The Official F1 2026 silly season *contains speculation*
Discussion
ajprice said:
Kimi is Toto's baby, he's brought him through and put him in the car last year, not going anywhere. Ferrari isn't likely as Bearman will be stepping up when Lewis quits. Mclaren drivers are set for a while unless they have a massive spat. Aston Martin could be an option if they get their s
t together and build a car that's safe to drive for more than half a race. That would also follow Alonso's habit of leaving just before a car gets good.
Any one of the teams you've mentioned would drop an existing driver if they could get Max.t together and build a car that's safe to drive for more than half a race. That would also follow Alonso's habit of leaving just before a car gets good.It's a fact.
vaud said:
Muzzer79 said:
Any one of the teams you've mentioned would drop an existing driver if they could get Max.
It's a fact.
Agree. No TP is going to dismiss the idea. It's a fact.
The counter arguments, cost and not needing (Merc right now) his talent, both reasonable...
But both soundly beaten by the reality that the sponsors will get more exposure, headlines and subsequently pay more for a winning car that has Max driving it. Obviously you need a car that has the pace to reaffirm Max as a driving gad in order to get the benefit of signing a driving god, so this only applies to top teams, and this year, really only to Mercedes.
TheDeuce said:
I agree too.
The counter arguments, cost and not needing (Merc right now) his talent, both reasonable...
But both soundly beaten by the reality that the sponsors will get more exposure, headlines and subsequently pay more for a winning car that has Max driving it. Obviously you need a car that has the pace to reaffirm Max as a driving gad in order to get the benefit of signing a driving god, so this only applies to top teams, and this year, really only to Mercedes.
Max has been the lowest profile world champion in years. He did bugger all compared to Lewis in raising the profile of the sport outside it's dedicated fans. He refused to engage in the F1 film which was a major PR oportunity. The counter arguments, cost and not needing (Merc right now) his talent, both reasonable...
But both soundly beaten by the reality that the sponsors will get more exposure, headlines and subsequently pay more for a winning car that has Max driving it. Obviously you need a car that has the pace to reaffirm Max as a driving gad in order to get the benefit of signing a driving god, so this only applies to top teams, and this year, really only to Mercedes.
Outside of the Red Bull junkiesphere and nationalistic Dutch, people don't warm to crashy cheats either. He'd much rather be bashing people off track on his sym every night, than gladhanding on the PR circuit.
Zak at McLaren has shown you don't need Max to attract the big money sponsors.
Killer2005 said:
Once translated I 100% agree, Adrian Newey looks well out of his depth as team principle. He should be out the back somewhere designing the car and not the face of the team.I wonder how much more of this Stroll Snr will take before he throws in the towel? The whole thing is a vanity project for his son, who lets be honest has about as much chance of being world champion as I do.
entropy said:
Toto saying st to keep Kimi sweet and trolliing the media & armchair critics. Both Kimi & George had their option years taken and both will need renewing for next season onwards.
Edit: Last year George was also moaning about the negotiations dragging on and waiting for Toto's response
Exactly, George was kept hanging on as the backup option until it was obvious Max was not going to drive for Mercedes. He also doesn't have a contract for 2027, that to me seems almost like Mercedes are keeping him hanging on just incase Max is suddenly available. t to keep Kimi sweet and trolliing the media & armchair critics. Both Kimi & George had their option years taken and both will need renewing for next season onwards.Edit: Last year George was also moaning about the negotiations dragging on and waiting for Toto's response
Edited by entropy on Tuesday 17th March 12:59
I do feel sorry for George, he is doing everything right, yet Toto still seems to be holding out for what he believes is a better option.
Edited by anonymous-user on Tuesday 17th March 18:59
Killer2005 said:
Click bait. vaud said:
Killer2005 said:
Click bait. 732NM said:
TheDeuce said:
I agree too.
The counter arguments, cost and not needing (Merc right now) his talent, both reasonable...
But both soundly beaten by the reality that the sponsors will get more exposure, headlines and subsequently pay more for a winning car that has Max driving it. Obviously you need a car that has the pace to reaffirm Max as a driving gad in order to get the benefit of signing a driving god, so this only applies to top teams, and this year, really only to Mercedes.
Max has been the lowest profile world champion in years. He did bugger all compared to Lewis in raising the profile of the sport outside it's dedicated fans. He refused to engage in the F1 film which was a major PR oportunity. The counter arguments, cost and not needing (Merc right now) his talent, both reasonable...
But both soundly beaten by the reality that the sponsors will get more exposure, headlines and subsequently pay more for a winning car that has Max driving it. Obviously you need a car that has the pace to reaffirm Max as a driving gad in order to get the benefit of signing a driving god, so this only applies to top teams, and this year, really only to Mercedes.
Outside of the Red Bull junkiesphere and nationalistic Dutch, people don't warm to crashy cheats either. He'd much rather be bashing people off track on his sym every night, than gladhanding on the PR circuit.
Zak at McLaren has shown you don't need Max to attract the big money sponsors.
He's a headline maker, that's what sponsors generally like - so long as the brand fits.
TheDeuce said:
Back when he was at his crashiest, and not yet a WDC, an extensive survey found him to be the most popular driver.
He's a headline maker, that's what sponsors generally like - so long as the brand fits.
And Max has been voted #1 driver by team principals for how many years in a row?He's a headline maker, that's what sponsors generally like - so long as the brand fits.
732NM said:
Zak at McLaren has shown you don't need Max to attract the big money sponsors.
It's not surprising. He was involved in sports marketing and commercial deals beforehand and was at one point tipped to succeed Bernie at FOM.wevster said:
Mercedes doesn't need Max now, Toto was only showing interest to wind Horner up and upset the balance within the team.
Toto was still talking to Max after Horner was sacked. The teams aren't stupid and they know drivers are mercenaries when the right opportunity arises.Every team would take Max, even if they don't need him to prevent a rival having him.
The Mercedes advantage now could be gone in 12 months time, at that point they'd rather have Max than have him at Red Bull, McLaren or Ferrari in a car capable of challenging them.
I don't however see him moving as Red Bull know his value, their car is overweight which is probably easier to resolve than being at weight but slow.
The Mercedes advantage now could be gone in 12 months time, at that point they'd rather have Max than have him at Red Bull, McLaren or Ferrari in a car capable of challenging them.
I don't however see him moving as Red Bull know his value, their car is overweight which is probably easier to resolve than being at weight but slow.
andburg said:
Every team would take Max, even if they don't need him to prevent a rival having him.
The Mercedes advantage now could be gone in 12 months time, at that point they'd rather have Max than have him at Red Bull, McLaren or Ferrari in a car capable of challenging them.
Agreed. The Mercedes advantage now could be gone in 12 months time, at that point they'd rather have Max than have him at Red Bull, McLaren or Ferrari in a car capable of challenging them.
I could see him taking a year or two out racing other categories having signed a deal with Ferrari.
If I was Elkann, I’d offer him a Le Mans seat and freedom to do whatever else he likes in the next few years before one of the F1 seats opens up.
ThingsBehindTheSun said:
I do feel sorry for George, he is doing everything right, yet Toto still seems to be holding out for what he believes is a better option.
Reminds me in a way of Williams and Damon Hill. The latter had performed admirably and held the team together after Senna s death but Frank wanted rid of him for someone better who in the end wasn t. Edited by ThingsBehindTheSun on Tuesday 17th March 18:59
ThingsBehindTheSun said:
Killer2005 said:
Once translated I 100% agree, Adrian Newey looks well out of his depth as team principle. He should be out the back somewhere designing the car and not the face of the team.The problems they're having are more embedded than that.
Give the guy a chance.
Muzzer79 said:
ThingsBehindTheSun said:
Killer2005 said:
Once translated I 100% agree, Adrian Newey looks well out of his depth as team principle. He should be out the back somewhere designing the car and not the face of the team.The problems they're having are more embedded than that.
Give the guy a chance.
The mistake that the team has made is expecting to run a 100m sprint in less than 9 seconds without doing the training and preparation first.
New engine, new designer, new gearbox, new regulations. They should have approached the project as a startup, conservatively. They should have prioritised reliability and then stepped it up from there. From a distance, it looks like Newey designed for the top 4/5 and couldn't be bothered to bring the rest of the team with him.
Blaming Honda was ill-advised, but I guess he is perhaps more concerned about his reputation than the project.
When it looked like they had the opportunity to get Horner, they dropped the ball by passing on it.
maz8062 said:
I think Newey is part of the problem at that team. Stroll Senior is ultimately to blame, but he's the benefactor, so don't expect an admission anytime soon.
The mistake that the team has made is expecting to run a 100m sprint in less than 9 seconds without doing the training and preparation first.
New engine, new designer, new gearbox, new regulations. They should have approached the project as a startup, conservatively. They should have prioritised reliability and then stepped it up from there. From a distance, it looks like Newey designed for the top 4/5 and couldn't be bothered to bring the rest of the team with him.
Blaming Honda was ill-advised, but I guess he is perhaps more concerned about his reputation than the project.
When it looked like they had the opportunity to get Horner, they dropped the ball by passing on it.
I don't recall the source, but I think the problem discussed was that when Newey turned up for work he looked at the engine and basically said "it's too long, make it shorter". So Honda had to do a fairly major redesign at the last minute, apparently moving something (would it be the MGU-K?) from the back to the front of the engine. It's supposed to be this that is causing the car to vibrate excessively.The mistake that the team has made is expecting to run a 100m sprint in less than 9 seconds without doing the training and preparation first.
New engine, new designer, new gearbox, new regulations. They should have approached the project as a startup, conservatively. They should have prioritised reliability and then stepped it up from there. From a distance, it looks like Newey designed for the top 4/5 and couldn't be bothered to bring the rest of the team with him.
Blaming Honda was ill-advised, but I guess he is perhaps more concerned about his reputation than the project.
When it looked like they had the opportunity to get Horner, they dropped the ball by passing on it.
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