The Official F1 2020 silly season *contains speculation*

[Vaud]

super7 said:

He won his last race....... and most of his problems this year is around being taken out by others!

He won his last race from pole at a track that is hard to overtake on.

Don't get me wrong, he's definitely got speed. He has some protection from pressure being in F2. With his name, F1 would be a total shark tank for him... want any move to be at the right time.

[DanielSan]

super7 said:

He won his last race....... and most of his problems this year is around being taken out by others!

And if they leave it too long then he'll be found out as an adequate driver rather than a great driver!!

You never know as well... Prema might find the switch that they flicked on in Euro F3 last year in the F2 car????

Schumacher has had similar problems as a lot of F3 drivers going into F2 have with getting used to the Pirelli's, I think next season will be the one to prove himself. That said being good but continuously improving as drivers get to F1 can be better than peaking in F2 and ending up as a Grosjean/Hulkenberg mid pack driver.

[thegreenhell]

Vaud said:

super7 said:

He won his last race....... and most of his problems this year is around being taken out by others!

He won his last race from pole at a track that is hard to overtake on.

And he only got pole for that race because he finished 8th in the feature race, so got full advantage of the reverse grid.

[mattikake]

Mr Pointy said:

Personally I think if the positions were reversed Max would have caught & passed Lewis although I don't know how many other drivers could have.

I was actually thinking about this earlier and I say no chance. Hamilton was going to win whatever Max/RB did.

On the hards stint LH was quicker and could attack. MV lost his tyres about 5 laps from the end, LH's were 6 laps fresher so most likely would've lasted well enough for him to get by on the hards v hards anyway.

If MV had been passed by say, as early as about lap 55, and pitterd for mediums LH would've had a pit stop + a gap, on tyres that were going to last with a merc PU v a Honda PU. LH wins again.

As it was, it was the 3rd scenario, which was the most entertaining.

[super7]

DanielSan said:

super7 said:

He won his last race....... and most of his problems this year is around being taken out by others!

And if they leave it too long then he'll be found out as an adequate driver rather than a great driver!!

You never know as well... Prema might find the switch that they flicked on in Euro F3 last year in the F2 car????

Schumacher has had similar problems as a lot of F3 drivers going into F2 have with getting used to the Pirelli's, I think next season will be the one to prove himself. That said being good but continuously improving as drivers get to F1 can be better than peaking in F2 and ending up as a Grosjean/Hulkenberg mid pack driver.

This is true..... Russell, Lando and LeClerc all had F1 experience from testing and knew the tyres in their first year..... They still nailed their positions in their respective F2 championships. The only one of this years newbies who didn't know the tyres was Alborn.

Either way, Schumacher was crap at Prema in Euro F3 unitl just after midseason. Even to the point where Dan Tictum made some comment about what switch had Prema flicked, because he went from a mid-performing driver to winning every race over night.

In F2 whether you know the tyres or not, if you stay there for too long all you have to look forward to is a mediocre F1 career or WEC / DTM etc.

[ajprice]

Bottas looking at plan B... and plan C https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/145314/bottas-lo...

[anonymous-user]

I really do worry about Mick Schumacher.

He will be expected to be the next Michael and I just can't see it. I hope I am wrong.

Slightly different but I remember Bruno Senna being hyped as the new Ayrton.

[anonymous-user]

ajprice said:

Bottas looking at plan B... and plan C https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/145314/bottas-lo...

Ocon must know that Toto cheated on his wife. Can be the only reason he is in the frame to replace Bottas

[Mr Pointy]

mattikake said:

Mr Pointy said:

Personally I think if the positions were reversed Max would have caught & passed Lewis although I don't know how many other drivers could have.

I was actually thinking about this earlier and I say no chance. Hamilton was going to win whatever Max/RB did.

On the hards stint LH was quicker and could attack. MV lost his tyres about 5 laps from the end, LH's were 6 laps fresher so most likely would've lasted well enough for him to get by on the hards v hards anyway.

If MV had been passed by say, as early as about lap 55, and pitterd for mediums LH would've had a pit stop + a gap, on tyres that were going to last with a merc PU v a Honda PU. LH wins again.

As it was, it was the 3rd scenario, which was the most entertaining.

I should have been clearer: I meant swapping Hamilton & Verstappen into each other's cars. I'm not sure many drivers on the grid could have done 20 quali laps - it's the sort of thing Schumacher used to do. Bottas couldn't do it in a million years. Vettel & Leclerc maybe could.

[HighwayStar]

ELUSIVEJIM said:

I really do worry about Mick Schumacher.

He will be expected to be the next Michael and I just can't see it. I hope I am wrong.

Slightly different but I remember Bruno Senna being hyped as the new Ayrton.

Definitely, the name was/is the weight of expectation. I would seem some expect talent to just be there. Maybe he should’ve pulled an Emilio Esteves and got about his business with the inevitable attention and expectation.

[Deesee]

Mark Hughes on Silly Season

https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/opinion/f1/mph-...

(All been discussed here already)

[La-spoon]

I think merc are potentially in trouble long term and they know it. Unless they can get Verstappen or dare i say it a revitalised Vettel i cant see the next big name coming through. Hamiltons going to go relatively soon. Vettel to Red Bull?.... i can only see that happening if Ferrari can replace him with Verstappen or more likely Hamilton.
I think Merc are likely to take a punt on Ocon to see if he is better than Bottas and could potentially be the next team leader.
Thats the only big change this year I can see. Or to throw it out there. Max to Merc, Lewis to Ferrari and Vettel to Red Bull with lots of money changing hands.

[anonymous-user]

I reckon Russell would be a great Hamilton replacement.

[LaurasOtherHalf]

La-spoon said:

I think merc are potentially in trouble long term and they know it. Unless they can get Verstappen or dare i say it a revitalised Vettel i cant see the next big name coming through. Hamiltons going to go relatively soon. Vettel to Red Bull?.... i can only see that happening if Ferrari can replace him with Verstappen or more likely Hamilton.
I think Merc are likely to take a punt on Ocon to see if he is better than Bottas and could potentially be the next team leader.
Thats the only big change this year I can see. Or to throw it out there. Max to Merc, Lewis to Ferrari and Vettel to Red Bull with lots of money changing hands.

Cobblers.

Mercedes have enough budget left over from HAM retiring, never mind the budget cap to buy any driver out of their contract and pay them whatever they want.

And let's be honest, if the main seat in that Mercedes becomes available no matter who they're contracted to, every driver in the paddock will be instructing their lawyers.

[ajprice]

Whenever Hamilton moves on or goes home, they'll have Russell and Ocon ready. Sorted.

[anonymous-user]

janesmith1950 said:

I reckon Russell would be a great Hamilton replacement.

But is he really going to be?

Need to see Russell in a car with a driver who has not been out of F1 for so long and doesn't have a terrible hand injury.

Kubica is not the driver we last saw in an F1 car.

I would like to see Ocon in the Williams and see what happens between the two for a future Mercedes seat.

Hamilton at this moment in time would destroy Russell or Ocon.

[mattikake]

ELUSIVEJIM said:

But is he really going to be?

Need to see Russell in a car with a driver who has not been out of F1 for so long and doesn't have a terrible hand injury.

Kubica is not the driver we last saw in an F1 car.

I would like to see Ocon in the Williams and see what happens between the two for a future Mercedes seat.

Hamilton at this moment in time would destroy Russell or Ocon.

Did you see Russell in F2 or GP3? More dominant in F2 than Hamilton was perhaps. Definitely the best of the British hope for the future, even more so given driver weight is now not an issue.

[ghost83]

Can’t see Lewis quitting he’s in his prime, walking these championships and cementing his name in the history books!

And I don’t see ocon or Russel been a Hamilton replacement! If ocon was good he would have been on the grid! If it’s purely between bottas and ocon they should keep bottas, there’s rumours ocon is destined for Renault and hulk to be ousted! If vettel quits ferrari then I only see Danny ric or maybe even kimi back there!

I don’t believe toto would be that daft to only be talking to bottas and ocon though! I bet he’s had chats with vettel and max and vettel has been pictured having lunch at redbull just to spice things up too

[anonymous-user]

mattikake said:

Did you see Russell in F2 or GP3? More dominant in F2 than Hamilton was perhaps. Definitely the best of the British hope for the future, even more so given driver weight is now not an issue.

There have been more drivers who have cleaned up in F2 or GP2 and struggled in F1.

Not saying Russell is not going to be a great F1 driver but he needs to be against someone who is not too far off the pace.

I am sure if Toto thought he was as good as some think it would be Russell's name against Bottas for the Mercedes drive in 2020.

I really rate what Russell has done this year in the Williams but IMO if Bottas is kept at Mercedes which I feel he should be then Ocon in the Williams would be a great way of seeing if Russell is the real deal.

If he is then, by all means, put him in the Mercedes for 2021.

[Pooh]

How about replacing Gasly with Alonso, I am sure he would do a better job of getting points and it would be interesting to see how he compares to MAX?