Formula 1 - F1 - Current Season Discussion

[idfnl]

Good question. Its likely Werhlein, who I don't really rate.

Very interesting development now that seats have been filled. I suspect Merc won't challenge Hamilton with a senior driver.

 

[prozach1576]

Yeah that would be my guess too, unless perhaps Wolff can leverage his connections with Williams to do a deal for Bottas. They really don't want to let him go though. My wife and I met some people from the team at a bar in Montreal and they were pretty clear that they wanted to retain Bottas at all costs, they love him.

Driver market will be nuts next year

 

[sugarbutch]

Amazing. It doesn't change my opinion of him as a racer, but I think I may have to reassess him as a person.

 

[Texasmade]

If it is Pascal, then he really lucked out. I remember a few weeks ago, Pascal was pretty pissed when FI took Ocon over him and his choices were either Sauber or Manor. Now there's a decent chance he gets the big dog seat after having done the tire testing for Mercedes.

 

[Joffrey]

Not all that shocked. Unexpected development but if you think about it it makes sense. Where were things at Mercedes really going to go from Abu Dhabi? He won his championship, finally beating Lewis and getting the "2nd best" monkey off his back. What would happen at Mercedes for next year? Would he up his game, do it all over again or just lose to Lewis and prove 2016 was just an anomaly? He reached his target why not just exit and focus on his family.

I'm happy he won. I'm happy he gets to leave on his own terms. Very few are able to do that.

Now, unless a team steps up for next year or Mercedes gets a seriously great replacement, 2017 may be a loooooong season.

PS - I again won't be shocked if Rosberg changes his mind on retirement and becomes available for 2018 when Raikkonen's contract is up.

 

[Pilot]

Seems like a complete ***** move. Doesn't want to battle it out again with Lewis?

 

[idfnl]



If it is Pascal, then he really lucked out. I remember a few weeks ago, Pascal was pretty pissed when FI took Ocon over him and his choices were either Sauber or Manor. Now there's a decent chance he gets the big dog seat after having done the tire testing for Mercedes.

Nobody will say he lucked out in a year when Lewis wipes the floor with him. In F1 you only need to be outperformed for a season to be relegated to 2nd driver status for your whole career.

 

[idfnl]



Seems like a complete ***** move. Doesn't want to battle it out again with Lewis?

Some guys just need a main course, others need a 5 course meal. Nico achieved his goal, and would find it hard to find motivation.

 

[sugarbutch]

He was never going to repeat this year's performance. Giving everything he had, he still won only because his teammate had worse luck. That's not to take anything away from him because in the end it's what's on the scoreboard. But this was as good as it was ever going to get.

 

[chobochobo]

Maybe, maybe not. It's all conjecture.

 

[Dragon]



He was never going to repeat this year's performance. Giving everything he had, he still won only because his teammate had worse luck. That's not to take anything away from him because in the end it's what's on the scoreboard. But this was as good as it was ever going to get.

Exactly. Nico knows this better than anyone else, and is probably a major reason he decided to quit. Let's face it...it was basically 3-0 in favor of Hamilton so there is no reason to expect things will be different next year and beyond.

I wonder if Mercedes will go after Alonso or just go with a junior driver...interesting waiting for the outcome if the offseason.

 

[idfnl]



Exactly. Nico knows this better than anyone else, and is probably a major reason he decided to quit. Let's face it...it was basically 3-0 in favor of Hamilton so there is no reason to expect things will be different next year and beyond.

I wonder if Mercedes will go after Alonso or just go with a junior driver...interesting waiting for the outcome if the offseason.

Don't think they have a choice, nobody of merit is available any longer. Other than Max, I don't think anyone wants to be partnered with Hamilton either. Maybe for the paycheck, but otherwise.

Give Antonio Felix da Costa a 1 year deal, he just won Macau for the second time in style, completely dominating the weekend in one of the hardest races in the world.

 

[Joffrey]

Don't think this has been posted before but a pretty good top 10 list for 2016. The journalist does the NBCSports coverage from the race track. The Rosberg section made me think a bit: https://willthef1journo.wordpress.com/ Not that it's anything I already didn't know but for some reason some points hadn't been highlighted by other journalists' reactions to Roberg's requirement.

 

[idfnl]



Don't think this has been posted before but a pretty good top 10 list for 2016. The journalist does the NBCSports coverage from the race track. The Rosberg section made me think a bit: https://willthef1journo.wordpress.com/ Not that it's anything I already didn't know but for some reason some points hadn't been highlighted by other journalists' reactions to Roberg's requirement.

D Ricc at #1? I dont understand that.


This was interesting re Hamilton:

There is no way of getting around the fact that Nico Rosberg entered 2016 as the better prepared of the Mercedes drivers. With a tricky clutch on the W07 Hybrid, it was the German who had gone to great lengths to understand its intricacies in pre-season, while Hamilton took time to get to grips with it once the season had started. The lost positions he suffered at race starts throughout the year is thus on him. Some will argue that Hamilton’s focus wasn’t fully committed to the sport in the early part of the season either, with so much time being spent Stateside playing at being a model or a musician.

Where we heard this before?

 

[Dragon]



Don't think they have a choice, nobody of merit is available any longer. Other than Max, I don't think anyone wants to be partnered with Hamilton either. Maybe for the paycheck, but otherwise.

Give Antonio Felix da Costa a 1 year deal, he just won Macau for the second time in style, completely dominating the weekend in one of the hardest races in the world.

I don't think anyone in F1 is expecting a huge shift even with the new regulations coming up, so Mercedes is still the most desirable seat in F1. If you partner with Hamilton you basically have a 50/50 chance of becoming World Champion (like Rosberg) so some drivers might want to break their contracts for a shot at becoming WC. Of course all that might be wrong and we might see Red Bull being the best car next year, even Ferrari making a huge jump, or Mclaren surprising us, but best bet is probably Mercedes or Red Bull at the top for at least a couple more years. If I were Mercedes I would hire Alonso.