The 2017 F1 driver transfer discussion/speculation threadFormula 1

[Peter.]

I remember people singing his praises earlier this year about hoe great his attitude was. Then again being a DTM Champion and F1 point scorer already at 22 is bound to come with a bit of an ego.

Jolyon has improved, for one he crashes less and has actually been close to his teammate a couple times lately, but it's still virtually unanimous that Magnussen is rated more highly, and it's been obvious that he's not their first or second choice for that extra seat.

I think Renault are waiting out an extra year to see if Sainz or Ocon will be available, after all, they may not actually be seriously competitive until 2018(it would explain why Magnussen was only offered one year). Until then, why not take the huge payout that Palmer comes with?

 

[dingodile_r89]

I think Renault are playing the long game, which is pretty smart. We'll see how it turns out, though. Hopefully works well, I'd like competitive works teams back in F1.

 

[Brutaka]

 

[TenEightyOne]

if this wasn't meant to create drama I don't know what is lol.View attachment 605520

The Red Bull drivers should have moved so that they were squashing Seb's shoulders and then, when he whinged, pointed out that he had enough room.

 

[jontikis]

View attachment 605582

 

[Samus]

which is pretty smart.

By all accounts things are far from running pretty smart at Renault. Serious managerial conflicts, apparently.

 

[mustafur]

I think Renault are playing the long game, which is pretty smart. We'll see how it turns out, though. Hopefully works well, I'd like competitive works teams back in F1.

Wut, Hulkenburg at this rate looks like the only good thing about that team at present, Management is a joke and they paid for that with getting Palmer instead of Magnussen.

You can just tell by the things Magnussen has said this weekend when he announced he is going to Haas how toxic the team is at present.

 

[dingodile_r89]

By all accounts things are far from running pretty smart at Renault. Serious managerial conflicts, apparently.

Ew

 

[TenEightyOne]

You can just tell by the things Magnussen has said this weekend when he announced he is going to Haas how toxic the team is at present.

If they weren't breaking even from engine supply I think Ghosn would pull the plug altogether, they've scrapped the Le Mans program completely and I was surprised that Renault stayed in F1 at all after that.

It can't be a great position to work in.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

You can just tell by the things Magnussen has said this weekend when he announced he is going to Haas how toxic the team is at present.

Watching a re-run of FP1, Sky are drinking the Jolyon Palmer Kool-Aid again. Now that he's got a second season, they love him again. But Ted Kravitz slipped up when interviewing Kevin Magnussen, pointing out that he had an offer on the table in Mexico. They've been trying to pretend that Palmer isn't Renault's ninety-seventh choice, but Magnussen's comment were really telling.

Apparently Palmer isn't paying for his 2017 seat. So hopefully there's a performance clause in there and Renault can fire him.

 

[mustafur]

It's a bit early, and we can see atleast on the engine front they are doing a good job but I'm seeing similarities with Jaguar and their disastrous F1 Campaign when it comes to Management.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

It's a bit early, and we can see atleast on the engine front they are doing a good job but I'm seeing similarities with Jaguar and their disastrous F1 Campaign when it comes to Management.

I think it's more a by-product of their Lotus purchase than anything else. They knew that 2016 was going to be tough, but have underperformed all year and haven't made themselves particularly appealing to drivers or team personnel. Ordinarily, a sign that read "works team now hiring" should make drivers drop everything, but they couldn't even convince Red Bull to release Carlos Sainz or Pierre Gasly for a sweeter engine deal.

 

[catamount39]

View attachment 605582

Post of the year.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

Autosport is reporting that Pascal Wehrlein is the front-runner for the second Sauber seat.

 

[catamount39]

Autosport is reporting that Pascal Wehrlein is the front-runner for the second Sauber seat.

That's a downgrade from Manor.

 

[dingodile_r89]

That's a downgrade from Manor.

That's what I was thinking as well.

 

[mustafur]

Doesn't Sauber now have Audis LMP1 designer in their technical department?

They might be good next year.

 

[DK]

Yep, and I'd imagine that prize money that Sauber will get instead of Manor is another incentive for him. It seems like a sideways step IMHO, in terms of the gap Sauber will have to the front-runners next year.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

And their future is secured with the investment from Longbow.

 

[Akmuq]

2016 Ferrari engines tho.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

2016 Ferrari engines tho.

True, but the 2017 regulations place a greater emphasis on aero development, so the deficit might not be as bad as what Toro Rosso experienced this year. Plus, Toro Rosso didn't really take the hit until mid-season. If Wehrlein is talking to Sauber, he may see it as a stepping stone; with Ocon getting promoted to Force India, Wehrlein may feel like he is on the outer with Mercedes. In Ericsson, he'd get an established team-mate, but someone who is eminently beatable. Even if the performance of the car goes south after six months, he could become an attractive prospect for a bigger team in 2018.

 

[Jimlaad43]

if...
http://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/p...ault-if-he-matches-hulkenberg-vasseur-852912/

 

[dingodile_r89]

if...
http://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/p...ault-if-he-matches-hulkenberg-vasseur-852912/

Oi, we're waiting for our trivia question. Scoot.

That being said, I think Palmer has shown some progress, maybe not enough to justify a retention, though. Time will tell.

 

[TenEightyOne]

2016 Ferrari engines tho.

They looked alright in a straight line... mostly.

Wehrlein....could become an attractive prospect for a bigger team in 2018.

If it's true that he suffers from an intolerable case of the Paul Di Restas then he might have to wind his neck in a bit.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

If it's true that he suffers from an intolerable case of the Paul Di Restas then he might have to wind his neck in a bit.

He's got more promise than di Resta, so teams might be more willing to tolerate him. But to be fair, we don't hear from him nearly as much as we did di Resta, so it's hard to judge.

 

[Akmuq]

I could see him joining if he wants to improve his reputation by beating Ericsson, but with engine tokens being abandoned next season I struggle to see Sauber scoring points.

Granted, there are rumours that Manor are sticking with a 2016 engine as well so it could be a damned if you do and damned if you don't.

 

[Dan Hill]

If Wehlein goes to Sauber then I wonder if Nasr could get one of the Manor seats. Not his best choice but his sponsorship could be useful to Manor.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

If Wehlein goes to Sauber then I wonder if Nasr could get one of the Manor seats.

It would be his last shot - but he hasn't performed too well. He has been beaten fairly consistently by Ericsson, who tends to find form in the second half of the season.

 

[TenEightyOne]

I could see him joining if he wants to improve his reputation by beating Ericsson, but with engine tokens being abandoned next season I struggle to see Sauber scoring points.

The engine rules could play in their favour though - teams with development (2017) engines may well take penalties (these can no longer be dumped into one race as we've seen this year) or have reliability problems, its less likely that customers of 2016 engines will over-run allowances.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

Manor in "advanced talks" with a potential new investor over a majority stake:

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/127239/manor-in-talks-with-new-investor

2017 drivers will not be announced until the talks are resolved.