The Official F1 2020 silly season *contains speculation*

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TheDeuce said:

And toro rosso just announced no changes either. That's about it then this season - other than waiting for Williams to give up hoping a rich person will buy the seat that latifi has already earned.

And where Hulk lands... 3rd driver for Ferrari as an insurance policy?

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HustleRussell said:

Why was there talk of Hamilton contract negotiations in Brazil? I've just checked and it was previously reported that he was signed up until the end of 2020...

In any case I bet Mercedes are playing hard ball with Hamilton over his pay for the next period

Title done and dusted. Regs a bit clearer. Using the press to his agenda at a guess. The swing factors for him will now be:

• Mercedes board committing for x years
• Toto's future
• How much $$$ for Lewis

In the mean time, I would expect lots of rumors about him secretly visiting Maranello to create a tension point and accelerate Mercedes decisions

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Adrian W said:

who wrote that? nothing confirmed on any of it.

Given it was written and published by the promoter of F1, it might have some veracity?

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kambites said:

Drivers constantly meet with other teams to look at future options. Unless he thinks Mercedes are going to pull out in 2021, I can't see Hamilton going anywhere, if nothing else because he's not an idiot and whilst Ferrari have proven they can design a decent car, they appear to still be unable to run it properly.

True. Schumacher jumped to Ferrari when they couldn't design a decent car OR run it properly.

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janesmith1950 said:

I don't understand why it would be a shock?

Agreed.

It would also be a double hit for Mercedes, as not only would Ferrari have the Hamilton, who would they find to drive the Mercedes of the same calibre and consistency?

[vaud]

janesmith1950 said:

Vettel was the last non-Mercedes driver to win the WDC (and that was the end run of 4 consecutive WDCs). He may have had a bad run at Ferrari, but he's the last driver on the grid to have won a WDC that isn't Hamilton.

Aside from Kimi?

[vaud]

thegreenhell said:

vaud said:

janesmith1950 said:

Vettel was the last non-Mercedes driver to win the WDC (and that was the end run of 4 consecutive WDCs). He may have had a bad run at Ferrari, but he's the last driver on the grid to have won a WDC that isn't Hamilton.

Aside from Kimi?

I think he means last as in most recent prior to Hamilton. As you say, he isn't the last remaining WDC other than Hamilton.

Indeed. I was responding to "but he's the last driver on the grid to have won a WDC that isn't Hamilton" which I had maybe wrongly inferred as "last remaining"

[vaud]

Deesee said:

Interestingly I know of a formula e team up for sale, but not an F1 team.

With F1 expansion in the US, Ford could make quite the comeback with the purchase of Mercedes Formula one GP (formally brawn/Honda/tyrell etc), and perhaps a JV into the Powertrain business.

I thought torro rosso was for sale but at a high price?

I think Haas will be if they have another bad year.

[vaud]

Duns said:

The 412T2 was a decent effort, but the minimum weights in '95 were probably too low for a V12 to win.

I don't disagree, but that underlines that they had clung on to the V12 concept for too long and not designed an optimum car for the regs.

[vaud]

There will be exit clauses as well if Ferrari don't provide a good car.

[vaud]

He makes some good points.

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janesmith1950 said:

So answers on a memorabilia Pirelli intermediate tyre converted into a bar stool using the exhaust manifolds from a 1999 Mugen Honda V10 as legs, what is going to be the biggest F1 silly season shock at any point in 2020?

I'm going for Mercedes pull out.

I will start the 2020 thread once the season starts

I think they will pull out as a manufacturer team, but remain as an engine supplier.

[vaud]

thegreenhell said:

Piginapoke said:

Williams outside the 107% rule

The slowest of their two cars was an average 103.19% behind across the whole 2019 season. To drop outside 107% they'd need to drop another 3.5 seconds further behind the fastest. Even just fielding their 2019 car again should see them comfortably within 107% in 2020.

Indeed. Plus it is at the discretion from the race stewards, who will not want to see a partial grid. 107% was from a time of fuller grids, and to avoid dangerously slow cars. The Williams was crap, but not dangerously slow.

[vaud]

Merc have been consistently clear that they will not return to a dual #1 driver setup (I know some would say that they aren't equal, etc but they have got 10 titles between them...)

Nico/Lewis took far too much management time and energy to manage.

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[url]https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.aitken-leaves-renault-reserve-driver-role.tBYORU9uPVhQkeE5kndk5.html[/url

Jack Aitken leaves Renault reserve driver role

[vaud]

TheDeuce said:

slap -> face

They're a pretty long term sponsor aren't they? Obviously not as long term as a certain cigarette brand..

Hard to say if it is as simple as "slap -> face"

Maybe the renewal terms were not attractive enough for AMD. Maybe they are about to be replaced by Apple/Intel/etc. Maybe Ferrari want fewer sponsors and a cleaner looking car with rate hikes for the remaining.

It's easy to say "slap -> face". Harder to read between the lines.