Silly Season 2018/2019

[notsofast]

Stroll isn't officially confirmed either, is he?

[Sawtooth-spike]

Stroll isn't officially confirmed either, is he?

True, But i think his dad has done the Ultimate "buy in a seat" option. I think the only step he could go further is to make a whole new formula for his son to compete in.

[marmer]

Stroll isn't officially confirmed either, is he?

True, But i think his dad has done the Ultimate "buy in a seat" option. I think the only step he could go further is to make a whole new formula for his son to compete in.

would be great if his dad decides he wants to have a better drivers to aid performance so lance never actually races for force india lol i actually suspect thats why he hasn't gone yet

[Jolle]

Stroll isn't officially confirmed either, is he?

True, But i think his dad has done the Ultimate "buy in a seat" option. I think the only step he could go further is to make a whole new formula for his son to compete in.

would be great if his dad decides he wants to have a better drivers to aid performance so lance never actually races for force india lol i actually suspect thats why he hasn't gone yet

Maybe he has to do the dishes before he gets his seat....

[Peter1919]

I suspect its more a case of Williams have a contract with Lance Stroll and Lawrence Stroll doesn't want to have to pay to get him out of it as well as paying Merc for dropping Ocon especially when Ocon knows the car.

[Phil]

It's actually been more or less clear (Joe Saward blogged about it) that Mercedes have a lot of power with what happens at Force-India for THIS season. In other words, if Stroll would force his son to race for Racing Point India at the expense of Ocon, they wouldn't have any engines. So there's no way Stroll can drive for Force-India this season. Next season? Pretty much expect Stroll to be there alongside Perez, even if it hasn't been confirmed yet.

I suspect there may be still some discussions going on with Mercedes. The question is; how much leverage do they have? At what cost? What are the alternatives for Ocon? With Toto pretty much confirming there is a likelihood that Ocon could not be racing in F1 next year, I'd say not enough to stop Stroll from placing his son at Force-India at the expense of Ocon. On the other hand, surely Perez has a price on his head too. Can he be bought out by Mercedes to give up his seat? At what price? How much is Ocon worth?

[Big Tea]

As part of the new ownership, Stroll Snr wants as many points in the bank as possible before year end.
I doubt he would do anything to cost himself (and the company) money when he sort of put his name to it being a good deal.

I think he/they will look carefully at things for a while. His son is driving in F1, so unless he is guaranteed a move to a better team, there is little to gain.
FI as a more developed team would be a far better option than FI just recovering form a near death experience.

[Manoah2u]

i'll repeat my opinion about the whole matter.

after seeing absolute rocket talents like Kamui Kobayashi get dumped whilst complete garbage bags like Ericsson and Guiterrez kept or got seats, i honestly can't be bothered to care for somebody like Ocon, nor do i really feel that same way about Stroll. I'd still much rather see Kubica in a race seat, but even there i could say 'he had his chance'. And that is coming from a 'fan' with a lot of respect for his 'comeback'. At one point i'd like to see opportunities arise for young talents to enter the sport, for example Lando Norris, Mick Schumacher, and so on.
On the other hand, i've seen plenty of people jump on tables shouting and screaming for attention how guys like VanDoorne are the next big thing, likewise Gasly.
All in all, they're complete and utter trash.
One is now shown the door, the other somehow got rewarded a race seat at RedBull. Something i honestly can't figure out, how on earth Alonso or Kvyat weren't handed that seat.

Meanwhile other talents like Sainz are doomed to drive for lousy Mclarens next year (lets hope there can be improvement though), and somehow great talents like Ricciardo actually go for the most nonsensical decisions as driving for Renault.

But, all that, has never ever been different in F1, ever.

Guys like Take Inoue have become like a 'meme' in F1, but just as much kept the door closed for talents back in those days.
Just like guys like Barrichello staying in F1 seemingly indefinately also caused ripple effects and as such, the door shut for talents.
At the meantime, it's not like Barrichello was bad, heck, he was a talent just as much.

Ocon i think has no place to go but to go to Williams. If he doesn't want that, then you're on your own. He should be feeling darn lucky to get into such a blast of a team as Force India anyway.
Remember how Ricciardo's F1 start happened with a RedBull-sponsored seat in a HRT Hispania F1 team?

I am quite positively surprised to see Leclerc will be driving for Ferrari though. Only makes me imagine what would have become of Jules Bianchi though, such a sad passing. Reminiscent of the talent lost of Ronald Ratzenberger. It is how it is, though.

In a few years time, there'll be a whole nother bunch of drivers going throuhg the same.

[Morteza]

https://twitter.com/marshallpruett/stat ... 1056958464

[falonso81]

The Gasly move i can understand from the point that it is a safe No2 driver to Max and he is from their young driver programme. They are really keen on that at RedBull. On the other hand i agree that they could have given Kvyat another chance. As a Ferrari supporter i hated him for what he did to Vettel in Russia but did not like the way he was demoted to STR and then shown the way out of F1. I dont know if Gasly will perform at RedBull. Its going to be a Max team there.

About Sainz. I was happy for him that he got out of that STR loop he got stuck, but hearing the news that he will join McLaren i feel sorry for him. A very good driver but going to fade away im afraid. His career did not take the turn he expected.

Ricciardo, what can you say about him. Leaving RedBull is understantable. The bet is if Renault can deliver.

The most exciting move for 2019 is without doubt Leclerc. I hope that he can cope with the immense pressure being in that Ferrari seat.

[NL_Fer]

Ricciardo, he made a strategic choice, since little chance is that Renault will be a wdc/wcc car anytime. But Redbull honda isn’t either in ‘19. He is waiting/cashing till a Ferrari/Merc ride comes along in ‘20-‘21. Hoping that the Hulk will make him look good, instead of being seen as a nr2 when Redbull development will be focussing on Verstappen.

Gasly the next big thing or average good compared to Hartley.

One a really fear is Lando Norris. He seems naturaly fast, but very inconsistent. Also his disinterest in technical side (like current F2 clutch operation) and alround immature attitude makes me fear for another disaster at McLaren like Perez/Magnussen/VanDoorne have suffered.

[lio007]

Alex Albon @ Toro Rosso in 2019!?

https://m.lematin.ch/articles/5bb78608ab5c375017000001

[Manoah2u]

Alex Albon @ Toro Rosso in 2019!?

https://m.lematin.ch/articles/5bb78608ab5c375017000001

i'd actually quite like that. somebody straight out of nowhere, somehow.
and it would be pretty cool if he'd be pretty awesome at it too.

[Morteza]

https://twitter.com/Motorsport/status/1 ... 8679643136

[Jolle]

I just looked at Lando Norris' results over the year in F2, is there a reason he only had one win and one pole? seems a bit thin for how he's been hyped...