The Official F1 2023 silly season *contains speculation*

[mw88]

rdjohn said:

I read that and like you, just do not see a logical fit for MSC at AM, other than on current form, he might make Lance look good.

Alonso, Danny, or the Hulk seem a far more logical choice, unless MSC comes with cash. De Vries with Merc doing a deal on engines is another possibility.

I don't see Hulk as a logical choice. He's always mentioned when ever a seat pops up, no doubt he's a dependable pair of hands but was beat by Ricciardo at Renault and always seemed to drop the ball when he was in with a sniff of a decent result.

Alonso to AM isn't something I considered, but you can guarantee Alpine with be running at the front if he moves

Toto might be looking to get De Vries somewhere, but Alpine need somewhere for Piastri too.

McLaren say Ricciardo is there next year, but maybe Ricciardo to AM, Piastri to McLaren (or AM if Ric stays) and De Vries replacing Latifi at Williams.

[the-norseman]

As much as I'd like Mick at a more competitive team, suspect Ferrari will keep him at HAAS.

[entropy]

Suprised nobody mentioned Pierre Gasly.

Ever since he rejoined AT he's been a man looking desperate to leave the RB family but is stuck in rock and a hard place knowing RB is his only route to staying in F1.

[ajprice]

Would the Red Bull/Porsche deal mean Porsche pushing for a German driver in the car?

[the-norseman]

ajprice said:

Would the Red Bull/Porsche deal mean Porsche pushing for a German driver in the car?

Possibly, I read AM also wanted another German.

Apart from Mick who else is there? The 2 Germans in F2 are well down the table.

[thegreenhell]

entropy said:

Suprised nobody mentioned Pierre Gasly.

Ever since he rejoined AT he's been a man looking desperate to leave the RB family but is stuck in rock and a hard place knowing RB is his only route to staying in F1.

Gasly just signed for another year with AT for next year.

[entropy]

thegreenhell said:

Gasly just signed for another year with AT for next year.

And so has Ricc and his name has been bandied about on here. There's no stopping AM signing a driver for a year/one year + option year and then ditch them for DR or PG.

[Pflanzgarten]

Did anyone else see Ricciardo’s reaction to Vettel’s retirement In the presser?

Very awkward around seb retiring quite young

[vulture1]

ColdSyphon said:

Felipe Driugovich will likely be very interested in Seb’s seat as well.

3rd year at f2 in a weak field he is not a contender imo.

[vulture1]

Pflanzgarten said:

Did anyone else see Ricciardo’s reaction to Vettel’s retirement In the presser?

Very awkward around seb retiring quite young

Ricciardo is in that rae situation where he is actually wanting to hold onto that 1 more year contract and not rock the boat in the hope his form comes back.

[PhilAsia]

HustleRussell said:

It's very hard to predict what Aston Martin's strategy will be on drivers. They have not been the most ambitious in this respect. We assume Lance is still on a magic carpet ride, although he's only on a one year for 2022. Recruiting Vettel seemed to be about his cachet more than anything. Will they want to pick a driver who won't embarrass Lance or will they surprise us with a young hope? Or do they want another big ticket ambassador type driver to replace Seb?

Mick would work pretty well in a lot of respects. Sebastian will have been pulling for him no doubt, like Russell did for Albon last year. It'd be very 'Seb' to vacate a seat and have engineered it such that it is occupied by the 'little brother' character. Mick's German backers would probably relish the association with the Aston Martin brand and whichever German team provides the engines(?) Mick is a well-liked driver but could probably be handled to a degree.

I'm not certain that Schumacher has earned his stripes just yet and I'm not aware of a Ferrari driver pressurising his Haas seat so maybe he just stays where he is.

Are there any Emirati drivers waiting in the wings? Aston Martin the car company is awash with Saudi investment, and the race car carries Aramco...

Edited by HustleRussell on Thursday 28th July 14:20

A move for Mick to AM will satisfy those that want the Schumacher name in F1, and the move will also allow for an additional period in F1 where Mick's not-so-great drives can be explained away due to a settling in period, etc.

Mick also asked where Seb finished last race, so that absolutely settled it for me lol...

[spikyone]

Other than marketability I don't see what Mick brings to the table. A Mick/Lance pairing would be one of the weakest, if not the outright weakest on the grid. With all the drivers ruling themselves out yesterday, assuming they were being truthful there don't seem to be (m)any good options for AM.

[Adrian W]

Looking at all the Mercedes and Aston Martin tie ups I would say they have a lot of influence in driver selection, even Vettel was German

[Jacobyte]

vulture1 said:

Pflanzgarten said:

Did anyone else see Ricciardo’s reaction to Vettel’s retirement In the presser?

Very awkward around seb retiring quite young

Ricciardo is in that rae situation where he is actually wanting to hold onto that 1 more year contract and not rock the boat in the hope his form comes back.

Quite right. Ric knows that moving to a non-potential-winning team means the end of his WDC dreams.

He still has the talent and focus to be at the sharp end (current car incompatibility notwithstanding). So I feel that moving to any "midfield" team to earn a crust or make up the numbers is not in his plans. His desire to win on merit means he won't want to go to Aston. He's just gotta find his mojo in the McLaren.

[Adrian W]

Jacobyte said:

vulture1 said:

Pflanzgarten said:

Did anyone else see Ricciardo’s reaction to Vettel’s retirement In the presser?

Very awkward around seb retiring quite young

Ricciardo is in that rae situation where he is actually wanting to hold onto that 1 more year contract and not rock the boat in the hope his form comes back.

Quite right. Ric knows that moving to a non-potential-winning team means the end of his WDC dreams.

He still has the talent and focus to be at the sharp end (current car incompatibility notwithstanding). So I feel that moving to any "midfield" team to earn a crust or make up the numbers is not in his plans. His desire to win on merit means he won't want to go to Aston. He's just gotta find his mojo in the McLaren.

Maybe Ricciardo just isn't that good, and it won't get better

[Pflanzgarten]

Adrian W said:

Looking at all the Mercedes and Aston Martin tie ups I would say they have a lot of influence in driver selection, even Vettel was German

Vettel had zero cachet in Germany.

[Jacobyte]

Adrian W said:

Maybe Ricciardo just isn't that good, and it won't get better

Indeed, maybe he's simply got the yips and his time has gone.

I like to think it's a temporary blip though, as it's great to see people overcoming adversity.

[Fundoreen]

This latest development is a bit of a bargaining chip for Alonso. Either Alonso was dragging his feet to sign for Alpine or they were.
Its a blow for Aston M losing a big name like vettel as all those sponsors want to feel the team is serious and has the big names onboard.
Maybe Alonso will keep both teams guessing till the last day to see which one looks fastest.
Stroll Jr could be keen on Alonso as his F1 scrapbook can add another name to the ones he sometimes beats.

[vulture1]

Fundoreen said:

This latest development is a bit of a bargaining chip for Alonso. Either Alonso was dragging his feet to sign for Alpine or they were.
Its a blow for Aston M losing a big name like vettel as all those sponsors want to feel the team is serious and has the big names onboard.
Maybe Alonso will keep both teams guessing till the last day to see which one looks fastest.
Stroll Jr could be keen on Alonso as his F1 scrapbook can add another name to the ones he sometimes beats.

I personally think in the same car Fernando would muller Stroll at every race.

[DanielSan]

vulture1 said:

Fundoreen said:

This latest development is a bit of a bargaining chip for Alonso. Either Alonso was dragging his feet to sign for Alpine or they were.
Its a blow for Aston M losing a big name like vettel as all those sponsors want to feel the team is serious and has the big names onboard.
Maybe Alonso will keep both teams guessing till the last day to see which one looks fastest.
Stroll Jr could be keen on Alonso as his F1 scrapbook can add another name to the ones he sometimes beats.

I personally think in the same car Fernando would muller Stroll at every race.

Bit of a win win situation for Stroll if Alonso was in the other car, everyone would expect him to be beaten constantly anyway so if he gets close or even beats him a few times it makes Stroll either look no worse, or he looks better.