The Official F1 2021 silly season *contains speculation*
Discussion
vulture1 said:
LaurasOtherHalf said:
geeks said:
exelero said:
According to the Argentinian MotorLAT page Perez is 99% likely to sign with RBR
They might just need his money for that Honda IP they are after!For a team that brings in good sponsorship money with premium brands, what Perez brings isn’t worth losing the car real estate for.
https://www.redbull.com/int-en/redbullracing/partn...
Perez's sponsors don't just expect a sticker slapped on somewhere for their $20M, plus they expect Perez to receive $8M of the total. So you've basically got to bomb off some of your own long time sponsors who clash such as AT&T and their contributions and re-shuffle others to find a place for Telmex, Telcel and Claro.
That's before you consider that "partners" such as AT&T have multi year deals and do way more than just send money and look at a nice sticker. They work together with the team pretty closely.
Perez brings less to the table for a big team than he does a Racing Point or Williams. And that's before you consider what his actual driving skill will bring to the team, a skill that has so far seen him dismissed from the only top seat he's ever had.
ajprice said:
Toto Wolff has told Russell he'll be on the grid next year https://wtf1.com/post/toto-wolff-told-russell-that...
Hamilton hasn't signed yet. 
I do just wonder if Lewis will decide he’s had enough after this season. As the weeks go by and he’s not signed a new contract it could happen. Maybe he feels he’s achieved all and decides to retire right at the top having blown away everyone this season...? If so Russel may well be in for a Merc seat.
LaurasOtherHalf said:
vulture1 said:
LaurasOtherHalf said:
geeks said:
exelero said:
According to the Argentinian MotorLAT page Perez is 99% likely to sign with RBR
They might just need his money for that Honda IP they are after!For a team that brings in good sponsorship money with premium brands, what Perez brings isn’t worth losing the car real estate for.
https://www.redbull.com/int-en/redbullracing/partn...
Perez's sponsors don't just expect a sticker slapped on somewhere for their $20M, plus they expect Perez to receive $8M of the total. So you've basically got to bomb off some of your own long time sponsors who clash such as AT&T and their contributions and re-shuffle others to find a place for Telmex, Telcel and Claro.
That's before you consider that "partners" such as AT&T have multi year deals and do way more than just send money and look at a nice sticker. They work together with the team pretty closely.
Perez brings less to the table for a big team than he does a Racing Point or Williams. And that's before you consider what his actual driving skill will bring to the team, a skill that has so far seen him dismissed from the only top seat he's ever had.
Muzzer79 said:
It (the RB young driver program) is a conveyor belt.
From the early days of Christian Klein and Vitantonio Liuzzi through Jaime Alguersuari, Scott Speed, Jean-Eric Vergne and Sebastian Buemi, they've been about getting young drivers in, dropping them in the deep end and seeing if they can swim.
Vettel, Verstappen and Ricciardo swam and swam quite well. The others didn't and if you don't swim then you're chucked out of the pool.
Gasly had his chance and couldn't cut it, I highly doubt they'll give him another go in the main team unless he wins a race truly on merit (Monza was lucky due to safety car)
So, they're now looking for the next one but the problem is the well is drying up. They have a few in F2 but they're not setting the world on fire. Whether this is just a dry period and there's younger ones coming or a fundamental problem remains to be seen.
Gasly may have been chucked out the pool but he was still allowed in the junior pool and has even managed to achieve his 50m (race victory) badge so it seems a shame to send him to the changing rooms with a pound coin for the vending machine just yet, chuck him back in the big boy pool before he catches a chill!From the early days of Christian Klein and Vitantonio Liuzzi through Jaime Alguersuari, Scott Speed, Jean-Eric Vergne and Sebastian Buemi, they've been about getting young drivers in, dropping them in the deep end and seeing if they can swim.
Vettel, Verstappen and Ricciardo swam and swam quite well. The others didn't and if you don't swim then you're chucked out of the pool.
Gasly had his chance and couldn't cut it, I highly doubt they'll give him another go in the main team unless he wins a race truly on merit (Monza was lucky due to safety car)
So, they're now looking for the next one but the problem is the well is drying up. They have a few in F2 but they're not setting the world on fire. Whether this is just a dry period and there's younger ones coming or a fundamental problem remains to be seen.
exelero said:
I don’t think they will have Gasly back unfortunately.
I’m of the opinion that he races for Hubert now. He said he got a text from him when he got booted saying : Prove them wrong. The RBR car is too edgy anyway he seems a lot better in the Torro Rosso
They've said they don't feel Gasly will prove any faster than Albon.I’m of the opinion that he races for Hubert now. He said he got a text from him when he got booted saying : Prove them wrong. The RBR car is too edgy anyway he seems a lot better in the Torro Rosso
TheDeuce said:
faa77 said:
TheDeuce said:
I'm sure Sainz will! But unless he can teleport his car off the start line directly on to the podium there is no way next season they will be challenging Red Bull. A flea would have a better chance of tracking down it's own fart in a hurricane than Ferrari troubling the top spots next season.
I can't remember the points allocation but are you saying 3rd every week will beat 4th + 5th every week? If so, okay, i understand.I wouldn't normally be so confident about a 'new' season, but we know they have to use the same cars and they get only a single PU update between now and the end of next season... The gulf between RB and anyone that could threaten them is just too big. Max finishing 3rd or better most GP's will easily see the team clear of the pack and into 2nd in the WCC.
I suppose I could technically be proved wrong! But I honestly can't imagine how such a thing could happen given the status quo and limited development available. It would take Mercedes or Red Bull severely screwing something up to change the order at the top.
EDIT: 4th + 5th is more points than just one driver (Max) bagging third. But Max is unchallenged from below and can get reliably get on the podium. No other team is unchallenged to the extent they can reliably get their drivers to end 4th and 5th.
Edited by TheDeuce on Monday 26th October 23:44
Le Clerc was a long way off from Verstappen in the last race but he was a solid 4th. Perhaps Liberty Media needed to allow a little bit of "cheat" back in the Ferrari to make it more competitive ( tinfoil ! ) but whatever has happened, Ferrari seems to be creeping back up to a strong third place. Put a motivated Sainz in the second seat and you should secure many 5th or 6th places as well.
Next year will be interesting...I hope!
leef44 said:
TheDeuce said:
faa77 said:
TheDeuce said:
I'm sure Sainz will! But unless he can teleport his car off the start line directly on to the podium there is no way next season they will be challenging Red Bull. A flea would have a better chance of tracking down it's own fart in a hurricane than Ferrari troubling the top spots next season.
I can't remember the points allocation but are you saying 3rd every week will beat 4th + 5th every week? If so, okay, i understand.I wouldn't normally be so confident about a 'new' season, but we know they have to use the same cars and they get only a single PU update between now and the end of next season... The gulf between RB and anyone that could threaten them is just too big. Max finishing 3rd or better most GP's will easily see the team clear of the pack and into 2nd in the WCC.
I suppose I could technically be proved wrong! But I honestly can't imagine how such a thing could happen given the status quo and limited development available. It would take Mercedes or Red Bull severely screwing something up to change the order at the top.
EDIT: 4th + 5th is more points than just one driver (Max) bagging third. But Max is unchallenged from below and can get reliably get on the podium. No other team is unchallenged to the extent they can reliably get their drivers to end 4th and 5th.
Edited by TheDeuce on Monday 26th October 23:44
Le Clerc was a long way off from Verstappen in the last race but he was a solid 4th. Perhaps Liberty Media needed to allow a little bit of "cheat" back in the Ferrari to make it more competitive ( tinfoil ! ) but whatever has happened, Ferrari seems to be creeping back up to a strong third place. Put a motivated Sainz in the second seat and you should secure many 5th or 6th places as well.
Next year will be interesting...I hope!
Clerky did put in a very good performance though in Portugal though.
Exige77 said:
leef44 said:
TheDeuce said:
faa77 said:
TheDeuce said:
I'm sure Sainz will! But unless he can teleport his car off the start line directly on to the podium there is no way next season they will be challenging Red Bull. A flea would have a better chance of tracking down it's own fart in a hurricane than Ferrari troubling the top spots next season.
I can't remember the points allocation but are you saying 3rd every week will beat 4th + 5th every week? If so, okay, i understand.I wouldn't normally be so confident about a 'new' season, but we know they have to use the same cars and they get only a single PU update between now and the end of next season... The gulf between RB and anyone that could threaten them is just too big. Max finishing 3rd or better most GP's will easily see the team clear of the pack and into 2nd in the WCC.
I suppose I could technically be proved wrong! But I honestly can't imagine how such a thing could happen given the status quo and limited development available. It would take Mercedes or Red Bull severely screwing something up to change the order at the top.
EDIT: 4th + 5th is more points than just one driver (Max) bagging third. But Max is unchallenged from below and can get reliably get on the podium. No other team is unchallenged to the extent they can reliably get their drivers to end 4th and 5th.
Edited by TheDeuce on Monday 26th October 23:44
Le Clerc was a long way off from Verstappen in the last race but he was a solid 4th. Perhaps Liberty Media needed to allow a little bit of "cheat" back in the Ferrari to make it more competitive ( tinfoil ! ) but whatever has happened, Ferrari seems to be creeping back up to a strong third place. Put a motivated Sainz in the second seat and you should secure many 5th or 6th places as well.
Next year will be interesting...I hope!
Clerky did put in a very good performance though in Portugal though.
The media are quick to zoom in on 'Ferrari resurgence' and it can look very promising. But across an entire season's worth of circuits and circumstances their car isn't good enough to be a threat and I'd be as bold as to say the team isn't entirely on top of the sport these days either.
Whatever factors we can imagine changing, such as second drivers... The bottom line is that the RB is the second best car on the grid and Ferrari, along with the others, are a significant step back from the package RB field currently - and will also have next season.
I firmly believe a driver can make a real difference but ultimately the potential for what a driver can do is set by the car and the team running it.
TheDeuce said:
This^^^
The media are quick to zoom in on 'Ferrari resurgence' and it can look very promising. But across an entire season's worth of circuits and circumstances their car isn't good enough to be a threat and I'd be as bold as to say the team isn't entirely on top of the sport these days either.
Whatever factors we can imagine changing, such as second drivers... The bottom line is that the RB is the second best car on the grid and Ferrari, along with the others, are a significant step back from the package RB field currently - and will also have next season.
I firmly believe a driver can make a real difference but ultimately the potential for what a driver can do is set by the car and the team running it.
The past is not necessarily a predicter of the future. We've seen how all the teams have made development over the year versus McLaren who looks like they've stood still.The media are quick to zoom in on 'Ferrari resurgence' and it can look very promising. But across an entire season's worth of circuits and circumstances their car isn't good enough to be a threat and I'd be as bold as to say the team isn't entirely on top of the sport these days either.
Whatever factors we can imagine changing, such as second drivers... The bottom line is that the RB is the second best car on the grid and Ferrari, along with the others, are a significant step back from the package RB field currently - and will also have next season.
I firmly believe a driver can make a real difference but ultimately the potential for what a driver can do is set by the car and the team running it.
But the point was that Verstappen alone could not hold 2nd place for Constructors without a strong enough 2nd driver compared to Le CLerc with a motivated Sainz for next year. We will see.
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