Official 2016 Driver's Silly Season Thread; who'll be where?
Discussion
ukaskew said:
Lance Stroll now officially at Williams, partnering Bottas.
http://www.williamsf1.com/racing/news/williamsconf...
I fear his win ratio is about to take a pounding, it's mighty impressive at the moment.
Interesting to see his comments on the FW36...boy, if he thinks that car was incredible, wait till he gets in the FW40. It will be on another planet compared to that. http://www.williamsf1.com/racing/news/williamsconf...
I fear his win ratio is about to take a pounding, it's mighty impressive at the moment.
I'm no fan of throwing young and inexperienced guys into these seats. Not everyone will be a Verstappen, but the money is clearly talking here. With next year's aero cars, I hope the experienced racers will show a clean pair to these young'uns.
Well that's a surprise....or maybe not.
Talk to those in F3 about Stroll and you'll hear some interesting stories, Suffice it to say that he'll have a bit more competition and no equipment advantage in F1.
I still think Williams should have kept Massa for another year and signed Stroll as reserve driver to drive every FP1 session next year. That would have enabled him to learn the car and circuits with no pressure. A cynic might contend that if he failed to impress, his father might pull his funding...so better get that cash now and risk him failing?
Talk to those in F3 about Stroll and you'll hear some interesting stories, Suffice it to say that he'll have a bit more competition and no equipment advantage in F1.
I still think Williams should have kept Massa for another year and signed Stroll as reserve driver to drive every FP1 session next year. That would have enabled him to learn the car and circuits with no pressure. A cynic might contend that if he failed to impress, his father might pull his funding...so better get that cash now and risk him failing?
Nobody expected that! Good to have another Brit staying on the grid for another year, hopefully in a decent car.
Apparently Ocon is now the favourite to land the Force India seat, with Sauber believed to be retaining both current drivers. That would only leave Gutierrez, Wehrlein and the Manor seats unconfirmed for next year. Could we have a season with no debutant drivers in 2017?
Apparently Ocon is now the favourite to land the Force India seat, with Sauber believed to be retaining both current drivers. That would only leave Gutierrez, Wehrlein and the Manor seats unconfirmed for next year. Could we have a season with no debutant drivers in 2017?
thegreenhell said:
Nobody expected that! Good to have another Brit staying on the grid for another year, hopefully in a decent car.
Apparently Ocon is now the favourite to land the Force India seat, with Sauber believed to be retaining both current drivers. That would only leave Gutierrez, Wehrlein and the Manor seats unconfirmed for next year. Could we have a season with no debutant drivers in 2017?
Stroll at WilliamsApparently Ocon is now the favourite to land the Force India seat, with Sauber believed to be retaining both current drivers. That would only leave Gutierrez, Wehrlein and the Manor seats unconfirmed for next year. Could we have a season with no debutant drivers in 2017?
Dr Z said:
The better move would've been to Force India IMHO, but it does seem that the lure of cheap engines has won Ocon a place there. But I cannot understand why he would get the nod over Wehrlein, the latter is a far better driver.Dr Z said:
Great news! Really pleased by this. Hulkenberg is a good barometer to measure his performances against. I think he is much better than he has appeared this at times this season. I think he will compare well with Hulkenberg. rubystone said:
Dr Z said:
The better move would've been to Force India IMHO, but it does seem that the lure of cheap engines has won Ocon a place there. But I cannot understand why he would get the nod over Wehrlein, the latter is a far better driver.I think Renault's retention of Palmer is quite clever though, his performances will be the benchmark by which they measure their progress next year, if they are suddenly in the points every race they will be able to tell how much is down to Palmer and how much is down to the car. It will also help them to gauge Hulkenberg and see if he is who they want long term to battle for the championships they could well be battling for. The fact that they have an all new engine coming for next year too shows they are really going all out to build for the future and I think I like how they are going about it.
I reckon they could be a dark horse for a podium or two next year (Similar to Force India this year) when they won't be using an underdeveloped Lotus that they got their hands on at the last minute, make no mistake, this year the vast majority of their focus was on 2017.
patmahe said:
To be fair I doubt that was an option for Palmer unless I missed something. Renault are obviously playing the long game, I think Kevin Magnussen jumped ship, or gave out enough about Renault dragging their heels that he was dropped. I don't think the move to Haas will be a good one unless he can seriously outpace Grosjean and get in line for a Ferrari seat.
I think Renault's retention of Palmer is quite clever though, his performances will be the benchmark by which they measure their progress next year, if they are suddenly in the points every race they will be able to tell how much is down to Palmer and how much is down to the car. It will also help them to gauge Hulkenberg and see if he is who they want long term to battle for the championships they could well be battling for. The fact that they have an all new engine coming for next year too shows they are really going all out to build for the future and I think I like how they are going about it.
I reckon they could be a dark horse for a podium or two next year (Similar to Force India this year) when they won't be using an underdeveloped Lotus that they got their hands on at the last minute, make no mistake, this year the vast majority of their focus was on 2017.
I think K Mag jumped ship because it's well known in the paddock that the job of the second Renault driver for 2017 is to keep the seat warm for Bottas who is free of his 5 year contract at Williams by the end of 2017. So better to secure a 2 year deal than know you'll have to scrap for a seat in 2018. As to whether Enstone have developed a better car for 2017...they couldn't have set the bar any lower this year, so I dearly hope you're right.I think Renault's retention of Palmer is quite clever though, his performances will be the benchmark by which they measure their progress next year, if they are suddenly in the points every race they will be able to tell how much is down to Palmer and how much is down to the car. It will also help them to gauge Hulkenberg and see if he is who they want long term to battle for the championships they could well be battling for. The fact that they have an all new engine coming for next year too shows they are really going all out to build for the future and I think I like how they are going about it.
I reckon they could be a dark horse for a podium or two next year (Similar to Force India this year) when they won't be using an underdeveloped Lotus that they got their hands on at the last minute, make no mistake, this year the vast majority of their focus was on 2017.
rubystone said:
Dr Z said:
The better move would've been to Force India IMHO, but it does seem that the lure of cheap engines has won Ocon a place there. But I cannot understand why he would get the nod over Wehrlein, the latter is a far better driver.In the short term, I think Renault have a bigger potential for improvement. I can see them firmly in the midfield next year, which should give Palmer plenty of opportunities to put in good performances. He made a good impression on me in his debut race...so close to scoring his first point. I think he has shown a clear progression this year and deserves a seat but I'm seeing a works drive as a coup for Palmer.
Renault have gone for the Mercedes-like driver line up. A very fast driver paired with a fast one that has the ability to push the faster one hard and can play the team game if needed. If they'd have gone for Magnussen, I'd have thought the dynamic will have been quite different and not in a good way for a team that's still laying the foundations for a Championship shot at 2018.
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