The Official 2018 F1 Silly Season *Contains Speculation*

[Mr Tidy]

Vaud said:

If they are smart they will get someone like Nico or Mika to be his manager; a voice of wise stability....

Family rarely works.

It certainly looks that way - Lewis hasn't had his Dad at recent races, but his Mum has appeared all of a sudden!

Painful as it may be I'd agree Max needs to move a few steps away from Jos.

But I wouldn't recommend Mika - he seems too busy enjoying his UBS duties!

[Vaud]

MissChief said:

kambites said:

So just Williams without two confirmed drivers now then?

Decent article by Benson on BBC about Kubica and how he didn't exactly set the track alight at the tests. Don't have it linked here but worth a read.

There is a better article on Autosport Plus.

Benson has little credibility to me.

[shirt]

Is there anything in the rules to prevent williams from having a closed test day to evaluate all drivers? Seems foolish to disregard kvyat and wehrlein tbh.

[Vaud]

With a current spec car, yes, against the rules.

I think their view would be - they have seen both Weirlein and Kvyat in multiple races and can derive a lot of performance and racecraft data from those performances.

[Rich_W]

ukaskew said:

LeClerc and Ericsson confirmed for Sauber. Silly season has been pretty rapid this year.

Ericsson scored NO points. Even Wherlein did 5!

Crap driver who happens to have finances. Disgrace!

Vaud said:

MissChief said:

kambites said:

So just Williams without two confirmed drivers now then?

Decent article by Benson on BBC about Kubica and how he didn't exactly set the track alight at the tests. Don't have it linked here but worth a read.

There is a better article on Autosport Plus.

Benson has little credibility to me.

Does the Autosport+ article say the same though?

I've always been sceptical that RK will return

[thebigmacmoomin]

Rich_W said:

ukaskew said:

LeClerc and Ericsson confirmed for Sauber. Silly season has been pretty rapid this year.

Ericsson scored NO points. Even Wherlein did 5!

Crap driver who happens to have finances. Disgrace!

Sauber did the same last season, they got rid of their points scorer (Felipe Nasr) at the end of the season over Marcus Ericsson. It's purely down to money, if they were interested in going forwards & higher up the grid, they would ditch him & get someone with tallent.

[HustleRussell]

Sirotkin now favourite for Williams drive?

[thebigmacmoomin]

HustleRussell said:

Sirotkin now favourite for Williams drive?

How will that go down with Martini as he is only 22. He does bring money with him so I guess that will replace the Martini money.

[Vaud]

thebigmacmoomin said:

How will that go down with Martini as he is only 22. He does bring money with him so I guess that will replace the Martini money.

The team said it was preferable; maybe they will get a driver ambassador for the sponsor stuff.

[rdjohn]

thebigmacmoomin said:

How will that go down with Martini as he is only 22. He does bring money with him so I guess that will replace the Martini money.

Money talks.

It’s just so sad that Williams need to stoop that low.

[HustleRussell]

rdjohn said:

thebigmacmoomin said:

How will that go down with Martini as he is only 22. He does bring money with him so I guess that will replace the Martini money.

Money talks.

It’s just so sad that Williams need to stoop that low.

I disagree, I think Kubica was the romantic, popular choice and Williams are looking towards Sirotkin who appeared to be faster.

[Vaud]

rdjohn said:

Money talks.

It’s just so sad that Williams need to stoop that low.

How do you know? I wanted the Kubica return to be real, but it may be that the performance stats once fully analysed (not on the day) were just not good enough.

[liner33]

It may just be that Williams are playing hard ball and seeing which driver can bring the most money. Essentially selling the seat to the highest bidder.

I can't help feeling if it was just about pace this would have bèen sorted weeks ago

[thegreenhell]

Sirotkin allegedly can bring twice as much money to the team as Kubica.

[Mark-C]

thegreenhell said:

Sirotkin allegedly can bring twice as much money to the team as Kubica.

And was allegedly faster in the test.

[rdjohn]

Vaud said:

How do you know? I wanted the Kubica return to be real, but it may be that the performance stats once fully analysed (not on the day) were just not good enough.

Sirotkin’s availability and track record has been known for a long time. His name suddenly appeared very late in the day for the Abu Dhabi test, and behold, he also had cash.

Slam dunk, he suddenly gets the offer.

None of us “know”, it is just if it looks like an elephant, then it probably is.

[HustleRussell]

People were always going to get all doughy eyed about the Kubica comeback story, but if Sirotkin was demonstrably faster and brings a load more money I can't see how that's anything other than a win for Williams? I know it's not all about outright speed but it's a pretty important component, and who's to say Kubica wasn't going to be there or there abouts at some circuits but a second off the pace at Monaco.

[anonymous-user]

Anyone who is believing Williams rubbish about it being performance related needs a trip to their GP.

Williams are a sell out.

Welcome to modern F1.

[anonymous-user]

Williams are testing another driver next week in their simulator.

[Dermot O'Logical]

ELUSIVEJIM said:

Anyone who is believing Williams rubbish about it being performance related needs a trip to their GP.

Williams are a sell out.

Welcome to modern F1.

I understand what you're trying to say, and in my view the Williams team of recent years is more and more reminiscent of Tyrrell in their declining years. A good deal was preferable to a good driver.

I can't, for example, see Lance Stroll getting a seat in a Mercedes or Ferrari.