The Official F1 2021 silly season *contains speculation*

[TheDeuce]

Flooble said:

thegreenhell said:

glazbagun said:

Next year has the cost cap doesn't it?

I think Mercedes will hand the team to Ineos and go back to being an engine supplier. IIRC, Lewis' contract talks were held up as he wanted a share of the team. Maybe he'll get it as part of a way to keep him in the car without the team paying him.

Driver salaries and the highest three team salaries aren't included in the cost cap, so that makes no difference for a team that needs to make big cuts to hit the cap.

Remind me, how far are they controlled in the way those salaries are managed. E.g. Could a driver employ his own personal aerodynamicist, race engineer, powertrain engineer etc.?

I think Lewis employs Angela himself.. As for how to police such things, I'm not sure if there is specific regulation around such an arrangement, but the FIA have by default the final say, which is all they need for the thousand or so ways the teams could potentially evade the caps.

Also... imagine the awkwardness of the arrangement if the TP had to tell the Race Engineer to order his employer to let a team mate pass! There would be all sorts of conflicts if team members were actually employed by one of the drivers..

[thegreenhell]

Then they would be sub-contractors to the team, and still fall under the cost cap. Driver salaries are to cover the duties of a racing driver, and any other duties or services provided outside of that would have to be reported in the accounts and given a fair value.

It's pure fantasy to think a driver could simply divert his salary to provide additional technical resources for the team. They would be found out in no time.

[anonymous-user]

"No Bottas! You can't have that front wing. That's MY front wing designed by MY designer."

[TheDeuce]

RonaldMcDonaldAteMyCat said:

"No Bottas! You can't have that front wing. That's MY front wing designed by MY designer."

Indeed

Although last weekend when bottas got pole, I did see Lewis's personal trainer fistbump him to say well done - she actually went out of her way to congratulate him.

[LaurasOtherHalf]

Stan the Bat said:

" IIRC, Lewis' contract talks were held up as he wanted a share of the team. "


Where do you guys get this info ?

Just interested as never seen that mentioned, perhaps I don't delve into things enough.

I've never seen it reported but I've theorised on these pages if it was a reason for the contract stalls.

[Teddy Lop]

LaurasOtherHalf said:

Stan the Bat said:

" IIRC, Lewis' contract talks were held up as he wanted a share of the team. "


Where do you guys get this info ?

Just interested as never seen that mentioned, perhaps I don't delve into things enough.

I've never seen it reported but I've theorised on these pages if it was a reason for the contract stalls.

I've read suggestions to that effect but could have been your own speculation.

I guess the idea sort of sits comfortably - Lewis has made noises about being involved in motorsport, and he doesn't do anything by half eg he gets personally immersed/invested, as in his side projects like music and fashion rather than signing off on others work.

[LaurasOtherHalf]

Teddy Lop said:

LaurasOtherHalf said:

Stan the Bat said:

" IIRC, Lewis' contract talks were held up as he wanted a share of the team. "


Where do you guys get this info ?

Just interested as never seen that mentioned, perhaps I don't delve into things enough.

I've never seen it reported but I've theorised on these pages if it was a reason for the contract stalls.

I've read suggestions to that effect but could have been your own speculation.

I guess the idea sort of sits comfortably - Lewis has made noises about being involved in motorsport, and he doesn't do anything by half eg he gets personally immersed/invested, as in his side projects like music and fashion rather than signing off on others work.

It just makes sense to me, he get's to negate his lower wages in dividends and shares. I know Lewis wants to change the world but even he must know he needs to be relevant in order to do so.

I know he's often said in the past that when he's finished with F1 he's finished with it but when you look at the £ the Beckhams have invested in their future in order to stay in the game, it aint peanuts!

[Sandpit Steve]

Flooble said:

Remind me, how far are they controlled in the way those salaries are managed. E.g. Could a driver employ his own personal aerodynamicist, race engineer, powertrain engineer etc.?

The forensics guys the FIA have got working on the accounting rules would want to know who had all these system logins. Not to mention the chaos it would cause between ‘team members’ all ‘working’ for different people.

It will be interesting to see how paying people in shares and options is valued for cost cap purposes.

The only people the driver can legitimately employ himself are allowed nothing to do with the design nor operation of the car - personal trainers, doctors, coaches, business managers etc.

[Exige77]

I Would imagine the future profits will be significantly higher.

Prize money and sponsorship will be the same but costs will be significantly lower.

[Teddy Lop]

RonaldMcDonaldAteMyCat said:

Smollet said:

Teddy Lop said:

interesting, given the covid stats in Turkey right now..

Have they got the triple ninja mutant Ottoman variety?

They've got the northern Cyprus variant. Nobody's allowed to acknowledge it and it probably originated in Greece.

Ahem.

https://www.grandprix.com/news/f1-assessing-situat...

Nurburgring or mugello then..

[anonymous-user]

Mugello please.

[TheDeuce]

Teddy Lop said:

RonaldMcDonaldAteMyCat said:

Smollet said:

Teddy Lop said:

interesting, given the covid stats in Turkey right now..

Have they got the triple ninja mutant Ottoman variety?

They've got the northern Cyprus variant. Nobody's allowed to acknowledge it and it probably originated in Greece.

Ahem.

https://www.grandprix.com/news/f1-assessing-situat...

Nurburgring or mugello then..

Not sure what they think they have to 'assess', anyone going to Turkey will absolutely have to state quarantine for the ten days when they return - so it's a complete non starter for F1..

Im not even sure our government has that number of quarantine hotels ready to go.

Mugello please.

[MissChief]

TheDeuce said:

Teddy Lop said:

RonaldMcDonaldAteMyCat said:

Smollet said:

Teddy Lop said:

interesting, given the covid stats in Turkey right now..

Have they got the triple ninja mutant Ottoman variety?

They've got the northern Cyprus variant. Nobody's allowed to acknowledge it and it probably originated in Greece.

Ahem.

https://www.grandprix.com/news/f1-assessing-situat...

Nurburgring or mugello then..

Not sure what they think they have to 'assess', anyone going to Turkey will absolutely have to state quarantine for the ten days when they return - so it's a complete non starter for F1..

Im not even sure our government has that number of quarantine hotels ready to go.

Mugello please.

Mugello is a great track but I'm not so sure it's a good RACE track for F1.

[TheDeuce]

MissChief said:

Mugello is a great track but I'm not so sure it's a good RACE track for F1.

In many ways it's a terrible circuit for F1, unsuitable really.. But the last couple of years have shown us that changes to what the teams are used to generally produce interesting results - as Mugello did last season, when we lost 8 cars... And it's one of the prettiest circuits.

Granted none of the above has anything to do with 'racing' but it was entertaining nonetheless

[kiseca]

TheDeuce said:

MissChief said:

Mugello is a great track but I'm not so sure it's a good RACE track for F1.

In many ways it's a terrible circuit for F1, unsuitable really.. But the last couple of years have shown us that changes to what the teams are used to generally produce interesting results - as Mugello did last season, when we lost 8 cars... And it's one of the prettiest circuits.

Granted none of the above has anything to do with 'racing' but it was entertaining nonetheless

Mugello was great because it was a new challenge for nearly all the drivers, and it's a tricky, undulating circuit. I thought that was a great race last year because you could see the drivers working hard and being really challenged at an early stage of their learning curve.

Unfortunately practice makes perfect and I expect the next time they visit Mugello they'll all put in much tighter performances and the race would be less interesting as a result, but I still hope they do it.

[trackdemon]

kiseca said:

TheDeuce said:

MissChief said:

Mugello is a great track but I'm not so sure it's a good RACE track for F1.

In many ways it's a terrible circuit for F1, unsuitable really.. But the last couple of years have shown us that changes to what the teams are used to generally produce interesting results - as Mugello did last season, when we lost 8 cars... And it's one of the prettiest circuits.

Granted none of the above has anything to do with 'racing' but it was entertaining nonetheless

Mugello was great because it was a new challenge for nearly all the drivers, and it's a tricky, undulating circuit. I thought that was a great race last year because you could see the drivers working hard and being really challenged at an early stage of their learning curve.

Unfortunately practice makes perfect and I expect the next time they visit Mugello they'll all put in much tighter performances and the race would be less interesting as a result, but I still hope they do it.

Indeed; it's not a new circuit to them any more so they'll have data & experience aplenty. The crash was an aberration I doubt would be repeated. Nice looking circuit and a challenge to drive, but I'd rather we used somewhere that lends itself to overtaking - as with Barcelona, lots of high speed corners just makes the delta necessary for a pass too high. I'd like to see Silverstone backwards

[Deesee]

jsf said:

Mugello please.

Let’s hope so, although I’m hearing a double header at Paul Ricard.. (need a cold shower)..brrr..

[Deesee]

Oh, and someone else has entered the Merc driver possibility of driving for them, as the engineers and management are impressed... Lando.. a driver contract may have already been signed with Toto..

[Steamer]

Deesee said:

jsf said:

Mugello please.

Let’s hope so, although I’m hearing a double header at Paul Ricard.. (need a cold shower)..brrr..

[thegreenhell]

Deesee said:

Oh, and someone else has entered the Merc driver possibility of driving for them, as the engineers and management are impressed... Lando.. a driver contract may have already been signed with Toto..

Sounds like a rumour for the 2022 silly season thread.