The 2017 F1 driver transfer discussion/speculation threadFormula 1

[dingodile_r89]

Will be interesting to see who gets the seat at Williams then.

Knowing Jenson's luck 2017 will be the year McHonda pull it together and under new reg's dominate

That's Alonso's "luck".

It's a little sad to see Jenson leaving. So, Alonso and Raikkonen are the only "old timers" left now.

 

[DK]

Off topic or not? Bernie & Co will sell probably this Tuesday F1 to Liberty Media. What will be the consequences? F1 to NYSE? Kiss cam after every 10 laps during the race

IMHO I think that if Liberty Media - one of the biggest telecoms conglomerates in the world, whose portfolio includes Virgin Media here and in the UK - manage to wrest F1 from CVC, that deserves its own thread.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

Will be interesting to see who gets the seat at Williams then.

With Button on sabbatical and Pérez reportedly staying at Force India (though I have not seen confirmation of it just yet), it's blown the seat wide open. Nasr and Stroll seem to be the two candidates at the moment, and Wehrlein is a popular suggestion, but people are still trying to make the case for Lynn. I have even heard people trying to argue for Jolyon Palmer. And I swear that I heard David Croft talking Daniil Kvyat during qualifying, though I freely admit that I was only half paying attention.

If Williams really want to do something interesting, they should get Antonio Giovinazzi.

Also, if it's a notable event...

IMHO I think that if Liberty Media - one of the biggest telecoms conglomerates in the world, whose portfolio includes Virgin Media here and in the UK - manage to wrest F1 from CVC, that deserves its own thread.

We already have just such a thread.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

Adam Cooper suggests that Lance Stroll is the front-runner for the Willians seat:

http://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/stroll-on-pole-for-williams-race-seat-in-2017-815410/

 

[mustafur]

Seems like it, apparently he can bring $30 million with him to a seat as well.

 

[Fryto]

Seems like it, apparently he can bring $30 million with him to a seat as well.

Nice amount... Although I doubt it will cover the cost of the cars he will wreck...

 

[LumpiestFish]

Vertsappen is pretty much proof that getting drivers so young is better than schooling the driver through the developmental series. Starting so young, they learn to race against the drivers they'll be racing against for years to come, all while learning the car much quicker.

 

[Famine]

Some outlets are reporting that Gasly has told Spanish television that he will be driving Daniil Kvyat's Toro Rosso from Singapore 2016 onwards - rather suggesting he'll be at TR for 2017.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

Some outlets are reporting that Gasly has told Spanish television that he will be driving Daniil Kvyat's Toro Rosso from Singapore 2016 onwards - rather suggesting he'll be at TR for 2017.

I don't see it myself, if only because Red Bull wouldn't allow him to let the cat out of the bag like that. I seem to recall a story about someone - Nigel Mansell, I think, but I'm probably wrong - who discussed a contract before the team were ready, earning their ire and maybe even having it cancelled.

 

[Bram Turismo]

Vertsappen is pretty much proof that getting drivers so young is better than schooling the driver through the developmental series. Starting so young, they learn to race against the drivers they'll be racing against for years to come, all while learning the car much quicker.

I disagree.

Max just happens to be a pure talent, and as we've seen at Spa, his racecraft still leaves a lot to be desired.
I'd rather see a young driver develop their racecraft, and respect towards other drivers in series where the missiles go slightly slower. It was only a matter of time before Max would cause a serious crash at Spa.

I still think Max is a little too immature, but there's no doubt about his ability to drive an F1 car fast.

 

[Akmuq]

See what Vandoorne does next year to see if it's true..

 

[prisonermonkeys]

Looking at Gasly's comments, it sounds like he has said that he would happily sacrifice the GP2 title if he got called up to replace Kvyat, and that he would be ready to race at the next round if asked. That has somehow morphed into "I'm replacing Kvyat at the next race".

 

[prisonermonkeys]

Helmut Marko denies Kvyat will be replaced (for now):

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/126046/marko-denies-gasly-will-take-kvyat-drive

 

[prisonermonkeys]

More on Gasly: apparently he was told that he would be racing in Singapore by someone from Renault - which is curious because Toro Rosso use Ferrari power (for now). Gasly says that his reaction to this new was surprise, since it was the first time that he had heard it.

Wild theory time - Kvyat isn't leaving Toro Rosso; Sainz is. Sainz is in the most awkward position in Formula One, unable to break into a top team because Red Bull will hold onto Ricciardo and Verstappen for as long as possible. In order to move up, first he has to go sideways. With Sainz out, Kvyat fills the same role as Vergne: a (relatively) experienced barometer for Gasly's success.

Of course, if Sainz is leaving Toro Rosso for Renault, someone at Renault has to go; I can't imagine that he would sit a third of the season on the sidelines, especially since from Renault's perspective, getting him early would give them an opportunity to work with him. And Red Bull would certainly have the resources to buy Magnussen or Palmer out of their seat (especially as a show of good faith to Renault).

 

[prisonermonkeys]

A couple of other little bits and pieces:

• Kevin Magnussen will apparently know about his 2017 fate before Singapore.
• Claire Williams has said that her team plans to announce their 2017 line-up soon while Lance Stroll has upped his testing programme, prompting speculation that he will race in 2017 and the team are simply waiting for him to secure the European Formula 3 title and turn eighteen to qualify for a superlicence.
• Antonio Giovinazzi has spent a day testing on Ferrari's simulator at Maranello; he hasn't been taken into their development programme, but I wouldn't be surprised if he is.

 

[Bram Turismo]

There was an interview with Vandoorne on the radio today. The guy said he's spending a ton of time getting super-fit, as well as constantly talking to every single engineer McLaren has about next year's regulations and the development of the car.

Sounds to me Stoffel will join the grid well prepared. Can't wait!

 

[prisonermonkeys]

Autobild are claiming that Carlos Slim is trying to get Sergio Pérez out of Force India and into Renault, and that if he can't do it, then he'll try and get Esteban Gutiérrez into the seat, which would then pave the way for Nico Hülkenberg to go to Haas and Pascal Wehrlein to move to Force India.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

Rumours abound that Carlos Slim has bought Force India, but the team deny it.

Artem Markelov is apparently in talks to join a team, but as testing and development driver; racing is apparently an outside chance at best.

 

[BrainsBush]

High ambition of RBR, Helmut Marko; 2017 Max will be champ in a Red Bull.

http://www.formula1.com/en/latest/i...t-calibre---exclusive-q-a-with-red-bulls.html

 

[Bram Turismo]

Future champion? Definitely.

Next year? No.

Ricciardo would be a better bet.

 

[FutureF1]

I swear if Red Bull pull a 2010 on Ricciardo I'm out. It's bad enough they shortchanged Webber, Ricciardo is 10x Webber's talent(which says a lot) and should be treated like a 1st driver. I don't care who Marko's favorite is, the drivers should be given equal tools to take the fight.

 

[mustafur]

Marko never said Max will be Champion next year, he said Redbull is ready to be Champions next year.

Q: Everybody seems to believe that Max is a future champion. When will he be ready - and when will Red Bull Racing be ready?

HM: We think that we are ready next year. We’ve always done well when there is a regulation change that doesn’t only focus on the engine. And the work on our engine is developing in the right direction, so in 2017 we should be within around 15 horsepower [of Mercedes] - and this we can compensate for. So our aim is to challenge Mercedes next season.

Im not 100% if Marko is equal with the two drivers, the Spanish GP was a pretty hard pill to swallow, but Ricciardo is no Webber, as of now he looks the fastest driver at the team, plus he is a product of Markos driver program which Webber wasn't so there is no real incentive to make him look bad as both drivers do since he brought them to F1(Ricciardo even more so as he picked him up well before anyone really knew who he was or even won a title in any catagory).

Pretty poor Clickbait journalism by Formula 1, you would expect better.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

More good news for Stoffel Vandoorne - he has just won his first Super Formula race at Okayama.

 

[jake2013guy]

It amazed me that Giovinazzi isn't in any form of academy at all. Far too quick to not be.

In other news, i've read that Massa's manager had talks with Renault and Haas before announcing his retirement but the market had a small influence.

Nasr thinks this month will be the month of "decisions."

Somebody I think will surely be in contention for the Renault drive probably to replace Palmer would be Oliver Rowland. Can match the Premas on occasions and has impressed me if nobody else.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

Somebody I think will surely be in contention for the Renault drive probably to replace Palmer would be Oliver Rowland.

They're already known to be shopping around for Pérez, Bottas and Sainz, have options on Magnussen and Palmer, and are widely expected to take Ocon. Rowland's name hasn't come up.

The cynic in me suspects that Rowland is only really in GP2 for the sake of the Racing Steps Foundation - RSF have not been able to match the success of other driver development programmes.

Can match the Premas on occasions and has impressed me if nobody else.

Matching them "on occasion" is not good enough. And he's a very dirty driver; some of his moves in Germany and Belgium were downright dangerous.

 

[Peter.]

Young drivers with dirty driving are getting called future champions and receiving no disciplinary action these days anyway.

It would be so unfortunate to see another team ax Magnussen when he's never ever really been bad by any stretch. Debuts with McLaren and wasn't far off a world champion teammate who publicly blamed him for the teams adversity. Got a podium in his debut race as well which people seem to forget.

Been consistently beating Palmer all year though unable to show it in the standings due to more or less using a 2015 car all season. Surely keeping him around is better than throwing a rookie in. This is under the assunption that Palmer is already gone and will be replaced by Perez or someone of similar calibre.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

Young drivers with dirty driving are getting called future champions and receiving no disciplinary action these days anyway.

Rowland isn't of the same calibre as Verstappen. He's unlikely to get any sort of protection.

 

[mustafur]

Giovinazzi deserves promotion straight into F1 after this season, Sauber would be the perfect candidate since it looks like they don't look like they require two pay drivers going into next year.

Hopefully Ocon starts to get a hold of the Manor soon and he will likely be paired with Magnussen for next years Renault.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

Giovinazzi deserves promotion straight into F1 after this season, Sauber would be the perfect candidate since it looks like they don't look like they require two pay drivers going into next year.

I doubt that they would say no, though.

However, it does appear that Giovinazzi has some sponsorship. He started the season with Jagonya Ayam and has since switched to Pertamina. They're both Indonesian brands - they stayed with him when he stepped up from European Formula 3 - and the Pertamina deal is interesting because it coincides with Ocon replacing Haryanto, so I wonder if they want to stay in the sport.

Sauber's star has really fallen of late; Haas have stepped in as Ferrari's preferred place for talent, so I wonder if Giovinazzi could replace Gutiérrez. They're working on Leclerc, of course, but Giovinazzi is probably in a better position to be promoted.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

Having previously announced that they would be making an announcement in Singapore, Renault have now announced that they won't be making an announcement after all:

http://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/renault-set-to-postpone-driver-line-up-decision-825162/

It looks like none of the drivers that they targeted - Pérez, Sainz and Bottas - are interested, and so Magnussen or Palmer will get another season as it's widely expected that Ocon will join.