The 2017 F1 driver transfer discussion/speculation threadFormula 1

[TenEightyOne]

Mark Easton of the BBC thinks, perhaps unsurprisingly, that Mercedes are "halfway to signing Verstappen for 2019".

 

[TenEightyOne]

Game on for Kubica... he'll get a "familiarisation" drive at Silverstone before testing head-to-head agains Paul di Resta in Hungary, or so we're told.

 

[SuperDiscoDaz]

Palmer out of a drive for the next GP as Sainz moves to Renault already and Kvyat returns at Toro Rosso.

 

[Jimlaad43]

The nail in the coffin was those two spins in Malaysia. Palmer made amends for himself in Singapore and just needed to keep his nose clean, but Malaysia was a disaster for him, and he just hasn't been quicker than Hulkenberg, so it was time to go.

Hulk and Sainz together? Renault could easily steal 5th place in the CC now.

 

[BrainsBush]

Palmer out of a drive for the next GP as Sainz moves to Renault already and Kvyat returns at Toro Rosso.

Quite a surprise it already happens now. Just read this:

 

[Saidur_Ali]

Doesn't seem good for Toro Rosso in their WCC battle. They should demote Kvyat again, replace him with Kubica and also Verstappen might win another race.

 

[Eva]

Doesn't seem good for Toro Rosso in their WCC battle. They should demote Kvyat again, replace him with Kubica and also Verstappen might win another race.

Or just swap Kvyat and a clone of Gasly every race. Max would be guaranteed as many wins as Hamilton has poles every year.

 

[LMSCorvetteGT2]

Palmer out of a drive for the next GP as Sainz moves to Renault already and Kvyat returns at Toro Rosso.

Then who will be driving the other Toro Rosso, isn't the next race the U.S. GP? Gasly is going to be staying in Japan to finish out the Super Formula championship and hopefully get it as he said at last GP. So who is driving the second car, unless they told Gasly he now can't finish the Super Formula championship.

 

[Eva]

Then who will be driving the other Toro Rosso, isn't the next race the U.S. GP? Gasly is going to be staying in Japan to finish out the Super Formula championship and hopefully get it as he said at last GP. So who is driving the second car, unless they told Gasly he now can't finish the Super Formula championship.

Gasly is missing the SF finale now.

 

[LMSCorvetteGT2]

Gasly is missing the SF finale now.

Just found that in the James Allen article, that's too bad he seemed really excited to try and win it and add to his resume. However, when F1 calls you can't put it on hold or someone else gets a shot.

 

[TenEightyOne]

A limerick what I writed for the Japanese GP:

There once was a driver called Palmer
Who suffered from terrible karma.
It wasn't just that -
He drove like a prat
So the team had to say sayonara.

 

[EngieDiesel]

A limerick what I writed for the Japanese GP:

There once was a driver called Palmer
Who suffered from terrible karma.
It wasn't just that -
He drove like a prat
So the team had to say sayonara.

A haiku would be more fitting, given the location:

Autumn winds of change
Blow through Suzuka's paddock
And Palmer gets sacked

 

[BrainsBush]

pfff 6:15 AM over here. Already had two double espresso. Hopefully a good race. Enjoy!

EDIT: See. It was so early I posted in the wrong thread....sorry

 

[Jimlaad43]

So the Sainz>Renault, Gasly/Kvyat at Toro Rosso switch is not looking finalised, as Honda are pressuring Gasly to do the Super Formula race instead of the USGP.
Basically, it's Gasly (Honda) vs Ishiura (Toyota) for the title, and understandably, Honda don't want to lose the title to Toyota. With Honda supplying Toro Rosso's engines next year, they can play the "do it because we say so" card. From a Honda point of view, they'd love their Super Formula champion to be driving with Honda engines next season in F1.

So where does that leave Toro Rosso? Sainz is at Renault, Kvyat is back and they have a spare seat.

The options they are down to:

• Delay the Sainz to Renault swap for one more race and try to convince Renault to use Sirotkin for one race.
• Get Sean Gelael to do the race. He has experience in the car, and is doing FP1 anyway, but has not been impressive at all in GP2/F2
• Get a former Red Bull affiliated driver in for the race. Someone like Buemi, Vergne or Bourdais
  
• Give Robert Kubica a race
• Try an Indycar driver with F1 experience like Alexander Rossi, Takuma Sato or Max Chilton
• Or try an Indycar driver with no F1 experience, like Will Power, Scott Dixon, Tony Kanaan, Simon Pagenaud or current Champion Josef Newgarden
• Already ruin the relationship with Honda and insist on Gasly racing at COTA.
• Use a driver who's done sessions/races this season, like Palmer, Giovinazzi, Leclerc or Di Resta

Which do you guys think is most likely, which would you logically pick, and which would your heart choose?

I myself feel like Buemi would be the logical pick, Gelael makes some sense as he has experience with the car, and Newgarden also makes sense from a United States promotional point of view. I would be happy with seeing either Buemi, Kubica, Newgarden or any other Indycar driver that qualifies for a superlicense. However I feel like Toro Rosso will just keep Gasly at the team and away from Japan.

EDIT: Having just looked at the calendars, Buemi really does make sense. They could do it as a shootout between him and Kvyat. The F1 and WEC calendars don't clash for the rest of the season, and he's matured into a great driver in WEC and FE. He could be better than Kvyat, and this could be a way of proving if he is or not. If it goes well, Gasly/Buemi at TR in 2018.

 

[mustafur]

Super Formula isn't a feeder series like F2 or F3, and has professional drivers and interest in Japan so I was surprised they would allow it soo easily when Told about the Sainz switch.

Wonder what will happen if Gasly has to drive in Super formula, maybe have to find a reserve driver from another team on the grid like what Sauber did a few years back.

Tbh if it came to this my guess is Buemi makes the most sense, he has a super license and is connected with Redbull

Edit: he has even driven this years RedBull car(on prototype tyres):

 

[Roger the Horse]

I predict it will be Kvyat/Gasly. No indication that it's not.

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/132298/honda-gasly-should-race-in-austin

 

[Dan Hill]

Robert Kubica has completed a successful test day with Williams and is expected to take part with Di Resta in another test next week according to Sky Sports.

http://www.skysports.com/f1/news/12...bica-completes-successful-first-williams-test

 

[TenEightyOne]

Robert Kubica has completed a successful test day with Williams and is expected to take part with Di Resta in another test next week according to Sky Sports.

http://www.skysports.com/f1/news/12...bica-completes-successful-first-williams-test

It looks more and more like Felipe Massa's going to retire from retiring at the end of the season. It's a shame - he seems a genuinely nice bloke but he seems to have lost the last bit of spark he had.

Word is (from the BBC at least) that Di Resta is testing alongside Kubica to give a proper benchmark for Kubica's times. It seems as if the seat could be Kubica's to lose now.

 

[Jimlaad43]

Looks like Toro Rosso will need to find a replacement for Gasly in Austin now.
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/gasly-austin-super-formula-finale-964670/

Just stick Buemi or Kubica in, and then replace Kvyat anyway for the rest of the season.

 

[dingodile_r89]

Buemi has been incredibly quick in the WEC, maybe it's time to get a 2nd shot at F1

 

[mustafur]

He Has driven this Years Redbull so i would assume he will get it.

 

[Jimlaad43]

As I said earlier, F1 and WEC/FE don't clash for the rest of the season, so if Kvyat is abysmal in Austin, why not just replace him with Buemi for the last 3 races. Buemi's already raced at Mexico City twice this year, so it's not like he'd be a stranger to the other tracks on the calendar.

 

[Jimlaad43]

It's apparently Brendon Hartley that's favourite for the seat.
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/hartley-toro-rosso-gasly-austin-964827/

 

[TheElbows]

Oh...now that's a fun speculation.

 

[Jakedog23]

Toro Rosso=Honda 2018

If CGR hires Hartley for INDYCAR in 2018 then Honda could make him reserve for Toro Rosso because CGR is Honda

 

[BrainsBush]

Talking about speculation. This week my son is with a couple of his friends in London and then this gentleman asked if it was ok to take a picture with my son.
He was scouting for the 2020 generation

Sorry to go off topic but still F1 related and I'm just a proud dad. Thumbs up for my son

source: Twitter account of Jos himself https://twitter.com/MaVic009

 

[GOTMAXPOWER]

It's apparently Brendon Hartley that's favourite for the seat.
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/hartley-toro-rosso-gasly-austin-964827/

Called it!

 

[LMSCorvetteGT2]

Looks like Hartley is confirmed for the USGP

 

[Eva]

Link here.

 

[shoemaker]

I didn’t see that coming, hopefully Hartley will be in f1 next season aswell. Always liked the lad and will probably be too good for Torro Rosso to keep hold of.