Palmer out?

[HustleRussell]

Too early for a 2018 drivers thread?

Unsurprisingly Renault aren't happy going in to 2018 with only one driver scoring points. HAAS are currently matching Renault in the constructor's championship!

http://en.f1i.com/news/269640-renault-closing-serg...

[HustleRussell]

rubystone said:

Perez already turned them down which is why Hulkenberg got the drive. If Alonso doesn't go there they'll sign Sainz or pick up one of the two Mercedes young drivers.

Doesn't preclude Perez to Renault 2018 though (as suggested in the article in the OP).

I'd agree that Hulkenberg has been superb throughout, I hope his persistence pays dividends- however nobody seems to rate Perez. Hulkenberg did not embarrass Perez in the way he is embarrassing Palmer. Hulk / Perez a la Force India -2016 is an enviable line-up.

I'm all for new drivers but there are a number of drivers on the grid who are ripe for a top drive. Palmer is one of those who can make way. If Raikkonen goes we could have some proper musical chairs.

I reckon Mercedes will want to give Wehrlein an upgrade after overlooking him for 2017. Perhaps there's room for Palmer at Sauber.

What is Ericsson doing? can we assume he is happy just to bring money and play around at the back forever?

[HustleRussell]

thegreenhell said:

If Alonso is in even a half-competitive F1 car next year

That's a big 'if' though isn't it. Neither McLaren nor Renault are going to build a winning car for 2018. Red Bull aren't interested. So unless Nando gets into Ferrari or Mercedes he's likely to have another season where he has to look for his victories elsewhere.

[HustleRussell]

Supersam83 said:

Mercedes: Alonso / Bottas
Ferrari: Vettel / Hamilton
Red Bull: Riccardo / Max
Renault: Hulk / Sainz Jr
McLaren: Norris / Vandoorne
Force India: Perez / Ocon
Toro Rosso: Gasly / Leclerc
Williams: Massa / Stroll
Sauber: Ericsson / Matsusta
Haas: Grosjean / Giovinazzi

Perhaps Massa will have to make way for Wehrlein? Can't see Mercedes leaving him out of a drive. No room for Magnussen or Kvyat either.

Supersam83 said:

Matsusta

[HustleRussell]

ELUSIVEJIM said:

thegreenhell said:

As well as Stroll stipulating an experienced teammate, don't sponsor Martini require at least one of the drivers to be over the age of 25 for the responsible advertising of alcoholic beverages? That would rule out Sainz going there to replace Massa, if there were no other changes at the team.

Honestly never knew about Martini and the 25 year old requirement.

Thanks for pointing that one out.

I believe that's why Mercedes couldn't put Wehrlein there. Old man Stroll didn't want his boy to be shown up by a similarly young driver. That said I'm not sure Massa outscoring him 20 points to none is doing him any favours either.

Edited by HustleRussell on Thursday 1st June 20:43

[HustleRussell]

Andy S15 said:

Absolutely invisible during Montreal, while Hulk was doing a pretty decent job appearing to put the car where it shouldn't be.

Renault should just dump him. Crappy attitude and crappy driving. I'd love to see Kubica back in the car.

Canada was actually one of Palmer's best races of the season if you can believe it!

I agree somebody else should get the seat for 2018, I don't think Kubica is up to it though unfortunately.

[HustleRussell]

Vaud said:

HustleRussell said:

I agree somebody else should get the seat for 2018, I don't think Kubica is up to it though unfortunately.

I wonder what it would take. Full lock steering seems to be an issue? Would it need a different, wider tub? Or different level of power assistance? Or a rule change?

I think there are two main issues, firstly he would need a lot of elbow room as he doesn’t have full articulation, secondly I don’t think he has much dexterity in his right hand so whether he could manage all of the little buttons and switches in their usual position would be questionable, in addition there would be major question marks over whether he could extricate himself from the car fast enough- the FIA dictates that the driver must be able to exit the car without assistance in a matter of seconds (can’t remember if it’s 5 or 7…) unbuckling, pulling the drinks and radio connections, removing the head restraint and steering wheel and hoisting himself out of the car must be a very tall order with partial use of the right arm.

I am sure that adapting the steering rack ratio and power assistance for driver preference is commonplace already so I don’t think that part is insurmountable.

[HustleRussell]

Meanwhile, the writing is on the wall for Palmer

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/f1-renault-warn...

[HustleRussell]

1.3 seconds slower than his team-mate in that session, I suppose that's the BBC's fault too.

[HustleRussell]

Hulkenberg was the number one driver and got all the upgrades first.

The fact that Jolyon's pace deficit was 5x greater than the impact of those upgrades was the tell.