The Official F1 2022 silly season *contains speculation*

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Trevatanus said:

Ambassador for Walls?

And vodka?

[vaud]

So when do we guess - announcement at Zandvoort or Monza?

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Russell is managed by Mercedes.

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Russell + Gasly for the post-Hamilton world - would be a great pairing in my view (but I know nothing)

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... given Williams have 20 points and unlikely to be passed by Haas or Alfa... do they need Latifi's funding still?

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stemll said:

All teams need sponsors so why not keep the ones you have unless there's a significantly better offer on the table. Happy as I am to see Williams in 8th even I, as a Williams fan since watching my first GP in 1980, can't kid myself that both points finishes came with a rather large bucket of luck (apart from George's qualifying). Doubtful he'd have finished second if they had actually got racing.

Plus, Capito seems keen to keep him

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.william...

Thanks for that. I quite like Latifi - his recent F1 podcast was quite funny.

[vaud]

TheDeuce said:

They don't need much of a factory - I guess it can be anywhere. If Mazepin were to take full ownership, it could be in Russia.. Traditionally it is most convenient to be in Britain - but Haas isn't a traditional team in terms of needing that convenience.

And where in Russia would they find the talent?

US can cross hire from some other motorsports
UK is well provided
Sauber struggle given it's Switzerland
Ferraris is, well, Ferrari. AlphaTauri pick up a few.

But Russia?

[vaud]

Leithen said:

Yes.

I'd like to see him in a marginally better car for a year - Alfa, etc.

[vaud]

LaurasOtherHalf said:

I wonder why he was shoved in down at Haas is my reckoning-the only seat available?

All the new superstars have been found seats accordingly, Leclerc, Verstappen, Norris, even George Russel was doing amazing things in the stbox williams to garner praise.

Schumacher? Nowt really… The others everyone was desperate to get signed up

I think it was timing and a desire not to throw hime straight into the frying pan, given the Schumacher legacy. Set low expectations while he made the transition. IIRC he was better in his 2nd year of each formula.

[vaud]

ajprice said:

No change at Alpha Tauri, Gasly and Tsunoda stay https://twitter.com/AlphaTauriF1/status/1435128575...

Sort of pleased fo Gasly and disappointed for him. I think he is mentally in a great place as he is exceeding expectations without the pressure of being in a Ferrari, etc, and the car is quick (ish) this year. He has time on his side.

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LaurasOtherHalf said:

As you say vaud, Gasly has time on his side and his contract may actually be a benefit as to when his and other seats become available. 2023 must be the target for his team as there is every chance a seat could open up at Mercedes, Aston Martin, Red Bull, Alpine and/or anywhere else.

He's not going back to RedBull - otherwise they would have signed him in place of Perez.

Russell - Gasly would be impressive, I think, as would Norris-Gasly at McLaren. Ocon-Gasly also... less sure that Aston-Martin can out develop AlphaTauri

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StevieBee said:

One of the reasons cited for the failure of Toyota's F1 project was its steadfast desire to remain located in Cologne alongside its Rally operation.

Agree completely.

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Supersam83 said:

Only 2 spare seats available now and probably 6 drivers rumoured to fill them.

Antonio Giovinazzi
Alex Albon
Nyck De Vries
Stoffel Vandoorne
Nico Hulkenberg
Callum Ilott

I thought Zhou was a possibility as well and has some budget?

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andburg said:

has Mick been confirmed at HAAS?

He was headlined as a multi year deal

https://www.f1-fansite.com/f1-news/haas-confirms-m...
and
https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/92328/ferrari-team-...

But you are right - nothing from Haas directly?

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cgt2 said:

I cannot fathom in any alternative universe a circumstance where Mazepin becomes a 7 time world champion

The one where his dad runs the FIA and buys FOM before disqualifying all non-Russian drivers who don't have the surname Mazepin?

He'd probably still spin off the track.

[vaud]

Teddy Lop said:

From my limited listening (where something like missed apex temper his bluster) joe has a bit of a cob on for Zhou

I think he being pragmatic.

Zhou comes with money. Several teams need money. I've never seen Joe be enthused by Zhou's driving...

[vaud]

If the sprint races stay, is it time to let the teams have a t-car for these weekends?

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...but they have the parts to rebuild a car on site anyway. So surely it's only a marginal cost?

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cgt2 said:

thegreenhell said:

Mick hasn't shown anything so far in his career to suggest he'll emulate his father's success. His driving has been more Ralf than Michael Schumacher.

We can only judge him on his F2 championship really thus far as beating Mazepin in a Haas gives no kind of accurate barometer. Being alongside Bottas would give a proper reference point.

Anyone remember when Bruno Senna was talked about being as good as his Uncle. Spoiler: he wasn't.

I don't think anyone has said Mick is as good as Michael.

But he has the brand, he seems competent... would like to see him in a car that allows some mid field racing for a year or two before casting judgement.

[vaud]

Leithen said:

Michael Schumacher won in his second year of Formula 3, like Mick.

Mick hasn't had a chance to drive anything as competitive as the Jordan 191 was either.

So as much as comparisons are worth (very little, especially across eras), we simply don't know how good Mick might be. We do know that he appears to be well liked and respected for his work ethic.

F1 remains a crapshoot - many will never be in the right place at the right time to show what they might be capable of. And that's not going to change anytime soon.

At the moment however, Mick's career progression is unclear - I think Ferrari may well be happy with Leclerc and Sainz for some time. His management is no doubt working hard to have as many door open to him as possible.

Shame that we can't have a few sprint races where the teams would run drivers from their development pool. Constructor points would count but not driver.

e.g. Ferrari could run Mick, etc