The Official 2018 F1 Silly Season *Contains Speculation*
Discussion
lee_fr200 said:
one of my customers sons works in F1 and he's heard a rumour that if jenson isn't racing for mclaren he could also join williams, or even str as a honda driver
i can't see him coming back but you never know,
I can see him as a brand ambassador (like Hakkinen is/was) and retaining a connection with a team. But not as a reserve driver.i can't see him coming back but you never know,
suffolk009 said:
Oh, no.
That means he'll still be there in thirty years time like Jackie Stewart and his stories about the Nurburgring and what he alone did for driver safety - Button will be hanging around, waiting for it to rain so the TV crews will talk to him and he can tell us all about that race in Canada, and his year with Brawn....
Well, quite, but you need a retirement income and paddock access. That means he'll still be there in thirty years time like Jackie Stewart and his stories about the Nurburgring and what he alone did for driver safety - Button will be hanging around, waiting for it to rain so the TV crews will talk to him and he can tell us all about that race in Canada, and his year with Brawn....
thegreenhell said:
I had seen elsewhere that it was originally a 1+1 deal.Not the greatest of endorsements though with only a year, I wonder who they have their eye on for 2019. Maybe Ocon.
DanielSan said:
I don't get why they feel the need to ship a car that has little relevance to the car he races all over the world to test and learn the tracks when fitness training and simulator time would achieve the same thing and give him a better idea of what this years car will do.
A simulator doesn't test the physical aspects of stress/heat/g-forces, etc? Mr Pointy said:
The head of the FIA Technical department leaves with immediate effect:
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/fia-technical-d...
To depart that quickly is a bit odd isn't it?
Not if he is going back to a team? I'd expect it.https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/fia-technical-d...
To depart that quickly is a bit odd isn't it?
LaurasOtherHalf said:
Jesus wept they can be inept. Anyone who is employed by the FIA in such a sensitive technical area should have a mandatory 18 month none competition clause in their contract.
Remember this is French law and that might be viewed as a restraint of trade. The French tend to be more protective of workers rights.HTP99 said:
One of the comments mentions Swiss law and the FIA being based or having some interest Switzerland; according to the poster the limit of gardening leave in Switzerland is 3 months.
FIA is mostly HQd in Paris, but I have checked and you are right, it's Swiss. I can't remember why. 
jamiebae said:
Extended non-compete clauses are not enforceable under Swiss law, or UK I believe, as they can massively restrict your ability to change jobs. If the employer wants to keep you away for a while they need to ensure that your notice period covers this.
I think the phrase is "restraint of trade". They are enforceable, ask Breadvan72, but they are all down to interpretation and the words in the contracts. He is one of the true experts on this topic.
I don't know Swiss law. French law tends to bias towards the employee but I don't know the non-compete.
jsf said:
The way this will be solved will be via the teams either agreeing to not using anyone ex FIA for 12 months (pay them a yea to sit on their bottom), or they will refuse to allow the FIA to inspect their IP in development.
If we end up at the latter position, we will see the old days return with at event arguments about what is legal.
I expect the former will happen and we will effectively see a Gentleman's agreement between the teams.
On your first point, I think blacklists are illegal in many countries.If we end up at the latter position, we will see the old days return with at event arguments about what is legal.
I expect the former will happen and we will effectively see a Gentleman's agreement between the teams.
On your second, isn't it voluntary submission anyway - a bit like talking to a planning inspector about the boundaries of planning law before actually building the house?
It's a storm in a teacup. They will probably end up paying the guy to work in Renault roadcars for a year and allow random FIA inspection of his email, devices, etc.
jamiebae said:
I'm not sure why you are so adamant it's a storm in a teacup, but to me it seems like it's far more serious. I'm struggling to think of a parallel outside F1 as there aren't many industries where you run stuff past a central body before implementing it, but I guess it's like someone managing to get access to the new product roadmap and commercial plan for your business, and that of all your competitors, then taking it to one company. Maybe it all blows over, and I don't think there's much that can be done now anyway, but I think it's a pretty big deal.
I say it because I don't see the teams pulling a pin from a grenade, which is what they normally do when they are REALLY annoyed.Liberty execs were not at Malaysia, which they would have been if some serious smoothing/negotiations were needed (as they were in the McLaren/Honda/Renault negotiations.
No-one is threatening injunctions, etc. They got blindsided or didn't know he was on the market.
https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/132154/top-teams...
It was all very polite at the strategy meeting from this report.
Edit: I have seen comments that 3 months is the limit for gardening leave on Swiss contracts. I don't know.
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