The 2018 F1 driver transfer discussion/speculation threadFormula 1 

jake2013guy
I think that's more that they're on the list and are willing to/have talked to them. Nothing really certain. Dale does this every year.
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Yeah, Alonso aside I doubt anyone on the F1 side is going to really commit to any other seriesuntil the season is over and they know for sure they don't have a seat there. You never know who might be looking for a development or reserve driver at the very least.
 
Jezza819
With Giovanazzi going to Sauber did that take away the only other possibility Haas might have had?
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No because Haas has long had the opportunity to pick up one of the Ferrari drivers, Ferrari has even pressured Haas. Haas doesn't want to be a full on pawn to one of the upper teams, and thus wishes to keep some of its freedom of choice. If they wanted said driver they could have had them signed already it's been clear that Haas were keen to keep KMag but also Grosjean so long as he showed that he was still capable of results.

I think the stipulation for Grosjean is, if issue arise as frequently next year as they did the first half of this year, he will be without a drive. Also Haas really didn't have much choice, though some will say Ocon.
 
The BBC made a nice little summary of who's confirmed to be moving next season (that we know of so far).

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BrainsBush
Welcome back Kvyat!
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Y'know, I have to wonder if it was just coincidence that this was announced during the weekend of the Russian GP.
 
I only wish this number of driver changes happened every year...or in a year with a large technical leap (when is the next one, 2021?). As with a lot of folks I struggle to be entertained by F1 races, but it's all the silliness surrounding the sport which keeps me intrigued. Honestly the driver swaps are more interesting than the races most of the time. :D
 
At this point it seems that Ocon Will be Out next season ( More logical for him would be take a reserve driver role on mercedes though)
 
Great news for Russel, very happy to hear this today :)

Sad news for Ocon, as it now looks like he’s out for next year, baring something extremely unexpected.

It’s really a shame too, because Williams are actually in somewhat of a position (funding aside) to have both Ocon and Russel, and that would be a fantastic lineup. At least we got one of them.
 
LMSCorvetteGT2
I mean they haven't confirmed Stroll yet either...even though it is assured and typically FI aren't rushing to announce drivers for the past few seasons to begin with.
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Usually these kinds of delays are down to sponsorship haggles. We know Stroll brings quite a payday to Williams...how will this work at ForceNewNameHere? Is Stroll literally getting a free ride or is it a bit more nuanced than that under the new consortium owner?
 
Which is confusing. Wasn't the George...junior dude given that seat a month or two ago? i.e. "It's all done but we're waiting to officially" announce it or something?

I heard someone mention during practice for Brazil that he was also mentioned with regard to development driving for Ferrari?
 
TheElbows
Which is confusing. Wasn't the George...junior dude given that seat a month or two ago? i.e. "It's all done but we're waiting to officially" announce it or something?

I heard someone mention during practice for Brazil that he was also mentioned with regard to development driving for Ferrari?
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My take on all of this.

George Russel is comfirmed as one of the drivers for next year, he’s a Mercedes junior who will probably be there for the next 2-3 years.

Stroll will be going to Racing Point Force India, it’s not officially official yet but it will happen, they are apparently waiting to announce it out of respect to Ocon, since he’s the one getting screwed over in that whole ordeal.

So that leaves an open seat at Williams. There are 3-4 candidates in the running iirc. Sirotkin, Ocon, Kubica and Gutierrez.

Sirotkin: His backer SMP racing only wants to pay half of what they have been paying in 2018. I can’t remember the exact number, but I also read that the team isn’t happy with his results either. So this apparently means Sirotkin is out.

Ocon: Mercedes don’t want to pay a load of money to Williams to get him in there, and he doesn’t seem keen on driving for Williams either. So he will probably take reserve driver role at Mercedes and Force India and then replace Bottas in 2020.

Kubica: He is an established figure inside the team now and apparently has a lot of backing for next season. More than he had last year.

He is apparently highly regarded for his input in the car, so Ferrari wanted him for the simulation role to replace the also highly regarded Giovinazzi since he is driving for Sauber in 2019. Kubica will no doubt take the race seat over this, a race seat has been his #1 priority since his come back started.

Gutierrez: He’s the current Mercedes simulator driver. I think he’s got backing and he has experience in F1. But he had two chances with two different teams and the results weren’t there, so for that reason I think It’s very unlikely he’ll get the seat.
 
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Ah, last I had heard Sirotkin was staying at Williams, but that was a while ago. Okay, hence my confusion. If Sirotkin is indeed on the chopping block it makes more sense. I had the read the Kubica rumours as if he was going to oust Russel.
 
TheElbows
Ah, last I had heard Sirotkin was staying at Williams, but that was a while ago. Okay, hence my confusion. If Sirotkin is indeed on the chopping block it makes more sense. I had the read the Kubica rumours as if he was going to oust Russel.
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Yeah this was the first I'd heard of Sirotkin's deal not paying up the amount they were saying they would. Which isn't something new to F1 teams. sponsors of drivers have done it before. I just couldn't seem to find that info, but I would be a bit surprised if Sirotkin is on the chopping block especially how much he has talked about helping with next year's car.
 

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