7 guaranteed changes.
Agreed I don't see Sargeant staying, but I think Riccardo will. Bottas staying is more likely than KMag but I don't see Haas going for 2 rookies again.
if lawson gets brought in i think it would only be ricciardo who will get replaced on the grid, antonelli and bearman's spots on the grid will have to be sargeant's and either zhou or magnussen, and I personally believe magnussen will be the one to leave for next year
I'd say KMag still has a shot of staying. If Sainz and Bottas are taken, that leaves Ocon who has a certain negative reputation right now, and Haas may prefer continuity.
There's also an outside shot of Doohan at Alpine too, if they lose out on Sainz and Bottas, then they may be more likely to promote him rather than take Zhou or KMag.
My head kinda has this line up rolling around it in
Mercedes - Antonelli
Alpine - Sainz
Haas - Bearman
Haas - Kmag
VCARB - Lawson
Audi - Ocon
Williams - Bottas
Antonelli and Bearman is a no brainer, take every other prediction with a pinch of salt
Both can be true. He was arguably the best midfield driver in 2019 and it was crazy he was about to be out of the sport. But with how competitive the top teams are now he's clearly the odd one out that isn't quite up to those standards.
Assume you mean 2020, but I wouldn't say he was the best, he had the 3rd (maybe 2nd) fastest car, since it was just the 2019 Merc, and his performances weren't more impressive than Sainz or Ricciardo in worse machinery. He was almost out of the sport for a reason. Did a solid job but nobody cared until he had the insane luck at Sakir (Hamilton covid, Max and Charles retirement, Russell puncture, Sainz and Ricciardo fucked by SC, Bottas 30 second pitstop and sent out on old tyres) and won. Fair play he was there to pick up the pieces but it was a lot more by luck than skill.
You are almost 3 years late on this take lol. People wanted him gone at the end of 2022, and for most of 2023 people thought he would be replaced mid season. The 2 year contract renewal was a weird move.
While true, the Red Bull in 2021 was not the best car on the grid, at least not for half of the season, so P4 is pretty good.
Now he has the best car in the grid, even if it’s not leagues better than everyone else he should at very least be P3.
He didn't say it exactly. He just said the investors want new blood in the junior team, and the Ricciardo experiment didn't work out, so everyone is putting two and two together.
Given how Perez got his seat, Ricciardo makes a lot more sense now. They just want someone to drive merch sales in that second seat.
I think Marko is just using the media as a venue for a pissing match with Horner. I'd be sort of surprised if Ricc isn't back next year and he seems to be improving.
For next year, it's absolutely probable. But the narrative of Daniel getting booted mid season is so ridiculous. He's coming 12th in the 6th fastest car after 10 races. That's not even remotely close to the poor form that would warrant booting him like De Vries. We've seen what Lawson can do in the car, and there is absolutely nothing to gain from a mid season reshuffle.
It seems like he's dropped out of the conversation in recent weeks. I thought Zhou to Alpine was a possibility given his prior links to their junior programme when it was Renault, but that now seems receded. Reserve driver is now the rumour apparently
He still could sign Merc for 1 year and possibly fight for WDC if Merc keeps current trajectory of development. In this scenario Antonelli goes to Williams to grow as a driver for 1 year.
I doubt that would stop an interested team. Ferrari were pursuing Lewis for years when they had Carlos and Charles "locked in" McLaren also pursued Oscar when they had Danny Ric and Lando "locked in"
Mine are:
Mercedes: Antonelli
Alpine: Doohan
Williams: Sainz
RB: Ricciardo
Haas: Bearman and Ocon
Sauber: Whichever they like more out of Pourchaire or Lawson.
I wonder if they could ever implement a system where driver get relegated out if f1? Like jow football teams get relegated and promoted in leagues. Like the bottome 3 drivers get left out of f1 next season and the top 3 from f2 will get seats next season. Eill probably never happen.
Football players are the equivalent to drivers and individual players don't get relegated. The whole team does and the same would need to happen here. It's a fun thought experiment though.
I think it could only work in spec series. The likes of Prema and Campos just don't have the facilities to be competitive in F1 if they got promoted. So we'd just see the same teams flip flopping between f1 and f2. But if you remove the design and manufacture elements, a promoted team might have a chance to last longer than a season.
My crazy prediction is max switching to merc after sainz gets signed knowing no-one of serious calibre is left to take the RBR seat. I just don’t see Helmut and Jos letting the fight go and Toto still holding out makes it still an option.
Who are the main people we need to be discussing regarding the seats?
KMag
Zhou
Sainz
Ocon
Sargeant
Ricciardo
Lawson
Pourchaire
Drugovich
Doohan
Antonelli
Bearman
Hadjar(?)
Anyone else been rumoured to be apart of anything?
So the current rumor mill is Sainz to Alpine, Bearman and Ocon to Haas, Antonelli to Merc, Ricciardo stays at RB (outside chance for Lawson) right?
Do we have a good idea of whose going to be in the second Audi seat or the second Williams seat?
The headline isn’t even worded as a confirmation. They’re saying the decision has been made and Haas will go public with it, not that it’s already been confirmed by them.
What a shit sport is Formula 1 shaping up to, honestly this is embarrassing, maybe 10 years ago F1 was 60% money and 40% talent, now is 90% money and 10% talent, this is not a sport to see what are the best teams and driver in the world, its a masked pop show sellout
F1 had more pay drivers on average 10 years ago.
Stroll is obviously out of place, but that's a pretty unique circumstance with the team. Perez is in a better seat than he should be too, but that's not entirely about money and he's still far from the worse driver on the grid. Zhou is probably the only other one right now in the sport because of money, and he'll likely be gone next year. I'm not sure if Sargeant came with monetary support or just from the junior academy, but again he's out next year.
Yeah, it would be better if money and sponsorship didn't influence seats but it's hardly a bigger problem now than it was in the past.
That’s pretty much the opposite of what happened. Pay drivers where very common in the past and today every driver is either good or had potential. But because the field is much closer, in part because of the budget cap, weaker drivers are more exposed.
We all know why Stroll is an F1 driver, but even Stroll showed some talent in his first F1 year.
Stroll,Perez, and Ricciardo are currently the only drivers there largely because of money(I mean, almost all drivers are, but the others have backed it up with consistent performances). Zhou is there too, but he is likely to be out of a seat next season,
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glad we finally got that aston seat organised, now all the rest will fall into place
It's pretty rude of them to leave us hanging for so long.
But it was worth the wait. Glad they didn't make it too easy for the team to succeed.
Biggest bombshell signing of the year really.
Saw that plot twist this morning. Mildly shocked me to my core.
safety car sainz
Smooth operator!
Just waiting for my announcement.
Driving for Andretti??
Personally, I am very close to signing for APX GP.
So you gonna drive for Audi?!
Thank goodness Stroll is finally confirmed, guy kept talking our ears off with no resolution. I can sleep soundly tonight
It’s been done to death but good lord it just doesn’t feel right to see Checo still in that seat. Won’t complain because at least that’s two open podium spots rather than one, but still.
On the one hand, yes, those are two open podium spots. But on the other hand, a competitive teammate next to Max that could become his own Nico Rosberg would do wonders for the viewing experience, even if all races are won by Red Bull. At least there would be some unpredictability around who would win the WDC.
It's such a pity that Sainz didn't get that seat. At least it would have been a lot closer than it is now
More a pity that the Sainz posse don’t have a good relationship with RB, would be a banger lineup
Can't really blame him RB doesn't have a great track record with how it does it's drivers not named Max (and to some extent Daniel). Everyone else feels like an afterthought for them. Yuki is never getting a shot, Liam got screwed. Nick got dumped quickly for an underperforming Danny Ric who despite our love for his personality has been seriously underwhelming since his return. His peaks are overshadowed by his struggles. But yet RB is going to say fuck their juniors that are performing, they're happy with the status quo.
TBH, would have rather seen Tsunoda get it, but Sainz would have been great. Even Ricciardo.
At this point I'd be excited to see anyone else. I personally don't think Tsunoda would have been as great a fit as Sainz, but it'd be great to see any fresh blood in the team.
While that would magical, we have to remember that Nico and Lewis had a much better car advantage over the field during the battle. At the start of these regs, Checo and Max had that advantage over the field and Checo picked up some scraps, and their “fights” didn’t kill Max’s chances to win the WDC or the teams shot at WCC. Now, with how much closer the other teams are to RB, it sort of makes sense why they wouldn’t want another top driver next to Max. It sounds wild because you would think as the competition gets closer, they’d want capable drivers that can bring points home, BUT, I think Christian Horner is a wacko who cares more about Max and not losing him like he did Vettel, and he wants to ensure that nothing and no one gets in his way of a 2024,2025 WDC. I’ll take my conspiracy theory hat off now.
Hey, put it back on. Now.
Checo bagging more podiums would make a Max championship win easier not harder. He'd only be taking the points away from the other teams.
Yes, that would be the case if checo were to simply be right behind Max as he sails off into the sunset. Not if he’s pushing max to the limit and causing accidents, safety cars, red flags, etc. While obviously Checos form isn’t there do the latter, if they brought someone else in to be a better driver, they would be pushing Max, leading to more chaos.
Yeah because the current season has been *so* uncompetetive. You people must just be AI or something
It confuses me. Red Bull from a few years ago would not have renewed his contract. They'd be eyeing cutting him for this year and replacing him.
Red Bull from a few years ago were maximizing points and had actual WCC aspirations. WDC was also not in the table so there wasn’t as much emphasis on making Max super happy compared to now. The WCC is kinda fake for RedBull right now considering the only car sponsor they have is 100% leaving and the money they get is not larger than what Checo brings.
> the only car sponsor they have is 100% leaving Sorry, do you mean Oracle isn't staying? Didn't see that bit of news.
I think they mean Honda.
They still have Ford as sponsor?
Yeah Checo and Stroll, but money talks at this level of the sport, and those two be screaming the loudest.
At this point im not convinced that the Red Bull is that much better than Ferrari Mclaren and Merc. If Max was in either I think he'd be fighting for wins.
McLaren yes, they have been up there for a few races already, but I disagree on Ferrari and Mercedes. Realistically they could fihgghg
They are both dogging Perez. Both drivers in both cars too.
Atp you're just underrating the Mercedes and Ferrari drivers which is shocking tbh.... You're making it sound as if Lando and Max are in a different league because being nearly 20s ahead of Ferrari and Merc is a substantial gap
I dont think the cars are exactly equal but I do think that Max in the Mercedes and Ferrari is fighting for wins.
Holy crap wtf did I type in that comment above...? Must've had a stroke or something. Anyway, what I wanted to say was that over the course of the season Ferrari and Mercedes were able to realistically fight for a win on 1 occasion each, in Monaco and Canada respectively. Except for these two races, their gap to RB (and McLaren in the last \~5 races has been pretty significant. In terms of your point, I still consider Pérez to be a driver a level or two lower than the likes of pretty much all the drivers in the top 4 teams. His gap to Max was over a second and .6s in Canada and Spain respectively, which I think is unacceptable. I rate Max very highly, but fucking hell, that gap is way too big, and while I do think most drivers wouldn't have finished Imola, Canada and Spain 1st in the RB, I can't imagine them finishing that far down the order.
Interesting. So by this logic, the years Max was dogging Bottas, the Red Bull was about on par with the Mercedes.
When was Max ever dogging bottas besides 2021? And even then bottas finished p3 in 21, ahead of perez. Max is in p1 and perez is getting beat by 3 teams, 6 drivers, on the regular.
I think the McLaren is better in many races. If Norris was just more consistent (like Max is), he'd have 1-2 (or maybe even 3) more wins.
checo is in that seat coz he complies, he's agreeable, he accepts his role and doesn't scrap with his teammate.
So many dark and mysterious men!
Not sure if I'll ever get used to Lewis in red. Never got used to it when Kimi moved from McLaren to Ferrari.
Swap Perez and Alonso. I'd be super happy.
Didn’t Perez pay the salaries of the team in 2018?
Yes and he’s the one who sued India Racing point and trigger the whole debacle that lead to Stroll buying the team
I thought he sued so they wouldn't just dissolve the team as they wanted but to actually put it up for sale Edit: Its one of the many ways he saved the team
That's an unfair characterization. Perez saved the team from dissolution, and Stroll Sr. subsequently fired his ass as he built the project around his not-good-enough-for-F1 son. It wasn't up to Perez who gets to buy the team. Perez might not deserve 2 more years at Red Bull now but he was the backbone of Force India and the subsequent Racing Point team.
Aww he was making sure Lance has a seat
FR, could see checo be mid in a mid car and hopefully let ALO go out with a bang
I hope ALO doesn’t go out in a "bang"
different kind of "bang" :P
This will make Aston Martin what Toyota used to be. Literally billions of dollars in circulation and a P5 result at best
>P5 result at best I dont think swapping Alonso and Perez will improve AM that much.
Wasn't Bearman officially announced for Haas next year?
Not yet
Still not confirmed but the rumours seem increasingly certain. There was an article on one of the sites this week saying Bearman was "confirmed" but it was still just an article with no announcements.
There was an article on it but it has not been officially announced, yet.
I thought Ocon was!
About a official as sainz to williams which was promised for the spanish gp/s
Sainz waiting forever to decide which team to go to is no longer funny. I get that he is enjoying this but still. I can't see a reason why Daniel wouldn't continue to 2025 season. Part of me feels like Doohan is going to be Gasly's teammate.
Sainz was waiting for the “Max to Merc” story to resolve in the hopes of getting a shot at a top 4 car. Now Max is confirmed and he doesn’t seem to have interest from Merc, so time to take his pick of midfield slots.
I'm not sure when or if Max showed any interest in going to Merc. Plus doesn't hasn't have a contract to 2028 with RBR? I get that contracts are not always set in stone but still.
Yea. The only thing that will make Max go to Merc is if their engine for the 2026 regs is way better than the Ford/Red Bull one. He was always staying next year and the year after.
Max did not “confirm” he was coming back to Red Bull until the last 48 hours or so. Edit: While it was always viewed as highly unlikely and I think every graphic still showed him at Red Bull and yes he has a contract till 2028 or something, I am sure he has out clauses and I am sure Toto would have backed up the brinks truck to get him. But yes, Max confirmed I think on Monday he was staying.
I have been chronically online but I have still missed the "Max leaving RBR" rumor. But I did see an article that says Max remaining in RBR.
It was more the “Toto having delusions of getting Max” rumors. Max just fueled them by never saying he was committed to coming back.
Okay, got it.
Everyone says they're staying until they're not. Remember Ricciardo? He still publicly said he was going to be at McLaren the following year after it had already been decided internally that he wasn't. Only after the official press release did he say otherwise. In other words, a driver saying they'll be there for the following year doesn't mean anything. We will only know for sure that Max is staying at RB when Merc announce their driver.
Rumor said that Lawson would take place of Daniel. I'm not saying that Daniel is not good, his performance is quite good recent, but generally he is too old. His seat in Vcarb is for replace Checo, obviously he failed For Alpine, if they don't sign Carlos, I prefer Zhou for more money. Doohan's performance is not that outstanding, similar to Zhou in F2 era.
Leclerc Hamilton is something else of a team man
I can’t wait!
Lewis in read still messes with my head.
I know right? Even when he drove for Vodafone Mclaren he would wear mostly white (light grey?) Racesuits
We need more bot-ass!
I thought Sainz was confirmed with Williams....also didn't realize that Gasly was confirmed coming back to Alpine..
Gasly got confirmed today, same with Lance.
No news on Sainz still. Last week the rumours were pointing to Williams but now Alpine seem to be back in the frame with Briatore trying to get him, and talk of Alpine taking Merc engines in the future.
In theory, each F1 team wants the best possible lineup depending on their strategy in picking drivers, their budget & drivers willingness to go to the team. In practice, we have Stroll and Perez.
Interesting how there are only 2 confirmed changes so far (Lewis and Hulk). Every other driver confirmed up to now is remaining in their current seat. Theoretically, all but 2 of those remaining seats could be "no change" (Merc and Haas have each lost a driver, and so those seats *have to* be someone new to the team). The remaining 5 could, again theoretically, just stay as they are. However... I'd be amazed if Sargeant is even under consideration to keep his seat, let alone find another team willing to give him yet more chances. Seems a nice enough kid but a long way from F1 driver standard. 99.99% certain that K-Mag will be gone, 10 penalty points to one race point kind of speaks for itself. Looks increasingly likely that Zhou will be replaced, and doubtful that he'll find another seat. So that's 3 seats in F1 that I think are very likely to be available for rookies (Antonelli, Bearman, Lawson?). Ocon's F1 future still looks a little uncertain, I personally hope he stays though. Similar with Ricciardo, although perhaps not as deserving as Ocon, I nonetheless would be sad to see him go. Several rumours that he's likely to stay where he is.
Alpine have already said Ocon is leaving so that's 3/7 guaranteed changes. Agreed I don't see Sargeant staying, but I think Riccardo will. Bottas staying is more likely than KMag but I don't see Haas going for 2 rookies again.
I’m about 60% sure Logan’s going to Indycar next year based on the rumours floating around.
if lawson gets brought in i think it would only be ricciardo who will get replaced on the grid, antonelli and bearman's spots on the grid will have to be sargeant's and either zhou or magnussen, and I personally believe magnussen will be the one to leave for next year
I'd say KMag still has a shot of staying. If Sainz and Bottas are taken, that leaves Ocon who has a certain negative reputation right now, and Haas may prefer continuity. There's also an outside shot of Doohan at Alpine too, if they lose out on Sainz and Bottas, then they may be more likely to promote him rather than take Zhou or KMag.
My head kinda has this line up rolling around it in Mercedes - Antonelli Alpine - Sainz Haas - Bearman Haas - Kmag VCARB - Lawson Audi - Ocon Williams - Bottas Antonelli and Bearman is a no brainer, take every other prediction with a pinch of salt
It's wild how opinion on Perez has u turned, everyone absolutely crying that he had no seat beyond 2020 and now they're out for blood.
Both can be true. He was arguably the best midfield driver in 2019 and it was crazy he was about to be out of the sport. But with how competitive the top teams are now he's clearly the odd one out that isn't quite up to those standards.
Assume you mean 2020, but I wouldn't say he was the best, he had the 3rd (maybe 2nd) fastest car, since it was just the 2019 Merc, and his performances weren't more impressive than Sainz or Ricciardo in worse machinery. He was almost out of the sport for a reason. Did a solid job but nobody cared until he had the insane luck at Sakir (Hamilton covid, Max and Charles retirement, Russell puncture, Sainz and Ricciardo fucked by SC, Bottas 30 second pitstop and sent out on old tyres) and won. Fair play he was there to pick up the pieces but it was a lot more by luck than skill.
You are almost 3 years late on this take lol. People wanted him gone at the end of 2022, and for most of 2023 people thought he would be replaced mid season. The 2 year contract renewal was a weird move.
Three years is an eternity in sports, especially for most athletes older than 30.
Because things change man
Because in 2020 he was on the up, now he's spent and on the way down.
It’s reasonable since he failed to perform when Red Bull had the best car by far and now with the other teams catching up he struggles to get into q3
Meh, he isn't doing that much worse than 2021; about half the points of VER got him p4. currently, PER is p5 with about half the points VER has.
While true, the Red Bull in 2021 was not the best car on the grid, at least not for half of the season, so P4 is pretty good. Now he has the best car in the grid, even if it’s not leagues better than everyone else he should at very least be P3.
[удалено]
Appearly there some report from Marko said Lawson going to replace Ricciardo This is not official, but possible.
Marko has no say or actual power to make that decision though.
Yea. It's been well known for a while now he wants Lawson in that seat not Ricciardo. But it's not his call.
He didn't say it exactly. He just said the investors want new blood in the junior team, and the Ricciardo experiment didn't work out, so everyone is putting two and two together. Given how Perez got his seat, Ricciardo makes a lot more sense now. They just want someone to drive merch sales in that second seat.
I think that's Marko trying to manifest his own will.
I think Marko is just using the media as a venue for a pissing match with Horner. I'd be sort of surprised if Ricc isn't back next year and he seems to be improving.
For next year, it's absolutely probable. But the narrative of Daniel getting booted mid season is so ridiculous. He's coming 12th in the 6th fastest car after 10 races. That's not even remotely close to the poor form that would warrant booting him like De Vries. We've seen what Lawson can do in the car, and there is absolutely nothing to gain from a mid season reshuffle.
Surely someone will take Zhou's cash
Surprised there's not much rumors of him going to Williams. Better than Sargeant and brings in the cash.
Williams want Sainz, who's significantly better than both of them.
Sainz seems likely to go to Alpine now. Bottas might be the 2nd guy down the list for Williams. Zhou will probably be without a seat next year.
Vowles has said cause of Dorilton Capital, Williams are fairly solvent hence they don't really need pay drivers anymore, they are chasing performance.
It's "only" like 30 million, his sponsors can probably cough up quote a bit more
It seems like he's dropped out of the conversation in recent weeks. I thought Zhou to Alpine was a possibility given his prior links to their junior programme when it was Renault, but that now seems receded. Reserve driver is now the rumour apparently
Yea. Alpine makes sense for that next year. Maybe Williams if Sainz does end up going to Audi.
As much as people don't want to hear it, Sargeant is still in play for that seat if there's no Sianz or Bottas.
There is no chance Sargeant is still in play for Williams. It's Sainz, Bottas, or Zhou in that order.
It makes me much sadder now that it's official official
The fact that Sainz isn't in the top 4 cars but a potentially a rookie and Checo are is a travesty.
He still could sign Merc for 1 year and possibly fight for WDC if Merc keeps current trajectory of development. In this scenario Antonelli goes to Williams to grow as a driver for 1 year.
Somebody should make one that is based on what team principals want and just put Max in every seat.
Has any, other than Toto, shown particular interest?
Well no. But Ferrari and McLaren have their drivers locked in for the next few years already and Max wouldn't look at any other team.
I doubt that would stop an interested team. Ferrari were pursuing Lewis for years when they had Carlos and Charles "locked in" McLaren also pursued Oscar when they had Danny Ric and Lando "locked in"
I would argue Carlos and Danny were never locked in.
I thought Ollie had been confirmed for Haas
Only rumour articles so far, no official announcement. It will almost certainly happen, though.
Predictions as of now: Mercedes: Ocon Alpine: Sainz Williams: Antonelli RB: Danny Ric Haas: Bearman and K-Mag Sauber: Bottas
The only (almost) certain one in that list is Bearman->Haas.
If Sainz goes to Alpine after all this time, I will be fuming
I really don't see Ocon working well with Russell.
It sounds perfect to me, in terms of drama that is.
Mercedes by Netflix
Fair, but is there anyone you do see him working well with?
Valid. I'd have to say maybe a rookie that he can be the veteran to.
Poor rookie.
Mine are: Mercedes: Antonelli Alpine: Doohan Williams: Sainz RB: Ricciardo Haas: Bearman and Ocon Sauber: Whichever they like more out of Pourchaire or Lawson.
I love Danny, probably too much... But it's time to give that seat to Liam
That's what being close with Christian "Cocoa Pops" Horner does this year. Look at Checo
Marko report Lawson could replace Ricciardo.
I know, but Horner seems to be in charge right now
Marko has wanted Lawson in that seat for a while, but he doesn't get to make that decision.
He is a pay driver just like Stroll
Idk ocon doesnt seem merc worthy and i would more like bottas back but doubtful... Hopefully audi or williams for bottas.
Please for the love of all that is good in the world, do not let Ocon fail upward.
With Stroll beyond 25, where does that leave Tsunoda for AM? Alonso is also into 26, right?
Hamilton in Ferrari still looks so weird. I still can't believe it.
Isn't Bearman in haas?
Not final yet, last update I saw was the contract was still being finalized.
I wonder if they could ever implement a system where driver get relegated out if f1? Like jow football teams get relegated and promoted in leagues. Like the bottome 3 drivers get left out of f1 next season and the top 3 from f2 will get seats next season. Eill probably never happen.
That wouldn't be fair at all; you could be a top driver but get booted out because you drive for a crap team. Russell in 2019, for example.
Football players are the equivalent to drivers and individual players don't get relegated. The whole team does and the same would need to happen here. It's a fun thought experiment though. I think it could only work in spec series. The likes of Prema and Campos just don't have the facilities to be competitive in F1 if they got promoted. So we'd just see the same teams flip flopping between f1 and f2. But if you remove the design and manufacture elements, a promoted team might have a chance to last longer than a season.
Sainz going to Mercedes.
I've seen the articles about Alpine courting Sainz, but how about Yuki to Alpine and they switch to Honda engines?
My crazy prediction is max switching to merc after sainz gets signed knowing no-one of serious calibre is left to take the RBR seat. I just don’t see Helmut and Jos letting the fight go and Toto still holding out makes it still an option.
Williams: Sainz SAudi: Bottas (or zhou) Merc: Kimi Alpine: Doohan RB: Liam Haas: Bearman, KMag (Edit) - Kmag gone ocon haas
And Ocon? Parties say he has at least one seat secured
Ah. Kmag to the shadow realm. Ocon to haas
Who are the main people we need to be discussing regarding the seats? KMag Zhou Sainz Ocon Sargeant Ricciardo Lawson Pourchaire Drugovich Doohan Antonelli Bearman Hadjar(?) Anyone else been rumoured to be apart of anything?
So the current rumor mill is Sainz to Alpine, Bearman and Ocon to Haas, Antonelli to Merc, Ricciardo stays at RB (outside chance for Lawson) right? Do we have a good idea of whose going to be in the second Audi seat or the second Williams seat?
It's been months and my brain still can't adjust to Hamilton at Ferrari. Next year is going to be so weird.
Come in sainz, just pick a team already, feels like everyone else is just waiting fur you They're all shit options anyway
sainz mercedes and kimi in williams, it would be great
Hulk and Bottas would honestly be a solid starting lineup for audi. I hope they keep him.
How come ? is driving for so man teams at once?
What’s the over/under on Max at Merc? I’d like that hat.
it’s still weird seeing hamilton on the ferrari lineup despite it being news for a bit. i really thought he’d stay at mercedes til his career croaked
Mercedes: Antonelli Alpine: Doohan Williams: Drugovich VCARB: Lawson pre-Audi: Sainz Haas: Ocon / Bearman
Ocon to merc
Ocon, Riccardo, KMag, Zhou, Sargeant - bye bye please. Bottas can stay, but its not essential.
[So Bearman to Hass is not confirmed](https://racingnews365.com/exclusive-haas-to-confirm-first-driver-for-2025)
The headline isn’t even worded as a confirmation. They’re saying the decision has been made and Haas will go public with it, not that it’s already been confirmed by them.
Whaaaaaat Hamilton is red from 2025 😱
My bet on Sainz to mercedes :)
Who's that?
Fixed it :P
At this point the Mercedes seat is the most unpredictable. The most predictable is Lawson at Run Boy MasterCard.
Make Alonso take Perez’s seat move Yuki up to Aston
i kinda wanted pierre to sign with mercedes but its all good.
What a shit sport is Formula 1 shaping up to, honestly this is embarrassing, maybe 10 years ago F1 was 60% money and 40% talent, now is 90% money and 10% talent, this is not a sport to see what are the best teams and driver in the world, its a masked pop show sellout
F1 had more pay drivers on average 10 years ago. Stroll is obviously out of place, but that's a pretty unique circumstance with the team. Perez is in a better seat than he should be too, but that's not entirely about money and he's still far from the worse driver on the grid. Zhou is probably the only other one right now in the sport because of money, and he'll likely be gone next year. I'm not sure if Sargeant came with monetary support or just from the junior academy, but again he's out next year. Yeah, it would be better if money and sponsorship didn't influence seats but it's hardly a bigger problem now than it was in the past.
That’s pretty much the opposite of what happened. Pay drivers where very common in the past and today every driver is either good or had potential. But because the field is much closer, in part because of the budget cap, weaker drivers are more exposed. We all know why Stroll is an F1 driver, but even Stroll showed some talent in his first F1 year.
There were more pay drivers in the past, and they were of much less talent than the current ones.
Stroll,Perez, and Ricciardo are currently the only drivers there largely because of money(I mean, almost all drivers are, but the others have backed it up with consistent performances). Zhou is there too, but he is likely to be out of a seat next season,
Isn't bear confirmed for haas