The Official F1 2021 silly season *contains speculation*
Discussion
cgt2 said:
That's exactly what I saw, I wonder what other people were watching. And he did it against strong competition in a closer field than F1.
I've watched him in F3 and F2, as said he bossed F2 season 2 second half, Prema really got behind him (as they do with all their drivers, pretty sure they have won most of the titles recently, think they just claimed F3 again) I suspect in the williams or Alfa he would be climing the table. Very good at starts as well, just not in the HAAS. cgt2 said:
talksthetorque said:
So one seat left now then.
Nailed on for Guanyu Zhou? Nick deVries? Giovanazzi has again not done himself any favours, this time in FP2
I'm sure it's Zhou. All about the moneyNailed on for Guanyu Zhou? Nick deVries? Giovanazzi has again not done himself any favours, this time in FP2
Does he deserve it... meh 7th in 2019 f2 was fine enough but he only managed 6th overall the next year should have been a slam dunk and still in a now 4 way fight for this years title isnt great.
AJB88 said:
cgt2 said:
That's exactly what I saw, I wonder what other people were watching. And he did it against strong competition in a closer field than F1.
I've watched him in F3 and F2, as said he bossed F2 season 2 second half, Prema really got behind him (as they do with all their drivers, pretty sure they have won most of the titles recently, think they just claimed F3 again) I suspect in the williams or Alfa he would be climing the table. Very good at starts as well, just not in the HAAS. https://www.autosport.com/fia-f3/news/dan-ticktum-...
Sour grapes perhaps, but I was watching and while I have my doubts there was anything dodgy (F2 being a spec series so it's really hard to pull off many tricks) it was quite amazing how Prema got 1-2s in the last six races in a row. No idea about the team makeup, maybe they lucked recruiting a genius engineer who smashed the setup at each of the races.
vulture1 said:
cgt2 said:
talksthetorque said:
So one seat left now then.
Nailed on for Guanyu Zhou? Nick deVries? Giovanazzi has again not done himself any favours, this time in FP2
I'm sure it's Zhou. All about the moneyNailed on for Guanyu Zhou? Nick deVries? Giovanazzi has again not done himself any favours, this time in FP2
Does he deserve it... meh 7th in 2019 f2 was fine enough but he only managed 6th overall the next year should have been a slam dunk and still in a now 4 way fight for this years title isnt great.
cgt2 said:
I'm sure it's Zhou. All about the money
Zhou is the most obvious choice - he’s had a great year in F2, brings money with him, and the F1 marketing people would love a Chinese driver on the grid (and an American, and a woman, but no sign of either of those yet). Feel sorry for Piastri and Schwartzman, victims of there only being 20 seats in F1.
All things equal I’d put piastri in but it won’t happen.
I doubt Alfa would take an active alpine/Renault tied driver so Zhou or Piastri would need to be exited.
Zhou is not showing at the same level as piastri and won’t be the replacement for alonso. Alpine must surely be looking at ocon for long term stability and to being piastri in when alonso retires again.
If I were a betting man I would say after all the whos getting it clamour and excitement, giovanazzi will keep the seat.
I doubt Alfa would take an active alpine/Renault tied driver so Zhou or Piastri would need to be exited.
Zhou is not showing at the same level as piastri and won’t be the replacement for alonso. Alpine must surely be looking at ocon for long term stability and to being piastri in when alonso retires again.
If I were a betting man I would say after all the whos getting it clamour and excitement, giovanazzi will keep the seat.
With enough money sloshing around anything is possible. Alfa might say "thank you" to an extra £15 million in return for letting Zhou have a seat for a year (how long will Alonso keep going? He doesn't seem to be slowing down, but aging could be like hitting a cliff edge - next year he might go slithering off the track in the wet, fail to brake for an easy corner, knock over his jackman and hit the walls more than once during qualifying ...)
Would it really be a huge issue for Alfa to have Zhou in the team, with Bottas doing all the point scoring?
Would it really be a huge issue for Alfa to have Zhou in the team, with Bottas doing all the point scoring?
Flooble said:
With enough money sloshing around anything is possible. Alfa might say "thank you" to an extra £15 million in return for letting Zhou have a seat for a year (how long will Alonso keep going? He doesn't seem to be slowing down, but aging could be like hitting a cliff edge - next year he might go slithering off the track in the wet, fail to brake for an easy corner, knock over his jackman and hit the walls more than once during qualifying ...)
Would it really be a huge issue for Alfa to have Zhou in the team, with Bottas doing all the point scoring?
And then win the race. Would it really be a huge issue for Alfa to have Zhou in the team, with Bottas doing all the point scoring?
Bottas scoring all the points.
jsf said:
Flooble said:
With enough money sloshing around anything is possible. Alfa might say "thank you" to an extra £15 million in return for letting Zhou have a seat for a year (how long will Alonso keep going? He doesn't seem to be slowing down, but aging could be like hitting a cliff edge - next year he might go slithering off the track in the wet, fail to brake for an easy corner, knock over his jackman and hit the walls more than once during qualifying ...)
Would it really be a huge issue for Alfa to have Zhou in the team, with Bottas doing all the point scoring?
And then win the race. Would it really be a huge issue for Alfa to have Zhou in the team, with Bottas doing all the point scoring?
Bottas scoring all the points.
Qatar in November, and it's a 10 year deal https://wtf1.com/post/f1-will-race-in-qatar-later-...
ajprice said:
Qatar in November, and it's a 10 year deal https://wtf1.com/post/f1-will-race-in-qatar-later-...
The only surprise is the ten year bit - I assume there's a 5 year break clause but it's still a decent commitment by both parties.F1 is very happy to be ever more invested in the middle east. I can see why, the rest of the planets weather is becoming increasingly erratic which is at odds with the increasingly long seasons F1 demands. Also the region has been a relatively reliable and welcoming place during covid complications - very little chance of a race being cancelled and no real concern about running with reduced or zero spectators.
TheDeuce said:
ajprice said:
Qatar in November, and it's a 10 year deal https://wtf1.com/post/f1-will-race-in-qatar-later-...
The only surprise is the ten year bit - I assume there's a 5 year break clause but it's still a decent commitment by both parties.F1 is very happy to be ever more invested in the middle east. I can see why, the rest of the planets weather is becoming increasingly erratic which is at odds with the increasingly long seasons F1 demands. Also the region has been a relatively reliable and welcoming place during covid complications - very little chance of a race being cancelled and no real concern about running with reduced or zero spectators.
https://twitter.com/wearetherace/status/1443524480...
Leithen said:
TheDeuce said:
ajprice said:
Qatar in November, and it's a 10 year deal https://wtf1.com/post/f1-will-race-in-qatar-later-...
The only surprise is the ten year bit - I assume there's a 5 year break clause but it's still a decent commitment by both parties.F1 is very happy to be ever more invested in the middle east. I can see why, the rest of the planets weather is becoming increasingly erratic which is at odds with the increasingly long seasons F1 demands. Also the region has been a relatively reliable and welcoming place during covid complications - very little chance of a race being cancelled and no real concern about running with reduced or zero spectators.
https://twitter.com/wearetherace/status/1443524480...
Tend to agree about the rest of the circuit though..
HustleRussell said:
It is really necessary or beneficial to the fans or the teams to have four races in the Middle East within a 1000km radius? A rhetorical question.
I'll answer it anyway..I think it's good in as much as it's clearly commercially good for the sport, which makes the sport more affordable toom from the teams perspective. Also good for those of us with an appetite for longer seasons and more races, because it's the part of the world where the weather is dependably good in November/December.
cgt2 said:
The problem for any FDA driver, Mick included, is that LeClerc is definitely the present and future top dog in the Ferrari team. With a long career ahead and with his level of talent (outstanding 2019 against Vettel) anyone else is competing for an eventual #2 spot in the big team.
https://sportslumo.com/motorsport/trouble-in-paradise-at-ferrari-as-binotto-and-leclerc-reportedly-fall-out/Story circulating yesterday was there had been a fall out at Ferrari between Binotto and Le Clerc
Its been subsequently denied as fake news by the team but the pressure is high at home events
Who knows?
TheDeuce said:
HustleRussell said:
It is really necessary or beneficial to the fans or the teams to have four races in the Middle East within a 1000km radius? A rhetorical question.
I'll answer it anyway..I think it's good in as much as it's clearly commercially good for the sport, which makes the sport more affordable toom from the teams perspective. Also good for those of us with an appetite for longer seasons and more races, because it's the part of the world where the weather is dependably good in November/December.
Meanwhile possibly no French or German Grand Prix from next year?
HustleRussell said:
TheDeuce said:
HustleRussell said:
It is really necessary or beneficial to the fans or the teams to have four races in the Middle East within a 1000km radius? A rhetorical question.
I'll answer it anyway..I think it's good in as much as it's clearly commercially good for the sport, which makes the sport more affordable toom from the teams perspective. Also good for those of us with an appetite for longer seasons and more races, because it's the part of the world where the weather is dependably good in November/December.
Meanwhile possibly no French or German Grand Prix from next year?
The French GP is welcome to bugger off imo - at least until they can find an actual circuit to hold it at.
I do very much hope they can sort out the situation in Germany and return it to the calendar as a permanent fixture.
Overall I don't think the sport wants to increase races in the mid east in return for sacking off EU circuits, I think it wants to keep the EU circuits and simply expand the calendar by adding ME circuits too. At least, I hope that's the case..
As a spectacle, night races are great to watch in my opinion so I have no issues with another Middle East addition to the calendar.
What I'd really like to see given the infastructure these countries tend to have, particularly Abu Dhabi, is more attractively priced travel packages to allow European visitors to attend. I'm sure the hotels on Yas Island get fully booked for GP weekend, but there are thousands of hotel rooms within a short drive of Yas Island and plenty of scope to add more capacity at the circuit.
What I'd really like to see given the infastructure these countries tend to have, particularly Abu Dhabi, is more attractively priced travel packages to allow European visitors to attend. I'm sure the hotels on Yas Island get fully booked for GP weekend, but there are thousands of hotel rooms within a short drive of Yas Island and plenty of scope to add more capacity at the circuit.
liner33 said:
https://sportslumo.com/motorsport/trouble-in-parad...
Story circulating yesterday was there had been a fall out at Ferrari between Binotto and Le Clerc
Its been subsequently denied as fake news by the team but the pressure is high at home events
Who knows?
Interesting. But I'd lay odds on LeClerc being around longer than Binotto who is after all just another face in the long tradition of bosses who come and go, Arrivabene, Fiorio, Mattiaci. Also Lombardi and Ghedini who were fired in the duration of a pitstop...Story circulating yesterday was there had been a fall out at Ferrari between Binotto and Le Clerc
Its been subsequently denied as fake news by the team but the pressure is high at home events
Who knows?
Usually they get the chop when the team doesn't deliver and it was rumoured Binotto was already on the way out before this season began.
The reality is that apart from Todt and Domenicali (and Luca in the 70's) Ferrari have never had a consistent top flight team leader. Ironically their greatest periods of success dovetailed exactly with the period the above three were around, funny coincidence that.
Edited by cgt2 on Thursday 30th September 14:57
Gassing Station | Formula 1 | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff