The 2017 F1 driver transfer discussion/speculation threadFormula 1 

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prisonermonkeys
Rowland isn't of the same calibre as Verstappen. He's unlikely to get any sort of protection.
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There isn't really anyone around with the calibre of Verstappen though. the ones that are, Wehrlein. Vandoorne and Ocon, are already getting a chance. There is young talent out there, but it's probably going to take another year for anyone to develop enough to be regarded that highly.
 
James Allen on the last few moves that need to play out:

https://www.jamesallenonf1.com/2016...e-to-put-together-the-final-grid-for-f1-2017/

In summary:
  • Felipe Nasr could go to Williams, which is unlikely given that Stroll is the firm favourite, but could also move to Renault.
  • Given his connection to the owners, Marcus Ericsson seems to be a lock for a Sauber seat, but the team will likely want a driver with a budget to make up for a shortfall in funds given that their WCC position has taken a beating; Allen suggests Sergey Sirotkin could fit there.
  • Daniil Kvyat is living on borrowed time, but also has some goodwill stockpiled, as he is rated up and down the grid; if all else fails, he could go to Renault.
  • Manor is much more appealing than it has ever been, and there will most likely be a vacancy in 2016 - and possibly two; if Pérez goes to Williams or Renault, Wehrlein could be drafted to Force India, though this is believed to be highly unlikely. But whether there are one or two seats, it's difficult to say who might land there.
  • Romain Grosjean is confirmed at Haas, but there has been no word on the second seat.
  • Nobody seems to be talking about Magnussen or Palmer. One of them may get a reprieve if Renault cannot secure Pérez, Bottas or Sainz, but the likes of Nasr and Kvyat could be recruited and Nasr at least has a bigger budget through Banco do Brasil rhan Magnussen and Palmer combined.
Otherwise, it's shaping up as being difficult to call. Confirmation of Pérez's plans is expected to be the uncorking of the bottle, and most of the rest of the grid should fall into place relatively quickly from there.
 
Well this is certainly entertaining to say the least. I'm personally happy to see Massa and Button leave (nice guys, but it's time to move on). I think in the next few years you'll see Alonso and Raikkonen leave as well. It stands to be the most changing/competitive driver market since I can remember...all with big changes to the cars coming up as well (aaaaand new owners/buyers).

I was really expecting Perez to jump ship from Force India.
 
I don't know why teams seem to be gambling more lately on trying to throw a young potential star into a seat now instead of taking the best driver they can from the regular hierarchy of more established drivers. I mean sure you might get the next hot prospect a la Verstappen, or at the very least a more lukewarm prospect like Magnussen, but these always a chance of getting someone who can't handle the pressure like Kyviat.

It surprises me that teams like McLaren and Wiliams who are supposed to be teams with a lot of prestige and ambition, are taking chances on rookies as if they have no choice. You'd think they would try to get a more experienced talent and that it would be more helpful to the team on a whole with their experience, than throwing in a youngster who will have to learn everything. Gone are the days where they can hand craft their next young star in the way Renault and McLaren could with Alonso and Hamilton respectively with such limited testing.
 
Peter.
I don't know why teams seem to be gambling more lately on trying to throw a young potential star into a seat now instead of taking the best driver they can from the regular hierarchy of more established drivers.
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Because the best drivers are already sewn up.

Peter.
It surprises me that teams like McLaren and Wiliams who are supposed to be teams with a lot of prestige and ambition, are taking chances on rookies as if they have no choice.
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If they don't take them, somebody else will. And those drivers get a lot of support from the teams off the track - Stroll, for example, has regularly tested an old Williams on circuits that he has never raced as a means of getting experience.
 
Samus
Stroll now mathematically guaranteed that third place so if the reports are true we may see him announced soon.
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I think that he would have to get it first. I am pretty sure that the FIA has discretionary powers - that they could block a driver from getting a superlicence if they felt that driver did not meet the standard expected. In theory, you could get a superlicence by winning Formula 3 and Formula 4 titles and placing well in GP3. Get a bit of backing and you could be a lucrative driver for a small team. Sure, it might sound preposterous and unfair that the FIA could block a driver, but Autosport had a premium story a few weeks ago about the FIA attempting to do just that and Kimi Räikkönen from racing; before Max Verstappen, he was probably the driver with the least experience to his name to make his début.

In the case of Räikkönen and Verstappen (recent criticism aside), both drivers were up to the task. But there is the possibility of a driver getting through when he has no business being there - case in point, Yuji Ide. And there is a plethora of junior drivers who shouldn't be allowed anywhere near a Formula One car, like Sergio Canamasas, who is notorious for his recklessness. I think that you can make the case that there are genuine misgivings about Stroll, given some of the trouble he has been involved in in the recent past; he was banned for a race last year after causing chaos at the start. Perhaps those misgivings would be more overt if he was talking to the likes of Manor or Sauber, but Williams have the reputation and the goodwill for people to trust that they know what they are doing.

All the same, the FIA will probably have those discretionary powers. I doubt any team - least of all Williams - would announce a driver line-up before a driver had the required racing licence.
 
Renault have reportedly delayed their driver decision again; they seem to be hanging out hope of attracting a well-known driver - Bottas seems to be their last hope, but he seems to be using their interest as a negotiation tactic with Williams.
 
Cyril Abiteboul talks up the idea of a draft system:

https://www.jamesallenonf1.com/2016...r-us-style-draft-system-to-boost-competition/

The idea being that at the end of each year, drivers looking to get into Formula One would go into a pool, and teams who want to hire them have to get in line, with the bottom teams getting first pick.

Meanwhile, Sky have adopted a new policy for discussing the driver market: flat-out guessing.
 
I don't think a draft system will work like other sports.

For example why would Redbull, Mercedes or others bother developing young Talent if they can't get first Dibs.

If anything F1 should give concessions to Teams that Develop young drivers and help them get into F1 as it helps the sport immensly in driver quality given how many good drivers have to quit just from a lack of funds.
 
mustafur
I don't think a draft system will work like other sports.

For example why would Redbull, Mercedes or others bother developing young Talent if they can't get first Dibs.
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I don't think that it would work, either. But I have heard that Renault were really interested in Stoffel Vandoorne until McLaren locked him in. Part of me wonders if Abiteboul is making these comments in response to that.
 
Yeah, I think it's no secret Renault are kind of stuck on driver choice at the moment, they don't seem to be happy with the current pair but they are not in a position to get any drivers from other teams, and Top Talent that isn't in F1 is already snapped up mostly by other teams.

If Renault want a good rookie I would say look no further then Giovinazzi, he is not linked to any F1 team at the moment as well (that I know of).
 
prisonermonkeys
I don't think that it would work, either. But I have heard that Renault were really interested in Stoffel Vandoorne until McLaren locked him in. Part of me wonders if Abiteboul is making these comments in response to that.
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Seems fair that Mclaren would develop Stoffel over a long series of seasons readying him for Formula 1, only for Renault to get first refusal on him.
 
They just said on Dutch TV that Kvyat will need to look for a new team next year?
 
FutureF1
While I don't deny that's most likely the case, take in mind this is Dutch tv, who are probably fuming at Kvyat for not letting their golden boy go easily
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Nope. Us Dutchies remain pretty neutral for that matter. If Max wants to pass, he has to fight for it. And so said the commentators.

Also, about Kvyat it was because his contract supposedly isn't renewed.
 
Dennisch
Also, about Kvyat it was because his contract supposedly isn't renewed.
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He has been out of contract for a while now, but the team haven't confirmed that it won't be renewed. My guess is that they deferred the decision until after Singapore because they knew Singapore was their last chance to put in a strong performance given that the Ferrari engine isn't being developed and Singapore isn't a power-dependent circuit.
 
Not sure how reliable this is, but I remember seeing somewhere that Red Bull might try selling/trading Sainz or Kvyat to Renault in return for cheaper Power Units. Not really sure if this is the case since Red Bull is not exactly cash-strapped, but I'd like to see Sainz in a team that can potentially challenge for the top wherever that is. Difficult to say where Renault will be next year and whether it makes sense to leave a James Key car especially since RBR and STR will probably be treated as works teams. It might make sense to trade Kvyat though as Marko seems to be done with him despite his enormous potential.
 
FutureF1
Not really sure if this is the case since Red Bull is not exactly cash-strapped
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I don't think that it would be structured that way. As you say, they're not hard up for cash - but letting them have Sainz would be a show of good faith after their falling-out last year. Renault would get a quality driver and Sainz would get an opportunity to advance his career because the only way he will get a Red Bull seat is if somebody poaches Ricciardo or Verstappen. The only catch is that Renault would have to prove that their 2017 car is at least as competitive as the 2016 Toro Rosso, or else it's a step backwards for Sainz and Red Bull offering him to Renault is not a show of good faith, but turning him into a sacrificial lamb.
 
prisonermonkeys
I don't think that it would be structured that way. As you say, they're not hard up for cash - but letting them have Sainz would be a show of good faith after their falling-out last year. Renault would get a quality driver and Sainz would get an opportunity to advance his career because the only way he will get a Red Bull seat is if somebody poaches Ricciardo or Verstappen. The only catch is that Renault would have to prove that their 2017 car is at least as competitive as the 2016 Toro Rosso, or else it's a step backwards for Sainz and Red Bull offering him to Renault is not a show of good faith, but turning him into a sacrificial lamb.
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This is why I think Kvyat might be a better fit. Red Bull seems ready to sign Gasly for a race seat and that leaves Kvyat with nowhere to go. I think it could also help him if he is given the chance to prove himself in a developing team to potentially be their lead driver.
 
But then why would Renault really want a Red Bull castoff? They have a solid and improving engine and Enstone is a good facility, their ambitions lie a lot further up the grid, so they should and seem to be trying to get the best possible drivers, which Kyviat is not, but Sainz is.

As for Sainz there's nothing for him in the Red Bull setup amymore. Maybe a year or two from now Ferrari and McLaren come sniffing for either Riccardo or Max when Alonso and Raikkonen hang up their helmets, but that's just wishful thinking. Reality is they have two young, talented drivers signed onto long term deals and generally happy.

Best that he does try to get himself into a works team while he still can. Renault are no Toyota, they know how to make a good car and to win championships.
 
Renault has potential but people don't think ahead, next years car could be a good one as they have had plenty of time to work on it as well as having a large budget.

I do think though for someone like Sainz he could be waiting for kimis deal to expire so he take the seat as I suspect with a current Renault engine and a James key designed Chassis STR will probably get an excellent car for next years big regulation change to show his talent.
 
Sauber have openly stated that they intend to take two drivers with money:

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/126380/sauber-plans-to-take-drivers-with-funding

For his part, Marcus Ericsson says that he is talking to several teams. Take that with as large a grain of salt as you see fit.

Speaking of large grains (that's my segue for the week done), it has been reported that Robert Kubica has been testing the simulator at Renault's Enstone facility. However, it doesn't seem to be anything more than a test.
 
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