Silly Season 2018/2019

[ScottB]

And when was the last time ferrari put one of their juniors in the car ? Has leclerc been confirmed yet ?

OK, then Mercedes should be ashamed of themselves... as soon as LeClerc is confirmed to Ferrari. Among all these junior drivers, Esteban Ocon is the best by miles, bar none, yet he doesn't have a seat confirmed for 2019. Rather than loose Lando, Mclaren have signed him up, but Mercedes have extended Bottas and given him an option for 2020 as well.

Well, back when Merc confirmed Bottas, I imagine at that point, it was pretty much nailed on that Ocon would have done another year or two at Force India.

I do wonder if this had all happened a bit sooner, would they have dropped Valteri for Esteban...

[ScottB]

The big one now is, who partners Stroll at Force India?

Mercedes only really have two options for Ocon, stay put, or Williams. The Perez to Mclaren story obviously can't happen, but if Leclerc goes to Ferrari, Perez to Haas? I'm sure they were linked earlier in the year...

RPFI - Ocon / Stroll
Haas - Perez / KMag
Sauber - Giovinazzi / Ericsson
STR - Kyvat / Hartley or a random junior, Albon maybe
Williams - Russell / Whichever Russian has the most cash

That would mean every team bar Mercedes having at least one new driver, which is pretty crazy!

[Ground Effect]

And when was the last time ferrari put one of their juniors in the car ? Has leclerc been confirmed yet ?

OK, then Mercedes should be ashamed of themselves... as soon as LeClerc is confirmed to Ferrari. Among all these junior drivers, Esteban Ocon is the best by miles, bar none, yet he doesn't have a seat confirmed for 2019. Rather than loose Lando, Mclaren have signed him up, but Mercedes have extended Bottas and given him an option for 2020 as well.

Well, back when Merc confirmed Bottas, I imagine at that point, it was pretty much nailed on that Ocon would have done another year or two at Force India.

I do wonder if this had all happened a bit sooner, would they have dropped Valteri for Esteban...

What was the rush? Most times, these things are confirmed after the summer break. Force India have been in trouble for a while, but maybe they thought he was going to Renault.
Back when Mercedes signed Valtteri, I was of the opinion that the seat should have been given to Wehrlein, if he then disappointed, then Ocon should have been promoted in 2018 after impressing last year. Sometimes you'll end up with a Kvyat, but sometimes you'll end up with a Ricciardo or Verstappen or Vettel. Mercedes should take responsibility, if a class driver like Ocon is not in F1 next year. From day one, he's been on Checo's pace and is getting better by the day. You've got to take a leap once in a while.

[Fulcrum]

Mercedes must be loving the shuffling.

While they retain the best driver, and an able wingman, Ferrari and Red Bull appear to have lost one of: experience, speed, consistency; when measured across both drivers. The other teams are of no major concern to Mercedes at this stage, but the same principles would apply to most - with the possible exception of Renault.

[kptaylor]

STR - VAN/?? (Albon, Kyvat)
HAAS - PER/MAG
RPFI - STR/OCO
Williams - RUS/KUB

[ringo]

Ferrari will never take a rookie. Leclerc isn't going there.
Perez will go there and ease the pressure off the silly season and the pieces will fall where they may:

Ferrari: VET/PER
Mercedes: HAM//BOT
Red Bull: VES/GAS
McLaren: SAI/NOR
Findia: STR/OCO
Sauber: LEC/GIO
Toro Rosso: KVY/RAI
Haas: GRO/MAG
Williams: SIR/KUB
Renault: RIC/HUL

Kimi retires

[Ground Effect]

Ferrari will never take a rookie. Leclerc isn't going there.
Perez will go there and ease the pressure off the silly season and the pieces will fall where they may:

Ferrari: VET/PER
Mercedes: HAM//BOT
Red Bull: VES/GAS
McLaren: SAI/NOR
Findia: STR/OCO
Sauber: LEC/GIO
Toro Rosso: KVY/RAI
Haas: GRO/MAG
Williams: SIR/KUB
Renault: RIC/HUL

Kimi retires

Toro Rosso: KVY/RAI ???

[Jolle]

Ferrari will never take a rookie. Leclerc isn't going there.
Perez will go there and ease the pressure off the silly season and the pieces will fall where they may:

Ferrari: VET/PER
Mercedes: HAM//BOT
Red Bull: VES/GAS
McLaren: SAI/NOR
Findia: STR/OCO
Sauber: LEC/GIO
Toro Rosso: KVY/RAI
Haas: GRO/MAG
Williams: SIR/KUB
Renault: RIC/HUL

Kimi retires

Toro Rosso: KVY/RAI ???

Double Vodka Red Bull please

[Big Tea]

Ferrari will never take a rookie. Leclerc isn't going there.
Perez will go there and ease the pressure off the silly season and the pieces will fall where they may:

Ferrari: VET/PER
Mercedes: HAM//BOT
Red Bull: VES/GAS
McLaren: SAI/NOR
Findia: STR/OCO
Sauber: LEC/GIO
Toro Rosso: KVY/RAI
Haas: GRO/MAG
Williams: SIR/KUB
Renault: RIC/HUL

Kimi retires

Toro Rosso: KVY/RAI ???

I think Kimi would fit in better at Williams. He is no longer spectacular, but he races well and and does not cause crashes or dump his car. He would get consistent good finishes for Williams and he has a lot of knowledge, so even if he does not say much, he is going to know what the car is or is or doing to his liking.
Depending on his asking price, his points earned will go a long way to covering his cost as well as being a stable element for the car

[PlatinumZealot]

Stoffel leaves McLaren at the end of 2018. He just posted it himself on Instagram.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BnQrvtvlZbT ... u95exfrp25

In light of recent rumours I'd love to see Kimi find another seat (although it looks like he'll probably retire to family life). Possible seats could be McLaren? Haas? Sounds like Haas don't want to wait and see what drivers are left at the end of the season, nor do they want Ferrari to dictate who to hire.

Would be great to have a SAINZ / PEREZ at McLaren. With a reliable Renault engine (big ask) they may be able to pull the team out of the ashes for 2019.

That'd keep a seat at Team Stroll for OCON and Lance, and allow Williams to take on another Russian pay-driver / daddy's boy. Perhaps they could then seek a title sponsor in the form of a top brand vodka (not too far removed from Martini).

Was he kicked to the curb or was he the one that moved first? I hope he get's the Sauber seat.

[ringo]

Ferrari will never take a rookie. Leclerc isn't going there.
Perez will go there and ease the pressure off the silly season and the pieces will fall where they may:

Ferrari: VET/PER
Mercedes: HAM//BOT
Red Bull: VES/GAS
McLaren: SAI/NOR
Findia: STR/OCO
Sauber: LEC/GIO
Toro Rosso: KVY/RAI
Haas: GRO/MAG
Williams: SIR/KUB
Renault: RIC/HUL

Kimi retires

Toro Rosso: KVY/RAI ???

Haha i forgot to edit!
Toro rosso is anybody. Hartely is basically disposable. They can throw in Erricson or Maldonado for what its worth.

Kimi has an expensive taste. I think he will leave if he doesnt have a car he thinks he can win in. Even though it looks like he will never win again; he likes to have the luxury of the possibility to win. So retirement for him if he loses his seat this year.

[hemichromis]

Kimi has shown signs of his old self this year. He has also shown that he will follow team orders and support Seb.
He's staying at Ferrari.

[Manoah2u]

Kimi has shown signs of his old self this year. He has also shown that he will follow team orders and support Seb.
He's staying at Ferrari.

He's also shown that he couldn't keep hamilton behind him, nor overtake bottas fcol when it mattered most.
losing the italian GP did not go down well i'm sure.

[djos]

Kimi has shown signs of his old self this year. He has also shown that he will follow team orders and support Seb.
He's staying at Ferrari.

He's also shown that he couldn't keep hamilton behind him, nor overtake bottas fcol when it mattered most.
losing the italian GP did not go down well i'm sure.

In fairness, Mercedes trapped him behind Bottas and he ruined his tires trying to get past. That set him up nicely for Hamilton to take advantage of the situation, which he did.

[WaikeCU]

Kimi won't drive anything that won't give him a shot at the Championship, so...

- Williams = No
- STR = No
- Sauber = No

Why is there no deal yet with Ferrari? Maybe Ferrari are just waiting it out and seeing if Leclerc is really ready for the big job.